What brand of tires did your X3 come with?

Inspired from the other thread about having tire problems, I was wondering what kind of tires your X3 was sporting straight out of the dealership?

Mine are Pirelli Scorpion, and I'm not sure if they are the Scorpion Zero's --I'll have to double check. Does anyone know if this brand is good for snowy sonditions?

Originally Posted by jk330i

Mine are Pirelli Scorpion, and I'm not sure if they are the Scorpion Zero's --I'll have to double check. Does anyone know if this brand is good for snowy sonditions?

Yours are Scorpion STRs, not Zeros. They are all season SUV tires but I don't know much about snow conditions.

Originally Posted by jk330i

Inspired from the other thread about having tire problems, I was wondering what kind of tires your X3 was sporting straight out of the dealership?

Mine are Pirelli Scorpion, and I'm not sure if they are the Scorpion Zero's --I'll have to double check. Does anyone know if this brand is good for snowy sonditions?

No, they are not good for snow. They are all-season tires which with AWD will work okay in the snow but you will have problems when turning and braking. Traction isn't very good. I hear that Dunlop Winter Sports are the way to go. I will try them next winter as I currently have the Pirelli Scorpions on my 2005 X3.

Originally Posted by x3man

No, they are not good for snow. They are all-season tires which with AWD will work okay in the snow but you will have problems when turning and braking. Traction isn't very good. I hear that Dunlop Winter Sports are the way to go. I will try them next winter as I currently have the Pirelli Scorpions on my 2005 X3.

I'm kind of depending on the Scorpions to get me through the mountains in light, snowy conditions. We're talking about an inch of snow at most since roads are constantly being cleared for snowboarders. So I'm wondering if I'm better off with these tires on the X3 compared a little hyundai FWD with snow chains?

I have the Pirelli Scorpion's.

I'd take the X3 over the Pony for the ski-hills. Shouldn't be a problem in my experience with Scorpions on my previous Toyota Tundra.

That said, my '05 3.0I X3 came with the Bridgestone Turanzas which are just peachy on slick road conditions.

Asif

Originally Posted by jk330i

I'm kind of depending on the Scorpions to get me through the mountains in light, snowy conditions. We're talking about an inch of snow at most since roads are constantly being cleared for snowboarders. So I'm wondering if I'm better off with these tires on the X3 compared a little hyundai FWD with snow chains?

I have the scorpions as well and have had no problem in up to 6 inches of snow. Only slide was on partial ice while parking on a graded lot.

I had doubts also, but I'm now convinced they are actually quite good. I'm sure "real" winter tires would be better, but the OEM Scorpipons were more than "good enough". My first experience was three weekes ago. I ran into a snow squal coming over Donner Summit on I-80. The snow build up quickly to 1-3 inches, but I had no problems. Today I hit real blizzard conditions on the same route. I first had to shovel about one-half of the three feet from the last storm to get out of a chalet parking lot near Aline Meadows. I was tempted to use chains, but locals told me the tires and AWD would be good enough. The exit road from Alpine was snow with ice patches and all downhill. I just used 2nd gear in the Steptronic and kept my speed reasonable. Then I-80 had chain controls from the inspection station to Blue Canyon. Again the Pirellis were fine. It was really a pleasure to avoid the on-off-on-off nonsense with chains.

Wow, guys thanks for your input, especially yours b-y, now I feel confident that the scorpions will do fine in light snow

Originally Posted by calgaryx3

I'd take the X3 over the Pony for the ski-hills. Shouldn't be a problem in my experience with Scorpions on my previous Toyota Tundra.

That said, my '05 3.0I X3 came with the Bridgestone Turanzas which are just peachy on slick road conditions.

Asif

yeah the x3 should give you a better feeling then the tundra especially if the tundra was 2wd. i've had 2 tundras and the 2wd does absolute no justive when coming close to slippery conditions. nonetheless its a reliable and wonderfull truck

I have the Michelins on my 06 and it handled excellent in the Blue Canyon snowstorm we just had this past weekend.

Pirelli Scorpion STRs came with the X3, and are acceptable in light snow (<2"). However, we swapped them currently for a set of Pirelli 210 Snowsports (Dedicated snow tires) and it reduces a bit of the oversteer and calms down the tail-happy antics the X3 used to have aith the all-seasons, without any tradeoff in normal highway driving as far as I can see. Of course, the end result is that it's more controllable with the snow tires, as you can still kick the tail out very easily even with DSC on.

My 04 has Scorpion STR's with 40 K miles and lots of tread, my 06 has Michelin Pilot car tires with 23 K miles and less than 1/2 of the tread left. The Scorpions are SUV tires and fine in up to 10" of snow, the Michelins are ok for light snow only. The Michelins do have a softer ride, if that is important to you.

My 05 has the Scorpions and when I drove up (and down) to (and from) the mountain here in Steamboat Springs this morning in 8", all was well. Never have had a problem in any of the dumps we get (up to 18" one morning last year). Of course, its Champagne Powder, not Sierra Cement.

Cheers

Originally Posted by X3 Skier

Of course, its Champagne Powder, not Sierra Cement.

Cheers

Thats what I hate about most of the snow we get around here. Wet snow sucks and it's a pain to drive around in (indeed it's what makes my X3 tailhappy). Went to Montreal a week ago, and I loved the dry snow they get up there most of the winter. Driving in dry stuff is more fun too, easier to tell what the car to do.

I have Michelin Pilot Run Flats. They handle great in the rain and of course dry pavement (no snow exposure yet) however they are a bit loud at highway speeds.

17" wheels on my 2007 X3 came with Pirelli Scorpion STRs. They seem to do a decent job in the snow. Dedicated snow tires would be better obviously, but with full tread the Scorpions do ok.

My 2007 X3 also came with Pirelli Scorpions. Although the car outhandles most 2-wheel drive vehicles in any winter conditions Canada would throw at it (rain, freezing rain ice rink, packed snow, 12" of fresh fluffy stuff, deep wet snow / slush) I am seriously considering getting dedicated winter tires next season. There are two things that bug me with how the car handles with the Pirellis: braking distance on wet snow / slush is rather long - especially compared to how the car accelerates; also, all the electronics that is supposed to stabilize the car seems to make things somewhat unpredictable in deeper wet snow - the car tends to understeer badly if you push it at low speeds - and with the long branking distance it makes things difficult to recover from; the problem is not as apparent at higher speeds with good amount of torq to the wheels - in these conditions X-drive very effectively corrects by letting the tail slide out a bit.

Overall, I am very happy with the SAV for Canadian winters - an almost perfect balance of ground clearance, handling, and excellent traction. I am looking forward to driving it with dedicated winter tires next year.

my new x3 sport can with 18" Michelin Pilot HX MX4 - hope these are adequate for winter season. I had pirelli scorpions on my previous X3 and they did great. Anyone else have winter driving experience with these tires?

Originally Posted by HGX3.0

my new x3 sport can with 18" Michelin Pilot HX MX4 - hope these are adequate for winter season. I had pirelli scorpions on my previous X3 and they did great. Anyone else have winter driving experience with these tires?

Are yours Run flats (ZP)?

Originally Posted by SFX3

Are yours Run flats (ZP)?

nope

i have the 17" Michelin's on my 06 and the handle just fine in the snow.

Mine are the Michellin Pilots for the standard rim size... W/E that is, lol, I'm being so careless of the BMW (not really though)... I believe its 17". They are run flats.

nope, they aren't run flats. at least everytime someone thinks they are, they turn out NOT to be.

Originally Posted by x3pig

the car tends to understeer badly if you push it at low speeds - and with the long branking distance it makes things difficult to recover from; the problem is not as apparent at higher speeds with good amount of torq to the wheels - in these conditions X-drive very effectively corrects by letting the tail slide out a bit.

I too have noticed this. I found an easy solution, although admittedly this is on snow tires. See, at low speeds, most if not all of the power goes to the rear wheels. When it starts to understeer, the xDrive "thinks" to also go rear drive. Unfortunately at low speeds, this often exaserpates the understeer because the front wheels are underdriven.

However, turn the steering wheel more than you might usually do so, and the front wheels will hook up a bit better and the understeer will be minimized. For example, I was plowing along in some dry snow on some neighborhood roads. As I took a right turn at ~5-10mph, the front wheels started plowing forwards. I got off the gas/brake, turned the steering wheel an extra 1/4 of a turn, felt the front wheels hook up (because the chassis/steering is BMW-communicative ). Then it was a matter of blipping the gas, gettin the tail out, and drifting the rest of the way out. Of course, the last part is purely optional. Just turn the wheel more and it'll get back in line.

Of course: 1) this was at low speeds. 2) snow tires. and 3) DSC off. If anyone gets a chance, try it in a safe place. I found I could make the X3 do exactly what I wanted it to do, which makes it very very fun