Winter 20s?

[pseto]

Is there any such thing as a good set of winter 20s? I hate having to change wheels when seasons change (lazy), but want the look of 20s all year-round.

[X5M5]

Is there any such thing as a good set of winter 20s? I hate having to change wheels when seasons change (lazy), but want the look of 20s all year-round.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[UCrewX5]

:repost:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88033

[breytonX5]

Is there any such thing as a good set of winter 20s? I hate having to change wheels when seasons change (lazy), but want the look of 20s all year-round.
Even if you have 20 winters, you'd still have to change either tires or swap wheels and tires if you have a second set of 20" rims. Unless you want to drive winters year round.

Get all-season 275-40-20s if you don't want to change anything.

[Steved]

A friend of mine with a 4.8is has just fitted these Toyo Proxes S/T tyres to his 20" rims and seems very pleased with them.

"After months of trying to get my winter wheels sorted for the 4.8is, I've finally managed it (...now that summer's just around the corner )

After looking at various options - including an entire set of new wheels and separate snow tyres - I've ended up reshodding my 20"s with Toyo Proxes S/T . After doing some research using German and Austrian reviews, these came out best for snow, ice and heavy water, whilst still having great levels of grip and performance. As I do a lot of European driving, I didn't want to sacrifice the handling of the 4.8 but wanted the safety net of all weather grip should the weather turn inclement.

Managed to source them in 315/35 and 275/40 size - both Traction Rating A & Temperature Rating A

Had them fitted on Friday and I'm amazed at the result. Where I expected them to feel less grippy than the Contis, the actual result is the opposite - the car feels more planted, solid and the grip seems to have increased. They also resolved the concern I always had over the 4.8's handling in the wet - while my Contis seem to aquaplane with little provocation, the Toyos chuck the water out the side and thing remain far more sedate. I know my Contis had 14,000 miles under their belt but they still had plenty of rubber... so it must be down to the rubber compound and tread design. I can't recommend the Toyos enough!

Here are a few pictures: -"

http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ug/data/500/1673DSC05808.JPG
http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ug/data/500/1673DSC05813.JPG
http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ug/data/500/1673DSC05815.JPG

[breytonX5]

Steve, thanks for the feedback. Those Proxes S/T are great looking tires and glad to know they perform well also.

[X5M5]

If you think 20" wheels with Toyo Proxes are great in snow than I don't know what to say....

[breytonX5]

If you think 20" wheels with Toyo Proxes are great in snow than I don't know what to say....
I agree, Chris. Those Toyos are M/S rated for all-season so I'm not sure how great they are on snow. Plus with those fat 315 in the rears won't be much help in deep snow. They do have amazing tread wear rating of 420AA. :yikes:

Another point is that I don't think Steve sees no where as much snow over there in the UK as we do over here in the North East. All the snow up here would eat those Proxes up for breakfast.

[X5M5]

I agree, Chris. Those Toyos are M/S rated for all-season so I'm not sure how great they are on snow. Plus with those fat 315 in the rears won't be much help in deep snow. They do have amazing tread wear rating of 420AA. :yikes:

Another point is that I don't think Steve sees no where as much snow over there in the UK as we do over here in the North East. All the snow up here would eat those Proxes up for breakfast.

Good point, I didn't think of Steves climate. Around here snow tires are a necessity if you are driving with 19s or 20s. You can get away with a good all season 18 if you want to, but there are some nice aggressive 255/55R18 tires (the size the X uses when using 18s) that are available.

[Steved]

Good point, I didn't think of Steves climate. Around here snow tires are a necessity if you are driving with 19s or 20s. You can get away with a good all season 18 if you want to, but there are some nice aggressive 255/55R18 tires (the size the X uses when using 18s) that are available.

It's a friend of mine's car but he fitted them because he does a lot of journeys into mainland Europe where the chances of snow are higher. He wants to use them as all year round tyres and provide greater confidence in wet and light snow conditions than the Diamaris.

I have just returned from the French Alps where we spent a week with my 4.8is in the snow. I took a pair of Spikes Spider snowchains but kept my 20" Michelin Diamaris tyres on OEM rims. The spikes spiders alieviated the issue of the wide 315 tyres in deep snow, but since I only took a pair (two chains) I got stuck a few times because although the rear had traction, I had no steering whatsoever. I needed four snow chains to be safe and even then that wouldn't help when driving along an autoroute at speed.

Next year I will bite the bullet and get a set of 20" winter tyres (no wider than 275mm) and use the spikes spiders as back up. The difficulty is that over here in the UK, we can go for several years without seeing snow (although it's snowing here right now) , so it never seems worth buying an alternate set of winter wheels/tyres. But tyre companies are releasing ever better products that can handle the kind of speeds we're used to and still perform well in the dry. I think it may be time for a change.

[DAS BOOT]

Ive got 4 20" 4.6 replica FRONT wheels on mine, with the Conit Winter contact 275's. It performs flawlessly in up to 8" of snow. (thats the most Ive driven in so far) I drove home from work with the DSC off, because it was so much fun.

Take it for what its worth, I drove an e30 M3 last year, a e30 325 lowered, the year before that, and a 95 M3 with no TC the year before that. Snows on all of them, and had no problems. I think youd be fine with my 20" setup in all but the absolute worst, 2ft or more storm!