[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by johnung

You just got a few RWD biased guys to comment first. Most of what they said is nonsense.

+1. My xDrive with all seasons is better, by a wide margin, than every RWD or FWD with winters that I've owned going back to 1969. That period includes the twenty years that I managed a ski shop, where driving up a snow covered mountain road to get to work was a common occurrence, while taking a snow day off was not an option.

I never understood why people are concerned about performance driving in rain and snow everyone else is driving slower then as well and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?

That would seem logical, if the world wasn't heavily populated with idiots. But it is.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by im_an_alien

I'm not sure xdrive has any measurable advantage over rwd in the rain unless temps are near freezing...awd only helps you get going from a stop. Tires make a bigger difference..

Valid point. Regardless of the type of drivetrain, having proper tires for the environment and driving appropriately for the weather conditions will always rule the day unless conditions are truly out of hand.

As a kid growing up in Colorado in the 70's and 80's before everything was AWD, this was always evident when driving up to the ski resorts. The majority of the cars/trucks stuck in snow banks, wedged into ditches, or in a ditch with the rubber side up and luggage scattered all over the highway, were AWD or 4WD. People were overconfident in the abilities of the drive system and weren't driving appropriately for the conditions. People in very humble cars driving like they should kept going with no real issues. The State Patrol used to have a campaign that said, "Four wheel drive equals four wheel slide" to remind everyone what happens on slick/icy roads. When grip is low, no one has an advantage.

The only time the legions of Subarus on the roads there had an advantage was when the snow was really deep and you needed the AWD to push you through the snow.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

The majority of the cars/trucks stuck in snow banks, wedged into ditches, or in a ditch with the rubber side up and luggage scattered all over the highway, were AWD or 4WD

Like I said, idiots. After every snow storm you see legions of AWD SUVs sitting in in the median strips of New Hampshire interstates. They all share a common trait: out of state license plates.

[jmack]

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Like I said, idiots. After every snow storm you see legions of AWD SUVs sitting in in the median strips of New Hampshire interstates. They all share a common trait: out of state license plates.

Yep. Tourists were a big part of the problem in their rental SUV's then too. However, there was always a contingent of locals who felt their AWD cars or 4WD SUV/trucks exempted them from the laws of physics.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

RWD
I never understood why people are concerned about performance driving in rain and snow
everyone else is driving slower then as well
and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?
and they usually plow it within hours
just get yourself RWD, a set of good summer & snow tires, and drive safely in iffy weather

You are making a lot of assumptions that may not apply to everyone with different road and weather conditions in their areas. I have been in many driving situations since I got my xDrive where it performed much better and safer than if I had settled for the same model with RWD.

[M Smurf]

Originally Posted by johnung

You are making a lot of assumptions that may not apply to everyone with different road and weather conditions in their areas. I have been in many driving situations since I got my xDrive where it performed much better and safer than if I had settled for the same model with RWD.

I always struggle with this argument when AWD is useless when turning and most importantly, without question, when stopping.

But this debate will forever rage on...

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by johnung

You are making a lot of assumptions that may not apply to everyone with different road and weather conditions in their areas. I have been in many driving situations since I got my xDrive where it performed much better and safer than if I had settled for the same model with RWD.

what exactly is a lot of assumption? :

everyone else is driving slower then as well
and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?
and they usually plow it within hours

not exactly complicated..
the tires make the biggest diff

[johnung]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

what exactly is a lot of assumption? :

everyone else is driving slower then as well
and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?
and they usually plow it within hours

not exactly complicated..
the tires make the biggest diff

You are making assumptions based on your own experience. They do not apply to everyone. Put yourself in another's shoes.

Bad weather brings out nut jobs who freakin think they are indestructible so they drive faster and out of control for conditions.

People not want to go out in heavy snow but many many people do not have jobs or situations where they have the luxury to just decide to stay home. Imagine having a job where you won't get paid or you may even get fired if you don't go to work, regardless of weather conditions. Many people are in that situation.

Tires do make a big difference in many situations and conditions, but IMO xDrive clearly makes the biggest difference.

[vmaniqui]

I remember awhile back, I just had my Pathfinder and we got caught in a snow storm by Grapevine on the way to L.A. I don't even know how to use my 4 wheel drive so had to look at the manual and it says not to go over 35 mph. so here I am on a 4 wheeler @ 35mph driving ever so careful and sure enough there's this car that passed me by and going 65 mph, real fast. after a mile of driving I saw that same car in the middle of the freeway (by the divider) and his car facing me. so yah sometimes it's people's perception that it's just snow and their car will be OK.

[rooosh798]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

RWD
I never understood why people are concerned about performance driving in rain and snow
everyone else is driving slower then as well
and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?
and they usually plow it within hours
just get yourself RWD, a set of good summer & snow tires, and drive safely in iffy weather

insanecoder speaking straight facts here. Had the same xdrive vs rwd dilemma when finding my 340i in the summer. A good set of summer and winter tires combined with driving appropriately for the road conditions will go a long way with rwd. Xdrive will prob get you off the line quicker but who is tryna do hard launches in inclement weather. Also, the 704 m sport suspension or the adaptive m suspension on the RWD cars give it a much better ride height unlike the stock xdrive suspension that sits a little high imo. In short, don't rule out the rwd cars thinking that it will perform much worse than awd.

I live in the northeast and recently drove through a snow storm with my rwd f30 and was not an issue, took me 10 mins longer to get home but the car was just fine. This was with an inch or two of snow on the roads.

[WillLowe]

Get awd to use most of the time and purchase xdelete to swap to rwd when you want a bit more fun

[M Smurf]

Originally Posted by WillLowe

Get awd to use most of the time and purchase xdelete to swap to rwd when you want a bit more fun

Get RWD to use most of the time for a bit more fun and purchase tires when you want traction

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by M Smurf

Get RWD to use most of the time for a bit more fun and purchase tires when you want traction

This is my vote. My conditions have never been so bad RWD with snow tires can't safely and easily get me where I need to be.

I simply didn't like the way AWD BMW F3X platform drives. Something in the weight balance, steering and overall way the car behaved. I found the RWD platform a much more rewarding experience.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by johnung

You just got a few RWD biased guys to comment first. Most of what they said is nonsense. XDrive is the best AWD system that there is.

Stop thinking of xDrive as for the snow. Yes, it's great in the snow but it's incredible for handling every day of the year. It just blows RWD cars off the line every time. I've owned many brands of AWD cars and most are FWD oriented. BMW is RWD oriented. It's a drivers car. I've been out to Colorado and rented many different cars there. A 340i xDrive would be a blast there!

Forget that suspension chatter too. You can mod the suspension many different ways to get it just the way that you'd like for your needs and your roads. If you find a 340i xDrive then great! If you find one with the Adaptive struts and shocks, then even better! Let me know and I'd be happy to give you tips on suspension, steering, brakes, etc.

Good luck!

Well said by johnung.

By all means, try to drive both AWD and RWD 340i to appreciate the differences.

I've owned both AWD F30 and RWD F36 (current vehicle). BMW xDrive system provides outstanding traction in all weather conditions. If you are able to maintain two dedicated summer and winter wheels / tires sets - it's a winning combination.

If you do find an ideal 340i xDrive vehicle which meets your criteria, just get it. There aren't any valid reasons for automatically rejecting xDrive vehicle.

KW Street Comfort coilovers will transform the suspension behavior of your vehicle. If you are planning to upgrade the suspension later, avoid purchasing the vehicle with Adaptive M Suspension (aka EDC) option. KW Street Comfort coilovers (and all other non EDC coilovers) will not use EDC functionality. You will need EDC Delete module.

If you do find the vehicle with Adaptive M Suspension, it's worth exploring Dinan Shockware which will further tune EDC shocks. Comfort will behave more like Sport and Sport will be still stiffer and sportier.

[rjd_F30]

I'm probably not saying anything that hasn't been said, but here's my take after owning both an xDrive and RWD F30 (xDrive 8AT 328i and RWD 6MT 335i, respectively).

The snow stuff is a wash, to be honest with you. My RWD F30 with Sottozeros went through 3" of unplowed snow more than adequately. I'll admit that an xDrive car will accelerate better and be less likely to get stuck than a RWD car assuming equal tires, but it won't help you stop quickly which is really what you should be concerned with (if anything the extra weight will hurt you in stopping distance). It'll have a marginal benefit in handling (which being careful can mostly mitigate), but a RWD car is 90% of an xDrive car in the snow, again, assuming equal and appropriate tires.

Handling obviously goes to the RWD car, anyone that says otherwise is huffing paint. More engaging, rotates better, more fun, I could go on... Plus you can do some fun little RWD shenanigans (when safe to do so) that xDrive cars can't do.

Not to mention with RWD cars you don't have to worry about any xDrive components costing you in maintenance down the road: no transfer case fluid changes, no risk of breaking the transfer case, and no issues with front axles.

So if it's not clear already, I'm casting a vote in favor of RWD

[2000to18]

I've owned 3 AWD and 3 RWD BMW's and I've always run winter tires (I live in Wisconsin). When my job required me to drive a lot, the AWD and winter tire combination was great (better than RWD with winter tires in snow) but I always missed the handling crispness of the RWD cars. My last AWD was a 2016 435xi Gran Coupe which was far from a bad handler but still seemed unsettled in hard cornering and ramps. I now have a 2018 340i M-sport with adaptive suspension and really enjoy the step up in handling. I have performance winter tires (Continental Viking 7s) which are pretty good but not as good as severe service winter tires, like Blizzaks or the Nokians on my wife's car. The only annoying thing now is that it's easy for the rear wheels to lose traction when it's slippery, which has led me to seriously consider installing a limited slip differential. I'm told that that would also improve handling dynamics in good weather, too, although I'm never going to track the car.

[thatBimmerBloke]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

RWD
I never understood why people are concerned about performance driving in rain and snow
everyone else is driving slower then as well
and when heavy snow comes down, how often then do you really want or need to go out?
and they usually plow it within hours
just get yourself RWD, a set of good summer & snow tires, and drive safely in iffy weather

I drive a lot in snow, I enjoy driving in snow, xDrive with winter tires just makes the experience so much better, I love it. There have been numerous days when I had to drive in 3-6 inches of snow, could I have waited for the authorities to clear the road? Yes. Would I have missed some important appointments and remained stuck(sometimes for hours) wherever I was? Yes!

_DSC3343 by A A, on Flickr

[M Smurf]

For clarification, if there are still some left who have yet to hit 'unsubscribe' on this thread.

The debate seems to be, which of the two versions is more capable through winter conditions?

a) RWD set up with Winter tires or

b) xDrive setup with AS tires

What is statisically a fact is that MOST drivers, no matter the brand, who go with AWD WILL NOT change to winter tires.

BimmerBloke, you're a unicorn!

[johnung]

Originally Posted by M Smurf

For clarification, if there are still some left who have yet to hit 'unsubscribe' on this thread.

The debate seems to be, which of the two versions is more capable through winter conditions?

a) RWD set up with Winter tires or

b) xDrive setup with AS tires

What is statisically a fact is that MOST drivers, no matter the brand, who go with AWD WILL NOT change to winter tires.

BimmerBloke, you're a unicorn!

I've got an xDrive with a summer set of tires and a winter set of tires. Amazing no matter the season!

I bought summer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in the summer but when winter came around I couldn't bear to put the original runflats back on. So I bought winter tires. It's amazing to feel them soften and get more grippy as the temperature drops.

[anielsen71]

Originally Posted by M Smurf

For clarification, if there are still some left who have yet to hit 'unsubscribe' on this thread.

The debate seems to be, which of the two versions is more capable through winter conditions?

a) RWD set up with Winter tires or

b) xDrive setup with AS tires

What is statisically a fact is that MOST drivers, no matter the brand, who go with AWD WILL NOT change to winter tires.

BimmerBloke, you're a unicorn!

Then Im a unicorm too....😊

[Sigtran]

I also have a xDrive and a set of summer and winter tyres.

Regarding the debate question, AWD with premium AS tyres would probably drive off a bit better on snow, BUT for sure stopping distance with winter tyres would be better then with AS, so as driving safety is concerned winter tyres wins.

IMO, AS tyres make sense ONLY for regions where is not expected severe winter and prolonged snow period and if low yearly milage.