e36 in snow..

[AlexLovtsov]

Hello all,

I plan on taking my e36 up to crystal mountain ski resort late December with my buddy to go shred the slopes. Problem is i've never driven rwd in snow or manual in snow. I don't have snow tires or snow chains i do have all seasons with 90%+ tread on them. I want to invest in some chains if it makes any difference. I can't predict the weather conditions but i've driven up to crystal before in a fwd mini van with my family in tad bit icy conditions which was interesting. Getting up to the resort isn't too bad at all its pretty mellow until you get onto the main road that leads right to the resort which is a pretty good incline for 10 miles or so. I'm looking for any advice, tips, recommendations to ensure i can make it up as safe as possible without having to buy snow tires + rims.

Anything helps thanks!

[Bostongruen]

Find and utilize a shuttle service.

[RiPrete]

Do not drive without winter tires, at least. I own an E36 and I live in Central Alberta Canada, and we just had a snow storm. We got about 7cm (2.7 inches) of snow. I only can get around because of the winter tires and driving is basically like driving a Polaris RZR, or something similar, in a mud pit. You can barely move and you have to keep over steering and then counter steering. I would not recommend it at all, especially since you have never drove a RWD car in the snow. I’ve only ever driven RWD in snow, it’s how I learned to drive. I’m still sketched out on slight inclines.


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[ChuckDizzle]

Hello all,

I plan on taking my e36 up to crystal mountain ski resort late December with my buddy to go shred the slopes. Problem is i've never driven rwd in snow or manual in snow. I don't have snow tires or snow chains i do have all seasons with 90%+ tread on them. I want to invest in some chains if it makes any difference. I can't predict the weather conditions but i've driven up to crystal before in a fwd mini van with my family in tad bit icy conditions which was interesting. Getting up to the resort isn't too bad at all its pretty mellow until you get onto the main road that leads right to the resort which is a pretty good incline for 10 miles or so. I'm looking for any advice, tips, recommendations to ensure i can make it up as safe as possible without having to buy snow tires + rims.

Anything helps thanks!

I used to live out there, I wouldn't prefer to drive up to Crystal on all seasons with the e36. Especially if that will be your first time driving in snow conditions with RWD.

[pbonsalb]

I have always used dedicated snow tires, but live in NH and don’t know the area the OP will be driving in. I would not run all seasons in winter here on my E36M3. The OP mentioned chains and those would probably work if he ran them wherever he encountered snow. If he just planned to put them on if he had traction problems, that is taking a risk. He could be off the road or crashed by the time he realized traction was not good enough. And most chains are not meant for continuous use or high speeds.

[ChuckDizzle]

I know Mt. Baker pass will restrict cars without AWD and/or snow chains in certain conditions, Crystal might do the same so check ahead regardless. There are chain up areas on the shoulders at the pass so you have a safe place to do everything but driving on chains sucks with any car.

[AlexLovtsov]

I know Mt. Baker pass will restrict cars without AWD and/or snow chains in certain conditions, Crystal might do the same so check ahead regardless. There are chain up areas on the shoulders at the pass so you have a safe place to do everything but driving on chains sucks with any car.

Crystal does the same thing. Will snow chains be effective in making sure i wont be sliding everywhere especially going up-hill?

[ChuckDizzle]

Crystal does the same thing. Will snow chains be effective in making sure i wont be sliding everywhere especially going up-hill?

I'm unsure as I've never used them. I will guarantee that they'll chew up your fender liners and cause a lot of frustration during install and such.

[Dan of Montana]

You will crash. Snow tires, you will be fine. No snows, you will crash. You might not die, but you will wish you did. Mostly because you will spend your ski weekend in the ditch while I spend my ski weekend skiing and laughing at the the person in the ditch who probably didn't have snow tires.

[bluptgm3]

An E36 with snow tires can do well, an E36 with snow tires and ASC+T can go just about anywhere in fresh dry snow, and an E36 with snow tires and LSD will go anywhere until the snow is deep enough that the front bumper lip becomes a plow.

Still can’t stop great, no car can.

Chains won’t fit an M3 unless you are running factory recommend 7X17 ET:41 Contour (36112227295) wheel and 205/50-17 winter tire.


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[marvinstockman]

The balance on the e36 is 50/50, and in normal/light snow you should be fine. Get a couple of 100 lbs bags of sand, and you can throw them in the trunk for extra traction. I would use bars of lead that I would borrow from work, as they take up less room. All that being said, with snow tires you should be fine, as long as the snow is not higher than the car's undercarriage.

[bluptgm3]

The balance on the e36 is 50/50, and in normal/light snow you should be fine.

This is very tire dependent, I have extreme summer tires and cannot get into my 6’ rise driveway in 2” of snow much less navigate any roads. With snow tires I go just about anywhere.
Here in Northwest the snow contains 3% more moisture than Rocky Mountain Powder and temperatures are closer to freezing so snow generally packs fast and gets icy.


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[hotdish]

I highly recommend getting snows and practicing driving in a snowy parking lot so you can get a feel for the car first to avoid spinning out and know what to do when it starts drifting.

I would use bars of lead that I would borrow from work, as they take up less room.

I used a 100lb plate that fit under the spare tire in one of my e30s and that seemed like the best solution.

[TostitoBandito]

It will do fine with winter/snow tires and a competent driver, but without them it will be dangerous. E36 M3's have been driven in winter rallies on snow/ice:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...nter_Rally.jpg

But yeah, I can tell you first hand that with summer or even all season tires you will be in a world of pain in any sort of substantial snow/slush/ice. Especially dealing with hills, starting/stopping, etc...

[jmo69]

I run Blizzaks on the rear of my coupe and can go anyplace, pushed plenty of snow with the bumper.

I would use bars of lead that I would borrow from work, as they take up less room.

The thing about lead bars is they become projectiles in the event of a crash. Been at this for 50+ years in large and small vehicles and tires are the key. My new AWD will stay in the garage if it snows a lot because the older one has new snows and the new one doesn't.


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[AlexLovtsov]

You will crash. Snow tires, you will be fine. No snows, you will crash. You might not die, but you will wish you did. Mostly because you will spend your ski weekend in the ditch while I spend my ski weekend skiing and laughing at the the person in the ditch who probably didn't have snow tires.

Sickkkkkkk i'm gonna send it anyways. Joking; i'm getting more no's than yea's so i will stick to snow drifting in the walmart parking lots around my town. Still wondering how i ever got my moms van up there even in icy conditions.

- - - Updated - - -

Appreciate all the responses, looks like i'll hold out on that trip until i can find better transportation.

[Bostongruen]

Last call for the $40 Crystal Mountain Shuttle Service.

[notMpowered]

If you really care about going skiing, just get a set of winters. You will be happy you did in the long run.
IMG_3199 by Chris West, on Flickr

[flyfishvt]

I lived in New England for more than ,60 years. Lived in northern New England for 40. I've owned lots of e36s and driven in heavy snow on a regular basis. The only car I would consider driving in winter with all seasons is a FWD car. Even then I wouldn't venture too far from home in a storm. With decent snows you can go just about anywhere in an e36. The only issue I ever had was downshifting my 5 speed while I was going downhill in snow covered roads. If you let the clutch out too fast the tail lights quickly become hesd lights. So let's just say that a driver that has very little experience in snow should not be driving mountain passes to learn on.

[orthm]

With Blizzaks, limited slip diff, full tank of gas and some extra weight in the trunk, I can go pretty much anywhere I want. The main restriction is snow depth. Once past 6 inches or so, it starts to go into snow plow mode, which it isn't very good at. "All season" tires pretty much suck in snow unless you have ones that are new and have be designed more for wet/snow use vs dry traction.

[Les Oltmann]

Get studless snow tires, all seasons wont cut it for heavy snow.

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[pizzaman09]

I have all seasons on my project e36 and have run it around a bit in the snow, I wouldn't recommend it. I have also tried some very good brand new all seasons on my FWD Oldsmobile in the snow, and it isn't great. With dedicated modern snow tires, I approximate that it has 4x the traction.

I daily drove an e39 M5 through 3 Erie, PA snowbelt winters with no issue. The rwd isn't a hindrance, the tires are the key.

[bimmshift]

This is my 4th New England winter with an E36. When I was learning to drive, it was in my dad's old 93 325i. RWD, and in the snow. No traction control, just a factory 3.15 LSD. Oh boy you learn quickly.

If your plan on driving your E36 in the winter, dedicated snow tires are the first priority. That is your connection to the road. Its about the safety of others besides yourself too, if you lose control. Then you can get out and practice in parking lots and commercial/ warehouse side roads that are dead on the weekends. Turn off your traction control, and know when it cuts loose, learn lift off oversteer, etc. It's all about experience.

There aren't any shortcuts. Skip the chains. You need snow tires if you are driving in the snow and want it to perform right. I am currently running 225/45R17 Pirelli Sottozero 3 performance winter tires on my 96 M3, and I daily it. I ran 205/55 General Altimax Arctic 1, with studs, on my 325i with an LSD. That car was a beast in the snow.

I go skiing up at Cannon Mountain in NH almost every weekend. Snow tires are a must for me.