Yet Another Winter Wheel & Tire Thread

[CFisher]

Why not, right?! My eyes are just about glazed over trying to get this done. I'm slowly becoming way more knowledgeable about wheels/tires/stagger/spacing than I ever thought I wanted to be.

I'd like to stick to 20 inch sizing while staying aggressive. What else am I gonna need? I'm in suburban Chicago...it's slushy and wet and cold...not terribly deep snow mostly. Last year I barely had to shovel!

The 'rack setup:

BBS CH-R 20x9 front & rear (this is the lack of stagger everyone mentions?)
Sensors
Dunlop 3D 265/35R20 all around
Good so far?
The whole spacing thing...need/should have spacers?

[Poleposition]

I went with Pirelli Winter Sottozero 240's on the stock 20's. 255/35 on the fronts and 285/30 on the rears. As aggressive as you can be on the stock 20's. Not great for deep snow as you still have a wide rear but perfect for cold winter driving and the conditions you describe.

[thebishman]

I also have the Sottozeros in the 19" OEM sizing on the stock M5 wheels. They work great in up to 4-6" of snow. Where I live I don't need to go with a narrow tyre.
Bish

[CFisher]

Thanks guys - So...am I just off-base on the configuration I listed? Was thinking the BBS might give a different look from the 343's...just not sure 20x9 is kosher on the back...along w/the other q's.

I haven't found a great thread on picking up all this winter stagger/shim business...so was hoping someone could point me in the right direction on that in addition to the config I put down.

[DrewM5]

I am planning (as of now) on ordering my car with CP but I am also planning on aftermarket wheels (not decide which yet). I am struggling with ordering the car with the CP wheels and using them for my winter set up or opting for the 19" factory wheel. I would suspect the 19" is going to be a more practical choice for a winter wheel, but I hate to leave the $$$ paid for the CP wheel (as part of the package) on the table. Also, I have a truck that I drive when there is snow or we are expecting snow so the car only drives in the snow if I happen to be caught unaware. Thoughts?

[kANdO]

I just ordered a set of 20" Beyern Sparta wheels in Matte black w/TPMS for my MCB F10. I personally like the Bridgestone Blizzaks (have had good success with them in Canadian winters in the past) so ordered another set. You can see the wheels here: http://www.beyernwheels.com/BMW_whee...rn_spartan.php

I figure the matte black will give me a nice changeup for winter. I'll post pics if anyones interested when they arrive. Should be here in a couple week's time.

[uhn2000]

Originally Posted by kANdO

I just ordered a set of 20" Beyern Sparta wheels in Matte black w/TPMS for my MCB F10. I personally like the Bridgestone Blizzaks (have had good success with them in Canadian winters in the past) so ordered another set. You can see the wheels here: http://www.beyernwheels.com/BMW_whee...rn_spartan.php

I figure the matte black will give me a nice changeup for winter. I'll post pics if anyones interested when they arrive. Should be here in a couple week's time.

Nice, where did you buy the rims from?

[Keebeen]

How much and where did you get the rims from?

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by CFisher

Why not, right?! My eyes are just about glazed over trying to get this done. I'm slowly becoming way more knowledgeable about wheels/tires/stagger/spacing than I ever thought I wanted to be.

I'd like to stick to 20 inch sizing while staying aggressive. What else am I gonna need? I'm in suburban Chicago...it's slushy and wet and cold...not terribly deep snow mostly. Last year I barely had to shovel!

The 'rack setup:

BBS CH-R 20x9 front & rear (this is the lack of stagger everyone mentions?)
Sensors
Dunlop 3D 265/35R20 all around
Good so far?
The whole spacing thing...need/should have spacers?

This setup you mentioned should be fine. Just use a 10-15mm spacer in the rear depending how flush you want the rear wheels to look.

The benefit to using a square winter setup is you can rotate the tires and more than double their service life.

[kANdO]

Originally Posted by uhn2000

Nice, where did you buy the rims from?

Ordered them from Billy @ Tires23 in Mississauga. Always a good guy, I've bought about 4 sets of wheels/rims from him now.

[Rohardi]

In dry winter weather, how aggressive can you drive the with the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 240's on the stock 20's? Does the compound loose a lot of the stickiness of the PPS set up?

[thebishman]

Originally Posted by Rohardi

In dry winter weather, how aggressive can you drive the with the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 240's on the stock 20's? Does the compound loose a lot of the stickiness of the PPS set up?

The Sottozeros are a 'high performance' winter tyre so they handle far better than most others of that ilk, but they do not come close to the performance of the PSS'.
Bish

[kANdO]

Following up on this thread. Winter Wheels + Tires installed yesterday. Here's the setup:
20" Beyern Sparta w/ Bridgestone Blizzaks.

[Lual]

I need to order my winter set sooner than later,
Do you have any thoughts about
408M **255/40R19 with Pirelli sotozero
409M **255/35R20 with Dunlop wintersport
This is what is being offered here. A pitty I will need to store my CP wheels
Thanks

[kANdO]

Originally Posted by Lual

I need to order my winter set sooner than later,
Do you have any thoughts about
408M **255/40R19 with Pirelli sotozero
409M **255/35R20 with Dunlop wintersport
This is what is being offered here. A pitty I will need to store my CP wheels
Thanks

I did a square setup of 255/35R20 - due to all the issues i'm hearing around clearance w/19s.

Note: I went with the Beyern wheels because they're BMW specific wheels and are hub centric. e.g. I was able to reuse existing lugs, centre caps and no spacers or centring rings / anything annoying like that.

[Poleposition]

Originally Posted by Rohardi

In dry winter weather, how aggressive can you drive the with the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 240's on the stock 20's? Does the compound loose a lot of the stickiness of the PPS set up?

The sottozero's are probably the most aggressive winter tire I've had. That being said, they don't come close to a summer day on PSS's. They are the best alternative, IMO, for safe, aggressive cold weather driving. You wont be disappointed.

[Stuartlogan77]

Do throes with the 255/35 r20 all square setup not find the handling if the car gets significantly worse?

I have had my winters on with blizzaks for a week and I find the handling twitchy, significantly struggles with traction, and I've lost confidence when pushed.

I had pirellis on my old m3 and it drove as well albeight slightly less traction.

I'm wondering do you need spacers to push the tires out?

Thoughts?

Running the tires on oz from tirerack.

[Willie_Beamen69]

Just put the 408m wheels on.

[kANdO]

I definitely notice the handling isn't razor sharp like it is on the summer setup. The car has a TON of power, and I'm not planning on driving it hard through the snow, so I just drive it appropriately based on its setup. That being said, it handles quite well on the winters, and I don't find it twitchy. I do feel like it's not going to stick the corners on the winters now.. so it's sort of like driving a Benz now.

Originally Posted by Stuartlogan77

Do throes with the 255/35 r20 all square setup not find the handling if the car gets significantly worse?

I have had my winters on with blizzaks for a week and I find the handling twitchy, significantly struggles with traction, and I've lost confidence when pushed.

I had pirellis on my old m3 and it drove as well albeight slightly less traction.

I'm wondering do you need spacers to push the tires out?

Thoughts?

Running the tires on oz from tirerack.

[Stuartlogan77]

Wondering if it would get better with spacers.

Any thoughts? The thinner tires must be causing stability issues and assume pushing the wheels out with spacers would provide a greater degree of lateral stability? Would anyone recommend pushing them all out equally. Or push the rears out further to get the offset like standard wheels?

[kANdO]

I don't notice any stability issues whatsoever, the grip of the tires give out long before I expect anything that would be caused by the wheels being 5mm in vs. the summers.

However, from a looks perspective you may want to put spacers on the rears. The fronts are as wide as the OEM summer tires, but the rears are in a bit more. In my case, I prefer that as it will keep the tires from pulling crap up the side of the car in wintertime.

[thebishman]

Originally Posted by Stuartlogan77

Wondering if it would get better with spacers.

Any thoughts? The thinner tires must be causing stability issues and assume pushing the wheels out with spacers would provide a greater degree of lateral stability? Would anyone recommend pushing them all out equally. Or push the rears out further to get the offset like standard wheels?

The compound of the Blizzaks is not tuned for performance; rather for traction in winter conditions. You will always notice a marked decrease in the performance versus the Michelin PSS. I have Sottozeros in the OEM sizing on the OEM 19" wheels for winters, and even though the Pirellis are listed as a high performance winter tyre, they lag way behind the Michelins.
Also I don't think that spacers are going to help with the handling dynamics at all.
Bish