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

[superbrew]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

Not an M3 but I put some Michelin crossclimates (all seasons) on my civic last week before the snowstorm we got Monday in the Midwest. Got a set of 4 for $600.

everyone was doing 40-50 on the highway and staying behind the snow plow clearing out the right lane. I was going 60 in the snow accumulated left lane passing everyone.


if I daily drove my m3 i'd probably use these or the pilot sport as3 and run them all year.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...rossClimate%2B

Tire width makes a big difference in the snow. Narrow tires are much better driving through accumulated snow. To get decent snow performance you are sacrificing a lot of contact patch on an already traction limited car if you plan on running something like this year round.
Winter car, or at least dedicated snows, are the best option for snowy areas.

[NYG]

Michelin Super Sports, hard as rocks all week. No snow but cold.

Good times.

[9M71]

Originally Posted by NYG

Michelin Super Sports, hard as rocks all week. No snow but cold.

Good times.

With the recent cold front in NYC, this has been pretty fun to say nonetheless

[pseto]

It's been 30-40 degrees but clear most of this week and I've lost traction a few times with brand new PSS coming off highway ramps. Time for winter wheels soon.

[Laostuh]

Probably going to be picking up an F80 M3 soon. Live in Southern California. No snow but it does rain pretty heavy sometimes..

Will Michelin PSS All Season tires be good enough to drive confidently in the rain?

TIA

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Probably going to be picking up an F80 M3 soon. Live in Southern California. No snow but it does rain pretty heavy sometimes..

Will Michelin PSS All Season tires be good enough to drive confidently in the rain?

TIA

PSS are NOT all season tires. They are excellent in the wet.

[Laostuh]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

PSS are NOT all season tires. They are excellent in the wet.

Got it what good all season tires would you recommend ? Don't want to have to switch sets whenever the season changes.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Got it what good all season tires would you recommend ? Don't want to have to switch sets whenever the season changes.

Honestly then, don't get an M3...

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Got it what good all season tires would you recommend ? Don't want to have to switch sets whenever the season changes.

People in L.A. switch to winter tires? Why?

[OF Hero]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Got it what good all season tires would you recommend ? Don't want to have to switch sets whenever the season changes.

You live in SoCal...you can rock summer performance tires year round!

Unless you live in a snowy climate or where it gets to be consistently <40 F, you don't need a change of tires. And even then you'd be going to a true winter tire, not all-seasons which are generally not a good option vs a dedicated summer/winter setup (well, it probably works ok for some commuter cars).

Enjoy your awesome weather!

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Laostuh

Got it what good all season tires would you recommend ? Don't want to have to switch sets whenever the season changes.

Unless you live in the mountains there you guys don’t have “seasons.”

[Laostuh]

Originally Posted by OF Hero

You live in SoCal...you can rock summer performance tires year round!

Unless you live in a snowy climate or where it gets to be consistently <40 F, you don't need a change of tires. And even then you'd be going to a true winter tire, not all-seasons which are generally not a good option vs a dedicated summer/winter setup (well, it probably works ok for some commuter cars).

Enjoy your awesome weather!

Thanks for the advice!

[6spdTanzM4]

I posted this in the tanz blue thread but thought I would add it here after the recent Denver snowstorm -

Snow shoes: Continental WinterContact TS830 265/30R20's (older snow tires but good reviews) with Aodhan LS007 Matte Black 20x9 square setup. I needed at least 19's or 20's to clear the CCBs.

The other day we had many inches of snow in Denver - very slippery and wet snow where tons of cars got stuck around town. Took my car out to test the snow tires (no added weight in the trunk) and ended up getting stuck trying to start from a stop on a moderate uphill icy patch and a Land Rover had to tow me backwards haha. It wasn't a big deal and took only 30 seconds to screw in the tow hook.

After that I spent $30 at Home Depot for a blue tarp and 240lbs worth of tube sand to put in the trunk and with a much more humble driving approach, went back to the same spot and had no problem.

I think the weight makes a huge difference in the back and effectively makes the car more of a 50/50 weight distribution. For uphill ice I found this time to not use the gas at all and just lightly feather the clutch as the tires slowly slowly grip, like as slow as possible. Once moving the car handles and brakes in the snow like a champ but starting from a stop uphill seems to be the achilles heel. Beyond that I bought a shovel/brush kit ($25), Autosocks ($100), and some heavy plastic traction mats to shove into the wheels if the car gets stuck again (Amazon $15~), and my own tow line as well ($13).

In the end I'm glad I got stuck for a few minutes to get more serious about driving this car in the snow, because in reality you need to be very serious about it. You need to be in efficient mode, 100% have snow tires, and now I believe the weight in the trunk also if there's any hill at all just to be safe. MDM mode seemed to work best also. The tires are not the absolute best out there and they're still pretty wide on 20 inch wheels so maybe that had something to do with it also. I also needed to balance out Denver being sunny with dry roads most of the winter. Beyond that it's incredibly fun with the even weight distribution for sliding around and some controlled drifting. Cheers!

[OF Hero]

Originally Posted by shiftmr2t

I posted this in the tanz blue thread but thought I would add it here after the recent Denver snowstorm -

Snow shoes: Continental WinterContact TS830 265/30R20's (older snow tires but good reviews) with Aodhan LS007 Matte Black 20x9 square setup. I needed at least 19's or 20's to clear the CCBs.

The other day we had many inches of snow in Denver - very slippery and wet snow where tons of cars got stuck around town. Took my car out to test the snow tires (no added weight in the trunk) and ended up getting stuck trying to start from a stop on a moderate uphill icy patch and a Land Rover had to tow me backwards haha. It wasn't a big deal and took only 30 seconds to screw in the tow hook.

After that I spent $30 at Home Depot for a blue tarp and 240lbs worth of tube sand to put in the trunk and with a much more humble driving approach, went back to the same spot and had no problem.

I think the weight makes a huge difference in the back and effectively makes the car more of a 50/50 weight distribution. For uphill ice I found this time to not use the gas at all and just lightly feather the clutch as the tires slowly slowly grip, like as slow as possible. Once moving the car handles and brakes in the snow like a champ but starting from a stop uphill seems to be the achilles heel. Beyond that I bought a shovel/brush kit ($25), Autosocks ($100), and some heavy plastic traction mats to shove into the wheels if the car gets stuck again (Amazon $15~), and my own tow line as well ($13).

In the end I'm glad I got stuck for a few minutes to get more serious about driving this car in the snow, because in reality you need to be very serious about it. You need to be in efficient mode, 100% have snow tires, and now I believe the weight in the trunk also if there's any hill at all just to be safe. MDM mode seemed to work best also. The tires are not the absolute best out there and they're still pretty wide on 20 inch wheels so maybe that had something to do with it also. I also needed to balance out Denver being sunny with dry roads most of the winter. Beyond that it's incredibly fun with the even weight distribution for sliding around and some controlled drifting. Cheers!

My experiences as well.

Going a bit narrow helps "cut" through the snow easier as well, especially if you're driving on a lot of unplowed roads.

I've never had to put sand bags in the trunk, however. But then again, I live in Ohio and it's essentially completely flat here. Literally no hills on my commute so fortunately I don't have to deal with that.

Even with the most ideal tires/setup, you are absolutely right that you still need to be really aware of your throttle input, surroundings, etc. Good common sense driving in the snow, anyways. Even in efficient mode, a quick throttle stab will cause you to spin the wheels. But with some common sense, it's safe and manageable.

[2legit]

Drove through 2 main snow days last winter Michelin Alpin PA4 255X19 and 285X19. No difficulty driving on wet snow or lots of snow accumulation with traction control on. Decent slip from a stop but car gets moving without too much drama. Lots of TC action with black ICE but car does not lose control compared to a vehicle that crashed on the same spot I drove on right in front of me. I don't really believe the myth of skinny tires. Car drives just fine with a staggered set up wet, dry or snow.

[Tommy L Garage]

You gents need to have traction fully off on the snow.
That’s the only way to get predictable slip.

[6spdTanzM4]

Originally Posted by Tommy L Garage

You gents need to have traction fully off on the snow.
That’s the only way to get predictable slip.

Possibly...I'm not sure if this is an end-all-be-all approach. I like to keep MDM on.

[Keca10]

I think it’s silly to turn off traction control in the snow. The modern systems are very good in keeping you safe.

[Alan l.]

Here's my 2 cents after doing a 13 hour drive back from Toronto to NYC in the worst conditions I've ever encountered in my 20+ years of driving in my M3 with snow tires.

Running square 245/40/19 Michelin Alpin 5 on square 19x9.5 Titan TS5 setup.

Conditions were sleet, rain, ice rain, snow and slush. I pretty much encountered everything all in my drive back which was torturous. I saw at least 15+ cars spin out everything from SUV's to sedans. One accident was fatal up in Toronto where the road had just turned into black ice. Still can't get over the mental image that have of that one....

My car handled the conditions without any issues at all. I barely saw the traction light blink honestly. Just have to be smooth with the inputs and having a manual transmission helped because i could keep the car in the lower gears for engine braking. I had to climb some steep long hills during my drive and not once did i see my traction light turn on.

Now is the M3 perfect? No... but its pretty damn amazing. One issue i had was my front end completely froze over and all of the openings were frozen closed except for the kidney grills. Didn't have any temp issues but it did however cover my LED headlights to the point it limited my visibility. I had to stop off just to clear the ice off the headlights. Wish it had headlight washer in this instance. I also wish it had fog lights. The stock LED's just don't put out enough light in foul weather.

All in all the M3 is a very capable machine with the right wheel/tire combo and if you drive with common sense.

Alan

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by Keca10

I think it’s silly to turn off traction control in the snow. The modern systems are very good in keeping you safe.

I agree 100%

For normal driving around you should 100% keep the systems on unless you are stuck and need to get out. Sure if you hooning around and you are prepared for a over steer reaction from the car is one thing but another when you aren't ready for one and it happens. This is when the car's "nannies" could save your ass.....