Winter Preperation?

[Topshelf]

Hey guys, we had a little freak snow storm here on Monday that has me thinking about Winter. I made it home just fine with the stock Conti's, actually was impressed with how well they did, but I want to make sure I'm ready for the real deal. I already have a set of winter tires/rims, guess they would work better if I actually mounted them on the car. But I was curious about adding weight to the trunk. Do you guys throw any back there? Didn't know if a 50lb bag of stone over each wheel was helpful or just a waste of weight. What works best for you guys that have experience with the Z in the winter?

Oh, and how far can these Conti's go? It's just above freezing when I leave for work in the morning. So far they haven't slipped at all, but I don't want to find out the hard way that it's too cold for a Summer tire.

[Starscream]

you sure you have conti tires?

the car in your sig isn't an M, Only the Z4M's came factory shod with continentals,

yours should (if you haven't swapped tires) have come with Bridgestone RE050A RFT's

Originally Posted by Topshelf

Hey guys, we had a little freak snow storm here on Monday that has me thinking about Winter. I made it home just fine with the stock Conti's, actually was impressed with how well they did, but I want to make sure I'm ready for the real deal. I already have a set of winter tires/rims, guess they would work better if I actually mounted them on the car. But I was curious about adding weight to the trunk. Do you guys throw any back there? Didn't know if a 50lb bag of stone over each wheel was helpful or just a waste of weight. What works best for you guys that have experience with the Z in the winter?

Oh, and how far can these Conti's go? It's just above freezing when I leave for work in the morning. So far they haven't slipped at all, but I don't want to find out the hard way that it's too cold for a Summer tire.

[Topshelf]

Positive. Bought it used with 3k on it. Somewhere along the line Conti's were swapped in place of the RFT Stones I've heard nightmares about. Can't say I'm upset about it.

[reRESERVEDFX]

I just got myself a winter tires. Bridgestones, supposedly very good ones. I will have to take a look to tell u the model. Don't remember off the top of my head. You can always go to Home Depot for a bag or two of sand just in case. Winter tires are essential! I couldn't go up my driveway in my M5 the first winter I got it.

[Topshelf]

Yeah, I've got some Dunlop WinterSports sitting in the garage already. I had to install some winter tires on my C230 last year after a scary drive home and will never go through another winter without proper winter tires again. I just didn't know if extra weight was needed, and at what temp the Conti's become dangerous.

[Rick Hunter]

I have my Dunlop Wintersport M3's on the car during the winter. Amazing to say the least, and very competent in rainy climates like here in the PNW.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by Topshelf

Positive. Bought it used with 3k on it. Somewhere along the line Conti's were swapped in place of the RFT Stones I've heard nightmares about. Can't say I'm upset about it.

I would be,

The Contis are useless
I had more grip in my 06 3.0i with the Bridgestone RFT's,
Esp with (at the time) the M3's are shod with Michelin Pilot Sports its was such a handicap to give the Z4M's the Continentals,

Even though the Bridgestone were RFT's I prefered them to the Continentals

However I see a set of PS2's for me when these wear out

[Mikewarlover]

i went through last winter on a set of Bridgestone RFT and it was ok. The snow at worst was about 3-5 inches and it was extremely slippery in the unplowed snow but out on da road it was actually ok just have to drive carefully.

[Mikewarlover]

And my traction controll kept coming on but it helped a lot like seriously without the traction control i would be fucked.

[Topshelf]

I'm sure the Conti's aren't the best tire in the world, but for a daily driver I think they are just fine. When these are done I'm sure I'll look into other options, but there's more than enough grip for getting to work and around town. I'm just happy I don't have to deal with the rough ride quality of the rft's.

[Topshelf]

I drive 35 miles each way to/from work on highways and some very backroads. Extremely slippery is not an option.

[Mikewarlover]

I might go for winter depending on how the conti will cope with the local weather

[Topshelf]

You guys are killing me here.

I already have Dunlop Wintersport winter tires mounted and balanced on a set of rims in my garage. What I'm asking is how far into the cold season are these Conti's useful? And do I need to add weight in the trunk?

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by Topshelf

You guys are killing me here.

I already have Dunlop Wintersport winter tires mounted and balanced on a set of rims in my garage. What I'm asking is how far into the cold season are these Conti's useful? And do I need to add weight in the trunk?

When the daytime high is less than 7C (45F) you should put the winter tyres on, snow or not. For your locale (Allentown or thereabouts) it looks to be mid November until mid to late March.

With a car that is close to 50/50 weight balance, putting weight in the trunk will just lead to a higher probability of spinning (lots of trunk weight should make it handle like an old 911 ) and longer braking distances without appreciable extra traction. I don't use any extra weight in my Z4M and have plenty of traction with the winter tyres and M-diff.

[Mikewarlover]

seem like its always better to have winter tires but kinda wanna spend money on some mod...

[rc'Z]

Originally Posted by aerobod

When the daytime high is less than 7C (45F) you should put the winter tyres on, snow or not. For your locale (Allentown or thereabouts) it looks to be mid November until mid to late March.

With a car that is close to 50/50 weight balance, putting weight in the trunk will just lead to a higher probability of spinning (lots of trunk weight should make it handle like an old 911 ) and longer braking distances without appreciable extra traction. I don't use any extra weight in my Z4M and have plenty of traction with the winter tyres and M-diff.

+1 to a mistake with the extra weight in the trunk.

[Topshelf]

Originally Posted by aerobod

When the daytime high is less than 7C (45F) you should put the winter tyres on, snow or not. For your locale (Allentown or thereabouts) it looks to be mid November until mid to late March.

With a car that is close to 50/50 weight balance, putting weight in the trunk will just lead to a higher probability of spinning (lots of trunk weight should make it handle like an old 911 ) and longer braking distances without appreciable extra traction. I don't use any extra weight in my Z4M and have plenty of traction with the winter tyres and M-diff.

Thank You! That is exactly the information I was looking for! Just checked the 10 day and it looks like the high is going to be mid 50's to low 60's, so I have at least one more week to go. Though they were not calling for the snow we got on Monday. And leaving the sand out of the trunk is good news all around. Didn't want the extra weight back there on a daily basis if it wasn't needed.

[Spartiati]

I've never experienced problems simply due to the cold tempoeratures with summer tires (driven PS's PS2's and Conti's in cold weather down into the teens). They definately have less grip in colder weather but I wouldn't say they were unsafe they are still predictable. Now in the snow that's a different story. Completely unpredictable, it's suicide.