[Roki_014]

I live in Chicago and i have 403s and i just wanted to check if anyone from Chicago uses all seasons, i was thinking of selling summer performance tires and buying all seasons, what do you guys think? i really don't feel like dealing with winter tires and than switching them every winter and spring

[gerbs]

If you want the convenience, get all seasons.

It's not like there's curves/turns/valley roads, so having summer tires doesn't do much for you anyhow.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by gerbs

If you want the convenience, get all seasons.

It's not like there's curves/turns/valley roads, so having summer tires doesn't do much for you anyhow.

I love it.. a guy in L.A. giving winter tire advice

Chicago winters get cold... Remember winter tires aren't just about snow and ice. Tire compounds below get hard below 7 deg Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) to the point where it compromises braking and grip.

All season are a compromise period. They aren't great in winter no matter what anyone says anecdotally. Get a second set of rims and the swap takes minutes.

[Seagull]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

I love it.. a guy in L.A. giving winter tire advice

Chicago winters get cold... Remember winter tires aren't just about snow and ice. Tire compounds below get hard below 7 deg Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) to the point where it compromises braking and grip.

All season are a compromise period. They aren't great in winter no matter what anyone says anecdotally. Get a second set of rims and the swap takes minutes.

Haha

+1

If you care about traction over convenience.... also, was one of the reasons you bought it for the sporty feel? If so..... you know what you have to do!

[emtrey]

Originally Posted by Seagull

Haha

+1

If you care about traction over convenience.... also, was one of the reasons you bought it for the sporty feel? If so..... you know what you have to do!

I drove a 135i in Chicago for 3 years on a -1 snow tire setup. Not a problem, at all. Going to do the same with the 335. Not sure I would chance an all season setup for the "inconvenience" of changing tires/wheels

If had bought you car with all seasons, I would say try it--you can always buy snow tires but if you have performance tires on the car or ordered, that concept won't work.

[boltjames]

Originally Posted by Roki_014

I live in Chicago and i have 403s and i just wanted to check if anyone from Chicago uses all seasons, i was thinking of selling summer performance tires and buying all seasons, what do you guys think? i really don't feel like dealing with winter tires and than switching them every winter and spring

Sorry to break the bad news, but you need snow tires. You don't need XDrive, you don't need All Seasons + XDrive, you need snow tires.

Don't be lazy. Be safe.

BJ

[jtuds]

It's not really that inconvenient anyway....and isn't it fun to get to have 2 sets of rims? You get a different look to your car for part of the year....

[Roki_014]

Originally Posted by emtrey

I drove a 135i in Chicago for 3 years on a -1 snow tire setup. Not a problem, at all. Going to do the same with the 335. Not sure I would chance an all season setup for the "inconvenience" of changing tires/wheels

If had bought you car with all seasons, I would say try it--you can always buy snow tires but if you have performance tires on the car or ordered, that concept won't work.

hey so when do you put your snow tires and when do you take them off,( how many miles can you put on winter tires),
did you have summer performance tires on your 135 and how many miles did you get with them?
I checked on tirerack there is only 2 different tire brands for 19s

i have a feeling that when ppl think of Chicago they think it snows every day from November 1st until April lol its not that bad , they clean up streets the next day, and last year we had snow maybe 5 times

[gerbs]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

I love it.. a guy in L.A. giving winter tire advice

Chicago winters get cold... Remember winter tires aren't just about snow and ice. Tire compounds below get hard below 7 deg Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) to the point where it compromises braking and grip.

All season are a compromise period. They aren't great in winter no matter what anyone says anecdotally. Get a second set of rims and the swap takes minutes.

I lived in Chicago for over 20 years and have had various snow tires there including three sets of Blizzaks and a set of Nokian Hakkapilitta RSI.

The OP hinted at convenience, and it is a major pain in the ass to switch twice a year between summer/winter tires/rims (which I did twice every year.)

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by Roki_014

hey so when do you put your snow tires and when do you take them off,( how many miles can you put on winter tires),
did you have summer performance tires on your 135 and how many miles did you get with them?
I checked on tirerack there is only 2 different tire brands for 19s

i have a feeling that when ppl think of Chicago they think it snows every day from November 1st until April lol its not that bad , they clean up streets the next day, and last year we had snow maybe 5 times

Very similar to Toronto.

Again, it's not just about snow, it's about the temps too. Winter tires are a softer compound that maintain grip in the cold.

I usually get mine put on sometime in November (mid usually), and take them off in March or April depending on the forecast.

Mileage depends on the tires.. some wear better than others... I've stretched 3 seasons out of my last set, although by season 3 they don't work as well (again, depends on the tire).

You're always going to get the dude who says "I went the whole winter on drag radials, and I was fine"... whatever.... The grip with winters (even on dry cold roads) can mean the difference between hitting something, and not... sometimes only inches.

[emtrey]

Originally Posted by Roki_014

hey so when do you put your snow tires and when do you take them off,( how many miles can you put on winter tires),
did you have summer performance tires on your 135 and how many miles did you get with them?
I checked on tirerack there is only 2 different tire brands for 19s

i have a feeling that when ppl think of Chicago they think it snows every day from November 1st until April lol its not that bad , they clean up streets the next day, and last year we had snow maybe 5 times

I have Dunlop D3s went one size down to 205/50-17 and would advise if you get snows, get wheels, too and go to an 18 inch square setup.

My snows are fine. They look new. Tire life is much better than runflats. Going to use the same setup on the 335. Worst case--new wheels-- tires look great.

Had 30k miles on 135 at turn in. Probably 20-22K on those tires. There was plenty of rubber left at lease turn in. My car was already certifed for resale and does not look like they had to put on new tires.

You are right. It does not snow every day and they do usually do clean up quickly.

BUT--it does like to snow before our plow guy does our driveway and it has snowed when I am at work at night and have to drive home before the plows are out. Additionally, don't just THINK SNOW--summer tires are just as treacherous when its cold. If you live in Chicago, you know it does get cold--early and often.

Before I leased the 135, I had looked and lusted after the car but knew it would not be a good winter car. Then I saw a shiny new red one parked on the service deck and asked a service writer about it. He said--they are awesome--just get snow tires. I went right home and called Tire Rack. My guy said the 135 with snows would be better in bad weather than my current MINI with all seasons. I leased that 135 3 days later.

Never had a problem and my wife also felt perfectly comfortable with the red rocket on its snow tires.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by gerbs

I lived in Chicago for over 20 years and have had various snow tires there including three sets of Blizzaks and a set of Nokian Hakkapilitta RSI.

The OP hinted at convenience, and it is a major pain in the ass to switch twice a year between summer/winter tires/rims (which I did twice every year.)

Cool.. sounds like you have good winter experience..

Pain in the ass is relative. you can change a second set in 20 minutes by yourself, or have them stored at a dealer/tire place and have them do it for $40 and 30 minutes of your time. Hardly an inconvenience for the safety piece of mind you get.

[gerbs]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

Cool.. sounds like you have good winter experience..

Pain in the ass is relative. you can change a second set in 20 minutes by yourself, or have them stored at a dealer/tire place and have them do it for $40 and 30 minutes of your time. Hardly an inconvenience for the safety piece of mind you get.

I did it the "easy" way - the 20 minutes by myself, morning of the first snow way. Took them off around April/May depending on what the season ahead looked like.

Was still a pain in the ass.

Again, OP mentioned convenience. The convenient way is to get crappy all seasons and call it a day. They'll work fine in the summer, and fine in the winter.

The best way is to have a summer set of staggered 19s, with Michelin Pilot Super Sports, and then a side-set of square 18s, with the highest rated Blizzaks. Storage/money/time/space/etc. all comes into play here to determine relativity.

[bananachipz]

Originally Posted by gerbs

I did it the "easy" way - the 20 minutes by myself, morning of the first snow way. Took them off around April/May depending on what the season ahead looked like.

Was still a pain in the ass.

Again, OP mentioned convenience. The convenient way is to get crappy all seasons and call it a day. They'll work fine in the summer, and fine in the winter.

The best way is to have a summer set of staggered 19s, with Michelin Pilot Super Sports, and then a side-set of square 18s, with the highest rated Blizzaks. Storage/money/time/space/etc. all comes into play here to determine relativity.

Agreed on the last point. I disagree that all seasons work fine in the winter... the fact is they don't. They harden below 7 deg Celsius, and braking is severely compromised.

So the OP has to decide whether safety or a bit of money and 20 minutes is more important to him.

[jtuds]

So you guys recommend Blizzaks, eh? Not whatever snow tires the fancy pants Continental or Pirelli make? I remember my dad putting Blizzaks on our minivan back in the day...

[Maz335i]

I notice that no one talks about the tire brand: Michelin X Ice? Is there a reason for that?

I'm confused whether to go for the Michellin's or Blizzaks for the upcoming winter...and obviously 18" square setup (no risk taking for me!).

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by gerbs

The OP hinted at convenience, and it is a major pain in the ass to switch twice a year between summer/winter tires/rims (which I did twice every year.)

I concur with your assessment.

Any time I've opted to have Discount Tire (local BMW dealer is not option - what they charge for a swap amounts to highway robbery) swap out my summer wheels and tires for a winter set, they've managed to screw it up.

I have a staggered setup on my E90 335i M-Sport. When Discount Tire put my summer wheels and tires back on the car, they put the rears at the front.

A few miles down the road I thought to myself, something feels kind of off. I pulled over and sure enough, I had a reverse staggered setup.

They apologized. I gave them a second chance. Once again, when it was time to put the summer tires back on, they messed up. Somehow they managed to scratch up my paint and my summer wheels. In addition, they lost two of my BMW center caps.

Shortly after the second failure of Discount Tire, I put on Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season tires and haven't looked back.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Roki_014

I live in Chicago and i have 403s and i just wanted to check if anyone from Chicago uses all seasons, i was thinking of selling summer performance tires and buying all seasons, what do you guys think? i really don't feel like dealing with winter tires and than switching them every winter and spring

I'm here with ya.

My 335i Msport came with S001's. Nice tire, but of limited use for me.

I'm swapping to a set of Bridgestone RE970's or Conti DWS.
Had the DWS on the 135i year round, and I enjoyed them.
Make sure you get UHP all seasons and you won't give up too much against UHP summer tires.

These next gen RFT's are improved, but once I hit a few bigger bumps I was reminded again of why I don't like RFT's.
They are nice as long as the road is nice. But on bigger hits those RFT sidewalls can't hide their rugged/harsh construction.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

I love it.. a guy in L.A. giving winter tire advice

Chicago winters get cold... Remember winter tires aren't just about snow and ice. Tire compounds below get hard below 7 deg Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) to the point where it compromises braking and grip.

All season are a compromise period. They aren't great in winter no matter what anyone says anecdotally. Get a second set of rims and the swap takes minutes.

Does direct positive experience trump anecdote?
I say, yes.

For certain regions they are a great compromise.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by emtrey

I have Dunlop D3s went one size down to 205/50-17 and would advise if you get snows, get wheels, too and go to an 18 inch square setup.

My snows are fine. They look new. Tire life is much better than runflats. Going to use the same setup on the 335. Worst case--new wheels-- tires look great.

Had 30k miles on 135 at turn in. Probably 20-22K on those tires. There was plenty of rubber left at lease turn in. My car was already certifed for resale and does not look like they had to put on new tires.

You are right. It does not snow every day and they do usually do clean up quickly.

BUT--it does like to snow before our plow guy does our driveway and it has snowed when I am at work at night and have to drive home before the plows are out. Additionally, don't just THINK SNOW--summer tires are just as treacherous when its cold. If you live in Chicago, you know it does get cold--early and often.

Before I leased the 135, I had looked and lusted after the car but knew it would not be a good winter car. Then I saw a shiny new red one parked on the service deck and asked a service writer about it. He said--they are awesome--just get snow tires. I went right home and called Tire Rack. My guy said the 135 with snows would be better in bad weather than my current MINI with all seasons. I leased that 135 3 days later.

Never had a problem and my wife also felt perfectly comfortable with the red rocket on its snow tires.

Did you return you 135i with the OEM RFT's?

I put mine back on just a few days before I turned it in.
They only had about 3K miles on them. Look brand new.
I too had low miles for the year. Dealer bought the car from BMW, they wanted it for their lot.
It's in great shape. I'm sure they may make more on selling that car than they did on selling me my 335i.

[SPACEMANRICK]

Here in Vancouver, the average winter daily temperature is around 7 or 8 degrees celcius and the average overnight winter temperature is around 2 or 3 degrees celcius. In the past 3 years we probably had an average of only 2 or 3 days per year where there was actually snow on the road. We had a big dump of snow 4 years ago but that was definitely an exception for Vancouver.

Coming from owning a 2006 330i with snow tires to a 2008 335xi with all season tires, here in Vancouver I found it a greater compromise and sacrifice having the noisy, harsher, soft snow tires on for 4 months (November to February) when it rarely snowed and it often was above 10 degrees celcius during the day. Imagine how snow tires handle in sunny 10 degree or 12 degree celcius weather.....

Rain is more of an issue here in Vancouver and I prefer the added traction all year long with all wheel drive 12 months a year......Perhaps Vancouver is unique with it's wet, mild winters, with occasional snow but my next car on order is a 2013 335xdrive with all season tires.

[emtrey]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Did you return you 135i with the OEM RFT's?

I put mine back on just a few days before I turned it in.
They only had about 3K miles on them. Look brand new.
I too had low miles for the year. Dealer bought the car from BMW, they wanted it for their lot.
It's in great shape. I'm sure they may make more on selling that car than they did on selling me my 335i.

It did go back with original RFs.

Same here on 135..great shape and likely will be a profitable sale for them. They have it listed at $31,999. certified. (30,295 miles )