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      10-19-2014, 04:52 PM   #1
blacksquid
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Z4M Winter Tire Recommendation

Hi All,

My second wheel set for my Z4M Coupé arrived yesterday and I've ordered my TPMS for them. Now all I need are a set of tires and my winter setup will be complete.

I checked Tirerack and they only list one set of compatible tires, Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II Runflat. Is this because the OEM tires are runflats?

What other winter tires are recommended by the cognoscenti who frequent this forum?

Thanks!


John
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      10-19-2014, 06:41 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacksquid View Post
Hi All,

My second wheel set for my Z4M Coupé arrived yesterday and I've ordered my TPMS for them. Now all I need are a set of tires and my winter setup will be complete.

I checked Tirerack and they only list one set of compatible tires, Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II Runflat. Is this because the OEM tires are runflats?

What other winter tires are recommended by the cognoscenti who frequent this forum?

Thanks!


John
I don't know where you live so take this with a grain of salt.

I personally run Michelin IceXi3 Tires on my 128i...the Z4M gets stored for winter.

However, these are a full blown winter tire that is a very soft compound. If you see frequent temperatures above 45 and/or mostly rain/some minor snow these "might" be overkill.

In that case, I'd go more a performance snow oriented route.

PS - You might be seeing limited options because of the tire size.
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      10-20-2014, 07:21 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kgolf31 View Post
I don't know where you live so take this with a grain of salt.

I personally run Michelin IceXi3 Tires on my 128i...the Z4M gets stored for winter.

However, these are a full blown winter tire that is a very soft compound. If you see frequent temperatures above 45 and/or mostly rain/some minor snow these "might" be overkill.

In that case, I'd go more a performance snow oriented route.

PS - You might be seeing limited options because of the tire size.
Grain of salt taken

The Z4M is now my DD, but since I work predominantly from home, my commute is not that bad.

I live in NoVA just outside Washington, D.C. Our winter's don't generally start until late December and run through early March. So that's my planned winter interval.

Our Winters are generally mild with some periods of snow up to 8". Sometimes we get hammered. Given that, I think the Michelin IceXi3 would be overkill. As you and other's have mentioned, tire selection for the OE wheels is going to be the problem.


John
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      10-22-2014, 10:20 AM   #4
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I just had a nice chat session with the folks at TireRack. The rep suggested a narrower tire on the rear, 245 vs 255, and that really opens up the selection. Is running narrower tires on OEM wheel ok for my car? I was given three alternatives:

1. Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
2. Michelin X-Ice Xi3
3. Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D

The narrower rears will certainly help and I like the pricing.

Any comments on the tire choices and narrower width tires?
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      10-22-2014, 02:12 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacksquid View Post
I just had a nice chat session with the folks at TireRack. The rep suggested a narrower tire on the rear, 245 vs 255, and that really opens up the selection. Is running narrower tires on OEM wheel ok for my car? I was given three alternatives:

1. Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
2. Michelin X-Ice Xi3
3. Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D

The narrower rears will certainly help and I like the pricing.

Any comments on the tire choices and narrower width tires?
Have heard rave reviews on all those choices... most being for the Blizzaks.

For winter setups, taller+narrower tires are the way to go. It essentially "cuts" through snow, rain etc. This is why wider tire setups are more prone to hydroplaning, as the tire floats over the water (rather than cutting through it).
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      10-28-2014, 10:37 AM   #6
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After agonizing over this for a while, I decided to go with the following:

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
front: 225/45R18
rear: 245/40R18

I figured that I wouldn't need a hardcore Winter tire given the weather in the D.C. area. They're a little wider in the rear than recommended by BMW, but hey I'm a slave to aesthetics!

I've been buying from TireRack for years now so I ordered from them yesterday and they'll arrive later today. The $50 rebate + Winter Kit brings the cost to $820 delivered.

TireRack.com rocks!
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      10-28-2014, 12:17 PM   #7
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I have Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 in stock size on the stock rims and they are good in the terrible winters we have had up here in Ontario. However, now I store the car in the winter and the winter tire set doesn't see much action.
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      11-06-2014, 12:29 AM   #8
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I was facing the same issue when looking for a replacement for my worn LM-60s (rears ... the fronts can go another season). They don't make the LM-60s any more, so I could just replace the worn 255/40/18 with the LM-32s, but these are the options I'm considering instead (since I want all 4 to match)...

Blizzak LM-32 (on OEM wheels)

FR 18x8 with 235/45/18 - fits 7.5-9.0" rims - 26.34" overall diameter (0.32" or 1.2% bigger than stock, and bigger than rear)
RR 18x9 with 255/40/18 - fits 8.5-10.0" rims - 26.02" overall diameter (OEM size)

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 (on OEM wheels)

FR 18x8 with 245/40/18 - fits 8.0-9.5" rims - 25.7" overall diameter (0.32" or 1.2% smaller than stock)
RR 18x9 with 245/40/18 - fits 8.0-9.5" rims - 25.7" overall diameter (0.32" or 1.2% smaller than stock)

I haven't decided yet, but am leaning towards the PA4. I'll be glad to get rid of the LM-60s since they're great in the snow, but are a little scary on wet fall/spring days. The LM-32s are too new to have any TireRack reviews, so I don't know if they improve things, and the PA4s did really well in TireRack testing.

Yeah, I think it's the PA4s for me.
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      11-07-2014, 08:52 AM   #9
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It seems the prevailing wisdom is to go with skinnier tires. BMW recommends 225s on all 4 corners on the OEM wheels.
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      11-13-2014, 11:11 AM   #10
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@blacksquid agreed with the prevailing wisdom, but fortunately I can work from home when the roads are really bad, so I'm comfortable with the wider widths on a highly rated tire (the PA4).

That said, I wouldn't run a 225 tire on the 9" 224-style OEM rear wheels.

The F/R-225 setup you mentioned is intended to be paired with their 7.5" 164-style OEM wheels...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...77&hg=36&fg=15

Found this an option as well for the 224-series wheels...

Dunlop WinterSport 4D
F 225/45/18
R 245/40/18

... just tossing them in for reference in case others are still looking.
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      11-13-2014, 12:14 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyzipper View Post
@blacksquid agreed with the prevailing wisdom, but fortunately I can work from home when the roads are really bad, so I'm comfortable with the wider widths on a highly rated tire (the PA4).

That said, I wouldn't run a 225 tire on the 9" 224-style OEM rear wheels.

The F/R-225 setup you mentioned is intended to be paired with their 7.5" 164-style OEM wheels...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...77&hg=36&fg=15

Found this an option as well for the 224-series wheels...

Dunlop WinterSport 4D
F 225/45/18
R 245/40/18

... just tossing them in for reference in case others are still looking.
Does 245/40/18 work on stock rims for sure? Tirerack recommend 255/40/18. Pros/cons of 245 v 255?
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      11-13-2014, 01:58 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff View Post
Does 245/40/18 work on stock rims for sure? Tirerack recommend 255/40/18. Pros/cons of 245 v 255?
Tirerack will always recommend the stock sizes via their online tools.

Does 245/40/18 work in the wheel wells? Yes.

F-225/45/18 and R-255/40/18 are stock sizes; they're 26" in overall diameter.

The 245/40/18 size is 25.7" overall (on the Pilot Alpin PA4), so slightly smaller diameter than stock, in addition to being slightly narrower (in the rear) and wider (in the front). Rears are obviously no problem being smaller, and lots of people (myself included) run the 245/40/18 size a fronts, so they work there as well.

Does 245/40/18 work on the OEM 8x18 and 9x18 wheels? Yes.

The Pilot Alpin PA4 specs for their 245/40/18 allows for 8-9.5" wheels, so that size will work on the 8" fronts and the 9" rears

My experience is the 245 size on the 8" fronts will be a little sloppy (they were when I had 245/40/18 Michelin PSS on the 18x8 fronts, before I bought 18x9 replacements, but others may disagree). 245 on the 9" rears will work great.

I'm going with 245/40/18 all around in order to get a tire that's proven and highly rated. If that same tire was available in 225/45/18 and 255/40/18 sizes I'd go with those, but they're not available.

Blizzak LM-32 (F235/45/18 and R255/40/18) and Dunlop WinterSport 4D (F225/45/18 and R245/40/18) sizes are closer to stock, so those are options as well if you want a stagger. I'm not going with the LM-32 because I wasn't a huge fan of the LM-60s, and the 4Ds don't do as well as the PA4s in the tests I've seen.

This logic works for me, but your mileage may vary.
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      11-13-2014, 04:21 PM   #13
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Got it! I am geeting runflats so unfortunately stuck with only one option (Pirelli Sottozero from Tirerack), but will get the staggered setup you mentioned.
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      11-15-2014, 03:13 PM   #14
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If it matters any, I went with the following Pirelli Sottozero 3 from TireRack on OEM wheels:

245/40R18
225/45R18

So much for prevailing wisdom!
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