Winter Tyres

deanyoungson · 12-09-2014, 10:42 AM

Hi all,

Okay so the past few days have been quite frosty/icy in the UK and I am swaying towards swapping out my Pirellis for winter rubber.

I want to keep the 19" M Performance rims so will be looking for a 19" tyre.

Current sizes are - front 225/35 R19 and rear 245/30 R19

The only option available is -

Pirelli Sottozero II, but they are coming in at over a £1000, which is a bit steep considering Christmas is upon us, so I have a questions for all the tyre nuts out there...

Would I be able to use the following Nokian sizes?

FRONT - Nokian WR A3 235/35 R19 - will the 10mm width be an issue?
REAR - Nokian WR A3 245/40 R19 - will the 5mm tire wall height be an issue?

Not only are they cheap but they get rave reviews!

Your advise/help would be much appreciated guys...

Ritz42 · 12-09-2014, 11:05 AM

When it comes to tire sizing, use these two pages to help determine if a particular wheel/tire package will work best (with regards to keeping the speedo accurate)
http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator
and
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

You want to try to be within 3% to keep the speedo and odometer accurate. I cannot speak to what will fit clearance wise on your car though, sorry.

deanyoungson · 12-09-2014, 11:24 AM

Brilliant thank you for this, looks like the fronts are okay at around 1% but the rears are way out, will have to look at taking the hit on the Sottozero II's...

Sportstick · 12-09-2014, 11:35 AM

I understand your desire for economy and not buying more wheels, but it may be undone in the long term. First of all, the tires you are considering are too wide for optimal winter use. You want to get down to 205 or 215 width for improved traction on snow and ice. Wider winter tires exist, but continuously deteriorate the ability to gain traction and the "snowshoe" effect occurs when the weight of the car is spread over a larger contact patch. The desired width is most likely accomplished with a 17" wheel which can fit over the blue MSport calipers, if you have those, depending on the wheel. I found a choice of such wheels at tirerack.com. You may know the equivalent kind of source in the U.K.

Further, repeated dismounting and mounting deteriorates the tires and possibly the wheels. It would only take one problem/damage to potentially offset the savings of buying new tires on low-cost winter rims. Also, depending on the value of your time, it is far quicker and cheaper to do a "20 lug nut pitstop" at a local shop where your off-season wheels/tires might be stored than to go through the entire process plus rebalancing with its time and cost.

I suggest you explore Michelin XIce xi3. I believe 205/50-17 provides the proper size for all four corners, and, as stated, there are some wheels which will provide a proper brake clearance. This tire size has almost the identical diameter and circumference as the original 225/40-18, so it maintains dynamics and speedometer/odometer integrity.

Cyberdemon · 12-09-2014, 12:05 PM

Skinnier tires are always preferable, but when the availability isn't an option any snow compound tire is still a better choice.

Swapping tires on the same rims like mentioned is not recommended. Not only are you increasing the chances of the shop damaging your rim during mounting, but it is bad for the tires. A cheap set of alloys is the better way to go.

DSTR · 12-09-2014, 02:01 PM

I have the Pirelli's on a second set of M235 wheels I purchased from Ebay. Pirelli's are super! Factory size.

flyaway · 12-09-2014, 02:07 PM

It is well known that narrower tyres are better for traction in the snow, I'm not sure is always the case on the ice or in the wet, especially stability-wise. Actually I think in southern Britain (and in Belgium, where I live) in the winter there is not so much snow, but rather low/near freezing temperatures with icy water. I personally use the 18 inch OEM setup with 245/35/18 rear and 225/45/18 front Pirelli Sottozero II tyres and until now (second winter) no problem at all. Even more, I can use and enjoy the car normally all year, especially that for the M135i, acceptable traction is difficult to obtain with a 225 wide tyre in wet conditions.

so if the price it's not an issue, go for it but keep in mind that 19 inch tyre profile might be a little hursh (comfort wise) for winter.

BD_F22 · 12-09-2014, 03:24 PM

Look at Alzor wheels from ECS.. They are good enough quality for winter and will run you something like $400 for a set of 18" wheels and then get Dunlop Winter Maxx snow tires which should be around $650 for the set. All together you are looking at a little more than $1k for rims and tires if you are on a budget. I had this exact setup on my Audi with zero issues.

12-09-2014, 10:42 AM	#1
deanyoungson Enlisted Member 9 Rep 32 Posts Drives: BMW M235i Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Birmingham, UK iTrader: (0)	Winter Tyres Hi all, Okay so the past few days have been quite frosty/icy in the UK and I am swaying towards swapping out my Pirellis for winter rubber. I want to keep the 19" M Performance rims so will be looking for a 19" tyre. Current sizes are - front 225/35 R19 and rear 245/30 R19 The only option available is - Pirelli Sottozero II, but they are coming in at over a £1000, which is a bit steep considering Christmas is upon us, so I have a questions for all the tyre nuts out there... Would I be able to use the following Nokian sizes? FRONT - Nokian WR A3 235/35 R19 - will the 10mm width be an issue? REAR - Nokian WR A3 245/40 R19 - will the 5mm tire wall height be an issue? Not only are they cheap but they get rave reviews! Your advise/help would be much appreciated guys...
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12-09-2014, 11:05 AM	#2
Ritz42 Private First Class 23 Rep 139 Posts Drives: F22 & R56 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: 86Bro iTrader: (0)	When it comes to tire sizing, use these two pages to help determine if a particular wheel/tire package will work best (with regards to keeping the speedo accurate) http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator and http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html You want to try to be within 3% to keep the speedo and odometer accurate. I cannot speak to what will fit clearance wise on your car though, sorry.
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12-09-2014, 11:24 AM	#3
deanyoungson Enlisted Member 9 Rep 32 Posts Drives: BMW M235i Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Birmingham, UK iTrader: (0)	Brilliant thank you for this, looks like the fronts are okay at around 1% but the rears are way out, will have to look at taking the hit on the Sottozero II's...
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12-09-2014, 11:35 AM	#4
Sportstick Major General 4651 Rep 6,027 Posts Drives: '15 228i and '24 X3 sDrive30i Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Southwest USA iTrader: (0)	I understand your desire for economy and not buying more wheels, but it may be undone in the long term. First of all, the tires you are considering are too wide for optimal winter use. You want to get down to 205 or 215 width for improved traction on snow and ice. Wider winter tires exist, but continuously deteriorate the ability to gain traction and the "snowshoe" effect occurs when the weight of the car is spread over a larger contact patch. The desired width is most likely accomplished with a 17" wheel which can fit over the blue MSport calipers, if you have those, depending on the wheel. I found a choice of such wheels at tirerack.com. You may know the equivalent kind of source in the U.K. Further, repeated dismounting and mounting deteriorates the tires and possibly the wheels. It would only take one problem/damage to potentially offset the savings of buying new tires on low-cost winter rims. Also, depending on the value of your time, it is far quicker and cheaper to do a "20 lug nut pitstop" at a local shop where your off-season wheels/tires might be stored than to go through the entire process plus rebalancing with its time and cost. I suggest you explore Michelin XIce xi3. I believe 205/50-17 provides the proper size for all four corners, and, as stated, there are some wheels which will provide a proper brake clearance. This tire size has almost the identical diameter and circumference as the original 225/40-18, so it maintains dynamics and speedometer/odometer integrity. Last edited by Sportstick; 12-09-2014 at 11:43 AM..
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12-09-2014, 12:05 PM	#5
Cyberdemon Brigadier General 1538 Rep 3,331 Posts Drives: 2020 X5 40i, 2018 M3 Comp Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Long Island NY iTrader: (3)	Skinnier tires are always preferable, but when the availability isn't an option any snow compound tire is still a better choice. Swapping tires on the same rims like mentioned is not recommended. Not only are you increasing the chances of the shop damaging your rim during mounting, but it is bad for the tires. A cheap set of alloys is the better way to go. __________________ Current: '20 X5, '18 M3 ZCP Previous: '11 E90 335i, '11 E90 M3, '16 VW GTI, '15 M235i, '13 335i, '08 TL-S, '00 Corvette
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12-09-2014, 02:01 PM	#6
DSTR Captain 1237 Rep 873 Posts Drives: 22 M240iX / 23 M2 Tor-Red Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: EU / Dubai / Asia iTrader: (0)	I have the Pirelli's on a second set of M235 wheels I purchased from Ebay. Pirelli's are super! Factory size. Last edited by DSTR; 12-09-2014 at 02:07 PM..
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12-09-2014, 02:07 PM	#7
flyaway Private First Class 141 Rep 171 Posts Drives: entry level M car,nothing more Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Belgium iTrader: (0)	It is well known that narrower tyres are better for traction in the snow, I'm not sure is always the case on the ice or in the wet, especially stability-wise. Actually I think in southern Britain (and in Belgium, where I live) in the winter there is not so much snow, but rather low/near freezing temperatures with icy water. I personally use the 18 inch OEM setup with 245/35/18 rear and 225/45/18 front Pirelli Sottozero II tyres and until now (second winter) no problem at all. Even more, I can use and enjoy the car normally all year, especially that for the M135i, acceptable traction is difficult to obtain with a 225 wide tyre in wet conditions. so if the price it's not an issue, go for it but keep in mind that 19 inch tyre profile might be a little hursh (comfort wise) for winter.
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12-09-2014, 03:24 PM	#8
BD_F22 BD_e92 358 Rep 1,748 Posts Drives: 2015 m235i xDrive Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NYC iTrader: (9)	Look at Alzor wheels from ECS.. They are good enough quality for winter and will run you something like $400 for a set of 18" wheels and then get Dunlop Winter Maxx snow tires which should be around $650 for the set. All together you are looking at a little more than $1k for rims and tires if you are on a budget. I had this exact setup on my Audi with zero issues.
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