[bimmerfan42]

Hi

Figured I'd introduce myself after a bit of lurking.
I'm in the Albany area - figured I'd say hi to the e9xers in the northeast.

Not new to the BMW community, had an e32 back in the day
Looking to buy an e90/91 in several months. Curious to know how many of you in the snowier climate have rwd vs xdrive on your daily.

Cheers

[bimmerfan42]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

Welcome - and while I certainly don't receive anywhere near the amount of snow you do in upstate NY, I do get a solid 60" or so here in the mountains each year and I daily drive my E93 RWD. I have a set of snow socks in the trunk, so in case I get stuck somewhere when it really starts coming down, I have the ability to get back home. Otherwise, if there is more than a couple inches on the ground, I just take the VW.

I think you will find most say that even the RWD cars will do fine in the snow, so long as you have a dedicated set of snow tires on.

YMMV.

Thanks for the input!

[vandywu]

I've got an e90 335 rwd that I daily up in Boston and take it on ski trips. Works great with a winter set on, but I do try to avoid super crazy snow storms but I haven't had problems so far going up to VT/NH/ME in snowy conditions

[Achappell8]

Welcome! I have a 2011 335i xDrive and run a set of blizzaks in the winter time. With this set up, I can't break free unless I try...

...which happens every time there's fresh snow on the ground

[b92]

Dedicated snow tires will get the job done most of the time, but if I needed to rely on my bimmer to get me through snow storms then I would get AWD.

[bimmerfan42]

Some good input here.
RWD seems like it'll work given proper snows, but the AWD is basically extra insurance against the weather.

Rear drive has the handling advantage over all wheel tho. Anyone here driven rear vs AWD back-to-back that can chime in?

Achappell - I agree. it's an unwritten rule to get a little sideways when it snows. Time to make the donuts!

[zero2sixtyZ]

Welcome.

I've driven both, and you can notice the weight a bit, but at the 3400+ lbs mark, this isn't a game changer. Plus, the front end grip can help get you out of corners a bit quicker than a stock RWD with open diff.

Unless you're a stickler for the lighter weight and utilizing M control arms / suspension, grab an AWD and utilize the new Xdelete app or whatever it is called. Can have the best of both worlds.

I have RWD and don't run in the snow, so I know barely anything about the app but I've heard good things.

[Torgus]

I owned both. Get the AWD unless it is a pure 'summer/good weather' car...or you plan to go high hp and or track it...even then AWD is nice and with the app, as mentioned by Zeead, you can make it rwd on command. Problem with E92s is you can't fit a big wide tire. I think the E90 is like the E91 and you can fit decently larger.

I had an E90 awd 6sp n54 w/ winters and it was unstoppable in the winter other than ground clearance.

My coworker is rwd 1 series with winters and 6sp and he does fine. He does claim the winters are key, which I believe. What is nice is if you run winters and summers they both last longer than usual as the summers are only on 2/3rds of the year tops.

BTW technically your regional forum is: https://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=48 Why this forum breaks it up this way is beyond me, Granted your state would not be in here(it does not matter at all welcome). This is what everyone else calls new england:

\

edit: Holy F that image is big.

[bimmerfan42]

Zero2Sixty & Torgus - thanks. Never heard of the xdelete app. Sounds like it's worth exploring.

I xposted this on the NY/CT/NJ board as well.
Albany isn't exactly tri-state, but not New England either
Im pretty close to the MA & VT border. Figured I'd get some info from members who gotta deal with snow on the regular.
Thanks for the welcome!

[b92]

Albany is more New England than Tri-State, at least climate & biome-wise

[martinm0]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan42

Hi

Figured I'd introduce myself after a bit of lurking.
I'm in the Albany area - figured I'd say hi to the e9xers in the northeast.

Not new to the BMW community, had an e32 back in the day
Looking to buy an e90/91 in several months. Curious to know how many of you in the snowier climate have rwd vs xdrive on your daily.

Cheers

On the plus side we now have xDelete to turn our xDrive cars into RWD so I’d go AWD for sure. I’m in VT and awd is really a must for me due to the long country driveway on my property. If I stop in deep snow the awd has no issue pulling me out unless I hang the car up on a snow pile.

[bimmerfan42]

Originally Posted by martinm0

On the plus side we now have xDelete to turn our xDrive cars into RWD so I'd go AWD for sure. I'm in VT and awd is really a must for me due to the long country driveway on my property. If I stop in deep snow the awd has no issue pulling me out unless I hang the car up on a snow pile.

Pretty much seems like the best of both worlds!
I don't mind the extra bit of weight for the xdrive if we have this flexibility

[martinm0]

Originally Posted by bimmerfan42

Pretty much seems like the best of both worlds!
I don't mind the extra bit of weight for the xdrive if we have this flexibility

Agreed! Although, I tried to connect my car to the xDelete app and it stated my car was unsupported. The vendor told me that my car's transfer case software must not be up to date, and that is the reason why the app won't work. Seems like a lot of fine print that isn't documented anywhere...

To the vendor's credit, they indicate that an upgrade option will be in the next release (and perhaps that was present until recently and maybe be the reason others have not had this issue).

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

I live in Canada and pretty sure I get more snow and I've been doing fine with RWD and snow tires. Plus my snow tires aren't even brand new.

I've driven with no plowed snow or plowed snow. The only times it's sketchy is freezing rain but even AWD wouldn't do that better I think.

Plus with AWD you have more issues and less working space.

[b92]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I live in Canada and pretty sure I get more snow and I've been doing fine with RWD and snow tires. Plus my snow tires aren't even brand new.

I've driven with no plowed snow or plowed snow. The only times it's sketchy is freezing rain but even AWD wouldn't do that better I think.

Plus with AWD you have more issues and less working space.

This is the New England section, go back to Canada or else we'll build another wall!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by b92

This is the New England section, go back to Canada or else we'll build another wall!