Winter Driving

[Josh323I]

I bought my 323I about 3 months ago and we are now going into winter. I've never owned a rear wheel drive car before and I am a little concerned as to how well it will handle in the snow and ice. The tires currently on the car are the rain type tires. I need some feedback on how my car will handle this winter. Experiences welcomed

[NMMR]

Hi Josh, Welcome to the board.

I would stress one thing.. SNOW TIRES!!!

[ianscrawford]

Your best bet will be to go to a snowy parking lot the first snow you get to get a feel for yourself what the car will do! Try some donuts and controlling a "drift" steering the car with the throttle while countersteering with the steering wheel. There is really no better teacher for this than experience!

[RabidChimp]

Howdy
Snow tires for sure especially in Spokane. BMWs are not bad in inclement weather. You do have to be careful and take things slow.

You already have a passive traction control system in place DSC.

If need be possibly get some spider spikes or chains.

[Josh323I]

Thank You for the welcome and the responses. I will definately check into some snow tires.

[NMMR]

things i found difficult was backing up an incline, i could not get out of my driveway!

if you are in mid turn, just take it nice and easy, if you floor it the back is going to swing out (sometimes even with trac control on!)

but i made it thru some nasty storms with just a LSD in my e30, only thing was that when you take off from a stop, you are sideways for the first 40 feet or so lol.

but i mean unless you live in the boonies that never gets plowed, its not that much different thanks to the dsc


i had a 84 continental that was RWD with no form of trac control, my god, if i even TOUCHED the gas pedal it would fish tail!

[mryakan]

Do some searches on this forum, this question gets asked a lot, but undoubtedly the most common answer is get a good set of snow tires, which is a good idea for any car being driven in snowy conditions.

[Takashi]

Do some searches on this forum, this question gets asked a lot, but undoubtedly the most common answer is get a good set of snow tires, which is a good idea for any car being driven in snowy conditions.

I second that comment. Snow tires will definitely help you out. Just play it safe the first few snow months to get a feel of the car. Another thing you can try is to go to an empty parking lot and figure out how the car handles. Make sure you try out DSC, DTC, and ALL OFF. Your car will respond very differently depend on which settings are enabled/disabled.

[E36BMW3series]

I want to get some snow tires so I can take my car out occasionally during the winter and have some winter fun, but I don't think I have the money to do it since I'm 17 and just bought a 15k car. Luckily my parents usually have an extra car I can drive to school, which is only 1.5 miles away.

[CirrusSR22]

Yep winter tires. After you buy the tires and there's some snow on the ground, go find an open parking lot and learn to drive in it. I've never driven anything with traction control or stability control, but learning how to react to an oversteer situation what you need to practice. It's quite simple with good winter tires. There's so much grip that as soon as you pull off the throttle it'll snap back into line.

[jibaholic101]

if you are really serious about it, you might take a performance driving class or drift class. they will make your driving better, and you will go out on the skidpad and they will teach you how to handle slides

[Alexandar]

depeneds on how long the vinter is there, like here in Iceland its really long and it pays of having snow tires instead of whole year tires, there is alot of difference between those. You get alot more traction from the snow tires but they ware much faster. and the stability control will probably save you couple of times. I think RWD is alot more fun then FWD in icey roads, but alot easier to get stuck on deep snow


You should probably get the whole year tries.. they cost less and ware alot slower then the snow.. (because there wont be snow every single day there.. duuh(well atleast I donk think there will be)

[mryakan]

Yeah forgot, one more tip for winter driving:
Snow shovel in the trunk. I've needed it a few times.

[dawgeatdawg]

I've winter driven my previous e30 for a few years, and I would pass stuck SUVs and crossovers all the time. snowtires do wonders

[mryakan]

I've winter driven my previous e30 for a few years, and I would pass stuck SUVs and crossovers all the time. snowtires do wonders
+1, but be careful, they still don't defy the laws of physics nor prevent the people around you from driving stupidly, so drive with extra caution and defensiveness when on snow.

[DinanS3]

I use general UHPs during maine winters and never really have a problem on snow 1-4". Any more than that and the truck gets used.

[NMMR]

I dont like when people say "I pass SUV's on the highway in my BMW during Blizzards because i know how to drive"

Perhaps the SUV is going slow because he it driving safe, and you are pretending to be super drift king until yuo hit that tlephone pole.

[eye145]

I drove my e30 318 threw a few mid west winters with out problems.
Like stated before, Good tires are a must, I also kept a tube of sand and a steel garden shovel in the trunk.
Had to use the shovel once after a snow plow put a 2.5 foot snow / ice wall next to the spot I was parked in.
Once you get use to controling rear wheel drive in snow / rain, its all good.

[MIMI1]

I have driven through two NYC winters and lots of winter upstate driving

Blizzak

/thread

[E36 Polizei]

which brand/model would you guys recommand ??

[robmpulse]

WELCOME!!!!! WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU!

:buttrock

[Saphiro]

Snow tires really help. I drive a '90 525i in the midwest and have survived MANY blizzards and snowstorms. I have never gone in the ditch and have always made it to my destination. I really feel that, if driven with care, a BMW is as good as anything else on the road. I feel more comfortable in a rear wheel drive beemer than I do in any four wheel drive SUV.

[gettingthatflow]

snow tires for sure

[NMMR]

Blizzaks are great, the WS-50 are bad-ass. However they dont have the slush technology.