ED travel - snow tires

Hi, I want some suggestions on what I should do for my ED trip in February/March.

I know that it is highly recommended to put on snow tires in Germany (Austria is required). However, I plan to pick up the car in Munich but drop it off in Nice, France. Therefore, I cannot really rent snow tires at that place near the Welt. I would have to drive back there to return the tires, which defeats the purpose of the trip to Nice.

I was planning to stay in Europe for one week: Munich and nearby places (one full day), Switzerland/basel/berne/etc. (1-2 days), Lake Como (one day), Nice (1-2 days).

Which BMW, and what tires will you have on the car?

It's a 2013 335i sedan. It will be stock tires.

Originally Posted by sushikiller

It's a 2013 335i sedan. It will be stock tires.

The question is whether you will have all seasons or summer tires (which come with the sport packages). With all season, you could probably get by. With summers, absolutely not.

Originally Posted by cwsqbm

The question is whether you will have all seasons or summer tires (which come with the sport packages). With all season, you could probably get by. With summers, absolutely not.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by sushikiller

It's a 2013 335i sedan. It will be stock tires.

Assumming you are buying a "335i Sedan" then the only tires available are 18" RFT stock "All Season". You have to buy one of the other "lines" (Modern, Luxury, Sport, M Sport) to even be able to get the option or equipment to get "Summer" Tires". So you should be good to go.

Not wishing to sound biased - and I think others on here will verify that I often provide independent advice whenevr asked, even though I have a vested interest - but with regard to driving in snow & ice I would certainly not agree that a 335i with 18" tires is "good to go". Anything but, if conditions are bad - and if there's snow falling and settling, the difference in road-holding between M & S tires and Winter tires is significant.

...and do't forget, if dropping off in Nice, you will need to obtain a breathalyser kit prior to entering France, where one is required by law, and keep it inside the car.

Originally Posted by cwsqbm

The question is whether you will have all seasons or summer tires (which come with the sport packages). With all season, you could probably get by. With summers, absolutely not.

It's not all season tires nor is it summer tires. It is the standard one that come with the car.

Originally Posted by john lance

Not wishing to sound biased - and I think others on here will verify that I often provide independent advice whenevr asked, even though I have a vested interest - but with regard to driving in snow & ice I would certainly not agree that a 335i with 18" tires is "good to go". Anything but, if conditions are bad - and if there's snow falling and settling, the difference in road-holding between M & S tires and Winter tires is significant.

...and do't forget, if dropping off in Nice, you will need to obtain a breathalyser kit prior to entering France, where one is required by law, and keep it inside the car.

Breathalyzer kit in France? Wow...that's ridiculous. Might as well get a blood sample test kit and urine test kit to detect for driving under drug influence.....

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think i'm going to change my itinerary by not dropping off the car in Nice.

So here's my route:

By Driving
1) Munich
2) Switzerland (Basel, Berne, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Lucerne)
3) If there's time, then to Austria (Salzburg, possibly Vienna) >> requires snow tires.
4) Drop car back at Munich

By train
Afterward, i'm going to take a train to Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome) because I've heard that Italy traffic violations (not parking tickets) is ridiculous. Not going to get those tickets with my new car.

Either way, I'm planning to rent the snow tires just to be safe driving on those alps in Switzerland, and especially for Austria (a mandated law).

Originally Posted by sushikiller

It's not all season tires nor is it summer tires. It is the standard one that come with the car.

The standard tires on BMW without sport package are all-season tires.

The standard tires put a BMW with a sport package are summer (aka performance) tires.

As for the rules in Austria:

Winter tyres are mandatory in Austria. The law states that passenger cars with a permissible maximum weight of up to 3.5 tonnes may be operated only between 1 November and 15 April in winter conditions such as snow, slush or ice if winter tyres have been installed on all wheels. All-season tyres are also considered winter tyres if they have the "M + S" mark.

Originally Posted by sushikiller

Breathalyzer kit in France? Wow...that's ridiculous. Might as well get a blood sample test kit and urine test kit to detect for driving under drug influence.....

To have a breathalyzer kit in the car has been French law since 1st July this year but only strictly enforced since 1st November. It's only a small item costing 3 or 4 Euros. The whole thing has been controversial - see http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug...lyzer-20120826

Yikes! I wonder if Hertz put one in the Renault Clio I'm driving here in Normandy? No mention was made at the Hertz rental counter.

All season m&S are standard on BMW sedans and will serve just fine. We drove them thru snow in Germany, Austria,Italy and Switzerland without any problems in February. The real issue is not driving on brand new tires which have good traction, it is driving too fast on icy roads when temps drop below freezing.