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[markjord]

I don't know of anyone who switches to winter tyres in the UK as traditionally we don't get so much snow (in the eastern counties anyway) and so we just muddle on by or get completely stuck. This year though has been a nightmare and it would be good to be prepared next time.

Does anyone in the UK switch to winters and, if so, what wheels / tyres do you use? Is it sensible to swap to a second set of 19" or go for the standard 18" rims, or aftermarket, cheaper rims?

I use my M3 every day but have really struggled some days this year.

So much for global warming.

[immiketoo]

Wow, I can't even imagine how bad that must have been. I'm in the states and I always switch to snows. I bought cheap aftermarket wheels.

[waremark]

I used a different car in the snow! My son has a 123d Coupe. He bought a set of alloys off ebay for his winter tyres - brand new, v good value. He then had 17's with winter tyres and 18's with summer tyres. Needless to say it was brilliant in the snow. If I was you I would be looking for 2nd hand 18's for the winter tyres - but then you will be looking at a car wearing 18's from October to March.

[immiketoo]

19 inch snows are really pricey too, so if you can stand the looks, 18s are the way to go.

[T89]

Winter tires are better than summers when the temp drops below 7celsuis regardless of snow.
If you don't get much snow, I would suggest getting performance winter tires like the bridgestones blizzak lm25/60. They handle much better in the dry/wet than full winters and will still get you out of trouble if it snows. Of course not as good in the snow as full winters but if it doesn't snow that often, much better overall.
I have lm25s on my Z4 and have been great so far.


T

[calintexas]

There are lots of pics of 18's here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348655 . Your best choice (value/cost) is likely the Apex ARC-8. They are quite strong and fully certified.http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=314768 .

TireRack has an extensive winter wheel/tire thread here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174068

Here is one person's experience with Continental ExtremeContact DWS All Season tires: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...inental+season

[MrLOL]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Wow, I can't even imagine how bad that must have been. I'm in the states and I always switch to snows. I bought cheap aftermarket wheels.

nearly everybody uses summer tires all year round in the UK.

Every time it snows, our roads are awash with inexperienced drivers (because we dont get much snow) all completely untrained on how to handle a car in snow, sliding around all over the place in tires that simply werent ever designed to be used on snow.

Its a bit of a nightmare.

[ed335d]

Originally Posted by markjord

I don't know of anyone who switches to winter tyres in the UK as traditionally we don't get so much snow (in the eastern counties anyway) and so we just muddle on by or get completely stuck. This year though has been a nightmare and it would be good to be prepared next time.

Does anyone in the UK switch to winters and, if so, what wheels / tyres do you use? Is it sensible to swap to a second set of 19" or go for the standard 18" rims, or aftermarket, cheaper rims?

I use my M3 every day but have really struggled some days this year.

So much for global warming.

I have a set of 18'' Winter tyres which I used on my 335d. They made a huge difference in confidence and safety.

Problem is, now I have the M3, the old rims (OEM e92) are not suitable without spacers, so I need to find some 18'' wheels to transfer the tyres to.