550xi vs 550i with winter tires

just to be clear what would give better traction in a winter, rain etc
550xi with all seasons Goodyear tires vs 550i with dedicated winter tires, let say Blizzak or Pirelli assuming cars have similar packages.
Thanks Alex

Any car with winter tires will have better handling than without. A 550i with winter tires is recommended because AWD alone cannot help you stop or corner better when temperatures drop and the weather turns bad. It's great that the xDrive will help you keep moving but things like braking distance and accident avoidance really are things that proper rubber will help.

During the past winter, there was quite a bit of snow in Virginia and my mother's 325i (sport package) was superb in the snow with her 17" snow tires. Obviously ground clearance becomes the bigger issue once there's more than 20cm of snow on the ground.

AWD only helps when you're accelerating - situations where you're coasting or braking and need traction will just depend on the tires.

Best setup is AWD+Winter Tires. Around here, we get a lot of slick ice when things go bad (no salt on roads), last winter I was sliding sideways going about 5 mph on winter tires (in a FWD). I love the hill descent feature that the AWD packages also give, we've got some wicked hills around here.

Examples, for your enjoyment:

i got it 550xi with winter tires is ideal combination, but question was 550 xi all season vs 550i with winter tires, specific uphill, downhill, driving on highway with 2-4 inches snow/rain,breaking,starting on snow covered surfaces......
ALEX

Originally Posted by alex md

but question was 550 xi all season vs 550i with winter tires, specific uphill, downhill, driving on highway with 2-4 inches snow/rain,breaking,starting on snow covered surfaces......
ALEX

I'd say that's a close call - but personally, I'd pick the 550 xi configuration in that case.

Originally Posted by Newmanium

Examples, for your enjoyment:

Brutal!

Here's a previous E60 thread on the subject:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=441966

Even with AWD, the quality of the tires is the most important. On my RL I swapped the Michelin MXV4 for Pilot A/S, and I have not had any problems in Cleveland winters. I know of someone who traded their RL for a CTS-V , and in winter he has Pirelli snows and reported that it was almost as good as his RL. Personally, I am reluctant to go back to FWD, or rear after the past 8 years with an AWD RL and X-Type.

Absolutely better driving with winter tires. I have a 06 330 XI and winter driving is great with all season tires but much better with blizaks.
Huge difference with 2001 530 i. Very poor with all season tires in winter driving and very good with Blizaks.
2010 M3 has a 4.5 inch front clearance; but it too wore Michelin Pilots last winter for a few fun runs (couldn't keep it in the garage).

I had a G35 RWD with Dunlop winter tires and now I have a 535 X drive with all seasons. The winter tires made the RWD driveable in the snow, but IMHO AWD with good tread on all seasons is superior to RWD with snows. You can mitigate, to a degree slips and slides, by going slow and using caution but if you have to go up a hilly road you have no choice and that is where AWD with all seasons far outshines RWD with snows. I must add that the amount of tread on the tire is very relevant. Be careful about blizzaks because they use a certain compound in the outer tread and after it is about half worn the compound is no longer there and they lose some of their ice ability.

Originally Posted by Corgidog

I had a G35 RWD with Dunlop winter tires and now I have a 535 X drive with all seasons. The winter tires made the RWD driveable in the snow, but IMHO AWD with good tread on all seasons is superior to RWD with snows. You can mitigate, to a degree slips and slides, by going slow and using caution but if you have to go up a hilly road you have no choice and that is where AWD with all seasons far outshines RWD with snows. I must add that the amount of tread on the tire is very relevant. Be careful about blizzaks because they use a certain compound in the outer tread and after it is about half worn the compound is no longer there and they lose some of their ice ability.

The Blizzak runflat LM-25s have a different tread compound from the usual Blizzaks. I plan on getting the Blizzak RFT's with my 550i xDrive. With the massive amounts of snow we had here in Pittsburgh last year I'm not taking any chances.

From my time in living in Munich I would say that RWD with Snow tires trumps AWD with all season tires by a significant margin. It will be much more controllable to have snow tires even if it is only rwd. AWD will give you faster acceleration and help if 2 if your wheels are stuck, but if you are driving on roads, that is unlikely.

a 550i with winters is a great car to drive in the snow ONCE UNDERWAY. But the 0-10 mph is difficult. I put 200lbs. of sand in the trunk to help and I was using Dunlop wintersport M2s.

My wife had a 335xi. With xi you punch the gas from a standstill and there is NEVER any question whether you take off, its just a question of how close to 100% acceleration you can get. on fresh snow it can be over 50% IMHO.

550i with snows is tolerable in winter, a 550xi is a no stress proposition in the snow.

I'd go xi for sure, unless they dumb down the sport pack like they did on the E60xis.

Good luck
DRP

Indeed XI with snow tires would be my choice/