[bluemark81]

First winter with the F30 328 x-drive. I have normally gone -1" for winter tires on my previous BMW's, but that will mean new rims again on a leased car so I'm thinking of throwing a set of Pirelli Sottozero Series II RFT on my OEM 18" rims. I am in eastern Canada and we can have lots of snow to little to no snow. Has anyone run 18's for winter tires? Good or bad? Any experience with the Pirelli's?

[bobblehead]

18 is fine. No issue. Just watch out those grand canyon size potholes.

Never had Pirelli. Had Michelin, Dunlop, Bridgestone in the past.

[muditrawat]

I started this thread and actually forgot about it (and for some reason did not get notifications on my email when new comments were posted). Now I'm looking more seriously into this and all the comments have been extremely helpful.

They do clear up the streets fast in Toronto but I know some of the backstreets near my house are a complete mess so I will probably end up getting winter tires just to be safe. Better be safe than sorry!

[muditrawat]

Based on all the responses I have decided to look for more information and pricing on Blizzak LM-60. I'm assuming I don't need Rim as I already have a 18" in the car.

1) Costco is offering the tires for $250/tire ($1,000 set + $60 for installation + provincial disposal fee + tax)
2) Tire Rack is charging $1,020 + $100 installation + fees + tax)
3) Tire track has the cheapest rate ($800 for the set) but I guess if I get these tires shipped here I would end up paying for duty and other charges at the border and won't really save anything

[bobblehead]

^ Yikes. You are going to swap out the tires on the same rims 2x a yr. That would probably end up doing lots of chips & may even bent the oem rims (if not done carefully).

[muditrawat]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

^ Yikes. You are going to swap out the tires on the same rims 2x a yr. That would probably end up doing lots of chips & may even bent the oem rims (if not done carefully).

That's a good point. As this is my first time ever doing this, I have no clue if I should get new rims or just use what I already have

[CHCCubs]

Originally Posted by muditrawat

That's a good point. As this is my first time ever doing this, I have no clue if I should get new rims or just use what I already have

I would definitely get a separate set of rims to use for winter. Since you have a 328i, I would suggest looking at 17's as they will fit fine and save you a little on the price of tires.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by muditrawat

I started this thread and actually forgot about it (and for some reason did not get notifications on my email when new comments were posted). Now I'm looking more seriously into this and all the comments have been extremely helpful.

They do clear up the streets fast in Toronto but I know some of the backstreets near my house are a complete mess so I will probably end up getting winter tires just to be safe. Better be safe than sorry!

Low temperature is one BIG reason to get winter tires....not just snow.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

^ Yikes. You are going to swap out the tires on the same rims 2x a yr. That would probably end up doing lots of chips & may even bent the oem rims (if not done carefully).

lots of people do that every year. No chance of bending a wheel and zero chips. Stretches tires but did that on my Wifes car for a few years without any problem.

[bobblehead]

All it takes is one monkey high schooler/young kid doing the change and the rest is history. Well, just speaking from personal experience many, many years ago.

Just to add that there are still shops out there using old changer machine and steel pry bars to get the tires in/out of the wheels. Unlike the dealers and high volume shops, such as Simply Tire, Tires23 use the latest state of the art touchless tire changer.

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

All it takes is one monkey high schooler/young kid doing the change and the rest is history. Well, just speaking from personal experience many, many years ago.

Just to add that there are still shops out there using old changer machine and steel pry bars to get the tires in/out of the wheels. Unlike the dealers and high volume shops, such as Simply Tire, Tires23 use the latest state of the art touchless tire changer.

Too funny. Just go to a reputable tire shop. Simple.

[Hut]

I have a 328i X-Drive with Sport Package (225/45R18) on a 4 years lease.

Thinking just to pick up Snow Tires only and swap out the OEM rims for each season.

Is there any issue for frequent swaps? Especially with Run-Flat tires?

[bobblehead]

this was at tiremag (Langstaff/Keele). The monkey chewed up my brand new wheel pretty good. I complained to the owner and he declined his monkey did it ... well, cost me a few hundred $ to have the rims resurfaced and repainted.

Originally Posted by 335BOY

Too funny. Just go to a reputable tire shop. Simple.

[bobblehead]

cost a bit more to do the swap. Otherwise, look for a place that has a newer touchless tire changer and you should be fine. Call up a few well known shops to confirm.


Oh! hopefully, no monkey is going to do the job on yours.

Originally Posted by Hut

I have a 328i X-Drive with Sport Package (225/45R18) on a 4 years lease.

Thinking just to pick up Snow Tires only and swap out the OEM rims for each season.

Is there any issue for frequent swaps? Especially with Run-Flat tires?

[335BOY]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

this was at tiremag (Langstaff/Keele). The monkey chewed up my brand new wheel pretty good. I complained to the owner and he declined his monkey did it ... well, cost me a few hundred $ to have the rims resurfaced and repainted.

Thats too bad. I used to go there.

[muditrawat]

Thanks for all the replies. I think there are mixed opinions on different rims for different weather setup. I think the majority will agree that getting 2 sets of rims for winter and summer set up is the ideal way to go (and what I'm leaning towards) but if you are on a budget what are your options?

Let me ask a different question , if someone does not want to spend on different set of rims, what are the different places that are recommended to do that in GTA? Is Costco, TireDepot, etc.

[muditrawat]

Originally Posted by bobblehead

cost a bit more to do the swap. Otherwise, look for a place that has a newer touchless tire changer and you should be fine. Call up a few well known shops to confirm.


Oh! hopefully, no monkey is going to do the job on yours.

Thanks for sharing the video. Really helpful!

[bobblehead]

for example - 18" with RF

you will be paying $80-$90 per swap + HST vs if you have 2nd set on rims which would be around $20-$30 per swap (usually cash, no HST in many shops). Difference of $60 - $65 per swap * 2 = $120 - $130 per yr.

Vs

I believe a replica set of wheels would be around $500-600 a set (no tires)

therefore, it takes about 5 yrs to recoup your investment (replica set of wheels). If you are leasing for 4 yrs, then you will come out a bit ahead. However, if you don't have excess W&T warranty and the wheels are chipped upon returning the vehicle, BMWFS can always find a way to make you pay for the damage wheel(s).

http://joycitytires.com/
http://tires23.com/service.html#mount



http://www.jumpstartautoinc.com/?page_id=186

[muditrawat]

I decided to go visit the Etobicoke Costco to see what they offer:

Tire Price: $250/tire + $ 15.00/tire installation. From a pure price standpoint, this looks like a pretty decent deal (on par or a little under what I found online from other auto stores) (http://tires2.costco.ca/product.aspx...d-2f056c8f242f)

I wanted to get more information on their installation services which seems very reasonable for the price and what they offer: (http://tires2.costco.ca/CostcoAdvantage.aspx)

I asked the mechanic/sales person if they used automated machines or used tools to take out rims and replace the tires. His answer was that they use both. They have some machine that does part of the job and then they use tools to actually take the rim out. So if you want a complete machine based rim removal, costco is probably not the place to go. I wonder if they will put in new rims for you if you don't buy them from Costco.

I have started getting in touch with other auto stores too. Will update on services and prices once I get more info.

[UltimateB]

Originally Posted by muditrawat

Thanks for all the replies. I think there are mixed opinions on different rims for different weather setup. I think the majority will agree that getting 2 sets of rims for winter and summer set up is the ideal way to go (and what I'm leaning towards) but if you are on a budget what are your options?

Let me ask a different question , if someone does not want to spend on different set of rims, what are the different places that are recommended to do that in GTA? Is Costco, TireDepot, etc.

I split up the costs on mine. I do want my winters on a different set of rims but what I did was just get the tires now, and will be mounting them on my existing rims. I can then save up a bit and get the ones I really want for the summer, and put my all seasons on those when spring comes.

There was a group buy at a local Kal tire here so I got in on that. Check your local car forums. This deal was actually for Subaru owners but they gave it to me. Paid about $235 each for Nokian Hakka's. Another store quoted me $270

[Syscrusher]

Originally Posted by canbmw

^ sparkyg: may I ask where you tracked down a square set of 400M's? I haven't been able to find any. Are the LM60's RFT?

You can order these from any Canadian dealer. They will need to order them from Germany takes about two weeks.

[meeru]

These guys are very reliable and you can contact them for prices and its a pretty good deal. Link below:

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/simpl...014-a-1384548/