Winter Tires + Rims for the 335d

Need advice for the correct tires for our d.
I managed to get away last winter without winter tires as there wasn't much snow in Toronto.

My BMW dealer wants CAD $3,150.00 + 13.5% taxes for a set of Continental RFT w/style 159 BMW alloys.

Does our d requires special tire sensors for the TPMS?

I am checking with a local tire shop as well as Costco to see what options and price.
Local shop says we don't need the sensors and non-RFT winters are fine.

Any suggestions from fellow d owners will be greatly appreciated.

There is a ton of info on this in the E9x forum. Nothing special about "i" vs "d".

Try tirerack.com's recommendations. You can buy tires mounted and balanced on new wheels. Smaller diameter and width wheel, but same circumference tire (higher "profile") and still fits over brakes, is better in snow. Have delivered to your house. Or to your indy garage and pay garage only to swap (and maybe store) wheels.

The smaller tires are less expensive, and wear more slowly, than your summer rubber. Pays for itself in a few years through decreased wear on the expensive rubber.

DC-IT, as Jeff said there is no difference between i and d as far as wheels. TireRack is highly recommended place for both and very convenient if you buy set. Not sure how it is when you have it shipped to Canada - cost, customs ect.
I just purchased 17x8 Black Painted MOTEGI RACING MR118 wheels, 225/45R17 Continental ExtremeWinterContact, and Tire Pressure Sensors. Tiers are Not - RFT, you can skip Sensors if you can live with warning on your dashboard; also if you go with standard tiers think about backup. TireRack provide all mounting hardware and balancing, above wheels came with centering rings and set of bolts (silver ).

these have worked well in my cars:
http://www.nokiantyres.com/tyre?id=1...e=Nokian+WR+G2

I went with 205/55/17 WS 60 Blizzaks and had zero trouble up to about 7 inches of snow. I don't have the sport package, so I have a little more ground clearance, which helps a bit.

I went with the Dunlop winter tires from tire rack and they worked great for me all last winter and I was in a lot of snow and ice last winter. In a few weeks, the winters will be going back on again.

Get rims/sensors and tires from tire rack or local store. I have blizzaks WS 60 on 18". 2xx/45/18. Dont remember how wide it was. I read its better to have narrow tires with big side wall. So something like TForan has would be ideal 205/55/17. RFT or not is your personal choice but IMO there is very big risk of damaging RFT sidewall in snow than normal and hence its better to go Non RFT route

Originally Posted by bimmerdiesel

Get rims/sensors and tires from tire rack or local store. I have blizzaks WS 60 on 18". 2xx/45/18. Dont remember how wide it was. I read its better to have narrow tires with big side wall. So something like TForan has would be ideal 205/55/17. RFT or not is your personal choice but IMO there is very big risk of damaging RFT sidewall in snow than normal and hence its better to go Non RFT route

And I can spin them at 60 mph. I told the guy at the tire store , I might have to rotate my winter tires. This year with the JBD, I probably will and maybe buy two new ones. The only alternative is to grow up. At 58, that's not going to happen.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I am leaning towards the following choices:

1. Bridgestones Blizzak WS-70.
2, Conti Extreme Winter Contact (Studles Ice+Snow).
3. Hankook W409.

Since my D comes with the Continentals I think that is my first choice.
Internet research shows the Hankook W409 is quite highly regarded and the cheapest of the three.

My local tire shop says that the BMW 3ers in Canada do not come with built-in TPMS senors attached to the rims. But the TPMS works on measuring the diameter of the tire!
He said the way to determine if this is to check the valve on the tires. If the valve has a solid chrome stem then the sensor is built into the rims. If the valve has a flexible (rubber) stem then I do not need to install the TPMS sensor.

I checked and my tire do indeed have the ruber stems valve.
I wonder if he is correct?

Originally Posted by DC-IT

....I checked and my tire do indeed have the ruber stems valve.
I wonder if he is correct?

Sounds correct - I know older Mini tire pressure detection work the same way. It will save you some $$$, and system will work with any wheels; just remember to initialize it when you put new tires.

I just purchased and picked up subject tires from TireRack installed on new wheels. Nothing special about the wheels ($115 ea) but the tires are stock size Bridgestone Blizzack RFT's. I have had excellant performance from Blizzacks so went with them and they are listed as OEM tires for the BMW. I had them shipped to the UPS store in Ogdensburg NY and picked them up last weekend.The total cost was about $1238 US and then I had to pay at the border the HST and of all things duty on the tires. These RFT's are made in Poland and not the US so NAFTA rules don't apply. The wheels were assumed to be made in the USA. Cannot see anywhere that it says that so that was good. Anyway my total was probably less that half that quoted by the BMW dealer to DC-IT
TireRack knows that 2010 Can Spec 335d's don't need TPMs as the car measures pressure loss by individual tire rotation speeds. My valves are rubber and not steal like my Lexus with Pressure monitors.
Cheers

Originally Posted by DC-IT

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I am leaning towards the following choices:

1. Bridgestones Blizzak WS-70.
2, Conti Extreme Winter Contact (Studles Ice+Snow).
3. Hankook W409.

Since my D comes with the Continentals I think that is my first choice.
Internet research shows the Hankook W409 is quite highly regarded and the cheapest of the three.

My local tire shop says that the BMW 3ers in Canada do not come with built-in TPMS senors attached to the rims. But the TPMS works on measuring the diameter of the tire!
He said the way to determine if this is to check the valve on the tires. If the valve has a solid chrome stem then the sensor is built into the rims. If the valve has a flexible (rubber) stem then I do not need to install the TPMS sensor.

I checked and my tire do indeed have the ruber stems valve.
I wonder if he is correct?

Yes he is right No sensors

I have 4 18 inch BMW rims from my 2009 335d that I am going to sell if you are interested in them send me a private message.

DC-IT, the BMW rep is correct, Canadian 3's have an ABS-based (non-sensor) flat-tire detection system that computes differential rotation rates based on the height of the individual tires. When you mount the new tires, run through the BC programs on the turn-signal stalk to get to the tire reset procedure. This baselines the calculations that the system makes to compare relative pressures.

Blizzak WS's are usually pretty soft...great tires but wear quickly. I had W409's on my 540i and they were great tire, but less performance than the summer SportContacts I had. I would consider either the Conti ExtremeContactDS or the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D, next time I have to get winters for the D.

Cheers
D

Thanks DnA Diesel.

I wonder why the Canadian BMWs are different from the US in the TPMS sensors?
It doesn't make sense to import two different types for North America.
But personally I prefer ours without the TPMS sensors which frees us to get any rims.

I can get a better price for the Hankook if it's a suitable Winter tire or else I'm leaning towards the Conti.
The tire shop did warn me that the Bridgestones may only last 2 Winters as after 40% thread wear it performs like all seasons and loose it's winter performance. I was told I could easily get 4 winters on the Hankook.

I live in the NYC area, have a 335D with M sport 193m wheels (18 inch). I really like the wheels and prefer not to have two sets of wheels and swap winter/summer. RFT options are limited for the 193m wheels. Has anyone replaced the OEM summer tires with all season RFTs? Which tire did you pick? I am also considering Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero Serie II for year round use. Any suggestions much appreciated. Also, I have the BMW tire/wheel package, does anyone know how the insurance works for tires that are not exact OEM specifications? Contract was not very clear. Thank you.

Originally Posted by DC-IT

Thanks DnA Diesel.

I wonder why the Canadian BMWs are different from the US in the TPMS sensors?
It doesn't make sense to import two different types for North America.
But personally I prefer ours without the TPMS sensors which frees us to get any rims.

I thought it was because U.S. mandates TPMS, whereas Canada has no such rule. Since TPMS is more expensive, they don't use it in Canada. But, I could be wrong on that.

I had good luck shipping directly to my local garage in Canada from Tire Rack, although you might save a few $ picking them up in a border city. I use 17" Dunlop Winter Sport DSST and am quite happy with them.

I got a tire and wheel package from my local tire specialist, Radial Tire Company. I went with Sport A7 wheels and Dunlop Winter Sport 3d ROF. The wheels fit the car perfectly, using the original lug nuts. Later, we'll see how the tires do in the snow!

I ended up with the Hankook W409 winter tires on a set of alloy rims for a total costs of under CAD $ 1,100.00. These are non RFT but I figured I've driven my D over 30,000 KM and 12 months without getting a flat tire so I should be fine.

Should I get a flat tire I have to call BMW Assist for a tow I guess.

BTW the Hankooks does have more pronounced road noise than the OEM RFT. But this is due to the thread design. I will find out how they perform when the snow hits.

Check out this thread...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=501337

Yesterday + today we had the first real winter storm here in Toronto and the roads were slick with ice and snow.
The D with the Hankook winter tires handled herself very well and got me through a couple of hours of driving through the storm.
Several times the ESC kicks in but the traction remain straight and true with no fish tailing even going up/down hilly terrain when I made a detour to try avoid the heavy traffic.

I am pleased with the Hankook W409 and the $2,500+ savings over the BMW winter wheels.

I guess the only concern is ground clearance and I make sure I have a shovel in the trunk just in case!

I went with a set of 18x8.5 Enkei RPF1s from Tire Rack mated to 235/40/18 Michelin Alpins. I'll report back how they handle the snow once we get some.

Loving my Dunlop Wintersport M3 on ASA rims.

I just installed my snow tire set-up this evening. I went the Tire Rack route: 17x8 Rial Salerno Wheels, 225/45R-17 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D, and TPMS for about $1400.

Recently put on Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 with Rial Salermos from Tirerack, and did a ~1500 mile trip up to Portland - had 2 snow storms, some cold weather, as well as drier warmer conditions on the way back, and the setup really impressed me, snow handling was incredible, dry handling impressive too