e34's good on snow? tell me what you think

[NYJHL]

I might need a pair of Snow tires. I also need a spare tire for my trip
anyone have one

[blackonblack525]

I haven't had mine in snow much yet, but I've been on plenty of ice with it. I've got Blizzak tires on & with the traction control, I do a lot better getting away from an icy stop than some full size trucks and many other cars.
It snowed about two inches while I was at work the other night & I can't say that was an issue at all, but at the same time, all my years of driving in snow have been with a RWD car & "practice" can make a difference.

[SC David]

It seems that a lot of bimmer deaths have been caused by cold roadway conditions, and there are a few E34 casualties (the cars only, mind you) every year. I have no experience driving them in the snow, but from what I've seen on these boards you will have to exercise caution. Then again, the same holds true for every car. I don't think E34's are particularly bad, but they're not particularly good either.


EDIT: I forgot that I drove my car through some flurries the other week, and it was very stable :D

[4500 RPM]

I'm fine on my Falken all-seasons until we get about two inches on unplowed snow.

You just have to go REALLY slow on the interstates. Like, be in the right lane. Don't change lanes when there's slush between them either.

That's the rule of thumb when there are cars spun out in the median.

[mikeday1036]

I'm fine on my Falken all-seasons until we get about two inches on unplowed snow.

You just have to go REALLY slow on the interstates. Like, be in the right lane. Don't change lanes when there's slush between them either.

That's the rule of thumb when there are cars spun out in the median.


Ive had the same experience for the most part, ive never gotten stuck with my snows and i went to play in the 8 inches of snow we had a little while ago.

Definitely be very careful on the interstates. I was forced to change lanes when there was slush in between and ended up completely perpendicular going 50. not fun

[DuRWooD]

I got some good snow tires for sale, Don't know how much shipping would be to the states though
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=11972464#post11972464

[sfgearhead]

I might need a pair of Snow tires. I also need a spare tire for my trip
anyone have one

with snow tires, they are great (ABS, traction control, good weight distribution).

without snow tires, they can be tricky. 2 members have lost their cars to snowy roads in the last 2 months.

do you have all season tires, or summer tires? with all seasons you can get away with some snow if you go slow. with summer tires i wouldn't even touch snow, i've put a car in the ditch doing that.

[MMmmmpower]

Snow tires will make a huge difference.

I have blizzacks on my car and have never been stuck yet, and believe me it snows ALOT here

[jeckel30]

Get snow tires for sure. I have Hanook Icebears all around and we have been getting dumped on here in Utah this year. I have yet to get stuck and my car goes better in the snow than my 87 Montero.

[HausBimmer]

Your '95 should have traction control - this with snow tires makes for an excellent winter driver.

[Qsilver7]

Got 5 inches of fresh powder last night/early this morning...after snowblowing the driveway before leaving for work...backed down the drive out onto my unplowed street and drove down her without any problem. Traction control kicked in when I got to the corner that turns slightly up hill...the car turned the corner & went up the small hill without a hitch as if there was nothing but dry pavement...got to the main street at the entrance to the addition and there was about a foot high wall of snow/slush from the plow trucks...left myself a few feet of "running room" just in case I got high centered, then made sure no traffic was coming and the Touring went right thru it/over it...again with no trouble.

I have Michelin Arctic Alpin winter tires mounted...and I've NEVER had a problem driving in snow with them...and this is the 4th winter they've been thru. In fact, I parked my work 4x4 Ranger because it's tires were sliding too much when I came to stops...the Tourings Arctic Alpins have better stopping capabilities than the 4x4 truck's tires.

Nothing like the right tire for the conditions at hand. ;) It's not really the car that gives the problem...it's not having the appropriate tires for the conditions. As I've stated before...tires are like shoes for your car...you don't wear flip/flops to go hiking thru the mountains, nor do you wear house slippers to run track...football cleats on a ballerina is ridiculous, as well as mowing your lawn in 5" spiked high heels (though it would be funny for the neighbors to watch!) :rofl:

[pushpins]

Are you allowed to drive without snowtires in the winter (where there is snow ofcourse)? Theres a HUGE difference between winter and summertires.

The e34 works just fine in the snow. But if you dont got the right tires, i can understand why there is so many in the states who crashes their cars during the winter months.

Obviously you got to be more careful, but with wintertires there is really not that much of a difference. Take that from someone how drives in the snow all winter (4-5 months).. And with studded tires, it can be great fun too :D

[4500 RPM]

Your '95 should have traction control - this with snow tires makes for an excellent winter driver.

$995 option.

Most Southern cars, including mine, don't have ASC.

[Hanselhoff]

ive got 4 snows and winter rims..and NO ASC...hehehe

though the touring is heavy and a bit underpowered it still breaks loose on wet and even more so in the snow..ive had it sideways and she comes back again ...

to answer your question you should decide whether this car is worth getting 5 snow tires...you will have to spend some money to protect your larger investment...same idea as insurance..you wouldn't go on a trip without car insurance would you...that should answer your question

your going up to NY and im going down to NY....im bringing, washerfluid, oil, coolant, 2 shovels, emergency kit , a co pilot, water, regular spare, tire hole sealant,

[prash]

It snows here pretty regularly the last few years and although i won't drive try to drive through 2 feet of snow, i've been out with about a foot on the ground and i got around ok. I don't have t.c., just an lsd.. It was a little hairy at times

[EurotrashDew]

Here's what I found with my E34's and snow:

When I first moved here, it was Feb with plenty of snow. I bought a 520i that only had summer tires. I thought I could manage with spring just around the corner but quickly realized I couldn't. I pretty much feared for my life the 2 times I drove it in snow with the summers (I almost couldnt get of the driveway with them). I bought a set of winters on the 15 steelies, tires were much smaller, looked like ass, but the difference was night and day.

Last year I bought the 530i and went with the all seasons (235 45 17). So far, I am not real happy. We got a couple inches a few weeks back and the performance in the snow was not much, if any better than straight summers. Now when it snows, I just drive the grocery getter 316i with winters.

If you are going to be doing some extensive driving in snow, and like not getting towed out of the ditch, get some winters. Im also a firm believer that narrower, smaller diameter winters are much better than what you would normally run. It looks horrible, but if its your only ride Id do it in heartbeat.

Cheers

[flyeryan]

I don't drive my new E34 in the snow, and my old one had all season tires that were ok on the snow. However, with that car I only drove around town on plowed streets, and took it slowly. If I were going to be driving my new one on snow, I would definitely get good snow tires. My friend got some Blizzaks for his lincoln mark VIII (RWD, w/ TC) and the difference between snow tires and non in poor conditions is amazing. I highly recommend them, and if you keep your eye out you can pick them up cheaply.

[Erick]

Here's what I found with my E34's and snow:

When I first moved here, it was Feb with plenty of snow. I bought a 520i that only had summer tires. I thought I could manage with spring just around the corner but quickly realized I couldn't. I pretty much feared for my life the 2 times I drove it in snow with the summers (I almost couldnt get of the driveway with them). I bought a set of winters on the 15 steelies, tires were much smaller, looked like ass, but the difference was night and day.

Last year I bought the 530i and went with the all seasons (235 45 17). So far, I am not real happy. We got a couple inches a few weeks back and the performance in the snow was not much, if any better than straight summers. Now when it snows, I just drive the grocery getter 316i with winters.

If you are going to be doing some extensive driving in snow, and like not getting towed out of the ditch, get some winters. Im also a firm believer that narrower, smaller diameter winters are much better than what you would normally run. It looks horrible, but if its your only ride Id do it in heartbeat.

Cheers

I thought wider tires = better traction on snow due to higher surface area through thick snow, like walking through snow in regular shows or the webbed ones wher you don't sink and get grip to walk.

[Qsilver7]

I thought wider tires = better traction on snow due to higher surface area through thick snow, like walking through snow in regular shows or the webbed ones wher you don't sink and get grip to walk.

No, thinner tires are recommended for snow/winter tires. Wide winter tires would "float" on top of the snow instead of cutting thru it down to the surface where you can get better traction.

Now, if you're walking through snow, then yes, you want a wide surface to keep you on the surface of the snow which prevents your feet from sinking.

Winter tires require friction to stop and go thru snow/slush etc, so it needs to get down to the pavement...walking in snow is totally different...you wear yourself out having to lift your feet/legs back to the surface to move forward so in that case...you WANT to stay on top of the snow...DRIVING thru snow...you want the tires to be able to cut down thru the snow to the pavement. :)

[EurotrashDew]

I thought wider tires = better traction on snow due to higher surface area through thick snow, like walking through snow in regular shows or the webbed ones wher you don't sink and get grip to walk.

This is debated quite a bit in the 4X4 community too... wide vs. thin. I personally think thin is better in snow as I have tried both (I had wider winters on my e36). Snow shoes keep you on top of heavy snow while thinner shoes would permit your foot to sink through. More weight over the thinner tire surface allows the tire to "cut through" the snow as opposed to the wider "staying on top of it"


Dang... Qsilver beat me to the punch.

[Erick]

haha nice try Eurotrash :P I guess that makes sense ( had more of like 3 feet snow "don't want to sink into that in mind" haha)

[Russellc]

I believe tread depth is also critical for winter driving. I had 4 to 5/32 tread on high quality all-seasons and still suddenly lost traction on packed snow and had a fender bender. Rather surprised!

FYI, I believe Tirerack has a study of the impact of tread depth on rain performance.

[Binjammin]

I believe tread depth is also critical for winter driving. I had 4 to 5/32 tread on high quality all-seasons and still suddenly lost traction on packed snow and had a fender bender. Rather surprised!

FYI, I believe Tirerack has a study of the impact of tread depth on rain performance.


Link?

[HausBimmer]

$995 option.

Most Southern cars, including mine, don't have ASC.

I'm sitting on the Mason-Dixon line - and they all seem to have it around here - interesting. I know it wasn't standard until about '97, but even the '94 325is I had included the winter pkg.

Anyone know the difficulty of retrofit - or would the car need a BMW reprogram?

[pghmailman]

I have Blizzak's on mine and don't have a problem. Occasionally the rear will break out to the passenger side when going up a hill but the front is always pointing in the right direction. I think that the biggest thing for driving in the snow is watching out ahead for stops, minimizing any stops you need to make and maintaining a constant steady speed.
Peace

[Russellc]

Link?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=51

I think there are other Tirerack tread depth article.

[Redfive]

I made the mistake of buying wide snow tires for the rear wheels 255/40/17. While I have traction in <3" of snow, I get nearly stuck everytime I stop in deep snow (like at an intersection). As long as I keep the car moving I'm ok. The toughest part is getting the car moving. (and I just switched from AWD) But otherwise its great. The car is so much more predictable in the snow than a FWD or even some AWD cars. And with the LSD it turns very well. You just have to be comfortable with oversteer. Lots of oversteer. To the point where your technically drifting the car around a corner at 30-40mph with the ass out. I also think the car is fine on the highway. I've done over 60 in the snow on the highway.
I'm probably going to get an E46 330 as my next car, but I don't think I'll go for a xi, but rather a zhp. Because with the right snowtires, its so much fun driving an RWD the rest of the time, that the 4 days a year that I'm inconvenienced is not worth it. Particularly considering your gas mileage drops by 10-20% with AWD.

[dovstar]

Back when I lived in Toronto I used Pirelli Assymetrico's. I think that my summer tires would have got me about 50 feet before I would have slid into an intersection. Narrow tires focus the weight of the car into a narrower area giving you better contact. The winter tires also don't freeze up like summers do. I run all seasons now and don't know if I'd use them in the snow. I don't have to worry that much in Los Angeles.

What's shelf life of tires if you haven't been using them?

[Rebel635csi]

From all the cars i've owned so far....

with only two being FWD (Ford Tempo and a 1990 Civic) the rest were RWD, the E34 is the most docile and predictable car in snow...

mind u, i have full winter tires mounted on my 15" basketweaves and even in snow and slush, if i wanna have some fun i really have to push the car before it'll do anything.

and when it does step up its easily controlable...

i love it!!

the 5.0 i had?! oh man, if that thing steps out u got your hands full bringing it back in line...

the 740 Volvo turbo's i had were okay too....nowhere near as good as the e34

[BorisBLASTovski]

Michelin Pilot Alpin sport winters on mine (stock 15") and I've driven with those in most winter conditions that one could imagine. I don't think a front-wheel drive car has such a great advantage over an E34 in snow (at least my previous accord didn't) On the other hand, if I were running A/S or summers this time of year I'd probably wrapped it around a power pole - the rubber is just too hard to grip on ice with those tires, esp. when its really cold.

[J.Bimmer]

Yeah snow tires are a must. The first snow storm we had this year, I had my summer tires on and I went to pull out at in intersection going very slow and gentle and I ended up doing a full 180 landing my car in the oposite direction. Once I went down the road some more, i ended up fish tailing like crazy only going 25mph and went off the road into someone's driveway(luckily no damage done). The next day I put my studded snows on, no problems now.

[attack eagle]

with snow tires, they are great (ABS, traction control, good weight distribution).

without snow tires, they can be tricky. 2 members have lost their cars to snowy roads in the last 2 months.

do you have all season tires, or summer tires? with all seasons you can get away with some snow if you go slow. with summer tires i wouldn't even touch snow, i've put a car in the ditch doing that.
I was fine in the SNOW... it's when i hit the slush where other cars had driven 2 blocks away that it got nutty... so I turned around and went straight home.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/AttackEagle/100_1068.jpg