[BenN]

Hi Guys,

Not long now until my 120d M Sport arrives!! Ive decided to prepare earlier this year and get a set of Alloy Wheels and Winter Tyres ordered ready for when she arrives. I live quite high up in the North East england and our village is garanteed snow, even if its dry down the road: has its own little ecosystem!!

Has anyone experienced the F20 in the snow, with or without winter tyres? Just wondering what your thoughts are...

I couldnt even get my FWD golf off the drive last year without a set of Winter Tyres, so im hoping F20 is still driveable

[fuzzer]

Like all cars it will be near useless with the incorrect tyres.

Buy a set of winters and you shouldn't even have to clear the driveway tbh.

Makes a huge difference!

[BenN]

Thanks for the reassurance Fuzzer, i see you live in Scotland: i guess a set of Winters work well for you then eh?

I invested in my Winter set around Christmas last year, only when i couldnt move my car; so when are you guys planning on fitting your Winters in the UK this year?

[ovekvam]

I drove an F20 116d Sport on an ice racing event last winter. It had decent winter tires, and I can assure you that the car handles very well in slippery conditions. Just like in the summer, the balance is very good, and you can go through corners right on the limit without falling into severe understeer or oversteer. If you provoke the car, the DTC will allow you to go slightly sideways as well.

If you switch off DSC completely, the car is a lot of fun to drive. An electronic, fake differential brake system will kick in and allow you to drift around the bends.

The car is also remarkably stable and agile at the same time, which is quite unusual. It will turn quickly and easily into corners, and you can bring back very wide slides with a swift steering input.

While the handling is almost boring in the summer, due to the efficient and benign behaviour, it feels rather sporty in winter conditions.

[BenN]

Sounds like i should be in for some fun then

So does the DTC allow for a little bit of slip in summer whilst active, and how does it compare when you turn it off, does it really go off? I also saw that the sport+ mode does something to the DTC, does anyone know how this changes the characteristics of the car?

This is all new to me, my golf's ESP system rarely let anly slip whilst active, and i never really tried it with it off as it was really annoying and the dashboard just blinks constantly whilst deactivated

[ovekvam]

There are basically 3 modes:
DSC: Not much slip allowed. Any sliding will be corrected.
DTC: Wheelspin is allowed, and some sliding as long as you keep the steering fairly straight.
Off: Fake differential brake activated, and everything allowed. No blinking.

Sport+ activates DTC. So does one click on the DTC/DSC button. A long click turns it off.

[BenN]

Originally Posted by ovekvam

There are basically 3 modes:
DSC: Not much slip allowed. Any sliding will be corrected.
DTC: Wheelspin is allowed, and some sliding as long as you keep the steering fairly straight.
Off: Fake differential brake activated, and everything allowed. No blinking.

Sport+ activates DTC. So does one click on the DTC/DSC button. A long click turns it off.

Thanks ovekvam, some useful information there!!

[fuzzer]

Originally Posted by BenN

Thanks for the reassurance Fuzzer, i see you live in Scotland: i guess a set of Winters work well for you then eh?

I invested in my Winter set around Christmas last year, only when i couldnt move my car; so when are you guys planning on fitting your Winters in the UK this year?

I normally put my winters on at the start of November and take then off again in April ish.

There is a saying in Scotland " ne'er cast a clot till may is oot"

Basically means that it can snow till June lol and last year it almost did snow in may.

I'm looking at the winter tyre sets on offer from BMW and its only the Bridgestone lm32 tyres that are available in runflats. They get slaughtered in the tests that are done so I've got no idea why BMW are offering them. Looks like I'm going to have to either go down the regular tyres route or buy steels and source my own tyres.

My preference is Dunlop or Goodyear. Being the same company it won't make much difference but the ultra grip 8 looks awesome

[ovekvam]

I bought Michelin X-Ice3, not run-flats. I have used X-Ice2 the last couple of winters, and I am very pleased with them.

[BenN]

Originally Posted by fuzzer

I normally put my winters on at the start of November and take then off again in April ish.

There is a saying in Scotland " ne'er cast a clot till may is oot"

Basically means that it can snow till June lol and last year it almost did snow in may.

I'm looking at the winter tyre sets on offer from BMW and its only the Bridgestone lm32 tyres that are available in runflats. They get slaughtered in the tests that are done so I've got no idea why BMW are offering them. Looks like I'm going to have to either go down the regular tyres route or buy steels and source my own tyres.

My preference is Dunlop or Goodyear. Being the same company it won't make much difference but the ultra grip 8 looks awesome

I had a set of Hankook I*Cept Evo W310 on 16" steels last year, found them to be really good in the snow, got my golf mobile anyway! They are going on the mrs' leon this year and ive ordered a set of those tyres on a 16" alloy for the BMW this year ready for when it arrives.

I ordered my alloy and tyre combination from www.tyremen.co.uk i found them to be very competetively priced and very helpful on the phone. Upgrading from steels to alloys didnt cost the earth unlike most aftermarket alloy stores. The alloys havent come into stock yet (on back order) so i dont have them in my posession yet, but apparently theyll be dispatched this week. Obviously not a runflat tyre, but nothing a can of sealant or the AA wont fix if they get punctured )

For those worried about the BMW warranty, i ran the idea of putting aftermarket alloys/tyres onto the car when it arrives past my dealer, and it will not affect the warranty aslong as they are the correct spec for the car. BMW's price for winter tyres + steels/alloys is terrible.

Will post pics when they arrive if people are interested!!

[fuzzer]

My tyres are looking good.

195/55/16 Goodyear ultra grip 7s are coming in at 669 including delivery and steel wheels

[croosen]

Originally Posted by fuzzer

My tyres are looking good.

195/55/16 Goodyear ultra grip 7s are coming in at 669 including delivery and steel wheels

I'm looking for the ultragrip 8's. 195 or 205, what would you do? 195 more appropiate for winter?

[fuzzer]

The my tyres website is saying 195 for the f20. So I'm just going to go with that . The only reason to go for 205s would be if you had self parking in the car as that needs the 205/55 tyre.

I've been reading loads of reviews and It would appear that the ultra grip 7 handles better in wet conditions than the 8 . The 7 is a c for wet conditions and the 8 is an e. looks like the. 8 doesn't do well with aqua planing and wet braking.

[ovekvam]

In the old days, winter tires were usually rather narrow compared to summer tires. Now most car manufacturers recommend the same tire size for summer and winter use.

A wider winter tire will make the car more stable, and it provides more grip on both icy and bare roads. Narrow tires are better in deep snow or slush.

I went with 205/55-16. This is a very common size, making the tires cheaper.

[BenN]

Originally Posted by ovekvam

In the old days, winter tires were usually rather narrow compared to summer tires. Now most car manufacturers recommend the same tire size for summer and winter use.

A wider winter tire will make the car more stable, and it provides more grip on both icy and bare roads. Narrow tires are better in deep snow or slush.

I went with 205/55-16. This is a very common size, making the tires cheaper.

Ive also gone for 205/55/16, seems a common size. Ive heard the 195's are slightly better in the snow/slush but would suffer lack of grip outside of these conditions.

I picked up a set of alutec alloys with the hankook tyres in this size, with locking wheel bolts and a continental tyre repair kit for £750 delivered

fuzzer, where did you look at buying your ultra grips and steels from?

[iBeech]

i've found that nothing helps enough to make driving rear wheel drive cars anywhere near good in the snow

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by iBeech

i've found that nothing helps enough to make driving wheel drive cars anywhere near good in the snow

What do you mean with driving wheel cars?

Rear wheel drive? I could drive FWD in the summer, but in the winter I need RWD. Having drive shafts connected to the steering wheels is very disturbing when I want to feel how much grip I have. FWD cars also tend to be front heavy, which messes up the balance of the car.

[tawia]

I'm looking at Dunlop 4D winters or continental 830 winters.
Can get 225/40/18 all round for £700 so can fit them to the OE m-sport alloys.
Still trying to talk myself into the spend tho

[BenN]

Originally Posted by tawia

I'm looking at Dunlop 4D winters or continental 830 winters.
Can get 225/40/18 all round for £700 so can fit them to the OE m-sport alloys.
Still trying to talk myself into the spend tho

least if your mounting them on a seperate set of rims, theres no extra cost afterwards if you can fit them on your drive! Also reducing the wear on your summer tyres and you should get about 4 or so seasons out of a set <--- that was my justification anyway; as it is alot of money for the odd-week or so we get snow

[CovRob]

Originally Posted by BenN

Has anyone experienced the F20 in the snow, with or without winter tyres? Just wondering what your thoughts are...

A friend of the family who is from the UK but is now based in Germany with BMW drove their 1 series over to the UK for Christmas a few years ago when we all had quite a snow dump plus freezing conditions...winter tyres were fitted and he didn't even think anything of the journey...no problems at all and couldn't understand why it wasn't standard practice to swap tyres here too.

I have a set of steels with wheel trims and winter tyres ready to go on early next month.

[ovekvam]

In Scandinavia, if you don't have winter wheels for your car, it means that you car is locked into storage for the winter.

[fuzzer]

Ordered the 195/55/16 runflat Goodyear ultra grip 8's on steel wheels from the dealer.

Just the wait for them now, seemingly they are on back order just now from Germany, so need to just wait and see how long they take.. Hopefully not too long.

Could have got the Bridgestone Lm32 runflats next day but they have taken a beating in every review I've read.