Who is afraid of driving an M5 in snow? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Andrew · 27th November 2001, 12:30

We went up for a weekend getaway to a ski/spa resort in Switzerland. The village is at 1400 metres and on Friday afternoon, it had snowed heavily, about 20 cm, dry, powder snow, just the ideal conditions to test the M5 on snow, even more so because they have a "no salt" policy in the resort, which means that the long windy roads leading up to the village were covered with crisp, packed crunchy snow.

I was quite apprehensive about driving on snow, after reading negative reports on Michelin Pilot Alpin's and about the M5's supposedly total inability on slippery roads. Well, I can say that I had a great amount of fun, and gained utter confidence (until proved wrong) that the M5 is an absolute blast on snow! I drove in 2 separate modes:

DSC active: Basically, the DSC intervenes every time traction becomes edgy. Obviously it cuts out torque when you press the accelerator and simultaneously breaks the back inside wheel to bring the tail back in line with the trajectory. Another feature is that when you feel the car drifting sideways without any acceleration, e.g. in a level curve at slightly higher speed, the moment the back or front start to drift, the yellow DSC light goes on and brings the car back to the computer's opinion's trajectory. I was unable to fault it. However, for obvious reasons, as the manual points out, DSC cannot defy the laws of physics, so you have got to all the same approach driving with caution. An absolutely great party trick is to thunder past other cars uphill, specially when they are supposedly better adapted to snow than an M5!!! It works this way: you just floor the throttle, and the system takes over, combining torque cut-out AND applying the brakes to the wheel that is beginning to spin, so that you have a permanent optimal traction, from the lowest (pulling away) speeds to the highest. It really makes you feel confident. Paradoxically, when you reach the top of the hill, the back disks are hot and smelly, since there is much more braking pressure applied than one might expect!

DSC out: Once I had gained confidence, and trusted my Alpin Sports (great tires by the way) and left the wife at the Hotel, I went for a spin (well not really a spin, thank goodness) with DSC off. That is when the delights of a back wheel drive car, combined with 50/50 weight distribution provides the utmost driving delight. You simply power out of a bend with the back slowly drifting out, and apply slight opposite lock to correct the path. The M5 is so well balanced that you keep a good "feel" despite its size and weight. It's 100% fun, and grin inducing, not to mention the shocked and disapproving looks of passers-by!!!

That's that, I now look forward to the many more winter drives ahead!

Adam · 27th November 2001, 12:39

Andrew excellent post

I think you have crushed the fears of many apprehensive board memebers and you had a lot of fun!

All the best
Adam

Gus · 27th November 2001, 13:03

I've only driven in snow with summer tyres - complete disaster! It was much worse than any car I have driven in those conditions.

metzger · 27th November 2001, 16:44

I haven't taken delivery of my M5 yet, so haven't driven one in the snow. I have, however, driven several cars that were almost impossible in the snow (two S-Class Mercedes and two early Q45's come readily to mind). More recently I've had two 540i's, the first an automatic and the current with the 6-speed. Both were a delight in the snow, as long as you had a good set of snow tires on board. That's the key. Get an extra set of wheels and snow tires and bolt them on when winter comes calling (mine are going on Thursday, despite our mild weather because I'm driving to Chicago for an opera weekend). It's simple, and absolutely worth the investment. Trying to drive high-performance vehicles with dry weather tires in the snow is wishful thinking at its worst, and as the Bard said: "Wishers were ever fools."

M

tfung · 27th November 2001, 17:09

yeah.. I've also driven in the winter with the summer Michelin pilot sports... even with very light snow, the car just does not have ANY traction whatsoever.... I do believe that winter tires make a world of difference....

greg · 27th November 2001, 17:31

Great post!

It doesn't snow where I live so I don't get to do what you did. You really got to learn a lot about how the DSC works and affects the car, and how well the car is balanced even when it is off - both really valuable lessons in the M5.

Sounds like it was fun, too. Thanks for writing it up.

dwasifar · 27th November 2001, 18:36

I won't take my car out this winter if there is any snow on the roads or any expected that day. There are two things on the Chicago roads when it snows that are harmful to the M5:

1) Salt
2) Bozos

...and I do not intend to give either the chance to destroy my car.

Andrew · 27th November 2001, 18:40

Well Greg, when you live in these areas (snow, mountains etc.) you really get to develop that kind of experience. I recall my first years of learning to drive (early 80's) in snow in a dead simple car -- my Dad's Mini cooper-- which you could litteraly throw around bends oversteer/understeeer, spin in total safety, an absolute laugh. As any rally driver (which I am certainly not) learns, is that some degree of controlled slide is a rather effective means to work your way around an icy mountain bend.

I never though all those years back I would one day do it in a 400HP beast! Oh how lucky we all are on this message board...

PhilSeastrand · 27th November 2001, 18:47

I'm with Greg in that we don't get any snow in this part of the country. However, I grew up in Iowa and cut my winter teeth in the snow with a Datsun 2000 Roadster. That was a blast in the snow. Go find a large parking lot without any curbs and have some fun! It taught me a lot about controlling the car in a slide. Since then, I've been comfortable driving sideways as much as straight!

The only real difference between sliding on snow and pavement is the way the pavement snaps you back in line once the traction comes back. In snow, the transition is much smoother.

Dick Sickels · 27th November 2001, 18:49

Great Story!! What size are the tires and are they on the oem wheel or are these winter packaged wheels with a smaller dimension such as 17's on front & rear Mille Migla's??

Also are these similiar to the blizzaks every one has been recommending in the past?

Thanks
Dick Sickels

Andrew · 27th November 2001, 18:50

dwasifar:

I haven't really thought about Bozo's (that's why I have insurance

) and regarding salt, if you could see the amount of muck, salt and general dirt which covers my M5, you would probably faint! Remember that all cars now have galvanized body work, and underbody protection, and a good wash once in a while gets rid of salt anyway (the day I want to sell it).

Come to think of it, a really dirty M5 (haha, a beast in disguise!) has that "je ne sais quoi" of utter chic, in my opinion, a snub at all those fanatics who spend their weekends polishing the damn car rather than driving it!!!

Andrew · 27th November 2001, 18:55