[EEBreh]

I bought a dedicated set of 17" 215/50 R17 xice tires on BBS rims. I am pretty unimpressed by the setup (running 32PSI all around). I had a set of Blizzacks on my Porsche 944S2 with an LSD and it was way more fun/stable/easier to drive. My 2.8L A4 (B5) was a lot of fun in the snow too with gislaveds.

I'm thinking about picking up an LSD for this car. Can anyone chime in on how much of a difference it made? It was night and day in my Porsche. Anyone run sandbags in the back?

[Sportstick]

Perhaps a mismatch of product vs expectations? XIce are the most capable for generating traction on snow/ice. They're not intended for driving entertainment, but for "getting through". Perhaps Michelin's performance winter Alpins would have pleased you more at the expense of capability. Were your Blizzaks WS (similar to XIce) or LM (similar to Alpins)?

[EEBreh]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Perhaps a mismatch of product vs expectations? XIce are the most capable for generating traction on snow/ice. They're not intended for driving entertainment, but for "getting through". Perhaps Michelin's performance winter Alpins would have pleased you more at the expense of capability. Were your Blizzaks WS (similar to XIce) or LM (similar to Alpins)?

I had the Blizzack WS on my 944. I am more interested in actually having a usable car (I don't really care if they are noisy/not the best in the dry.) I guess I just expected more usable power and not have my traction control kicking on every time i tried to accelerate slowly in comfort with snow on the road. My Studded Gislaveds were awesome on my Audi.

I'm not trying to drive like a maniac and pass everyone either, just go at a reasonable pace. I can say that I was impressed with the bite in for braking, ABS barely kicked in.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by EEBreh

I had the Blizzack WS on my 944. I am more interested in actually having a usable car (I don't really care if they are noisy/not the best in the dry.) I guess I just expected more usable power and not have my traction control kicking on every time i tried to accelerate slowly in comfort with snow on the road. My Studded Gislaveds were awesome on my Audi.

I'm not trying to drive like a maniac and pass everyone either, just go at a reasonable pace. I can say that I was impressed with the bite in for braking, ABS barely kicked in.

Actually, I think we share priorities. I am a WS fan as well. Usually, when someone wants XIce it's because they want the better dry road experience and are willing to give up some snow/ice traction that WS offers. I have WS80 on two current cars and have happily relied on them for several generations to get me through winter. I play for three seasons...try to survive the fourth.

[EEBreh]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Actually, I think we share priorities. I am a WS fan as well. Usually, when someone wants XIce it's because they want the better dry road experience and are willing to give up some snow/ice traction that WS offers. I have WS80 on two current cars and have happily relied on them for several generations to get me through winter. I play for three seasons...try to survive the fourth.

I was advised by several people to try the xice because I spend a majority of my time in RI and the seasons are not as harsh. They also said the Blizzacks would wear quickly. I regret it but I guess I will live and learn. I think our priorities are exactly the same

I checked my PSI and they were off quite a bit, I will re-adjust them. Definitely considering an LSD though...

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by EEBreh

I was advised by several people to try the xice because I spend a majority of my time in RI and the seasons are not as harsh. They also said the Blizzacks would wear quickly. I regret it but I guess I will live and learn. I think our priorities are exactly the same

I checked my PSI and they were off quite a bit, I will re-adjust them. Definitely considering an LSD though...

I've never had fewer than four seasons on WS. YMMV.

[nelsdvn]

I've got the Blizzak WS80 (205/50/17) on my rwd 228i manual. We just had a reasonable snow event (about 6-8 inches) here in Wisconsin and the only issue was ground clearance. Traction and full control were always at hand. DSC off made things more interesting but ultimately the car was very capable and controllable. I'd not think the expense of the LSD would be money well spent simply for winter driving.

[MrBucket]

I haven't driven my car in the snow since I don't have snow tires for it, but I do have the LSD. I was pretty shocked at how much of a difference the LSD made vs the open diff, I have a feeling it would help with driving in the winter quite a bit.

[krhodes1]

I have owned several older BMWs with limited slip diffs. They are a blessing and a curse in the snow. Yes, they provide slightly more traction when starting off. However, the traction control on the modern cars does the EXACT same thing albeit at the expense of brake wear. Braking the spinning wheel causes torque to be transferred to the one that is not spinning. If that wheel has no grip either you aren't going anywhere anyway, so an LSD would not help.

The problem with an LSD when it is slippery is that once you are moving along, if you give it enough throttle to lose traction, you may spin BOTH rear wheels and lose directional control. Those old cars were quite tail-happy if you weren't very easy with the throttle. Again, modern electronic traction and stability control will probably help with this as well. But ultimately I can't see that an LSD would be a big improvement over what is already there when it is slippery. Very different thing from trying to accelerate out of a curve on dry pavement where the last thing you want is power being reduced and the brakes applied. In snow, put your foot in it a bit and let the electronics do their thing. Brakes are cheap.

[moldcad]

My M235i has M-P LSD, and I must tell you guys this has been money well spend. Of course, I'm on winter tires right now - but in Sport+ (or any other setting, but DTC on after a short press of the DSC button) the car behaves perfectly. The chances of BOTH rear tires loosing grip entirely (or just standing on ice when I stop the car before traffic lights, etc.) are only 50% of getting one of them without grip; the LSD assures the torque to propell the car as long as at lest one of the rear tires has at least some grip...

This wa not the case with my E46 330i which didn't have LSD, and I remember several instances of just not being able to move forward. In the meantime I had xDrive F10 for 2 years, and comparing all 3 BMWs of mine (the RWD 330i without closed differential, the xDrive F10, and the current RWD M235i with the mechanical LSD) I can say that beyond doubts, the controllability of my current car is more like the xDrive F10 than the open-diff 330i. And this applies both the moving from standing still, and going through curves using the gas pedal more than the steering wheel for maintaining the proper trail, in spite of considerable fish-tailing... But the latter is lots of fun by itself, so I prefer my LSD-equipped car more than the xDrive I used to have, which was simply boring...

Of course - as we all know - in emergency situations that requires braking everything is down to the tires, so in this department there is practically no difference between all 3. But accelerating, I can feel the car is never a single-wheel drive!

[JChristie]

Haven’t had a real good snowfall yet, but I’ve been able to test my car in some light snow and freezing rain. I’m using 17” Continental Winter Contact TS830P’s. So far I’m very happy with the performance for a RWD car. No LSD, but the E-differential (or whatever it’s called) makes a noticeable difference in getting the car moving compared to my older 3 series. I always activate the DTC when I’m driving in the snow as well. My main concern is the limited clearance when the snow starts to get deep.

[moldcad]

E-diff mainly works with DSC off, so can be considered a "poor man's tracking aid". It doesn't engage in getting car to move when both rear wheels are on a slippery surface; for that you have another aid - the DCT mode of DSC (which allows some limited wheel spin before cutting the engine output). While all this may be of some help, it will never surpass the mechanical, closed LSD!

[mfourn20]

I drive a rwd 228 m sport straight through the winter in RI. I use General Altimax Arctics. they've been fantastic in the snow. Definitely reduced grip in the dry under hard acceleration...but its fun...they're also narrower than my summer tires so its not really relevant to compare to the summer tires.

Didn't get stuck once and I had a very steep driveway at the time.

[EEBreh]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll wait until next year and see if a diff pops up or anything.

Originally Posted by mfourn20

I drive a rwd 228 m sport straight through the winter in RI. I use General Altimax Arctics. they've been fantastic in the snow. Definitely reduced grip in the dry under hard acceleration...but its fun...they're also narrower than my summer tires so its not really relevant to compare to the summer tires.

Didn't get stuck once and I had a very steep driveway at the time.

The gislaveds are actually a generation old version of the General Altimax Arctics. I live in south county, Estoril Blue M235. I'll keep an eye out for you.