snows or all seasons for winter in mid-atlantic?

[Locksmythe]

I went to a local tire shop to compare prices vs ordering online with delivery and discovered that they don't sell snow tires here. I could special order them, but they said there isn't enough snow around Northern Virginia to bother. I was looking for Mich Alpin 2s.

Do you others in this area use snow tires in winter?

If I went the all-season route, what should I be looking at? (550i sport, planning to use 17x7.5 for swap-in winter wheels)

[Locksmythe]

Also, how narrow a tire could i put on 17x7.5 for a BMW 550? 225 is standard width.

[Gary@Tirerack]

I'd stick with 225/50R17, which is already a pretty narrow tire.

Winter http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/winter/index.jsp

[jnr]

I live accross the river from you in suburban Maryland, and can tell you that whomever gave you the advice that you did not need winter tires for a 550i sport is steering you wrong. I am at the tail end of a lease on an E55 Mercedes, expect to buy a 335i sport next, and have had many "performance" cars including various bmws.

Since you have the sport version of the 550i, I assume that you still have the "performance" tires rather than all seasions -- and if you don't, you should get some or there is really no sense in the sport package. I can tell you that summer tires on your 550i will be a miserable experience if there is even the slightest bit of snow or ice. Moreover, summer tires are made for warmer temperatures and do not do well in the cold, since the compound that they are made of is brittle at low temperatures. It is downright dangerous to drive in the winter on summer tires.

You have to ask yourself if you intend to drive your baby in the cold, snow and ice (particularly the snow and ice, but cold too). If the answer is yes, then the question is how many days does it take of being out there with absolutely no traction or braking ability for you to do something? For me, the answer is one day of that kind of danger is too many.

What I would suggest is that you get the performance version of the winter tires and swtich to them about now until spring. These are not quite as good as the pure winter tires, but fell pretty darn good (if a bit more noisy and a little bit more rough) and hold the road fairly well even when it is dry and you are driving fast.

If you do not want two sets of tires, then you should bite the bullet and get some all season tires, and live with the compromise. I would not, but many folks do.

[jnr]

PS -- Forgot to mention, but Radial Tires, Inc. in Silver Spring, MD has winter tires, or can get them for you quickly (no I do not work there -- just buy there).

9101 Brookville Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Phone: 301-585-2740
Fax: 301-585-1398