[Beartato]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

: cool troll post bro

[TajoMan]

Originally Posted by Dr. Indiana Jones

Hi all. I live in Toronto (GTA) and have always gone w RWD w winter tires w/o incident (inc. my current M235i). However, I'm about to lease a new M240i (same colour combo), and am seriously considering x-drive for a change. From what u've all said, the benefits of x-drive are: better winter handling / improved safety, better grip for acceleration, and arguably better grip when cornering (albeit some would argue RWD is better for cornering). I am not a track guy, and don't engage in hi-speed cornering, and am merely looking for improved straight line acceleration. In the past xdrive was too expensive, but now that it's only $1.5-2K more, on a lease that's a mere $1K delta. Am I crazy going for xdrive for a change? Will it perform in the summer months too?

As always I appreciate everyone's insights!

awd will perform good in summer too.
I am not even sure if the M240 x drive would be any slower than M240i rwd on the track.
In everyday driving, only real downside will be fuel economy.
(not considering "driving feel" since it can be very subjective. rwd on the track will be real fun though)

get a test drive. It's all up to your personal preferrence.

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by Beartato

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by Beartato

My reaction to you trying to argue about your slower car.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

My reaction to you trying to argue about your slower car.

MRW you gloat about your car being inconsequentially faster in a straight line then mine.

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by Beartato

MRW you gloat about your car being inconsequentially faster in a straight line then mine.

you're in Utah...put your money where your mouth is : sorry you have the slower car.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

you're in Utah...put your money where your mouth is : sorry you have the slower car.

What's a good place to track a car around here? I moved to Utah back in '15 and haven't really checked out anywhere to go have fun legally. We have some dank mountain roads though.

I wanna check out Miller Motorsport Park AKA Utah Motorsports Campus, but the times they have for open track days doesn't work with my work schedule.

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by Beartato

What's a good place to track a car around here? I moved to Utah back in '15 and haven't really checked out anywhere to go have fun legally. We have some dank mountain roads though.

I wanna check out Miller Motorsport Park AKA Utah Motorsports Campus, but the times they have for open track days doesn't work with my work schedule.

Miller and Rocky Mountain are the only two legal places I know of. Been meaning to get to Miller, Rocky has a small track last I saw. Miller usually has some good package deals that were floating around last year. I never actually made it. Was a long time ago when I was at Rocky which is mostly drag strip races.

[Beartato]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

Miller and Rocky Mountain are the only two legal places I know of. Been meaning to get to Miller, Rocky has a small track last I saw. Miller usually has some good package deals that were floating around last year. I never actually made it. Was a long time ago when I was at Rocky which is mostly drag strip races.

Heck. Drag racing is boring. Might have to check out Miller's this summer, track layout looks fun.

I'd say let's race, but I'm bone stock, except my wheels and LSD, and you seem to have a few mods done. Dang.

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by Beartato

Heck. Drag racing is boring. Might have to check out Miller's this summer, track layout looks fun.

Yeah, the track days show Wed from a quick look, which isn't the ideal day for me, but the track does look fun and they offer timed laps.

[simsimma777]

My understanding based on my research is AWD with winters > RWD with winters > AWD with all seasons.

So it really depends on what kind of tires you want to run on the platform, how bad the winters are in your area, and how much you value winter performance vs summer performance.

If you are gonna be driving on snow covered roads most of the winter, and your area has a lot of hills and what not, then maybe AWD is the better choice.

If roads are cleared quickly, and you are driving on asphalt most of the winter, then maybe stick to RWD with winters and enjoy the 'funner' driving dynamic year round.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by ballinisahabit

My understanding based on my research is AWD with winters > RWD with winters > AWD with all seasons.

So it really depends on what kind of tires you want to run on the platform, how bad the winters are in your area, and how much you value winter performance vs summer performance.

If you are gonna be driving on snow covered roads most of the winter, and your area has a lot of hills and what not, then maybe AWD is the better choice.

If roads are cleared quickly, and you are driving on asphalt most of the winter, then maybe stick to RWD with winters and enjoy the 'funner' driving dynamic year round.

Don't forget the nuance of winter tires are not all the same. Aside from some being better than others just like some summer performance are better than others, there's max performance winter, studless ice and snow, etc. so you need to understand what you're buying. Max performance is basically an all season tread pattern w cold weather rubber. Studless ice and snow is probably the best choice generally for most folks.

[SCCThree]

I went with x-drive on my M240i and couldn't be happier.

I took a RWD M240i for a 'spirited' test drive and kept hitting the traction control limiter. Turned that off and kept breaking the tires loose. The car has a lot of torque! I also had the same complaint about my custom tuned 335is... just too much torque to keep the tires planted.

The solution was x-drive. Now I don't have that problem. Here in Dallas 99% of the streets are on the grid system so everything is straight line. I love being able to stomp the throttle and the car just rockets off.

Much respect to RWD though.

[Dylan86]

With a good tire and LSD there's little wheel spin if any at all. Just went FBO and was expecting to experience a lack of grip, but with a 255+ section tire in the back, and the added camber now, it's more at home than ever!

Would have went xdrive if it was a 4 season car, though. But my whole point of getting into a BMW was all about "fun summer car", consisting of RWD/LSD+6MT+i6T. Wouldn't have it any other way

[BillD1953]

I live in NH.....just about every BMW sold up this way is an xdrive.

I went RWD when I ordered 2016 228i.

Why ? Two reasons.

1. wanted a 6MT......no manual option in BMW with xdrive other than 340i.

2. I'm lucky enough to have two daily drivers. The other vehicle is a 2015 MB 350ML 4matic for lousy weather days.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by M235iguy

I just see where the thread is headed is all. We have several of them. the rwd fan boys will always proclaim to have the better drive-train and true driving experience and the xdrive fan boys will have the faster car. awd / automatic beats rwd / manual 20 out of 20 times. Last post from me on this thread. Have a good one.

And then you post another 16 times in this thread since last night. Such restraint you show.

[M235iguy]

Originally Posted by B58togo

And then you post another 16 times since last night. Such restraint you show.

What can I say. My restraint is weak.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by B_Rice

Just a FYI guys, PSS crack when its around 30 degrees.

I hope not. I took off my winters and put my PSS's on a couple of weeks ago. However, after a couple weeks with weather above 50 (and into the low 80's), it's supposed to drop to 32 tonight.

And for the thread, I went with xDrive. I had several people tell me that I'd be fine with RWD and a good set of winter tires, but I had a BAD experience in high school in a friends old 70's RWD car and a small hill. The tires were probably about as old as the car was at the time, but the experience stuck with me. As this car is my daily driver regardless of how much snow is on the ground, I went with xDrive.

I did test drive an RWD and ordered xDrive. Although driving the two was separated by 5 months (yes, 5 months; don't want to talk about that), it caught me off guard that my car seems to want to turn in more than I recall from my test drive. However, that could be down to any number of factors; from the test drive being a 235 vs. my 240, or the fact that I was on a test drive in a car which was not mine with a sales agent sitting beside me on roads I don't drive very often vs. me being alone in my own car on roads I could probably drive blindfolded.

[crabu2]

Originally Posted by ballinisahabit

My understanding based on my research is AWD with winters > RWD with winters > AWD with all seasons.

I have found that AWD with all seasons to be equal or slightly better than RWD with winters, when it comes to moving forward. Stopping is another story.

For RWD with winters, I've found adding a hundred pounds of weight over the drive axle helps tremendously. Even with the added weight, generally, I've found AWD with good all seasons to be slightly better.

BTW, even in the summer or spring, when it's raining, I've found AWD to be better.. I feel the only advantage to RWD is being able to throw the rear end out for fun. And man can it be fun at times!

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by crabu2

I have found that AWD with all seasons to be equal or slightly better than RWD with winters, when it comes to moving forward. Stopping is another story.

For RWD with winters, I've found adding a hundred pounds of weight over the drive axle helps tremendously. Even with the added weight, generally, I've found AWD with good all seasons to be slightly better.

BTW, even in the summer or spring, when it's raining, I've found AWD to be better.. I feel the only advantage to RWD is being able to throw the rear end out for fun. And man can it be fun at times!

True. RWD advantages would be more fun, less weight, and possibly slightly better acceleration from the roll, plus no need to worry about transfer case breaking down (and they do), and dont need to change its oil

LSD usually takes care of many issues with RWD traction

[crabu2]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

LSD usually takes care of many issues with RWD traction

LSD in the snow is FUN as can be! Go around a bend and if you want to have fun, you can drift all the way around it in slow motion.