Moving to Newport, RI

JH M3 · 10-15-2013, 02:32 PM

I'm moving to Newport from California in January and am looking into getting a dedicated winter tire and wheel package. I'm debating between a performance winter tire such as the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 or a studless ice and snow tire such as the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 or even the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. Having never lived in New England before, can anyone provide some insight as to how the winters are in the Newport area? Am I going to have to deal with a lot of unplowed roads or relatively deep snow, or are the roads maintained well enough that winter performance tires will suffice?

Savage_M3 · 10-15-2013, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhsu

I'm moving to Newport from California in January and am looking into getting a dedicated winter tire and wheel package. I'm debating between a performance winter tire such as the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 or a studless ice and snow tire such as the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 or even the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. Having never lived in New England before, can anyone provide some insight as to how the winters are in the Newport area? Am I going to have to deal with a lot of unplowed roads or relatively deep snow, or are the roads maintained well enough that winter performance tires will suffice?

I ran Dunlup Wintersport S3 and I was very happy this past winter. They worked great. The only time I didn't take the M3 out was when the snow was deeper than a few inches or if the roads weren't plowed at all. The biggest problem you will run into is ground clearance.

JH M3 · 10-15-2013, 11:25 PM

Thanks. It's my daily driver so I need tires that are reliable in the snow but I don't want to sacrifice dry performance too much if I don't have to.

pbonsalb · 10-16-2013, 06:24 AM

For RI, I would not bother making the dry weather sacrifice necessary for a really serious snow tire (these are generally not available in 30/35/40 series or in speed ratings higher than HR). I do not run hardcore snow tires in NH, which gets more snow than RI, on my 08M3. I run the Dunlop Wintersport 3D or something like that, not that it is necessarily the best in this class.

I have an older version of the Michelin X-Ice on my 99M3, and these are harder core and worse in the dry but acceptable for a hardcore snow tire. On my 08 535xi, I have Continental Extreme Winter Contact, and these are also harder core and worse in the dry but drive very well for a hard core snow tire.

LarThaL · 10-21-2013, 06:12 PM

Dunlop Winter Sport or Michelin Pilot Alpin in stock sizes will be just fine. I have lived in New England my whole life and most of the time, the roads are well cleared. What you really need to focus on is learning how to keep your car properly cleaned and protected from all the salt and sand on the roads in the winter.

SouthShoreM3 · 10-21-2013, 06:31 PM

OP I live an hour away from Newport, RI! I have several sets of winter tires that all have 2-4800 miles on them.

One is a square 255/35/19 Pirelli scottozero set up and the other is staggered 235/35 and 265/35/19 blizzaks.

I have the 220m 19in wheels all mounted on the blizzaks.

Why don't you save some cash and you can grab this set!

Both tires will be more than fine for winter duties. Newport is in the water so snow accumulation is not as significant as inland.

Give me a shout or send a PM
adanieli@tcml.com

Andrew

riguy · 10-22-2013, 08:05 PM

Welcome to Lil Rhody! I grew up here so I can at least comment on the weather. The closer you are to the water, the less snow you'll get. The north west portion of the state gets hit with snow during storms. Newport? Not nearly as much. I might get 5" in PVD, Newport might only get 1-2". The ocean really moderates the temps...

As for tires, I had the Dunlop's everyone else has mentioned and they were OK. It'll work for you, no doubt...through clearance would likely be an issue as someone mentioned. Not that you want to hear this, but now that I have xdrive...I can see what all the fuss was about....lol. No more spinning tires on the all the loose gravel that's all over the road from Dec to May.

10-15-2013, 02:32 PM	#1
JH M3 Second Lieutenant 117 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 2017 F80 M3 ZCP Azurite Black Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Rhode Island iTrader: (0)	Moving to Newport, RI - Winter Tire Recommendation I'm moving to Newport from California in January and am looking into getting a dedicated winter tire and wheel package. I'm debating between a performance winter tire such as the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 or a studless ice and snow tire such as the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 or even the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. Having never lived in New England before, can anyone provide some insight as to how the winters are in the Newport area? Am I going to have to deal with a lot of unplowed roads or relatively deep snow, or are the roads maintained well enough that winter performance tires will suffice?
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10-15-2013, 11:25 PM	#3
JH M3 Second Lieutenant 117 Rep 275 Posts Drives: 2017 F80 M3 ZCP Azurite Black Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Rhode Island iTrader: (0)	Thanks. It's my daily driver so I need tires that are reliable in the snow but I don't want to sacrifice dry performance too much if I don't have to.
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10-16-2013, 06:24 AM	#4
pbonsalb Lieutenant General 5234 Rep 10,614 Posts Drives: 18 F90 M5, 99 E36 M3 Turbo Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New England iTrader: (4)	For RI, I would not bother making the dry weather sacrifice necessary for a really serious snow tire (these are generally not available in 30/35/40 series or in speed ratings higher than HR). I do not run hardcore snow tires in NH, which gets more snow than RI, on my 08M3. I run the Dunlop Wintersport 3D or something like that, not that it is necessarily the best in this class. I have an older version of the Michelin X-Ice on my 99M3, and these are harder core and worse in the dry but acceptable for a hardcore snow tire. On my 08 535xi, I have Continental Extreme Winter Contact, and these are also harder core and worse in the dry but drive very well for a hard core snow tire.
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10-21-2013, 06:12 PM	#5
LarThaL Colonel 336 Rep 2,940 Posts Drives: 2011 M3 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: West Springfield, MA iTrader: (0)	Dunlop Winter Sport or Michelin Pilot Alpin in stock sizes will be just fine. I have lived in New England my whole life and most of the time, the roads are well cleared. What you really need to focus on is learning how to keep your car properly cleaned and protected from all the salt and sand on the roads in the winter. __________________ **Audi S6 Audi S3 * Porsche Cayman GTS* --Former BMW M3 owner**
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10-21-2013, 06:31 PM	#6
SouthShoreM3 Passes everything but the gas station 49 Rep 795 Posts Drives: 2010 E90 M3 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Boston, MA iTrader: (2)	OP I live an hour away from Newport, RI! I have several sets of winter tires that all have 2-4800 miles on them. One is a square 255/35/19 Pirelli scottozero set up and the other is staggered 235/35 and 265/35/19 blizzaks. I have the 220m 19in wheels all mounted on the blizzaks. Why don't you save some cash and you can grab this set! Both tires will be more than fine for winter duties. Newport is in the water so snow accumulation is not as significant as inland. Give me a shout or send a PM adanieli@tcml.com Andrew
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10-22-2013, 08:05 PM	#7
riguy Second Lieutenant 17 Rep 263 Posts Drives: '15 X3 M-Sport 28i Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Rhode Island iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 BMW X3 28i M-S ... [0.00]	Welcome to Lil Rhody! I grew up here so I can at least comment on the weather. The closer you are to the water, the less snow you'll get. The north west portion of the state gets hit with snow during storms. Newport? Not nearly as much. I might get 5" in PVD, Newport might only get 1-2". The ocean really moderates the temps... As for tires, I had the Dunlop's everyone else has mentioned and they were OK. It'll work for you, no doubt...through clearance would likely be an issue as someone mentioned. Not that you want to hear this, but now that I have xdrive...I can see what all the fuss was about....lol. No more spinning tires on the all the loose gravel that's all over the road from Dec to May.
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