How are the Goodyear LS2 RFT's for NE winters?

I live in NY and my plan was to run my stock Msport 19" wheels/tires from Dec-April for winter use. My car is a 2013 535xi so they came with the dreaded Goodyear LS2 all season tires. I know this tire is prone to sidewall bubbles but how are they in terms of traction over the winter months combined with the xdrive? I don't plan on taking the car out with anything above 4-6" of snow on the ground. I am concerned about how traction is when its below freezing and in slushy mix.

Alan

the rubber on these tires is too hard in cold weather to give you good grip. I'd go with a winter tire setup...much safer. It really isn't about just the traction to move forward (we mostly drive on bare pavement anyway) its more the ability to grip to stop. I once watched a show where the host gave the example of taking a hockey puck and skipping it bown a driveway and watching it go quite a distance. Then he suggested trying the same with sponge or similar soft rubber object with te same weight as the hockey puck. It pretty much stopped on a dime. That's the reality - stick or slide. I like stick myself.

As Sharbotcom noted, all-seasons are too hard in cold weather to be effective. Once the regular daytime temp remains below 7C or 45F they are no longer soft enough to provide good traction and handling. Winter tires are not just for traction but also for superior braking and cornering. These benefits are not available with any type of all-season tire.
The X-drive will help with acceleration but it doesn't help with braking, especially in slushy, slippery conditions.
Go with winter tires and enjoy your car to its potential.
Remember the most important part of winter driving is the person behind the wheel.

While I agree that nothing beats a set of dedicated winter tires, I have managed just fine with all season tires and x drive. We don't get that much snow in NY, and when we do, the streets are salted pretty quickly. By the way, I was able to drive through this last week without any issues.

As far as all season tires go, the GY eagle LS is not that good in the snow, I find the Conti contact better when things get slippery. You might be able to get away with it the 1st year if you stay in the city, but my guess its that you will need to do something next winter.

I put a set of BMW OE P/N Dunlop Wintersport 3D Runflats with BMW OE wheels. Same as what's listed on BMW Canada's website on my 555xi sport. The tires came mounted, with center caps, and TPMS.



For a 550, I would not trust the OE Goodyear LS's for winter (in my climate). Just in the days that temps dropped in the 30's, and in the wet I could tell the car did not have tons of grip. I ordered a set of wheels and tires from the dealer--the nice part is that since it's an OE P/N that's an assembly, it's covered under my tire and wheel package. BMW parts was extremely competitive on price.

So far the temps have dropped into the low 30's at night with some wet roads and some minor ice. I'm glad I got these tires.

The ride is good, and the tires are quiet. They are downsized to 18" but I've seen no deterioration in ride. Turn in is sharper.

I put them on 100 miles ago and examined the wheels and tires. No dents, no bubbles. I think Gen II of the LS' might be improved. I did run my psi at 37 front/38 rear. I'm running 36 all around.

You should be fine. I am in Chicago and have no traction issues with mine, even though I have xdrive. It's the same goodyear tires, but on 18" wheels. May be with the exception of a few of us that come here, a good majority of the folks that buy these cars drive them as-is, with the factory tires, without issues. Bottom line - for normal driving in snow/slit, these tires are just fine, especially since you have xdrive.

Theoretically and in actual tests by Tire Rack (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=109) the winter tires will preform better in terms of stopping distance and acceleration in the snow. Having said that I can testify that the 19" LS2's on my 535Xi preformed just fine accelerating in the snow. I was never able to break them loose in normal driving while driving in 4"-5" of snow even from a standing start on a substantial hill.

Stopping may be another story. I never felt it was inadequate in normal driving, but Tire Rack measured a 30 ft. stopping distance difference at 30 mph in the snow. That can be significant depending on how you drive in the snow.

Personally, I find that the all-season tires work for me in the kind of weather we have in southern CT where the snow is cleared pretty rapidly from the streets and the daytime temperatures are usually above 25-30 deg F. They also serve me well for occasional winter forays into the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.

I dumped the 19" LS2's in favor of OEM 18" Continentals after 8 failures in 6,000 miles. I have had no failures of the Continentals in 10,000 miles. I see no difference in winter driving between the two.

Agree you should be fine with the LS2's and all-wheel drive. I haven't used dedicated snows in 20 years and we do get some pretty mean lake effect snow in Northern Ohio. I did not have any problems last winter with my M-Sport, although it was a mild winter. The bubble issue may be more of a factor since you live in NY. I have over 20,000 miles on my LS2 and have had no issues.

I'm not sure what Goodyear tires I have on my 535i but they faired very well last winter and I don't have xdrive.

Originally Posted by Gilgorm

As Sharbotcom noted, all-seasons are too hard in cold weather to be effective. Once the regular daytime temp remains below 7C or 45F they are no longer soft enough to provide good traction and handling. Winter tires are not just for traction but also for superior braking and cornering. These benefits are not available with any type of all-season tire.
The X-drive will help with acceleration but it doesn't help with braking, especially in slushy, slippery conditions.
Go with winter tires and enjoy your car to its potential.
Remember the most important part of winter driving is the person behind the wheel.

You are talking about summer tires, not all seasons. All seasons grip much below that.

I lived in the Northeast for 34 years and the mid-atlantic for 4. During that time I had RWD, 4WD and AWD. For the most part, with AWD or 4WD, I was 100% fine with all seasons. We just don't get that much snow up there to justify full snows. Plus, I never "HAD" to make it anywhere, so if the snow was really bad, I could stay home or take off.

If you live in a rural area that doesn't get plowed, has big drifts, etc, you might think differently. But I was in New Hampshire in February with a ton of snow on All Seasons with AWD and I was fine...both going, stopping and turning.

Alan, I think you're fine.

Originally Posted by John NY

While I agree that nothing beats a set of dedicated winter tires, I have managed just fine with all season tires and x drive. We don't get that much snow in NY, and when we do, the streets are salted pretty quickly. By the way, I was able to drive through this last week without any issues.

Exactly.

I also have a set of Goodyear LS2 run-flat in my garage right now. I am debating whether I should put snow tires on. Mine is 550i RWD and I live in NE Ohio where we do have lake effect snow.

My Audi quattro came with LS2 as stock tires although they had been used for 4 winters but I never liked it. Later on I switched to winter tires and they felt much better.

Originally Posted by Silververtu

I also have a set of Goodyear LS2 run-flat in my garage right now. I am debating whether I should put snow tires on. Mine is 550i RWD and I live in NE Ohio where we do have lake effect snow.

My Audi quattro came with LS2 as stock tires although they had been used for 4 winters but I never liked it. Later on I switched to winter tires and they felt much better.

I drove my RWD 535 through "snowmageddon" the first year I had it. Did fine, but I wouldn't want to do it often. In the mid-Atlantic, I'd say it's debatable. In Cleveland, I'd say snows all the way.

I also have a set of Goodyear LS2 run-flat in my garage right now. I am debating whether I should put snow tires on. Mine is 550i RWD and I live in NE Ohio where we do have lake effect snow.

My Audi quattro came with LS2 as stock tires although they had been used for 4 winters but I never liked it. Later on I switched to winter tires and they felt much better.

Silververtu, I wouldn't dream of driving in NE Ohio with a RWD with all-seaons. I'm a bit further east along Lake Erie and I didn't want to trust the all-seasons. I travel to CCF often--I'd rather have snows, that have compounds that are rated for cold temps and tread for snow.

Stopping with snows is better than all-seasons.

Pros and cons, but it comes down to this (IMO)
-if you might actually need to get some place in an emergency
-you need traction given or Great Lakes climate
-benfits of handling in snow and ice.

When the temps dropped into the lower 40's the GY's were not confidence building. Add in rain it made my mind up for me....dedicated snows.

Just my .02. I know the east coast guys can get hit by nor'easters and some other winter weather. In our area, we can get 2ft. snowstorm out of the blue. For me, snows are the way to go. The 550 is a powerful car with a lot of torque. Plus I wanted to be able to move around idiots with bald tires.

I am thinking about putting winter tires on my 2013 535xi with the M Sport package. The OEM tire is the 245/40R19 Goodyear LS2. Can someone give me some advice on what size rim I would need if I wanted to go down to an 18" wheel for the winter tires so that I keep the same overall diameter of the 19" OEM wheel?

Originally Posted by SaratogaEric

I am thinking about putting winter tires on my 2013 535xi with the M Sport package. The OEM tire is the 245/40R19 Goodyear LS2. Can someone give me some advice on what size rim I would need if I wanted to go down to an 18" wheel for the winter tires so that I keep the same overall diameter of the 19" OEM wheel?

The OEM 18" tire size is 245/45/18 which has the same diameter as the 245/40/19. You would want wheels compatible with that tire.

Radarguy....thanks for the info. How would I know what rim size will work on the 2013 535xi with the 245/45R18s? I'm obviously a newbie at this . I don't see anywhere where it shows me my OEM spec...I have the MSport model on my F10

Go to tirerack.com and plug in your car info.

Shows you all the sizes you need to know.

I took the safer route and slapped on some 245/40/19 Blizzak LM60's over the weekend. Didn't want to deal with the LS2 issues plus getting caught in a middle of a snow storm with a new baby in the car. They feel better than the RFT's too

Alan

The place where you buy the tires will tell you what the proper rims are for a 2013 535xi with 245/45/18 tires. Or, you can call Tire Rack and they will tell you. Both tire size and vehicle determine which rims are acceptable. A lot of BMW dealers sell winter tire/wheel packages and depending on the dealer they can be competitively priced.