[F30Driver]

Hey guys.

I'm anticipating getting some winter tyres for the car for which I'm saving already.

As far as the rims go... I'd like a separate set to prevent damage to my summer rims - either from the removal/fitting of the tyres or corrosion from the salty roads.

Is it worth going through BMW for this from anyone's experience or do folk just sort themselves out. How would that affect warranty etc?

Cheers =]

[Maz335i]

This is definitely an "upgrade" price. You cant end up having two sets of wheels for just £450.

[F30Driver]

Yeah I guessed as much as soon as I posted that. I just wish I had thought of it on the day of the sale - could have maybe tried to get some package at a good rate.

Winters going to be coming in quicker than I think...

[Accelerometer]

Looking into getting a seperate set of winter tires/wheels myself. From what I have read 17 or 18" Rial Salerno w/Blizzaks are cheap favorites for the e9x crowd. They look like OEM wheels and a complete set should be around $1300 USD.

[Feanor]

You definitely need a second set of wheels - it's just not practical to just swap the tyres, and I suspect there's a risk of damage to either wheel or tyre with e stiff sidewalls on runflats. Having lived in Germany where winter tyres are a legal requirement, I don't know of anyone there who doesn't have a second set of wheels.

I've been looking into this myself. A set new from BMW will set you back at least £1200 - far too expensive IMO.

On my E82 I bought a second hand set of winter walloys & tyres second hand from Germany on eBay for just €400 delivered (tyres were runflats with 7mm tread!). Trouble is, the F30 is too new for second hand wheels to be available. I have heard though that E90 wheels will fit - most of the measurements are the same except the bolts which are 2mm smaller on the E90, but I heard (on this forum I think) that the larger F30 bolts will still fit through E90 wheel holes, presumably just a bit tightly.

The alternative is to change the tyres your car comes with with a set of all season tyres. This might seem wasteful but it may be cheaper than a set of alloys & winter tyres, and as we get rain at any time of year they'd also be safer in the wet. We don't get the extreme heat or cold for dedicated summer or winter rubber to be a necessity IMO.

I would highly recommend winter/all season tyres though. BMWs on summer tyres are terrible in the snow, and winter tyres are better in wet conditions and any dry conditions below +7.5 C. It drives me bonkers how everyone blames the government when the UK comes to a standstill in winter, when the main reason is just that drivers are completely unprepared and using summer rubber.

[jaco328]

Get the blizzaks

[richb811]

I usually go with a smaller diameter OEM wheel for my winter setup. Max 17" depending on your brake clearance.

You shouldn't have any dealer issues with aftermarket wheels pertaining to warranty unless you were trying to replace a set under warranty that you didn't purchase from them.

Blizzaks work wonders, I have the LM25's on my 2008 VW GTI and we take that snowboarding all the time. If you are looking for more performance oriented tires, the Dunlop Wintersport M3's are what I used on my 2010 335i and my 93 525i touring. Great tires with some pretty decent dry grip. Not sure if they are NLA or not now.

[wolke9]

Originally Posted by PeteNJ

Looking into getting a seperate set of winter tires/wheels myself. From what I have read 17 or 18" Rial Salerno w/Blizzaks are cheap favorites for the e9x crowd. They look like OEM wheels and a complete set should be around $1300 USD.

But will these fit the F30? Was reading another forum where they had mentioned that rims fitting the E90 will not fit the F30. If the offset is the same they should fit? No?

I'd buy these in a heartbeat if I knew they would fit.

[geko29]

If you go on tirerack and select an F30 as your ride, then go to the winter tire/wheel packages, the Rial Salerno's are one of the available options. They probably aren't the exact same wheels you'd get if you specified an E90 (larger bolt holes, different offset, etc), but they're certainly the same style. They run about $140 each, so you're looking at $1300-1500 for a full set, depending on which tires you select.

[Gift2self]

Originally Posted by jaco328

Get the blizzaks

For those that have experience with them, will Blizzaks be decent enough for dry pavement when needed? With a rear wheel drive car, I need winter tires on half the year, so I didn't want to sacrifice on wheels and purchased the 18” 400M style wheels to use in the winter, as the car is coming with the 19” 401M wheels. I wanted the Michelin X-Ice tires as I used them in the past and loved them, but apparently they were discontinued in the size I needed, so I got the Blizzak WS-70 tires instead. I am confident these are arguably the best tires you can get for ice and snow, but the knock on Blizzaks seems to be dry pavement handling and road noise. Can anyone comment?

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by PeteNJ

Looking into getting a seperate set of winter tires/wheels myself. From what I have read 17 or 18" Rial Salerno w/Blizzaks are cheap favorites for the e9x crowd. They look like OEM wheels and a complete set should be around $1300 USD.

I have that same exact wheel and it's nice. Good quality looks nice. I picked mine up 2 years ago one season used with Dunlop m3 winter sports, TPMS, mounted balanced $650 :-D. I got lucky seeing that this goes for $1300.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by Gift2self

For those that have experience with them, will Blizzaks be decent enough for dry pavement when needed? With a rear wheel drive car, I need winter tires on half the year, so I didn't want to sacrifice on wheels and purchased the 18” 400M style wheels to use in the winter, as the car is coming with the 19” 401M wheels. I wanted the Michelin X-Ice tires as I used them in the past and loved them, but apparently they were discontinued in the size I needed, so I got the Blizzak WS-70 tires instead. I am confident these are arguably the best tires you can get for ice and snow, but the knock on Blizzaks seems to be dry pavement handling and road noise. Can anyone comment?

All the winter tires will be noisy on dry pavement. It's their nature. I run the Dunlop wintersport m3. Theu do handle pretty well when dry.

I tried to get my car stuck in banks of snow and the tires just kept prevailing. Blizzak is probably the best tire in snow and ice, but you won't go wrong with any dedicated snow and ice tire. They will work no doubt!

[Gift2self]

Originally Posted by dd1981

All the winter tires will be noisy on dry pavement. It's their nature. I run the Dunlop wintersport m3. Theu do handle pretty well when dry.

I tried to get my car stuck in banks of snow and the tires just kept prevailing. Blizzak is probably the best tire in snow and ice, but you won't go wrong with any dedicated snow and ice tire. They will work no doubt!

Thanks. Yes all tires invlove a compromise. Good snow and ice traction comes at the expense of a noisier ride on dry pavement with not as good handling, but it's well worth it in climates with severe winters. At least I know the Blizzaks are the likely the best winter tire, and if they are a bit of an overkill I will get more of a "performance" winter tire on the next time.