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[RMG]

Hi Guys,
I'm reading this forum on regular basis and I'm seeing a lot of contradictory opinions on winter tires. Each person seems to have his own preference when it comes to winter tires and the tire rack is taken as an absolute reference. They didn't do any scientific comparo on tires (..they compared only the Bridgestone’s winter family in a very simple kind of test – no braking results, handling, noise, etc.) . The rest of the ratings are based only on client’s impressions which may or may not be real…
I did a lot of research myself in order to find the right winter tires for my 2006 E90 with SP. BMW recommends to switch from offset 18" wheels to 17" which I did. I purchased a new set of wheels #158 from BMW but without the Blizzak’s. As far as I know the only serious magazine that tested the winter RFT vs. non RFT winter ( and using a BMW 1 series who has the same suspension as the 3 series –RWD included) is AUTOZEITUNG in Germany in September last year. This was a very complex and comprehensive test in wet, dry and snow conditions, each category split in 4-6 subcategories: braking, safety, traction, handling, comfort, noise, aquaplaning etc.).. The conclusion: the RFT got better grades than the regular counterparts. Unfortunately they didn't test the Blizzak's. But I found the regular Blizzak tested in another German magazine: Auto Motor und Sport (witch is the best sold car magazine in the world with a lot of resources - these tests cost a lot of money) from the same year. This was a more in depth test. The Blizzak got mediocre to poor grades (… 8th place out of 11 winter tires) but –again - these were not RFT tires... Anyway, what I learned based on these two tests is the following: stick with the RFT in the winter because offer a better performance and peace of mind. Comfort is not so importnat to me anyway. The best winter RFT for BMW's seems to be Pirelli Snowsport 210 RFT (attention, not the Sottozero) that is the most homogenous. Still this tire has weaknesses; best in snow and very good in dry conditions but not so good in the wet (where got mediocre grades due to the aquaplaning results). Dunlop Winter Sport M3 is the best in the wet, good in snow but poor on dry pavement. But the first two ares are the areas that are important for me in the winter so I will buy the M3's. By the way - Dunlop M3 won the first place in the nonRFT Auto Motor und Sport test. Based on the pictures and model numbers these are the tires that Tirerack is selling this season.
Hope this will help. I will try to attach the PDF file from Autozeitung. ATTN: THE RFT TIRES ARE LISTED AT THE RIGHT (IN GREY) Here is the link in case the file can not be attached:

http://www.autozeitung.de/pages/zube...nterreifen.pdf

[e46e90]

I just put on a set of Dunlop Winter Sport M3 DSST runflats on my e90xi. They rock! Handling in wet is exceptional, and handling in dry is excellent for a winter tire (and just about as good as the stock Bridgestone Potenzas). The ride may be a bit BETTER than the stock Bridgestone's, and they are not more noisy. I strongly recommend these tires. And they're the number 1 rated tire by customers at Tire Rack. I purchased mine at Discount Tire and had them mounted on a used set of 156 wheels that I bought by a fellow E90Post member.

[gos]

I like the M3s as well. However, while asphalt traction is great (wet/dry/snowy doesn't matter), the concrete traction sucks. There's a few concrete corners that I have to be more careful on, that with the EL42 all-seasons I didn't have the same issue with, even in light snow / slush.

I am running slightly lower pressures now, maybe I need to up them a bit to restore some of the grip, but the car was definitely pushing through corners more than I was used to.

[RMG]

...(based on what I was told by one of the german trainers at the performance driving classes I took two years ago in Europe) should be a little higher compared with the same summer tires. He suggested 0.1 psi higher. I don't remember exactly the reason behind this, sorry.
Thx guys for your reply.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by RMG

...(based on what I was told by one of the german trainers at the performance driving classes I took two years ago in Europe) should be a little higher compared with the same summer tires. He suggested 0.1 psi higher. I don't remember exactly the reason behind this, sorry.
Thx guys for your reply.

0.1 psi different? My digital gauge doesn't even match that resolution, let alone have the have the accuracy which is +/- 1 psi. A temperature change of a few degrees would change tire pressure by more than 0.1 psi. BTW, the rule of thumb used to be that you'd run tires in the winter a few psi below summer pressure to ensure that a greater cross-section of the tire tread is in contact with the road surface, so I don't the reason to increase tire pressure in the winter.

[arbitrage]

I noticed there is a new winter tire test on the autozeitung site. They test the blizzacks, new dunlop 3D, continental 810, pilot alpins, pirreli sottozeros and some others. I can't read a lick of german but it looks like the overall winner was the continental and they also liked the dunlop 3D, goodyear and semperit. The bridgestones got 9/11, the pirrelis were 5/11 behind the 4th place Dunlops. Here is a link. http://www.autozeitung.de/index.php?...terreifentests Tables are in the "pop-up" links. They didn't test RFs however but from the other test it looks like in general RFs are better in snow than their non-RF brothers as has been stated.

[remmib]

Originally Posted by Jaws

0.1 psi different? My digital gauge doesn't even match that resolution, let alone have the have the accuracy which is +/- 1 psi. A temperature change of a few degrees would change tire pressure by more than 0.1 psi. BTW, the rule of thumb used to be that you'd run tires in the winter a few psi below summer pressure to ensure that a greater cross-section of the tire tread is in contact with the road surface, so I don't the reason to increase tire pressure in the winter.

Its probably 0.1 bar, thats about 1.5 psi.

[RMG]

Originally Posted by Jaws

0.1 psi different? My digital gauge doesn't even match that resolution, let alone have the have the accuracy which is +/- 1 psi. A temperature change of a few degrees would change tire pressure by more than 0.1 psi. BTW, the rule of thumb used to be that you'd run tires in the winter a few psi below summer pressure to ensure that a greater cross-section of the tire tread is in contact with the road surface, so I don't the reason to increase tire pressure in the winter.

Yes, it was "bar", sorry, my mistake. (Back in Europe this is the most popular. )
Thank you for correcting me.

[RMG]

Originally Posted by arbitrage

I noticed there is a new winter tire test on the autozeitung site. They test the blizzacks, new dunlop 3D, continental 810, pilot alpins, pirreli sottozeros and some others. I can't read a lick of german but it looks like the overall winner was the continental and they also liked the dunlop 3D, goodyear and semperit. The bridgestones got 9/11, the pirrelis were 5/11 behind the 4th place Dunlops. Here is a link. http://www.autozeitung.de/index.php?...terreifentests Tables are in the "pop-up" links. They didn't test RFs however but from the other test it looks like in general RFs are better in snow than their non-RF brothers as has been stated.

Yes, they have a newer test. They do this every year just before the cold season. Good that you noticed - these are not RFT-s. Still a good test.

[arbitrage]

Originally Posted by RMG

Yes, they have a newer test. They do this every year just before the cold season. Good that you noticed - these are not RFT-s. Still a good test.

It really shows how America can overhype a product like the Blizzacks. However, the LM series (for high speed ratings) doesn't use the same compound as the Q-rated tires which are the original and superior Blizzacks.