AZURES3 Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 I am loving every press of the start button of the BMW M235i but in the colder wet mornings it has to be treated like any RWD car with 330BHP. I live out in the sticks and new responsibilities now mean more European travel from Heathrow. One of my fears is getting stuck in the snow at one of our UK offices or somewhere like Heathrow after flying in late at night. Its a shame that the rear tyre size is limited to 1 winter tyre in the UK but the reviews are good and I will get 3 winters out of them before the car goes back April 2019. Spoken to several colleagues with BMW's who have advised that with winter tyres they were getting out of places the pretend 4WD Chelsea tractors were getting stuck on summer tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3Bangs Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Baffling!! Do those rear tyres really warrant that difference in price from the fronts? That's insane!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasdrury Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 I've just bought a set of Sotto Zero for the 3 series so hope they are good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 That's an insane price! It would cheaper to buy a second set of wheels in a more common size. Do 17s clear your front brakes? I just kitted out a new A3 with wheels and tyres for less than £822. Car runs factory 18" S line wheels, gone for 17" winter set up using OEM 17" Sport wheels. Second hand alloys with centre caps from a 2013 A3 were £275, one wheel slightly kerbed. Four brand new 227/45/17 V rating Nokians for a fraction over £400 Debated having the one wheel refurbished but didn't bother in the end. OEM set up with same size wheels and tyres as A3s run / as the winter wheel tyre size and pressure sticker in the fuel flap, zero insurance issues 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 14 minutes ago, S3Bangs said: Baffling!! Do those rear tyres really warrant that difference in price from the fronts? That's insane!! I agree its a nightmare difference but down to the size, I did consider putting 225/40/18 all round but not sure they will invalidate insurance or fit the wider rim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 (edited) I avoided those when I ordered a set of winter wheels and tyres (and never used them). I went for Nokian on the basis that the reviews were excellent and the difference in price was staggering (they came much higher up performance tests than any of the two Pirelli tyres I looked at). p.s. I opted for 17" wheels and tyres with the OEM TPMS kit and the full set of wheels and tyres still came in at less than your tyre only price! Edited October 14, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasdrury Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Don't think 17's will for for him - 18 or higher to fit over the blue m performance brakes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 3 hours ago, NewNiceMrMe said: I avoided those when I ordered a set of winter wheels and tyres (and never used them). I went for Nokian on the basis that the reviews were excellent and the difference in price was staggering (they came much higher up performance tests than any of the two Pirelli tyres I looked at). p.s. I opted for 17" wheels and tyres with the OEM TPMS kit and the full set of wheels and tyres still came in at less than your tyre only price! Agreed on the Nokians - they are excellent. The Nokian WR A3 and replacement WR A4 (no relation to Audi - these are just Nokians mode numbers) are ideal for big German saloons and estates in the UK because they have such grip on cold dry, damp and wet tarmac, and they are very square shouldered so are good in the corners*. Whilst they won't win a tyre test carried out on pure snow, for the grimey greasy wet road-salt-covered UK winter roads when it snows a few days a year, they are the absolutely perfect winter tyre imo. And they are still perfectly decent in the snow: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2012-Auto-Bild-Sports-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm Just a bit annoying the WR A4 hasn't been released in all sizes and speed ratings yet *well about as good in the corners as an understeery Audi ever can be!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max_b Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 I'm sure you can use the 225/40 18s all round. Have a look at the BMW winter wheel packages for the m135/235i and iirc they have the same sized tyres (225/40 18) all round, so insurance shouldn't be an issue. I quick look over on babybmw.net should confirm the details. The only issue you will have will be a little more rim exposure on the rear alloys with the 225 width tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 This. Or buy two more matching 'front' rims for the winter rear tyres. Trouble is I guess two M235i specific alloys will be rare and expensive second hand compared to a set of four generic BMW 18x7.5s / 18x8s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Are you mixing run-flat and non run-flats front/rear there, or is just a difference in the description due to character limitations I wonder? I either way I'd check...and I'd also be tempted to go with the same (cheaper) ones all round as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 In fact, for £50 more you can have a complete wheel/tyre set from: http://www.mrwinterwheels.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdiesel Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 I run 17" 380 style OEM winters with 205/50 conti 820p runflats. They fit over the brakes and provide superb grip in very cold conditions. Things are more interesting st warmer temps but good fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 My thoughts were that the Michelin Pilot SS is a great sticky tyre but we'll documented to be poor below 8 degrees and goes rock solid. I leave home at 7am and my route to work through the rural parts of Hampshire rolling hills, I am one of the first batch of cars on the road. I don't want a second set of wheels we have a second set for the wife cars already. It's an expensive option and yes all 4 would unfortunately be run flat but my thinking was that 90 of the time it will be damp and cold and the extra width in the back to match summer tyres will keep things more stable. If it then does snow I will not get stuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasdrury Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 43 minutes ago, jimdiesel said: I run 17" 380 style OEM winters with 205/50 conti 820p runflats. They fit over the brakes and provide superb grip in very cold conditions. Things are more interesting st warmer temps but good fun. Interesting! On the 3 we can't get 17" over the m perf 370mm brakes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 Wow the 245 rear ones have gone up now making all 4 £922. one trick seems to be to stick with 225/40 * 18 on the front but go for 235/40 * 18 on the rear to give you the staggered fitment to accommodate the slightly bigger rear rims. All 4 of the in the new Pirelli SotoZero 3 are £506 and not run flat either. i am concerned about any insurance issues though in the event of an accident. BMW fit 225/40* 18 all round but different wheels with all 4 being same as current width of the existing fonts and charging £1800 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) If I go for 225/40*18 & 245/40*18 there are loads of options for 4 they are £502 plus fitment and its the newer Pirelli model non runflat From what I can see the speedo will only be out by 2.7 MPH when stating 60 it will be 62.7 according to the sizing website. Which I am more than happy with. Does anyone see any issues with this approach such as insurance issues or issues with the slightly bigger sidewall ? Edited October 15, 2016 by AZURES3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 My only thought, and I'm no expert, is whether the change in rolling radius will have any effect on the traction / stability control and make it throw a wobbly? But I assume there's already a slight difference front/rear with the staggered set up anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 3 minutes ago, PeterS said: My only thought, and I'm no expert, is whether the change in rolling radius will have any effect on the traction / stability control and make it throw a wobbly? But I assume there's already a slight difference front/rear with the staggered set up anyway? Looking in more detail it does increase the size by nearly an inch ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 PeterS has actually shown a screenshot of the very site I used! MrWinterWheels. The prices appear to be slightly higher now but they still represent much better value than the other options being explored in my opinion. Here's something else for you - I bought my wheels and tyres last year and never got to use them. It was simply not warranted. I didn't have a single slip or loss of traction at any point last winter in the 5 series. That was doing a lot of miles all over the country too. If your mileage has reduced significantly (which I think you'd previously said it had), do you really think you need them? You may well be going through rolling parts of Hants at 7am but how often have you found yourself struggling on normal tyres? If you push a car hard or like the leisure-style driving that others do on here throughout winter, then I can understand it more. I leave home at 5am often throughout winter. Sometimes I'll be driving 300+ miles on an night and not getting in until after 11pm - and I can assure you that border of Northumberland/North Tyneside is a hell of lot colder at those times in winter than it is in Hants. Each to their own. I succumbed to a winter set up last year though as I've said and it was a total and utter waste of money. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 I'm sure my GT with 20" super low profile tyres will be fine come winter, maybe. They have been fine over the past 3 years but I can cope with not really needing to be somewhere and its not snowed enough to warrant changing anything. I expect now this winter will be the worst on record most likely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 The BMW forums recommend the following setup 225/40 *18 front as standard 235/40 * 18 rear compared to standard 245/35 * 18 Lots of options in this size and £525 fitted which is more acceptable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_C Posted October 15, 2016 Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 13 hours ago, AZURES3 said: I don't want a second set of wheels we have a second set for the wife cars already. Forgive the really stupid question. If you are buying four winter tyres, you'll always have to keep 'a' set of tyres somewhere when they are not being used. There is virtually no difference dimensions wise between four tyres, and four tyres on wheels. If anything, wheels and tyres are easier to store than tyres on their own - if you are stacking them, there is arguably less chance of them being compressed and deformed during the months they are sitting around doing nothing The cost of paying a garage twice a year to put the car on a ramp and swap the tyres over has to be factored in. £50 a time minimum? Way more if you went to a main dealer. Plus twice a year you've got to put four filthy dirty tyres straight off the car into your boot to get them home. For my current A4, I bought a used set of alloys for £100. And for my mums debaged hot hatch (well, lukewarm) we got a set of black steels for £30 each new. Her spare is steel, so we just bought another four of those. Comically stealthy! So the wheels on both cars paid for themselves within 12 months! The winter wheels I bought for the S4 in 'crying out for a refurb' condition cost £120 iirc, and cost £400 to refurb, and I sold them after four winters for £500. So I pretty much got my money back 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 16, 2016 Report Share Posted October 16, 2016 (edited) The above is one of the reasons, regardless of it ending up being a waste in my case, that I bought wheels and tyres. I also have a trolley jack now and a good wheel brace and torque wrench. I use the above for taking the wheels off the cars when I want to give them an annual deep clean and seal them. It has the added benefit of meaning I could, were I to buy another set of wheels, swap them over myself. Places like Mr Winter Wheels mean you can get that level of convenience very economically. I sold my set of brand new wheels and tyres (they never went on the car as the winter was so mild) for £50 less than I paid for them. I thought about keeping them but I wasn't sure if I'd have the 5 series a year on (as it happens, I do). If the winter does take a turn for the worse then I will probably put a set of Nokian tyres on MrsMe's car and use that. The FWD and the fact the car is heavy over the driving wheels is said to make it a good snow car. We shall see if that becomes the case, but I doubt it very much. Edited October 16, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted October 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2016 Never sure EBay is genuine article but suspect these could be sold afterwards for tallest £700 for the rims http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18-inch-winter-wheels-original-BMW-1-Series-F20-F21-2er-F22-F23-RSC-Styling-M436-/182307347530?hash=item2a725d5c4a:g:OdwAAOSw8gVX9qxg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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