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[bimmer]

Hey guys/gals,

I had a bad experience today with my winter tires. It was actually my fault because I was speeding a little .
Story in short:
I was driving off the highway straight ramp (2 lanes) and someone in old camry from the left side cut-in my lane unexpectedly, so since we were the only 2 cars on the ramp at that time I took him from the left (I was going 90-100km/h). The ramp was coming to the intersection about 150m away with green light ahead. I accelerated a bit but light changed to yellow so I slammed the brakes and the car started to float from side to side (within the lane of course) with not much stopping power!
There was no way I could come to a stop from 90-100km/h within like 120-150m. I was lucky the guy in the pick up truck across saw everything and let me drive on yellow/red light before he made left turn. BTW, today we had very mild day, 8 degrees celsius, perfectly dry. I am on dunlop SP wintersport tires M3.

I still don't know what happened, I thought we have very good breaks. I know bimmer's have one of the best breaks in the business. Is this happened because of my winter tires? I don't remember my 162's setup having such a problem to stop. I know, I know I can't compare summer tires with winter tires but still I thought I could easily stop in that situation.
How far winter tires can be pushed on dry pavement? Ok, I am not taking about performance driving, just a little more sprinted driving (not like grandpa style).

I have to admit that before 330i I was driving 4-cylinder Accords and Passats so I was not driving aggressively

I guess I have to hold my horses until at least spring, but it is so hard not to "drive" this car! I just passed 2500km beak-in time.
I hope there is nothing wrong with my breaks.

EVERYBODY, DRIVE SAFELY!

[F30Toad]

Wow, doesn't sound fun, but at least the other guy was paying attention.

I have the Dunlop M3's as well and have had to stop quickly a couple of times without problem. They seem like very grippy tires to me and it seems your abs should have activated if you were sliding. Probably not up to the stopping distance of the summer rubber, but no where as bad as what your talking about. They are winter performance tires after all. Maybe a brake issue. You might want to test them in a safe open stretch of road to see if you can repeat it.

[Black325i]

Winter performance tires don't equal summer performance tires, or even all seasons. Just a fact. Drive safe, and trust me, when you put the summers on, you WILL know the difference.

[bimmer]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

Wow, doesn't sound fun, but at least the other guy was paying attention.

I have the Dunlop M3's as well and have had to stop quickly a couple of times without problem. They seem like very grippy tires to me and it seems your abs should have activated if you were sliding. Probably not up to the stopping distance of the summer rubber, but no where as bad as what your talking about. They are winter performance tires after all. Maybe a brake issue. You might want to test them in a safe open stretch of road to see if you can repeat it.

I felt abs kicked in but I was not stopping. I was only slowing down. It felt very weird. I had ton of confidence in my car before. Now, I have to be carefull. Maybe I was driving too fast. This car accelerates in a blink of an eye. I have to check breaks again on open road and see what happens.

[stressdoc]

If the abs was kicking in and you did not feel like you were going to go through the windshield, then something is wrong. Maybe there was oil or something on the surface. Definitely test your brakes again and if they seem weak then take your car in to the dealer to be checked.

[obLu]

Pavement rough or washboard from trucks stopping at that intersection a lot? If the pavements rough, and the tires are busy bouncing up and down stopping distances will be longer.

[Jaws]

How many km on your tires? New tires have a bit of a sheen to them that will wear off after a little while. Until then, they can be a little slick. I suspect it was a combination of the this and the condition of the road surface (some well worn roads can be slick).

[StewtheBassman]

If it was 8 C then your tires were also pretty squishy. AS or Performance tires start to lose their suppleness below 7C, and winter tires, as you know arevery soft above Zero.....I have felt this a bit with my Dunlop M3s in warm weather, fortunately never in a panic situation.

Glad you're okay, and yes, I will slow down!!

[ironic]

Originally Posted by bimmer

I felt abs kicked in but I was not stopping. I was only slowing down. It felt very weird. I had ton of confidence in my car before. Now, I have to be carefull. Maybe I was driving too fast. This car accelerates in a blink of an eye. I have to check breaks again on open road and see what happens.

well, it was a good wake up call, everone needs on of those now and then, becareful