Confused about winter tires/wheels

[codys21]

Hey, guys, I'm new to this thread (and haven't even officially purchased the vehicle yet) but am looking at winter tires to be prepared. I'm in the middle of purchasing a 2015 F83 with the 437M wheels but live in central Iowa so will be needing some form of winter tire shortly.

I plan on buying a set of winter tires as well a set of 18" wheels solely for the purpose of the winter tires. After some research, I was leaning towards winter performance as opposed to studless due to there being only 20-25 snowy days per year from Nov-Apr so performance in dry cold is probably more important than performance in snow/ice. I was also leaning towards keeping the staggered setup but am okay with square if need be.

Anyway, I was browsing around on Tire Rack to see what's out there for this car and this is where the confusion really started. When entering in my car info, Tire Rack's recommended winter tire size is 255/40R18 for all four tires and does not give the option for a staggered setup. When manually entering in 255/40R18 for front and 275/40R18 for rear, no results are returned. On top of that, only two options (both unrated) return for 255/40R18 (non-run flat). The only other three options for performance winter are "alternate sizes" that are minus one at 245/40R18. I understand why minus one can be a positive in the snow and I'm fine with that, too, but even if I get 245/40R18s for the front, there are no 265/40R18s for the rear.

Sooo, basically, how am I to proceed in this situation?

Thanks for any help and insight,
Cody

[TopJimmy]

Cody,
How about the other way around...keep the stock wheels and mount some 255/40R19 or 265/35R19 Blizzaks for winter. They fit your rim stock width.

Then save up for a summer setup in 9.5in 265F and 11in 305R with MPS4S for your needed traction. Works with HAS too. To get the perfect fit just send a PM to SignatureWheelBMW and ask Jimmy which ET works best for your look and needs.
-TJ

[M3SQRD]

The OEM F8x winter setup from BMW uses 255/40-18 winter tires front and rear on the 640M winter wheels (8.5” F, 9.0” R). A large number of BMW OEM winter setups on other cars also use square tires. I’m using square winter performance tire setups on e46 & e92 M3s, F22 240ix, and g20 330ix. I’d use a square setup on my M4 as well but I’m not driving it winter road conditions. For a winter setup on the f8x, a square 255/40-18 setup will work just fine.

[CanAutM3]

The square 255/40R18 and 255/35R19 setups are the recommended winter sizes by BMW.

I got the BMW 640M wheel setup with square 255/40R18 tires. If I were to do it again, I would get staggered 255/40R18 and 275/40R18 tires on the OE 513M wheels.

[codys21]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

The square 255/40R18 and 255/35R19 setups are the recommended winter sizes by BMW.

I got the BMW 640M wheel setup with square 255/40R18 tires. If I were to do it again, I would get staggered 255/40R18 and 275/40R18 tires on the OE 513M wheels.

Why would you make the switch to the staggered wheels? And would you just get the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3s? That's the only one I found on Tire Rack for that size.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by codys21

Why would you make the switch to the staggered wheels? And would you just get the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3s? That's the only one I found on Tire Rack for that size.

Even if I live in cold and wintery Canada, it does not happen that often that I drive in deep snow. Most of the time it is on dry or slushy roads. I find the rear 255 a bit too squirmy in those conditions.

[IVM3]

I'm really glad I went with a staggered 255 / 275 setup as it doesn't snow very much here and it's mostly driving in cold dry weather. The wider rear tires make a difference.

[DocM4]

Originally Posted by IVM3

I'm really glad I went with a staggered 255 / 275 setup as it doesn't snow very much here and it's mostly driving in cold dry weather. The wider rear tires make a difference.

Ditto here.....but on 19's....vs my 666M 20's set up for good weather

[maniz]

OP, just purchase the tires based on tire size on TR, not car model. I went with Blizzaks in OEM sizes on my 437 wheels as my dedicated winter setup here in Denver. That had been the plan ever since I ordered my car. I also got 20" aftermarket wheels+PS4S for late Spring to mid-fall use.

[Mick50382]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

The square 255/40R18 and 255/35R19 setups are the recommended winter sizes by BMW.

I got the BMW 640M wheel setup with square 255/40R18 tires. If I were to do it again, I would get staggered 255/40R18 and 275/40R18 tires on the OE 513M wheels.

I just bought 4 255/35/R19's and I'm wishing right now that I went with the staggered setup. One place flat out refused to install them because they weren't staggered so I took them to a BMW dealer and they are saying they don't want to install them. They're acting like I'm crazy for wanting to do it this way but I told them to just do it anyway. Hopefully there won't be any issues after this.

[woptang22]

I recently called a local tire shop looking for winter tires for my 2016 F80 M3. 255/35/19 fronts and 275/35/19 rears. They told me no winter tires in that size. Anyone have suggestions? I just took off my summer wheels and put stock back on. Only issue is stock wheels have bald tires. So I want to use the stock wheels as my winter setup. Are winter tires available in that size?

[jd__m4]

Originally Posted by woptang22

I recently called a local tire shop looking for winter tires for my 2016 F80 M3. 255/35/19 fronts and 275/35/19 rears. They told me no winter tires in that size. Anyone have suggestions? I just took off my summer wheels and put stock back on. Only issue is stock wheels have bald tires. So I want to use the stock wheels as my winter setup. Are winter tires available in that size?

I’m a big fan of Conti DWS06’s for winter use, although most (95%) of my winter driving is dry/very light snow. I had a set on my F80 for two winters (255 square setup), and just mounted a set on my F82, but went 255/275 staggered this time.