Snow chain questions for a newby

[jamboMR]

Hey guys

I've searched around and only seems to be threads on snow tires. I have normal summer tires on my car (Mich PS2) since I live in SF but I am doing a road trip February to Orlando and heading through Southern Utah, AZ and NM. I am doing my best to avoid snow at all costs, checking weather conditions in every city daily, and prepared to re-route my journey to avoid it. Ideally I dont want to hit snow at all, but want to be safe. Is it still worth keeping a set of chains in the car? It's a Z4M with standard 18s, do I need a special type for these wheels?

I've never driven in snow before so have absolutely no idea about any of this stuff, hence trying to avoid it as best I can.

I'll be flogging the car off in Orlando and picking up a 4x4 before we head up the east coast since it's pretty hard to avoid snow up that way. Just want to have one last epic journey in the Z

Thanks

[Dammmittt]

Check the the M supplement to the Z4 manual, there are only specific tire sizes that are recommended for chains.

Unless the road isn't plowed/salted you should be ok with winters. Unless the road is hard pack snow or you're driving in a blizzard you might want to avoid the chains.

[Rick Hunter]

Snow chains are generally not recommended for our cars. Even if you found one that wouldn't kill the wheel well, good luck trying to fit yer paws in to secure the chains.

[CJW2OO4]

for an old thread. I live in Boston and DD my Z4. I have a dedicated set of winter tires however, I was contemplating picking up snow chains in case I ever get stuck in a snow storm. Does anyone here have any personal experience with snow chains on their Z4? (BTW I have a Z4 3.0si with Z4M Winter Wheels and Tires)

[ebruder]

PS2's, like all other very high performance tires, are hazardous with even a very small amount of snow. They also degrade in performance very significantly even on dry roads in cold temperatures.

Last winter my dealer, in error, gave me a loaner that had high performance tires in the winter. I could barely control the car... I really mean barely.

Have a good "epic" trip, but you do have a tire quandry.

EB

[CJW2OO4]

Originally Posted by ebruder

PS2's, like all other very high performance tires, are hazardous with even a very small amount of snow. They also degrade in performance very significantly even on dry roads in cold temperatures.

Last winter my dealer, in error, gave me a loaner that had high performance tires in the winter. I could barely control the car... I really mean barely.

Have a good "epic" trip, but you do have a tire quandry.

EB

Yeah the Z4M wheels I have came with Blizzak LM22s the rears are 255 width though. I had an E46 325i with 225/45/17 Snow Proxes and those tires were unbelievable. I guess I concerned with the fact that the Z4 is so much smaller and weighs less than my E46.
I drove my e46 in a noreaster with 245/40/18 high performance summer tires I was sliding all of the 3 hour commute home.

[wildag]

dedicated snow tires are the way to go. I used them in the 36" snow fall DC got last year, and they were great.

No way snow chains will fit and not tear up the wheel well.

[CJW2OO4]

Originally Posted by wildag

dedicated snow tires are the way to go. I used them in the 36" snow fall DC got last year, and they were great.

No way snow chains will fit and not tear up the wheel well.

Thanks for your input. I read about special chains designed for low profle wheels. But if you said you did alright last winter with your tires I will probably be fine as well.

[RBull]

Forget about chains CWJ2004. Way overkill for the amount of snow anyone living in the US is going to experience other than a freak major storm, in which case you should be off the road anyhow. They'll also wreck whatever wheels/well you put them one. Dedicated snows is the way to go and easily handle your needs. You'll be limited more by clearance issues than lack of traction with snows.

[ebruder]

We got off topic from the OP's dilemma. He needs an answer for 1 trip, and buying 4 snows isn't a logic answer. I know that chains are not viable, but I also know that making his contemplated drive on PS2's is terribly risky.

Can anyone be more creative than me in thinking of an answer for him?

EB

[psygnosis]

we'll considering this thread is over a year old, I'm guessing the OP question has long since been addressed.

http://www.autosock.us/

[ebruder]

Originally Posted by psygnosis

we'll considering this thread is over a year old, I'm guessing the OP question has long since been addressed.

http://www.autosock.us/

Ack! I didn't look at the date. Dumb!

EVB