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      12-15-2014, 08:59 PM   #1
MRV99
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Why I use Snow Tires

There is always a healthy debate on All Seasons vs Snow/Summer setups. I have always said it is not the going which i care about, it is the stopping and control. Once again I have another perfect example on why I put winter/summers on all of my cars.

The temp was 35ish and it was light drizzle with the roads completely wet. I was approaching a stop light in the left hand turn lane (about 100 yrds to the light) when a Lexus SUV was turning onto the street from my left. The SUV was taking the corner at a speed which appeared to be a bit fast for my comfort. You could see the Lexus begin to slide a bit and by the time they could react they were past the point of ABS/traction control(plus the road surface) to straighten them out. If you have ever been in these situations, time seems to slow down, so I slammed on the brakes and the X5 w/ my Blizzak winters just dug in and stopped on a dime without any ABS lights blinking. The Lexus proceeded to continue to spin with their rear bumper crossing about 1 foot away from my front bumper before sliding past my car and smacking into the curb.

I can truly say that if it i had all seasons on my X5, I would be screaming about how my car was hit by an out of control Lexus driving too fast for conditions. The winter tires did exactly what they were supposed to do. Provide optimum tire performance based on winter conditions allowing me to stop shorter and avoid the accident. Every time I look at the X5 with my ugly 211 rims and skinny 255's(compared to the 336's summers), I just think how ugly the X5 would have looked with airbags deployed, front end smashed up and the possibility of injury to my family.

Just thought I would share.
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      12-15-2014, 10:54 PM   #2
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Great story. Thanks for sharing! I, too, am happy to have a dedicated winter set. I'm not crazy about how the replica 214s look with Pirelli Scorpion 275s all around, as the rears look a little stretched, and the rims are much more exposed to curb rash. However, the grip over the stock Bridgestone summers is pronounced, and the big snow hasn't even hit yet. My strong advice to those who deal with winter conditions and have the storage space is to 1. Get a dedicated winter setup 2. Buy a BMW jack and jack stand (used are cheapo-$65 and $20, respectively) and 3. buy a torque wrench, breaker bar and 17mm lug socket. You'll be set with great confidence going forward. I accomplished all, including balancing for the used tire/wheel set, for < $1200.

Last edited by Poppyboy; 12-15-2014 at 10:55 PM.. Reason: Typo
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      12-15-2014, 10:57 PM   #3
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+1, that is exactly what winter tires are for, it's the braking and ability to steer that makes all the difference. Especially on our heavy SUVs, it is very easy to understeer at corner entry when on icy surfaces with a bit of speed. Good winters is the only way to go and it even allows you to drive unreasonably fast when everyone else forgets how to even drive

If anyone needs a comparison, here is a must watch video
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      12-16-2014, 12:25 AM   #4
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Yep. Concur. However for some who don't get much winter precipitation the AS may be a viable option. Otherwise agree you can't go wrong with dedicated Winter tires.
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      12-16-2014, 08:50 AM   #5
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In Bavaria it used to be "recommended but not obligatory" to use winter tyres between Nov-Mar. However if you were involved in an accident and were not using winter tyres, you were considered to be partially responsible (by both police and insurance), regardless of the actual circumstances.

About 2 years ago it became compulsory to use winter tyres. All season are allowed, but not recommended.

Most people (myself included) have two sets of wheels/tyres and just take the car to the dealer in Nov/Mar to swap them over. The dealer stores the "unused" set until required. Most dealers charge a nominal fee for this, but some (mine for example) do it for free if you're a good regular customer. I usually combine it with a winter/spring check by the dealer.

Other people of course do it themselves, but then you need to somewhere to store the wheels/tyres you're not using. Yet other swap the tyres and keep the same wheels, but this is more of a pain.

The amount of snow we get here varies from a lot to none (depends on the year and how close you are to the mountains). Even when it does arrive, the local farmers are well organised to keep at least the major routes around town free of snow. But it's always cold here in the winter - minus 15C (5F) is not uncommon, and in those conditions the winter tyres are a huge help.

Having used them here, I personally would never be without them in future, in any location that gets below 5C (41F)
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      12-16-2014, 12:30 PM   #6
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Here's a great video of a RWD 3 series and a Subaru Forester.
http://jalopnik.com/heres-irrefutabl...hle-1671708207
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      12-16-2014, 01:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch808 View Post
Here's a great video of a RWD 3 series and a Subaru Forester.
http://jalopnik.com/heres-irrefutabl...hle-1671708207" rel="ugc" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://jalopnik.com/...1671708207</a>
I had a father from my daycare who was driving next to me for many miles ask me when we were picking up our kids. He proceeded to tell me how I dusted him at every light and was driving straight in my RWD car while he was in his 535xi and could barely get going and was all over the road. My simple response was winter tires vs all seasons
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      12-17-2014, 03:42 PM   #8
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In an area with regular snow, no argument that dedicated winter tires are needed.
Some part of the country (Pacific Northwest) are too warm for winter tires, yet too cold for summer tires.
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