cliff

I've gone through a whole bunch of threads on winter tires. It seems that most folks who have them fall into two camps: 17x8 wheels with the BMW recommended 235/45HR17 tires, and those with 18x8.5 rims with lower profile tires like the Dunlop Winter Sport M2 245/40ZR18's.

I suppose the narrow tires would work better in deep snow, but the wider, lower profile, tires would give better handling at other times.

I'd appreciate any advice. This warm New England weather we're having now will not last.

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Cliff
2002 M5 Titanium/Black All Leather
M-Audio, PDC

TCM

Do not jinz(sp) us Cliff I of course face even worse snow then you as I am up near the NH boarder. I run 17x8 wheels with Nokian Hakkapelitas (sp). Work very well and are cheaper then most other snows. 540 and M5 are no 4x4s but they will get you around safely. Good luck.

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T.C.
'01 Silverstone M5
AutoSolutions:short shift kit (40% reduction)
Automotive Specialist:cold air intake, swaybar brackets
Dinan:front strut tower bar, rear swaybar
Kelleners: race exhaust, suspension, ecu software
Rogue Engineering:transmission mounts
SuperSprint:X-pipe

Tim W

18's ROCK!!!!

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Tim W.
1997 Porsche 993TT
2004 Audi S4

DrRob

Cliff,

Run the 235/17s. They'll get you through the snow with more traction than the 245s, and still perform very well for normal driving. Plus you'll save money on both tires and wheels.

I ran only 205/65/15 snows in winter on my 540/6; in contrast to my summer wheels (245/50/16s), they did OK. Those 235s will do fine. Save your spirited driving for mid-April through mid-Nov.

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DrRob
'02 Z8

de Witt

Heh, are you going to ice race with the jeeps on Georgetown Lake, Tim?

de Witt

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johann

That pretty much sums it up.
18" looks better too.

Cheers,
/Johan

hmpart

Cliff,

I have had the the dunlops on 17X8 rims for about a week now. No snow yet but lots of rain plus a few dry days. The car has handled surprisingly well on wet and dry roads. No appreciable difference in road noise either. Hope this helps a little.

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Howard
'02 jet black/black sport/wood

MEnthusiast

I put the 17" 235/45s on my car last week. theres no snow here yet and the weather is surprisingly warm, but I have a big northern trip coming up so I figured better to be safe. the wheels are a double spoke M and the tires are continental snow tire. I have around 500 miles on them now, so they might not really be broken in. here is what I notice in how the car drives: you will activate the DSC in 1-4 gears! you really have to lay off the throttle- Id say for best acceleration you need to keep it to around 65%. Obviously the idea here is to not strip off the tread of the snows- so I keep the dsc on. The car doesnt feel nearly as stable going at highway speeds through sweepers- I say its probably best to keep it to under 80. road noise is about the same. ride quality is a little softer. Steering response feels similar. I sure hope these suckers work in the snow- if not Ill be very disappointed! Hope this helps. btw- for snow tires, smaller is usually better.

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All the best,
Jerry
00 Z8 Jet Black/Red Sport / some others

Ossi

This winter I have 245/40/18 Dunlop M2. Excellent tire,excellent.

There has been zero problems and suspension works better than with previous 235/40/18. I just can't praise enough.

BostonRocket

I decided to purchase the Dunlop M2 18inch snow tires, so that I can fit them on my stock wheels. I am going to buy new rims anyways, so i fugured I should just use the stock wheels for winter. Oh yeah, i bought 265 width rear snows.. argue with me if you guys must, but I got a good deal on the 245 front and 265 rears.. i couldn't resist!

Plus, I survived last winter with summer tires in winter, i figure this will be a step up no matter what!

'Rocket

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2006 Silver Grey on Indianapolis Red M5

Kelleners-Eisenmann Race Exhaust
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johann

Rocket,

They will definetly be better than summer tires.

Cheers,
/Johan

BostonRocket

Gosh anything is better than summer tires on snow.. i couldnt even stay at a standstill on a hill when it was snowing.. i slid back!! at least it was fun!!

'Rocket