Swapping All-Seasons onto the 19" 437Ms?

[nycaudioma2]

I want to continue an idea/question that got a bit buried in another thread. I really appreciate the feedback of this forum.

I am about to order an '18 M4 with the 19" 437M wheels. The car will be a daily driver, year round, in the Connecticut/NYC area. Realistically though, it's not going to go out on bad winter days, and even my short work commute will only be a few days per week with the ability to work-from-home.

That said, I live in a condo and do not have storage space for winter tires and wheels, and no dealership or tire shop anywhere around here seems to store wheels.

That coupled with the complaints on this forum of how the summer tires on the 19's lose grip below 50 degrees makes me wonder if I should swap off the summer tires for all-seasons when the car arrives - selling the summer tires and just keeping the all-seasons on year round.

My logic, perhaps flawed, is that I don't need a full winter tire for snow since the car won't go out on those days, but I do need a tire that can be on the road on non-snowy days in the winter when temperatures are below 50. (Honestly, in this area, it dips below 50 even in spring and fall, especially at night)

Any feedback/experiences would be truly appreciated. I know this is not ideal on a car like the M4, but I am trying to come up with a plan that reflects the reality of my living situation. Thanks in advance.

[trey100]

Originally Posted by nycaudioman

I want to continue an idea/question that got a bit buried in another thread. I really appreciate the feedback of this forum.

I am about to order an '18 M4 with the 19" 437M wheels. The car will be a daily driver, year round, in the Connecticut/NYC area. Realistically though, it's not going to go out on bad winter days, and even my short work commute will only be a few days per week with the ability to work-from-home.

That said, I live in a condo and do not have storage space for winter tires and wheels, and no dealership or tire shop anywhere around here seems to store wheels.

That coupled with the complaints on this forum of how the summer tires on the 19's lose grip below 50 degrees makes me wonder if I should swap off the summer tires for all-seasons when the car arrives - selling the summer tires and just keeping the all-seasons on year round.

My logic, perhaps flawed, is that I don't need a full winter tire for snow since the car won't go out on those days, but I do need a tire that can be on the road on non-snowy days in the winter when temperatures are below 50. (Honestly, in this area, it dips below 50 even in spring and fall, especially at night)

Any feedback/experiences would be truly appreciated. I know this is not ideal on a car like the M4, but I am trying to come up with a plan that reflects the reality of my living situation. Thanks in advance.

My M3 came with the Conti 5P and I have not had any issues on dry days as low as 18F (just before I switched to my winters). Maybe the MPSS are worse in this respect but if I could guarantee no snow use I wouldn't change out my summers given my experience with the 5P. I was very surprised since all I heard was how they would turn into hockey pucks below 50. Maybe driving aggressively they would be but normal winter driving knowing it's cold and there could be hidden icy conditions, I was fine.

As the M3 is my daily I needed to get winter tires and went with Nokians. Great in the snow so far but lacks any type of feel or traction on the many dry and cold days. Can't wait to get my summers back on.

On my previous 335xi I had the Conti DWS all seasons. Although not as sharp as the summer tires they were an overall excellent tire year round. With xdrive and these tires I always felt very safe (better than the M3 with Nokians except braking but in reality I don't drive fast in the snow so not really an issue). That being said I wouldn't put all seasons on an M. Great tire for a car like the 335xi but just doesn't seem right to give up any performance on a car like the M.

[instantexpert]

I don't suppose a self storage unit is an option? As a condo dweller myself I had to get one a couple of years ago to clear out the non-disposable clutter anyway so it's an easy choice for me.

Regarding all-seasons vs performance tires:

I haven't received my M3 yet but, based on my prior experiences and reading this forum...

The M3 is already traction limited with performance tires. You would be implicitly reducing the performance of your car into mundane 3 series territory. At that point why spend the money?

There are better sounding/prettier options out there for less money if performance isn't your key motivator. If it is your key motivator, you don't want all-seasons.

[Halewafa]

Honestly, in your situation, I would just stick with the performance tires year around. If you won't drive it when there's snow then there's not really any reason to swap them out. Yes, you lose a bit of grip when the temperature drops, but it's not horrible, still feels pretty sturdy. I've driven with PSS quite a bit in temps <50 and it was fine, even in temps in the 30s. Just drive a little more reserved when it's cold out. Having all-seasons on during nice summer days would just be depressing...

[instantexpert]

I keep hearing the recommendations on this forum to "just not drive in the snow". As a person who did 6K of damage to my ZHP not being able to stop on a highway at 25MPH while on winter tires due to black ice, I find this advice reckless.

"Just drive conservatively" will allow you to start the car moving on dry pavement. It will not:

* Allow you to start, stop, turn, or otherwise operate your vehicle in the lightest dusting of snow. That ZHP I talked about... My first test drive was on an April day with the lightest dusting of snow on the road. I nearly curbed the (expletive) out of the car just trying to unparallel park.

* Emergency stop in extreme colds.

Unless you are willing to ALWAYS park the car when there is a 10% chance of snow in the winter that might catch you out of the garage or when there is a Polar Vortex (those are a thing now), you would be putting yourself and others at risk.

Take it from me, bitterly cold days are not the ones you want to be standing around your wrecked car waiting for the police and tow truck.

[av0789]

I have changed my tires to the DWS06 in late November from the MPSS. I can definitely feel a loss in sharpness however, for everyday use they are still amazing tires. I haven't really driven during any snowfall, maybe the day after it snows (roads still icy and some snow) and they are excellent as long as you drive carefully like you always should in that weather. I still have the MPSS in the garage though if I wanna switch back during the summer.

[gramboda]

FWIW, I ran all seasons on my 335xi and was fine in the winter. I have chosen to run dedicated snows on my M4 (with two sand tubes in the trunk).

That said, I am in WI and the M4 is my daily driver so parking it on a snowy day is not an option. I elected to run snows because of the RWD power and lack of x-drive compared to my 335.

I wish I could run all seasons because, as you indicate, it saves space, money and probably some ride comfort as well. I just dont think the M4 would move in any amount of snow with all seasons. You'd better be sure you can park it during any threat of snow.

[nycaudioma2]

Originally Posted by instantexpert

I keep hearing the recommendations on this forum to "just not drive in the snow". As a person who did 6K of damage to my ZHP not being able to stop on a highway at 25MPH while on winter tires due to black ice, I find this advice reckless.

"Just drive conservatively" will allow you to start the car moving on dry pavement. It will not:

* Allow you to start, stop, turn, or otherwise operate your vehicle in the lightest dusting of snow. That ZHP I talked about... My first test drive was on an April day with the lightest dusting of snow on the road. I nearly curbed the (expletive) out of the car just trying to unparallel park.

* Emergency stop in extreme colds.

Unless you are willing to ALWAYS park the car when there is a 10% chance of snow in the winter that might catch you out of the garage or when there is a Polar Vortex (those are a thing now), you would be putting yourself and others at risk.

Take it from me, bitterly cold days are not the ones you want to be standing around your wrecked car waiting for the police and tow truck.

Great post, although I have to be honest - I am confused if you are saying park the M4 in snow and even cold no matter what tires it has, or only if it doesn't have winter tires.

With your ZHP that had winter tires, do you think the accident could have been avoided if you had xDrive? My experience has been that nothing will save you from ice, not even xDrive.

[instantexpert]

Sorry if I was unclear.

What I meant was that you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything with winter tires but you should park the car and not use it on any day that there is even a hint of the possibility of snow if you leave summers on.

Nothing, other than leaving even more space between me and the car in front of me, would have saved the ZHP in that situation. AWD doesn't help stop, after all! My point was that on, apparently, dry roads I ran into a situation my winter tires couldn't handle. Summer tires would be outright dangerous in far more normal winter conditions.

[instantexpert]

I'm coming back here to post this cautionary thread as a reason to not leave your summers on during the winter:
http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1362497