Is M5 good as daily driver?

[RealStig]

Originally Posted by DrewM5

You can get winter tires only (top of the line ones) for about $1200.

That I know, but you have to be mad to deal with getting those tires on and off from the BMW 20" wheels and balance them every time. It's such a major inconvenience and it costs a lot more too. You have to drive to a dealership every time and let them charge you $200-300 for all 4 set to be balanced and put on the car. Whereas if you had a separate set, you could swap them out yourself in 15 minutes and never pay a penny (and it's easier too).

The problem with a car like M5 is the smallest wheels you can put on are 19" and the smallest tires you can put on those will be 265 rears and 245 fronts. That setup is going to cost you over 3 grand and that's if you go with a crappy brand wheels. If you want nice looking wheels (BMW or non BMW), it will be over 4 grand. That's a lot of money to spend on tires that will be driven in salt and snow.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by RealStig

That I know, but you have to be mad to deal with getting those tires on and off from the BMW 20" wheels and balance them every time. It's such a major inconvenience and it costs a lot more too. You have to drive to a dealership every time and let them charge you $200-300 for all 4 set to be balanced and put on the car. Whereas if you had a separate set, you could swap them out yourself in 15 minutes and never pay a penny (and it's easier too).

The problem with a car like M5 is the smallest wheels you can put on are 19" and the smallest tires you can put on those will be 265 rears and 245 fronts. That setup is going to cost you over 3 grand and that's if you go with a crappy brand wheels. If you want nice looking wheels (BMW or non BMW), it will be over 4 grand. That's a lot of money to spend on tires that will be driven in salt and snow.

I use my OEM 19s fopr winter and hav 20s for summer, and you can go 255 all around, so they can be rotated after two season.

[DrewM5]

Originally Posted by RealStig

That I know, but you have to be mad to deal with getting those tires on and off from the BMW 20" wheels and balance them every time. It's such a major inconvenience and it costs a lot more too. You have to drive to a dealership every time and let them charge you $200-300 for all 4 set to be balanced and put on the car. Whereas if you had a separate set, you could swap them out yourself in 15 minutes and never pay a penny (and it's easier too).

The problem with a car like M5 is the smallest wheels you can put on are 19" and the smallest tires you can put on those will be 265 rears and 245 fronts. That setup is going to cost you over 3 grand and that's if you go with a crappy brand wheels. If you want nice looking wheels (BMW or non BMW), it will be over 4 grand. That's a lot of money to spend on tires that will be driven in salt and snow.

Truth be told, it will likely be much worse. For all the reasons you mentioned, I run two sets of wheels. I had the dealership mount my Sottos on the 601s prior to delivery. Now I am looking at the BBS Fi or the HRE P101s for summer wheels. So that is roughly $9-10K. Of course, since I now run winter tires 4 months out of the year which cost less and last longer than the summer rubber, I am enjoying cost savings on the "perishable" element of wheels/tires to offset the expense of the new wheels. In about 27.3 years, I will be even.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by DrewM5

Truth be told, it will likely be much worse. For all the reasons you mentioned, I run two sets of wheels. I had the dealership mount my Sottos on the 601s prior to delivery. Now I am looking at the BBS Fi or the HRE P101s for summer wheels. So that is roughly $9-10K. Of course, since I now run winter tires 4 months out of the year which cost less and last longer than the summer rubber, I am enjoying cost savings on the "perishable" element of wheels/tires to offset the expense of the new wheels. In about 27.3 years, I will be even.

Not to mention recouping about 50% of the cost on resale of the FIs - not counting tires. Those will be an easy sell.

[DrewM5]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

Not to mention recouping about 50% of the cost on resale of the FIs - not counting tires. Those will be an easy sell.

I think I am now in the black!!!!

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by DrewM5

I think I am now in the black!!!!

Big picture! Just order them!

[DrewM5]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

Big picture! Just order them!

Ok. But if some crazed woman shows up at your door with a bloody knife, that would be my wife.

I am getting ready to pull the trigger. I just need to decide whether I want to go with the BBS or the HRE P101. I also need to find a home for my 19' HRE P40s from my E60. I wish they would have for the F10; I would have loved to keep them as winter wheels.

[nal13]

I was in the same situation as you and opted for the 550 xdrive M sport instead. Its an absolutely amazing daily driver. Although not as fast as the M5 its still a rocket and will get you point A to B in the worst conditions. You still get 445 hp and 479 tq. Can't wait for the next M5 as it is rumored to be AWD!!!!!

[Actor]

Originally Posted by DrewM5

Ok. But if some crazed woman shows up at your door with a bloody knife, that would be my wife.

[Neil McRae]

Put winter tyres on the m5 and its as good as any SUV in the snow.

[Bluehorseshoe]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

I use my OEM 19s fopr winter and hav 20s for summer, and you can go 255 all around, so they can be rotated after two season.

Patrick, re your "OEM 19s," are they the 345Ms or the winter wheels sold by BMW? I didn't think it was possible to run square setup on the 345Ms unless you bought 4 fronts.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

Put winter tyres on the m5 and its as good as any SUV in the snow.

I wouldn't go that far. Winter tires should help it be a capable car in light snow, but you'd be a bit crazy to take it out in anything serious. I've driven RWD 3 series in the northeast for about 13 years, and even with snows they're nowhere near as capable as the xDrive I now have on the 5. And that said, xDrive seems like a toy compared to the Land Rovers I've had in the past... when they weren't in the shop being fixed, that is!

I essentially passed on the M5 as a DD due to the lack of xDrive. I think it would probably make an amazing DD in the southern parts of the US, but I can't imagine relying on it here in New England during the winter.

[Bimmerbum14]

I live i Chicago and my 2011 m5 was as good as any awd car with snows.... Not an issue at all.....

[Orich]

I have no issues driving in the snow, need good winter tires but that's all.
I quite like the M5 as daily driving and setting it to comfort on everything while in the city, and switch to sport+ on the high way.

[py0413]

I use mine as daily, in fact, even though I have not been completely healthy, I managed to put 27000km on it for the last 11 months. That's probably the second to to most mileage I ever put on a car in such short period of time.

Winter tire is your best investment if you need to deal with harsh weather condition. My local KALTIRE does seasonal swap for $100/4 corners.

[GarbageMan]

Snow tires, corrosive salt and other contributors to lack of car cleanliness and safety... With my OCD self, I'd have a coronary. God Blessed Texas.

[Dionysus]

Originally Posted by GarbageMan

Snow tires, corrosive salt and other contributors to lack of car cleanliness and safety... With my OCD self, I'd have a coronary. God Blessed Texas.

+1 on the OCD - I didn't bother getting winter wheels/tyre for the X5 due to grit/salt & increased risk of accident. Just grounded it (would have looked silly spinning the summer tyres anyway).

Have got away without winters on the M5 so far even with road temps in single figures (deg C) & daily rain for the last month of so (with some 1-2 sec WOT moments )...

[M5Rlz]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

I wouldn't go that far. Winter tires should help it be a capable car in light snow, but you'd be a bit crazy to take it out in anything serious. I've driven RWD 3 series in the northeast for about 13 years, and even with snows they're nowhere near as capable as the xDrive I now have on the 5. And that said, xDrive seems like a toy compared to the Land Rovers I've had in the past... when they weren't in the shop being fixed, that is!

I essentially passed on the M5 as a DD due to the lack of xDrive. I think it would probably make an amazing DD in the southern parts of the US, but I can't imagine relying on it here in New England during the winter.

Well duh those range rovers with snows are monster tanks

[MJones3]

SK7: I think you should ignore the people who slay the M5 as a bad DD because it can't handle cold, snowy conditions on SUMMER tires...

[Stash21]

Its an awesome dd