Who has driven an F8x M3/M4 in the snow? Describe your experiences

[woosolow]

Agreed. m3 should be fine on snowy roads, but a slight uphill slope is a "nono"... its just the rear wheels are trying hard to push / spin forward while the front wheels are not moving lol

which i can imagine if a dog got tied up both front legs, only the rear legs are running haha

[Fahrvergnügen]

I got caught up in some snow last weekend on interstate 94 from Detroit to Chicago. It wasn't a blizzard by a long shot but I felt really stable going 60 mph and never saw to DSC light come on. I have the OEM setup.

[mkoesel]

How much snow did you get, secretariat? How much was on the road you were driving on? Just curious about the conditions you were in.

[secretariat]

Mkoesel, about 4" of the white stuff, but the streets were not plowed, very slushie and cold out there. High winds. If I had my 19" summer tires on I wouldn't have been able to make it out of the driveway. If we got seven to ten inches I wouldn't have bothered driving my M3. Not a lot of snow, but very slippery at 6:30.

Another observation, this car warms up very quickly. The engine and the defrost really work well. I heard on the news that it felt like 2 degrees with the wind chill this morning.

[karussell]

Originally Posted by woosolow

Agreed. m3 should be fine on snowy roads, but a slight uphill slope is a "nono"... its just the rear wheels are trying hard to push / spin forward while the front wheels are not moving lol

which i can imagine if a dog got tied up both front legs, only the rear legs are running haha

in my last m3 i took it skiing in germany during winters. no problem going up packed ice on mpsa2's. of course need some weight in the trunk for better traction but i don't think an uphill slope should be a problem with fresh winter tires. caveat is i always had new rear tires each season. the siping is critical. YMMV.

[firstknight69]

Hi secratariat - what winter setup do you use?

[secretariat]

Firstnight69, I have the 18" winter tires from BMW. I ordered them when I took delivery of the M3 back in October. Night and day difference with 19" summer tires. There are a lot of setups out there, but I just went ahead and bought BMW'S setup because I knew the winter was coming and basically didn't feel like looking around. I'm happy with them, but when I'm ready to replace them I'll probably look around.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by secretariat

Mkoesel, about 4" of the white stuff, but the streets were not plowed, very slushie and cold out there. High winds. If I had my 19" summer tires on I wouldn't have been able to make it out of the driveway. If we got seven to ten inches I wouldn't have bothered driving my M3. Not a lot of snow, but very slippery at 6:30.

Thanks - I agree with your assessment that when you start getting deep enough to exhaust the car's ground clearance, you are at the point where it is not a great idea to be out driving.

Due to all of the storm hype, were the roads fairly desolate? Were the vehicles you saw out there a pretty even mix of AWD/FWD/RWD cars as well as trucks? Or were you sort of the odd guy out this morning (and I don't mean that in a critical sense)?

[secretariat]

mkoesel, I was odd guy out except for snow plows and the occasional AWD SUV. It was nice because I had road to myself, DTC on and quick turns at red lights gets the rear end moving and then the snap back .

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by secretariat

mkoesel, I was odd guy out except for snow plows and the occasional AWD SUV. It was nice because I had road to myself, DTC on and quick turns at red lights gets the rear end moving and then the snap back .

Nice!

I love to drive when inclement weather closes everything down and there's no one on the road. Like you say, you have the whole road to yourself. Great stuff.

[solstice]

I never used weight in the trunk of my RWD cars when driving in winter. With good winter tires you don't need it except for rather extreme situations and the weight does bad things to the balance of the car. Instead I always kept a set of emergency chains ( together with an avalanche shovel and some other stuff ) in the trunk for those few occasions when I needed the extra traction. They also help you with braking where weight in the trunk does the opposite, especially if you travel in the alps/mountains with very steep and dangerous downhill in severe conditions it's a very nice aid, just watch out for the car behind you...stop and let them pass if they tail gate.

[Hedoniste]

No problem with 265 PA4.

[brianeck]

Similar reactions myself in the last 24 hours. With the DTC fully on/standard and my blizzaks its actually not that easy to break grip even when you're trying. If you drive sanely and have a good winter setup you should have no problem. Interestingly enough I find myself surprised quite often by how much ground clearance there actually is coming from my 650i GC. I used to rub the front fascia protector on two of my local roads on that thing and I'm fine in the m3.

[SPACEMANRICK]

Here is a review of the M4 convertible in the snow from Autos.ca including a video. In summary....... "Driving an M4 Convertible in the snow reveals a multitude of things. First is that you can drive it in the snow, on winter tires, with little issue. The stability and traction control systems are tuned expertly, adjust their sensitivity to slips and slides based on your speed, and allow plenty of controlled, low-speed wheelspin to get you moving in deep powder. At highway speeds, all controls on, they react with nanosecond-precision to losses of traction which see the traction control light blinking for slips and skids you can’t even feel yet.

The ABS is similarly slick. Even in a simulated emergency stop, diagonally, across alternating stripes of hard-packed snow and cold bare pavement, the M4 not only stayed pointing straight ahead, but barely even squirmed beneath me as it managed constant and unique traction levels under each individual wheel. And, with a trick rear differential that constantly works to optimize traction, getting up and going was rarely an issue. Traction controls can be disabled in stages depending on how much backroads sideways stuff you care for, and your comfort level with avoiding nearby culverts."

http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/...4-convertible/

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Hedoniste

No problem with 265 PA4.

On 513M just like mine.

So you are on a 265mm square setup? Is that using the same width wheel all around too, or you have the staggered front/rear wheels as per stock?

[Hedoniste]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

On 513M just like mine.

So you are on a 265mm square setup? Is that using the same width wheel all around too, or you have the staggered front/rear wheels as per stock?

245/40 ln the front and 265/40 on the rear.
I wanted 255/40 on the front wheels but It was no possible to find a set back in December... So I opted for 245. So it's on stock wheels.
I have no problem. I was a bit skeptical because BMW recommands 255 square setup but I have no issue with my current setup (and I drove several time through snowy mountain roads). I have to recognise that downhills require that I don't surpass my driver ability... An another problem is if there is too much snow on the road. BTW this is the same prob for all type of cars. I was blocked with my X1 xDrive once this year and I needed people to push the car :-/

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Hedoniste

245/40 ln the front and 265/40 on the rear.

So we do have the same setup then. Although I think my rears are PA2 since there were no PA3 nor PA4 in the correct width back when I bought them (they were previously on my E93 M3).

[SuspectisHatless]

A somewhat obvious observation this week. To get out of my garage, I usually back up the modest incline of my drive way. After some light snow at very cold temperatures, I was spinning and going sideways trying to get out. Limiting the throttle to the lowest amount I could notice, I was able to do it. After adding about 100 pounds of salt and wood in the trunk, I had no problem exiting the driveway later in the day at a normal throttle.

[SPACEMANRICK]

Originally Posted by SuspectisHatless

A somewhat obvious observation this week. To get out of my garage, I usually back up the modest incline of my drive way. After some light snow at very cold temperatures, I was spinning and going sideways trying to get out. Limiting the throttle to the lowest amount I could notice, I was able to do it. After adding about 100 pounds of salt and wood in the trunk, I had no problem exiting the driveway later in the day at a normal throttle.

Do you have snow tires?

[curvehound]

Having driven my E92 M3 in the snow in Boston for three years (on PA2's), my question is how the F80/2 deals with hills. I don't have any trouble handling on flat roads (as long as I keep speed reasonable) but there have been several times where I was almost not able to make it home because I had trouble getting up fairly modest sloped hills with a few inches of slush on the road. Any experience with this situation in the F80?

thanks
Ian

[minn19]

Originally Posted by curvehound

Having driven my E92 M3 in the snow in Boston for three years (on PA2's), my question is how the F80/2 deals with hills. I don't have any trouble handling on flat roads (as long as I keep speed reasonable) but there have been several times where I was almost not able to make it home because I had trouble getting up fairly modest sloped hills with a few inches of slush on the road. Any experience with this situation in the F80?

thanks
Ian

I really don't think it is as car specific as it is tire specific/dependent. If you stay in the Michelin sphere there is a big difference between a PA2 in this case and an Xice tire. I have Xice 3 on my car and have had no trouble going up hills. I can't imagine there is that big of difference in balance/traction control technology between the E9X M3 and F8X that would help it climb a hill better.

I had PA3s on my 335 xDrive and I can tell a difference in stopping distance between those and my Xice3. The Xice3 are much better in ultimate snow and ice traction for both getting going and stopping. I do miss how the PA3 felt on cold dry roads though compared to the Xice 3. Unfortunately there is no free lunch and there is always a compromise.

[SuspectisHatless]

Originally Posted by SPACEMANRICK

Do you have snow tires?

yes the 18" option from BMW