Gislavad Nord Frost 5 winter tires

[TheOne]

A few days ago I purchased a set of 17" M5 rep. rims and tires and the salesman told me to get the Gislavad Nord Frost 5 tires for my 335 coupe cause they are one of the best winter tires!
Honestly this was one of the very few occasions that I went ahead with something like this without doing my homework first!!!!
Cause I dropped by the shop after work and just wanted it done the same night!

After driving on them for a few days I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE TIRES!!!!!
The steering precision is not there! The ride feels too mushy and squishy! and on completely dry roads when I press the gas a little to take over another vehicle on the highway DSC keeps kicking in and I lose power! on the 25th I was driving to Oakville and it was raining pretty hard but the temperature was about +3, the traction on the wet road felt so bad that I had to dramatically slow down!!!!Got passed by all the Honda Civics!!!!


I read a bit about these tires on the internet! only afterwards though!
And I guess they are only good for extreme snow driving and I believe they are an overkill for someone who lives in condo in Downtown T.O. and only drives around GTA and Oakville!

These are the exact specs of the tires :

Gislavad Nord Frost 5

205/50 R17 93T M+S Extra Load
Radial tubeless


Wondering if anybody else has these tires on their car?
Well I'm sure none of us buy bimmers only to drive them like Toyota Corollas for a few months every year!!!
On my previous E46 330ci I believe I had H rated Michelin and I loved them, great winter traction and no handling compromise whatsoever!!!

A little bit of help would be appreciate it!

I'm going in today to see what I can do.

[bunnn]

your 335i has a lot more power than your old 330ci..that could factor into your DSC going nuts...there's just too much torque

in regards to "best winter tires," it's pretty much subjected to the preference of the drivers...some regard it as giving the best traction in the deep snow...some regard it as giving better responsiveness in the cold/snow... you should have done some more homework before you bought it...

To put you at ease, my m3 gets passed by corollas and civics daily ...who cares? Oh, I'm on 18" hankook w300..their reponsiveness is pretty crappy too, but it's expected ...If it bothers you a lot, go for high performance winter tires. I doubt it'll be any good for real snow, but since you don't seem to drive in those condition anyways, it might work for you.

[bobblehead]

Sorry to hear that. I guess lesson learnt. You should have done your homework and get the high performance winters, like the Dunlop 3D or M3 or Pirelli Sottozero S2.

[enfield]

It's always a trade-off. I am using Michelin PA-2's and they do not like ice. They are okay in snow. They are really good when it's dry or wet and cold. I decided to go with that because the snow removal system in London is pretty good.

Live & learn.... Perhaps you could try selling them and getting new tires for yourself.

[TheOne]

You're absolutely right Ben,

In terms of getting passed by other vehicles, it doesn't bother me that they can pass me by...You're right who cares, an idiot in a crappy car with bald tires can pass us by any day :-) and I'm sure most of the time most of us wouldn't even wanna catch them :-) my concern is the steering wheel feed back and the responsiveness is gone and I don't nearly feel as safe to drive as I usually do, IMHO my wrong choice has changed the driving characterestics that I always expect from my BMWs, and I've been a tad lucky to own a few of them.

Are you happy with your own compromise?
Do you do alot of deep snow driving?

Originally Posted by bunnn

your 335i has a lot more power than your old 330ci..that could factor into your DSC going nuts...there's just too much torque

in regards to "best winter tires," it's pretty much subjected to the preference of the drivers...some regard it as giving the best traction in the deep snow...some regard it as giving better responsiveness in the cold/snow... you should have done some more homework before you bought it...

To put you at ease, my m3 gets passed by corollas and civics daily ...who cares? Oh, I'm on 18" hankook w300..their reponsiveness is pretty crappy too, but it's expected ...If it bothers you a lot, go for high performance winter tires. I doubt it'll be any good for real snow, but since you don't seem to drive in those condition anyways, it might work for you.

[TheOne]

I guess I should put them up for sale, 'cause the more I ask around the more I find that some people love it and some hate it.

As you all agree it's all about the personal syle of driving and the need based on the roads on which you drive the most.

Cause honestly the days we get a ton of snow I don't even take my car out, I'd rather take a cab.
Cause even if you do have the "best snow tires" chances are the car tailgating you don't!

Originally Posted by enfield

It's always a trade-off. I am using Michelin PA-2's and they do not like ice. They are okay in snow. They are really good when it's dry or wet and cold. I decided to go with that because the snow removal system in London is pretty good.

Live & learn.... Perhaps you could try selling them and getting new tires for yourself.

[TheOne]

And I paid $1530 tax in for rims and tires, so these babies are not cheap either!

[mmmmmster]

Don't feel too bad is easy to make mistake when you are in a rush......at least this mistake will only cost you few$$. I also live in TO and I got the 18"Dunlop 3D and they are great in term of performance, light snow is fine but when the snow get deep that's another story......I guess you can't have it all.

[bunnn]

Originally Posted by TheOne

You're absolutely right Ben,

In terms of getting passed by other vehicles, it doesn't bother me that they can pass me by...You're right who cares, an idiot in a crappy car with bald tires can pass us by any day :-) and I'm sure most of the time most of us wouldn't even wanna catch them :-) my concern is the steering wheel feed back and the responsiveness is gone and I don't nearly feel as safe to drive as I usually do, IMHO my wrong choice has changed the driving characterestics that I always expect from my BMWs, and I've been a tad lucky to own a few of them.

Are you happy with your own compromise?
Do you do alot of deep snow driving?

Glad we agree ..fact is even when my Audi had snow tires, I was being blown-by in blizzard conditions by people with more guts than brains. It's inevitable some people think they are invincible no matter what car they are in.

The compromised responsiveness is what I signed up for when I bought the snows. Do I regret it? Yes at first, but it's what I'll need since this is not an Audi anymore. I do not believe this car will perform as good(with snow sports) as my as my Audi did with 19" sport snow tires - hence I ended up with less responsive tires to make up for it. After driving my car in our first "snow storm"(Ha!) I decided I will look for a beater. Simply because damaging my exhaust is more than buying a beater. So for those frozen days, it'll be the beater, but otherwise I'm not afraid to take the m3 out. Even if I plow my streets all the way through.

Like other's said, you can't have it all. Consider selling them for new ones, or buy a beater like a lot of others do.

I lived and learned when I bought winter wheels I wasn't too fond of, decided to sell them for pretty cheap only with a months use - so you're not the only one to make mistakes when you rush.

In regards to bmw driving behaviour, I actually find that the DSC controls the car better in slippery conditions than my Audi's ESP did. I was testing corners around my neighbourhood, while this car might not get off the line as good, but definitely takes the cake when turning in the current conditions. My old car would power slide even when my traction is triggered. This car not so much, feels very planted for some odd reason; perhaps it was the tires?

[Jaypod]

Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction - I would imagine running 205's must feeling like running a spare. Too small IMO for a 335 - not enough contact with the road for that type of power. I have heard good things about the Gislaved's, maybe 225's would have been a better choice.

[broker88]

I run on the 225s. Of course they cannot match performance winters but all it takes is one good snow storm to appreciate the extra margin of safety they can provide. Actually I'm dreading the day I have to switch back over to my rfts.