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      01-13-2013, 02:01 PM   #1
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Any Skiers/Snowboarders that drive RWD to the slopes ?

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I am curious, if so, how is the hill climbing on snow, ice, etc...?
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      01-13-2013, 02:37 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seis-speed
I am curious, if so, how is the hill climbing on snow, ice, etc...?
It's fine, just be sure to have winter tires installed. All-season tires are just ok (probably fine if roads are plowed or salted) and won't do any good if it gets especially icy.

Be mindful that some areas will require you to have chains as well.
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      01-13-2013, 02:41 PM   #3
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Just took my new 328i skiing this weekend. Didn't have any trouble going up an down hills during snowfall/rain. Had one incline/decline that had pretty much been packed into ice (about 1 foot of snow compacted from cars going over and over it, and temps in the 20s), my friends FWD Altima got stuck going uphill (since all the weight shifted away from the front wheels) but the 328i trucked through with minimal wheel spin.

I'm on 18'' Summer Performance Tires (ZPT option). Just take it careful and you'll be fine.
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      01-13-2013, 04:41 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi
Just took my new 328i skiing this weekend.

I'm on 18'' Summer Performance Tires (ZPT option). Just take it careful and you'll be fine.
Wow, on summer tires, good luck out there.
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      01-13-2013, 05:02 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by wdlv View Post
Wow, on summer tires, good luck out there.
Back already, no issues at all, never felt any loss of control or skidding. Then again, I wasn't exactly tearing it up out there. Just drive like a normal responsible person and no problems.
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      01-13-2013, 05:25 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
Just took my new 328i skiing this weekend. Didn't have any trouble going up an down hills during snowfall/rain. Had one incline/decline that had pretty much been packed into ice (about 1 foot of snow compacted from cars going over and over it, and temps in the 20s), my friends FWD Altima got stuck going uphill (since all the weight shifted away from the front wheels) but the 328i trucked through with minimal wheel spin.

I'm on 18'' Summer Performance Tires (ZPT option). Just take it careful and you'll be fine.
That is quite impressive. Just out of curiosity was this with normal DSC settings, or did you activate DTC?
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      01-13-2013, 07:15 PM   #7
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Didn't tweak anything. Drove the whole time in comfort mode. Remember, I didn't exactly drive onto a frozen lake, into a snowfield, or whatever. This was all on plowed/salted roads (though there was still fresh snow falling), driveways that weren't plowed/salted but had already been packed by numerous cars going over it, and the parking lots of ski slope.

I'm sure any ski/snowboard place will have paved/maintained roads leading to it, unless OP is going to some extreme area, in which case he really should have an SUV anyway.
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      01-13-2013, 07:41 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi
Just took my new 328i skiing this weekend. Didn't have any trouble going up an down hills during snowfall/rain. Had one incline/decline that had pretty much been packed into ice (about 1 foot of snow compacted from cars going over and over it, and temps in the 20s), my friends FWD Altima got stuck going uphill (since all the weight shifted away from the front wheels) but the 328i trucked through with minimal wheel spin.

I'm on 18'' Summer Performance Tires (ZPT option). Just take it careful and you'll be fine.
That's nuts. I was caught in heavy snowfall with summer tires on a RWD 335i and had to leave the car overnight. To anyone considering winter tires... You should already have them.
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      01-14-2013, 12:37 AM   #9
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Depends on the region, too. If it's flat where you live, it's less of a worry. In places that get wet snow, or get snow on warm roads that freezes immediately (I'm thinking of the northwest here), traction will be much more of an issue than somewhere that's really cold.

And summer tires get hard as a rock even *without* snow, so you shouldn't even be considering taking summer tires to the snow. In most areas, all seasons are okay, but I'd recommend a proper set of winter tires for a car like a BMW, so that you can have GOOD summer times for the summer -- all seasons are fairly bad at everything. I was once unable to back my Z3MC up a hill, in 40 degree weather, because my PS3s were too hard to get any grip. Totally dry.

That said, had my GF's Subaru up on the hill this weekend, in sub-zero temperatures, over 8k feet, on all seasons. Continental DWS, to be specific

Only reason I've had my eyes out for the F31 was to get an xDrive touring w/6MT which doesn't look like it'll ever happen... but if it did, you can bet I'd have proper winter tires and proper summer tires. I am simply not interested in ever putting chains on any car I own. (when it snows here, in certain conditions, you are required to run chains unless you have AWD.. such as this weekend).
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      01-14-2013, 07:05 AM   #10
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Driving to the Austrian Alps from Bavaria this weekend, I have Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 ZP Run Flats on 17 in wheels on my 335i. Little bit of snow and slush on the ground in the Black Forest this weekend was no problem, even on the tight windy roads. I'll post additions from the Austria trip. I plan on making it w/o chains. Been in the 20s for the last week, colder in the mountains.

Also, last year in my e36 with Continental winter tires, I drove to the mountains south of Garmisch with no issues, even with heavy snow and an inch or two on the ground. driven conservatively, I had no wheel spin, even on hard packed snow in parking lots, etc. I concur that it is all about the tires.
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      01-14-2013, 08:21 AM   #11
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We took the 328i to Keystone over Christmas. No issues at all on all-seasons.
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      01-14-2013, 08:41 AM   #12
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OP, if you are going to drive on snow with a rear wheel drive, GET SNOW TIRES!!!!
When you post on these forums, you will get all kind of crazy response. Some will even tell you they drove thru 5 feet of snow in racing tires with a RWD Driving in real snow is a bit different than telling a story on a forum.
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      01-14-2013, 09:49 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rconti View Post
That said, had my GF's Subaru up on the hill this weekend, in sub-zero temperatures, over 8k feet, on all seasons. Continental DWS, to be specific
Yup, my Subaru takes me everywhere on all-seasons. Anxiously waiting to compare to a 3-series RWD with snow tires...
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      01-14-2013, 10:01 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The X Men View Post
OP, if you are going to drive on snow with a rear wheel drive, GET SNOW TIRES!!!!
When you post on these forums, you will get all kind of crazy response. Some will even tell you they drove thru 5 feet of snow in racing tires with a RWD Driving in real snow is a bit different than telling a story on a forum.
^ This...

Just get winter tires and you'll be fine. I have a set in 18" with the Blizzaks LM60 and they've been great so far...
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      01-14-2013, 07:12 PM   #15
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WTF!? Driving in snow country with summer tires and he'll be "FINE!" Put down the crack pipe. I used to live in Vermont. I don't know where you went skiing but perhaps it was on Long Island in the summer time.

By the way, my pens is 18 inches long. Yes, I said this on the interweb, so it must be true.
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      01-14-2013, 07:19 PM   #16
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Actually I went to Killington in Vermont. So yeah. And last I checked, when I was there, I wasn't surrounded by SUVs and AWD cars. Plenty of RWD sedans on the road, most much older and without the nifty suspension of BMW. It's not like I'm telling him to go drive at 100mph down an un-plowed road uphill in a blizzard. Hell my friend's 2005 328i with 8 year old tires did fine.
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      01-14-2013, 10:25 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
Actually I went to Killington in Vermont. So yeah. And last I checked, when I was there, I wasn't surrounded by SUVs and AWD cars. Plenty of RWD sedans on the road, most much older and without the nifty suspension of BMW. It's not like I'm telling him to go drive at 100mph down an un-plowed road uphill in a blizzard. Hell my friend's 2005 328i with 8 year old tires did fine.
No offense, but that's, like, 1000 feet in elevation. I haven't been there, so I don't know how steep or dangerous the roads might be (eg maintenance or lack thereof, how stormy it can be/how much snow can fall between plow runs), but it's just not what I was thinking when someone was asking about taking a car up skiing.

It doesn't sound like that kind of terrain is particularly different from everyday roads in the snow belt / northeast during the winter. But again, I've never been there, so it might be much worse than I imagine.
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      01-14-2013, 10:46 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by rconti View Post
No offense, but that's, like, 1000 feet in elevation. I haven't been there, so I don't know how steep or dangerous the roads might be (eg maintenance or lack thereof, how stormy it can be/how much snow can fall between plow runs), but it's just not what I was thinking when someone was asking about taking a car up skiing.

It doesn't sound like that kind of terrain is particularly different from everyday roads in the snow belt / northeast during the winter. But again, I've never been there, so it might be much worse than I imagine.
That's what I was saying. OP just wants something to go skiing/snowboarding, aka a ski resort. Not driving in super weather.
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      01-15-2013, 08:43 AM   #19
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I drove home in the noreaster on my RWD 335 with the Goodyear summers. There was a few inch of slush and snow on the road and the car was surprisingly competent.

With that said, if I had to make any emergency maneuvers or stop short or tackle any incline from a standstill, it would have been disasterous.

You CAN drive on anything, but having the right equipment is going to help. Tirerack did some great comparisons between stopping distances on all seasons vs snow tires that should convince you pretty quickly why snow tires are important even if All seasons are "good enough"
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      01-15-2013, 11:20 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuyoi View Post
That's what I was saying. OP just wants something to go skiing/snowboarding, aka a ski resort. Not driving in super weather.
Sure, but depending on which ski resort OP is driving to, there may be severe conditions involved. We don't know because he didn't list a region.
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      01-18-2013, 12:14 AM   #21
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I have XDrive and I ski out west, really glad I had it, if I was not a skier, and specifically a powder hound, I would love to have RWD. I have had both and I think XDrive on steep declines is superior. I do think if you lived in a different area RWD would be just fine. I do agree about most MTN roads to resorts they are plowed, I really wish BMW would just put the sport suspension on XDrive as an option. Love the brand hate this decision.
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      01-18-2013, 08:39 AM   #22
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Spent the week of new year on the slopes at Alpe d'Huez in France. The station is at 1860m (6102 ft), and I had no problems with the RWD F30 with snow tires. This is stark contrast to my previous E90 with all seasons, which would just start slipping or even get stuck the moment you encountered any ice.
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