[creepy coupe]

I hope to be selling the car mid/late September all being well, don't want it sitting in the garage for four months depreciating

[FPO]

Originally Posted by doughboy

winter tyres are really called cold weather tyres as they make all cold, wet driving much safer not just snow and ice.

summer tyres aren't tested below 7 deg C.

i got my set last year on some 18" reps for under a 900 quid all brand new. they'll last 4 winters at least as there is virtually no wear from nov to march this year.

No, I completely agree that they would make some difference in rain and a lot of difference in snow. But unfortunately as we all know Englands winter weather isnt very consistent. If I recall it was about 13 odd degrees for the best part of November and December. Then January was a different story. Although don't the tyres overheat at speed at temperatures more than 7 deg C?
If I knew it was going to very cold and snow enough in the UK every year then its a no brainer.
Anyhow, Im just gonna hop into my old mans Toyota Amazon when things turn arctic!

[deano802]

Originally Posted by doughboy

I bought a set of rep MV3's, brand new £300. The finish is brilliant and the OE BMW centres fit perfectly. (8x8J ET34 all round so I can rotate the winters)

From www.wheelworx.net

Proving difficult!!! the OEM MV3's and the rep MV3's availible are all staggered 8J and 8.5J width which is the correct size for the E92 but the winter tyres are only made 8J!!

Then what is the correct offset for E92???

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by deano802

Proving difficult!!! the OEM MV3's and the rep MV3's availible are all staggered 8J and 8.5J width which is the correct size for the E92 but the winter tyres are only made 8J!!

Then what is the correct offset for E92???

The winter tyres are NOT only just for 8J wheels. Don't know where you got that info from. But a set of 225 section tyres can suit anything from a 7.5J to an 8.5J wheel (and a 9J wheel at a stretch)

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by FPO

No, I completely agree that they would make some difference in rain and a lot of difference in snow. But unfortunately as we all know Englands winter weather isnt very consistent. If I recall it was about 13 odd degrees for the best part of November and December. Then January was a different story. Although don't the tyres overheat at speed at temperatures more than 7 deg C?
If I knew it was going to very cold and snow enough in the UK every year then its a no brainer.
Anyhow, Im just gonna hop into my old mans Toyota Amazon when things turn arctic!

You'd be suprised what the long term average UK DAYTIME temps are:

Oct 11
Nov 7
Dec 4
Jan 3
Feb 4
Mar 7
Apr 9

So basically from clock change to clock change the daytime av temp is 7 or below in the UK. Rural and northern places (and at night) will be colder of course, whilst south east etc will be warmer

Last year it was much colder of course. Even in April this year I'd go to work and come home at 3 or 4 deg, but it might be 10 or 12 by lunchtime.

The winter tyres get a bit soft over say 10 or 12 degrees, but no worse than summer tyres that get hard & brittle and actually wear more quickly below 7 deg.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by deano802

Proving difficult!!! the OEM MV3's and the rep MV3's availible are all staggered 8J and 8.5J width which is the correct size for the E92 but the winter tyres are only made 8J!!

Then what is the correct offset for E92???

Most MV3 rep sets are NOT STAGGERED that's why they are cheap!! 8J all round.

I went for a non staggered winter setup as it had the following benefits:

1. all tyres the same so i can rotate as they wear.
2. cheap non staggered J wheels
3. 255/35/18 rear was tricky to get in a winter size (impossible last winter) . 225/40/18 is a really common and much cheaper size, shared with lots of hot hatches etc.

There is no winter handling penalty with the 30mm narrower rear.

If you get all four wheels at the FRONT standard MV3 offset i.e. ET34 then you'll be fine all round.

[deano802]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

The winter tyres are NOT only just for 8J wheels. Don't know where you got that info from. But a set of 225 section tyres can suit anything from a 7.5J to an 8.5J wheel (and a 9J wheel at a stretch)

Oh ok, sorry don't know to much about the complex world of wheels and tyres!!!

So i could get the staggered MV3's and put the Vredestein 225/40 R18 on all wheels??

Looking at the prices on ebay and a couple of other sites a new set of reps is anywhere from £430-£550, i think much better to get lightly used Oems for £400 + the tyres and fitting etc. call it a grand all in.

Not a huge price to pay for improved safety 6 months a year, will just be gutted when I have to take my 19" 313M's off!!!!

[deano802]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Most MV3 rep sets are NOT STAGGERED that's why they are cheap!! 8J all round.

I went for a non staggered winter setup as it had the following benefits:

1. all tyres the same so i can rotate as they wear.
2. cheap non staggered J wheels
3. 255/35/18 rear was tricky to get in a winter size (impossible last winter) . 225/40/18 is a really common and much cheaper size, shared with lots of hot hatches etc.

There is no winter handling penalty with the 30mm narrower rear.

If you get all four wheels at the FRONT standard MV3 offset i.e. ET34 then you'll be fine all round.

If you look on ebay now they are all staggered and not cheap, the non staggered ones are the wrong offset.

I'm very happy to buy the OEMS at £400 think it will be a safer option for me as long as I can still fit the 225/40/18 on the back as E92Fan says above.

Looked on the Vredestein site and they don't make a 225/35/18 in the wintrac extreme.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by deano802

If you look on ebay now they are all staggered and not cheap, the non staggered ones are the wrong offset.

I'm very happy to buy the OEMS at £400 think it will be a safer option for me as long as I can still fit the 225/40/18 on the back as E92Fan says above.

Looked on the Vredestein site and they don't make a 225/35/18 in the wintrac extreme.

225/35/18 is the wrong size anyway.

Should be 225/40/18 or 255/35/18 for the rears. If you are using a square setup (ie 8J all the way round) then stick to a 225/40 or 235/40 tyre (I think the Vreds are a 235/40/18 size)

If you are using a staggered setup, you have a choice - you can use 235/40 all the way round (which is what I would do) or you can use 235/40 on the front and 265/35 on the back.

[deano802]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

225/35/18 is the wrong size anyway.

Should be 225/40/18 or 255/35/18 for the rears. If you are using a square setup (ie 8J all the way round) then stick to a 225/40 or 235/40 tyre (I think the Vreds are a 235/40/18 size)

If you are using a staggered setup, you have a choice - you can use 235/40 all the way round (which is what I would do) or you can use 235/40 on the front and 265/35 on the back.

Thanks for all the info Starting to make sense now!

Here are the sizes the vreds come in;

265/35 R 18 97 W XL

225/40 R 18 92 W XL
235/40 R 18 95 W XL
245/40 R 18 97 W XL
255/40 R 18 99 W XL

225/45 R 18 95 V XL
235/45 R 18 98 V XL
245/45 R 18 100 V XL
255/45 R 18 103 V XL

50 235/50 R 18 101 V XL
60 225/60 R 18 100 H
225/60 R 18 104 V XL

[Em135eye]

Think I'll stick some on mine this winter. Already have the right wheels for it ;-)

[chris330D]

I have a spare set of 18" MV3s, staggered set up i.e. 8.5j + 8j and was going to buy 235/40 18 for all 4. Anyone done this before?

[deano802]

Originally Posted by chris330D

I have a spare set of 18" MV3s, staggered set up i.e. 8.5j + 8j and was going to buy 235/40 18 for all 4. Anyone done this before?

Thats what i'm gonna do as per E92fan's advice!!!

What tyres are you going to buy I think the Vredestein wintrac extremes look the best buy at £139 the the Michelins are the next ones up, couldn't tell you the difference though!!!

[wayne71]

I'm a bit confused, what do people mean by staggered set up and can you not simply get them fitted to your current wheels?

[deano802]

Originally Posted by wayne71

I'm a bit confused, what do people mean by staggered set up and can you not simply get them fitted to your current wheels?

You can but your current wheels are more than likely staggered, meaning the front could have a width of 8J or inches and the rears are 8.5J or inches depending on the exact wheels you have. What we're discussing is that you can stick the one size of the winter tyres on all wheels as they don't make every exact size in the winter tyres.

What wheels do you have?

Does that make sense? After today I'm almost an expert!!!

[chris330D]

Originally Posted by deano802

Thats what i'm gonna do as per E92fan's advice!!!

What tyres are you going to buy I think the Vredestein wintrac extremes look the best buy at £139 the the Michelins are the next ones up, couldn't tell you the difference though!!!

The Vreds look a good buy, have also been looking at Dunlops as they seem to be getting good reviews.

[pjs]

Originally Posted by doughboy

piece of crap in the snow with super wide summer slicks and 4wd won't help you stop.

my father in laws x5 wouldn't get of the drive in the snow. my 335 with winters on had no probs. in fact we picked them up when the x5 was stuck.

Surely an x5 is better than purely RWD. I'm tempted to get one for day to day driving anyway.

Luckily my wife has a 4x4 SUV that just laughed at the snow.

[Em135eye]

My inlaws X5 coped pretty well in the snow.

[wayne71]

Originally Posted by deano802

You can but your current wheels are more than likely staggered, meaning the front could have a width of 8J or inches and the rears are 8.5J or inches depending on the exact wheels you have. What we're discussing is that you can stick the one size of the winter tyres on all wheels as they don't make every exact size in the winter tyres.

What wheels do you have?

Does that make sense? After today I'm almost an expert!!!

Im not sure, they are just standard 18 inch wheels on an msport I think, I'll take a pic when I come back of my hols.

[m@rk]

I am sharing the view already posted here that if it is bad enough for me to need winter tyres, then whilst I will be fine on my winter set up, every other driver out there will be on normal tyres.

So maybe I will be able to stop and go, everybody else will be slipping and sliding around and probably end up hitting me anyway.

I think I will just stay at home

[ghosty]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

Think I'll stick some on mine this winter. Already have the right wheels for it ;-)

335diesel, what winter tyres you putting on yours? ive got the std 17" staggered setup as well and am looking into this for the coming winter..thanks!

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by deano802

If you look on ebay now they are all staggered and not cheap, the non staggered ones are the wrong offset.

I'm very happy to buy the OEMS at £400 think it will be a safer option for me as long as I can still fit the 225/40/18 on the back as E92Fan says above.

Looked on the Vredestein site and they don't make a 225/35/18 in the wintrac extreme.

You probably wouldn't want to fit front size 225/40/18 on an 8.5j, its too narrow a tyre.

Re offset, the non staggered ones should be ET34 (mine are) which is correct for 8J, this is the exact offset BMW would use for a sqaure setup on E9x. and mine were £300.

For an 8J rim you'd ideally want 225/40/18 to maintain the correct OE rolling radius all round, but you could go to 235 as Tony says of course with little difference.

Remember if you go 235 all round on staggered wheels then the fronts will look a bit bloated as they are over the OE size for 8J and the rears will be stretched as they are a bit narrow for 8.5J, it might look a bit odd.

Forget flee-bay, make a few phone calls in person to rep wheel suppliers to get what you want. I found they all had stock not shown on ebay.

From my experience last winter, the 225/40/18 winter tyre size was very readily available from several tyre places in several makes - even in the midst of the january freeze - that was the main reason to go square setup for me.

The vreds and most others were only available in 245 or 265/35/18 which meant going over or under OE sizes, and also those sizes were much harder to get, not being held in stock.

As winter tyres are not common in the UK it seems a good idea to use a size which is more easily available - imagine if you get a un-repairable winter tyre and they tell you you'll have to wait 9 months for a new one!