Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Harpua]

Any opinions on these two tires?
My E90 will be my DD throughout the winter and I will be on rural back roads regularly with drifting snow likely. The PA seem more performance oriented but perhaps the Xi3 have better performance on snow days.
Your experience and advice is appreciated.

[dmppdx]

They are going to be fairly different. The PA will handle pretty well and be OK, but not great in snow. The Xi3 will be great in snow, but have spongy handling and will wear fairly fast. It just depends on your priorities.

[Harpua]

Originally Posted by dmppdx

They are going to be fairly different. The PA will handle pretty well and be OK, but not great in snow. The Xi3 will be great in snow, but have spongy handling and will wear fairly fast. It just depends on your priorities.

Interesting. Michelin has the Xi3 wear characteristics as more robust than the PA -- 10/10 vs 8/10. They even give a 60,000km warrantee in the Xi3. Do you have experience with either tire?
As much as I'd love to maintain optimum handling, I have to be ready for a Canadian winter.

It seems that most M3 drivers opt for the PA for winter driving. The Xi3 have been recommended to me and I'm just looking for more info & opinions.

Thanks again.

[dmppdx]

I don't have experiance with the PA or Xi3, but I do with the Xi2 on a non-M3 and I think they are fairly similiar to the Xi3. Great in the snow, but give up a decent amount handling wise. They are not not horrible though. Better I think that many true snow tires. As for wear, generally any performance winter tire like a PA wears better than a studless like the Xi3, so I would think the PA would wear better, but I can't confirm that. Company treadwear ratings are kind of screwy so I'm not sure they are that accurate, particularly across different tire classifications since I guarantee the Xi3 isn't a true 10/10 overall for wear. Maybe it is within it's class since its a snow tire and for me the Xi2 has been decent for wear. I had them on a quattro, so no real wheel slippage, which minimized wear, but on an M3, you might see the rears wear quickly.

[ben@tirerack]

Originally Posted by Harpua

Interesting. Michelin has the Xi3 wear characteristics as more robust than the PA -- 10/10 vs 8/10. They even give a 60,000km warrantee in the Xi3. Do you have experience with either tire?
As much as I'd love to maintain optimum handling, I have to be ready for a Canadian winter.

It seems that most M3 drivers opt for the PA for winter driving. The Xi3 have been recommended to me and I'm just looking for more info & opinions.

Thanks again.

dmppdx outlines the tradeoff pretty well. The X-Ice line are excellent for ice and snow. They are decent but uninspiring on clear roads.

The PA3 is built as a winter tire with performance in mind. Tires of that category have good snow traction, but cannot match something like the X-Ice or Blizzak WS series on packed icy snow or actual ice.

Usually performance winter tires do have longer wear than the more dedicated ice and snow tires. I see that Michelin's treadwear ratings reverse that trend in this particular case. Some of that may be down to the expected use of the tire. For decision making, I'd figure you'll probably get about the same number of winters on either tire.

[Harpua]

Originally Posted by ben@tirerack

dmppdx outlines the tradeoff pretty well. The X-Ice line are excellent for ice and snow. They are decent but uninspiring on clear roads.

The PA3 is built as a winter tire with performance in mind. Tires of that category have good snow traction, but cannot match something like the X-Ice or Blizzak WS series on packed icy snow or actual ice.

Usually performance winter tires do have longer wear than the more dedicated ice and snow tires. I see that Michelin's treadwear ratings reverse that trend in this particular case. Some of that may be down to the expected use of the tire. For decision making, I'd figure you'll probably get about the same number of winters on either tire.

Thanks Ben

[Transfer]

I have PA4 on my M3 and my wife has Xi3 on her X1. First off I wouldn't even bother with the PA3. If you go the performance route, get the newer, better PA4. As was stated Xi3 is for ultimate snow traction but they are super squishy with really poor handling characteristics. Unless you're in snow more often than not, you will regret them on an M3. I think the PA4 is probably the best performance winter with maximum handling available while also being a good snow/wet tire. If you need excellent snow traction and want to keep some performance, look at Blizzaks. Just don't get the Xi3 for an M car unless you're on snow all the time.

[Harpua]

Originally Posted by Transfer

I have PA4 on my M3 and my wife has Xi3 on her X1. First off I wouldn't even bother with the PA3. If you go the performance route, get the newer, better PA4. As was stated Xi3 is for ultimate snow traction but they are super squishy with really poor handling characteristics. Unless you're in snow more often than not, you will regret them on an M3. I think the PA4 is probably the best performance winter with maximum handling available while also being a good snow/wet tire. If you need excellent snow traction and want to keep some performance, look at Blizzaks. Just don't get the Xi3 for an M car unless you're on snow all the time.

Thanks for the advice.
I tried out the Xi3 and you are dead right -- Far too much squirm and very poor handling. I've just swapped them for the PA4s today and they immediately feel much better. I think the ultimate ice/snow grip trade off for improved clear road handling is worth it.

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by Harpua

Thanks for the advice.
I tried out the Xi3 and you are dead right -- Far too much squirm and very poor handling. I've just swapped them for the PA4s today and they immediately feel much better. I think the ultimate ice/snow grip trade off for improved clear road handling is worth it.

No problem. I've been very happy with my PA4 and even pleasantly surprised how well they do in snow. It's a very predictable and controllable tire.