NE winters and tires

[lucid]

Curious as to when folks put their snow tires on and pull them off in the NE. I am getting ready to put them on. Probably a little late actually, but waiting for my 18" wheels to arrive. This is my only car, so I will be driving it throughout the winter.

Btw, I have a couple of 235/40/18 Michelin PA2s for sale here if you need snow tires for the fronts:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180726

[Wolf-e92]

I just got mine in from tirerack and was planning to do the switch at my 1200 mile service in 2 weeks.

[lucid]

It was 2 deg C on my way from work the last two days, so I guess it is indeed time!

[makots]

i think i'm going to run the stock 19's in the winter man. i havent got my winter tires yet! so i'm scrambling to get them. but anything that i should know that would make me not wanna get the winter tires in 19's? I really dont wanna get another 18 for the winter as i'm getting one for the track in the near future. thats y i think i'm sticking with the 19s for the winter. So any words of wisdom? haha. oh, and i got a recommendation for a 225/40-19 front and a 255/35-19 rear. Does that sound right? ben from tire rack recommended 255/35-19 front and 265/35-19 rear. which one sounds better?

[lucid]

I don't know about the 225/40/19. Find a tire circumfrance calculator on the web and see if that'll change. Also, I don't know if the tire can be stretched that far on 8.5" rims. You don't want to use 255/35s in the front. No larger than 235/35s. I think you have typo there. Just watch your rims. The roads will be full of holes by jan/feb. I'm much less concerned about that with the 18s. It doesn't take much of a mishap to bend the 19s with low profile tires.

[gambitx28]

I put my snows on right before the 1st snow storm (as late as possible).

I have them off by Apr 1st at the latest.

[makots]

well. apparently the guys are recommending a 255/35 f and 265/35 rear. so i went with that. yea. i know. been taking note of the potholes man. they are ridiculous. back at home (singapore) the roads are so smooth. so its a drastic change from over here. but yea. the guys down at tire rack recommended the setup. i guess i trust them? haha. but i wont be taking the car out that much so i guess shouldnt be a prob. haha.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by makots

well. apparently the guys are recommending a 255/35 f and 265/35 rear. so i went with that. yea. i know. been taking note of the potholes man. they are ridiculous. back at home (singapore) the roads are so smooth. so its a drastic change from over here. but yea. the guys down at tire rack recommended the setup. i guess i trust them? haha. but i wont be taking the car out that much so i guess shouldnt be a prob. haha.

You shouldn't fit 255/35s onto the front stock 19" wheels. That's crazy. Someone's trying to offload tires they have in stock to you. Why would you want wider than stock winter tires? You want to go narrower for better traction in snow. Plus, that will eliminate/reduce the understeer designed into the stock setup. The last think you want on ice/snow is less understeer. Who's making the recommendation? I'd strongly suggest you cancel that order if you can.

[MBrown1003]

Here's my history of winter/summer tires:

Season.......Car..........Winters On......Winters Off
2002-2003...E39 M5.....Nov 25...........May 2
2003-2004...E39 M5.....Dec 2.............May 13
2004-2005...E39 M5.....Dec 14...........April 9
2005-2006...E39 M5.....Dec 26...........April 1
2006-2007...E39 M5.....Dec 16...........<not sure of the date>
2007-2008...E92 335i...<Jan delivery>..May 5
2008-2009...E90 M3.....<Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm>

I'm finding that the Michelins on the M3 are more temperature-sensitive than my prior summer tires. One night when it got into the 20s, the car was pretty loose for the first few miles. It got better once the tires warmed up.

FWIW, my prior summer tires have been Dunlops (M5, 335i) + Bridgestones (M5). The winter tires have been Dunlops (M5, 335i) + Pirellis (M5)

[rfedele]

Originally Posted by MBrown1003

I'm finding that the Michelins on the M3 are more temperature-sensitive than my prior summer tires.

+1. I've had Conti's and P-Zero's that weren't as sensitive to rain and cold, but the PS2's are the best in dry/warm conditions.

[makots]

it was the guys at tire rack. they were the ones who recommended the sizings. aparently there are quite a number of people that are going to run this set up too. So what would your suggestion for 19' rims is? the tires are suppose to get here next week so i cant really do much now. but i wanna get it right. so what you suggest? as i think the only comp that makes 19' winters are bridgestone and pirelli.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by makots

it was the guys at tire rack. they were the ones who recommended the sizings. aparently there are quite a number of people that are going to run this set up too. So what would your suggestion for 19' rims is? the tires are suppose to get here next week so i cant really do much now. but i wanna get it right. so what you suggest? as i think the only comp that makes 19' winters are bridgestone and pirelli.

The ideal setup on the stock 19" rims would be 235/35 F and 255/35 R. The issue is that you can't get those sizes for the same tire brand and model at the time. There just doesn't seem to be any vendors that make a snow tires in both those sizes for whatever reason. That is probably why you were recommended what you were recommended. I think it is a poor recomendation. It won't make you crash or anything and you should be okay, but it is not the optimal setup for the 19" wheels at all.

Watch the holes that will start opening up in Boston streets in about a month or so on your 19" wheels. Actually, I just hit one the other night in the dark on my winter wheels, and the tire/wheel got marked slighly. I am glad I wasn't on my 19s!

[lucid]

Originally Posted by rfedele

+1. I've had Conti's and P-Zero's that weren't as sensitive to rain and cold, but the PS2's are the best in dry/warm conditions.

PS2s do not like the cold at all, but they are excellent in the rain for a performance tire.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by MBrown1003

Here's my history of winter/summer tires:

Season.......Car..........Winters On......Winters Off
2002-2003...E39 M5.....Nov 25...........May 2
2003-2004...E39 M5.....Dec 2.............May 13
2004-2005...E39 M5.....Dec 14...........April 9
2005-2006...E39 M5.....Dec 26...........April 1
2006-2007...E39 M5.....Dec 16...........<not sure of the date>
2007-2008...E92 335i...<Jan delivery>..May 5
2008-2009...E90 M3.....<Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm>

I'm finding that the Michelins on the M3 are more temperature-sensitive than my prior summer tires. One night when it got into the 20s, the car was pretty loose for the first few miles. It got better once the tires warmed up.

FWIW, my prior summer tires have been Dunlops (M5, 335i) + Bridgestones (M5). The winter tires have been Dunlops (M5, 335i) + Pirellis (M5)

Wow, you sure are methodical on this one. How did you manage to wait until December with the snowfall?

[MBrown1003]

Originally Posted by lucid

Wow, you sure are methodical on this one. How did you manage to wait until December with the snowfall?

From 1990 until early 2007, I also had a GTI as a second car, so if we got early snow, I could take the VeeDub. OTOH, the 540 and M5 were SO MUCH BETTER than the GTI in the snow that I typically took the Bimmer if the weather was REALLY awful, and left the VW at home.

Anyway, looking back at my logs, I didn't realize I'd mounted the snows that late so many times -- especially the one on Dec 26!

[lucid]

Originally Posted by MBrown1003

OTOH, the 540 and M5 were SO MUCH BETTER than the GTI in the snow that I typically took the Bimmer if the weather was REALLY awful, and left the VW at home.

With the M, one can say it's because it has LSD, but the 540 performing better than the GTI is interesting. Did the GTI have all seasons or something?

[MBrown1003]

Originally Posted by lucid

With the M, one can say it's because it has LSD, but the 540 performing better than the GTI is interesting. Did the GTI have all seasons or something?

I'm assuming it's because of the superior balance of the Bimmers. Yes, the GTIs (I had two of them) had all-seasons, so that didn't help, but I've never been a fan of FWD, especially in bad weather.

[jaay11]

Originally Posted by makots

i think i'm going to run the stock 19's in the winter man. i havent got my winter tires yet! so i'm scrambling to get them. but anything that i should know that would make me not wanna get the winter tires in 19's? I really dont wanna get another 18 for the winter as i'm getting one for the track in the near future. thats y i think i'm sticking with the 19s for the winter. So any words of wisdom? haha. oh, and i got a recommendation for a 225/40-19 front and a 255/35-19 rear. Does that sound right? ben from tire rack recommended 255/35-19 front and 265/35-19 rear. which one sounds better?

get some snow shoes on those 19s....they say we're in for a good (meaning bad ) winter this year.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by MBrown1003

I'm assuming it's because of the superior balance of the Bimmers. Yes, the GTIs (I had two of them) had all-seasons, so that didn't help, but I've never been a fan of FWD, especially in bad weather.

I'd say that the all season's are the main reason for the difference in performance. Yes, BMWs have good traction in general, but there is no comparison between a car on snow tires and all seasons. All season are a poor comprimise for both summer and winter driving.

[Kev]

You need snow tires to stop properly. Once it gets frigid like now, A/S tires will turn hard and you'd be screwed when you try to stop.

[makots]

so since march is around the corner, when is the right time to take off the winter tires?

[lucid]

Originally Posted by makots

so since march is around the corner, when is the right time to take off the winter tires?

Yeah, I can't wait. I usually swap them out late-March although that might be a bit too early. See seasonal average temps here:

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...nav_undeclared