Snow tires for 330xi

[ClubSport332ti]

Is there any issue with 225/40/18 snow tires? Will 225/45/17 or 205/50/17 perform better in snow? I can't drop down to 16in because of brakes, and ugly factor

[samger2]

The more narrow you go the better. 205 will perform better than the 225 in the snow...either 225 that you mentioned should perform the same since they're both the same width.

[mryakan]

Don't go with the 18s and 40 profile, not much rubber to protect your wheels, trust me. 17s should be fine. For me, winter was always about function rather than form. 205s do ok, can't take corners fast in the cold/wet/snow anyway.

[mryakan]

Don't go with the 18s and 40 profile, not much rubber to protect your wheels on the bad winter roads, trust me. 17s should be fine. For me, winter was always about function rather than form. 205s do ok, can't take corners fast in the cold/wet/snow anyway.

[pbonsalb]

Squishier sidewalls help more in the snow. You want a soft and flexible tire. Narrower is also better (and this means bigger sidewall also). Thus 17s are better than 18s. If snow is not bad, you can compromise. I don't run hardcore snows on all my cars due to the miserable handling and jiggly ride. The best of the hardcore snows for handling and dry roads are Conti Extreme Winter Contact and Michelin X-Ice in my opinion. For my other cars, I go for performance snows that still handle OK on dry pavement, like Dunlop Wintersport 3D. Some people like Bridgestone LM25 as a performance snow but I have not tried them yet.