[esp260]

I am new to driving in the northeast. Just got my 228i and didn't opt for xdrive so I will be needing a winter wheel setup. What do most people do for their setup? New wheels AND tires? Just new tires?

Thanks in advance!

[Sportstick]

Yes. Narrow 215/50-17 on low cost wheels, mounted, balanced, and shipped from tire rack.com is a great and easy way to go. Twice a year "pit stop" for a quick change. Suggest Blizzak WS80 for most capability on snow/ice or Michelin XIce-xi3 for almost as much but better dry road handling.

[Cyberdemon]

Get new wheels and tires. It is not cost effective or safe to be constantly switching tires. For the amount you would spend on mounting/remounting every spring/fall you can get some cheap beater wheels off Tirerack that will take the salt and potholes.

In my case, I am going to run the factory 18's (my car came with the square wheel all season setup) and put dedicated winter tires on them until the end of the lease.

Swapping wheels yourself is extremely easy and all you need is a jack and a torque wrench. I do it myself in under an hour...usually takes me longer to deep clean the wheels before I put them away in storage.

Given how bad Boston got hit last year, I would consider leaning more towards a dedicated snow tire rather than a high performance snow. Dedicated snow tires will be better in the nasty stuff but sacrifice more during the dry. In my case, I don't have to work on days that it snows and also have my wife's SUV when needed, so I only need snow tires for short local trips, or the occasional chance of getting stuck driving through a blizzard.

[Sportstick]

I'm using my iPhone so search for a thread titled "Winter Boots!"



EDIT: Got home and had a chance to find it.....

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showt...inter+boots%21

[mfourn20]

I'm in RI. I bought a cheap pair of sport edition wheels 17"x7.5 AS7s I think and General Altimax Arctics. I went the cheapest route possible so I didn't give a crap about keeping the wheels clean in the winter. Also people swear by the blizzacks but these cheap general tires have been great. PLUS theyre so cheap cheap I don't mind doing a ton of rwd shenanigans. I dd my rwd 228 straight through the winter. Haven't gotten stuck yet and climbs hills great where my wife's jetta can't.

You'll want 17" in the winter here..as you know the roads are garbage. The extra sidewall is welcomewelcome in the winter. If you've got the track package I think the larger brakes further limit your 17" wheel choices. I have an m sport no track pack and there isn't a whole lot of clearance. Barely enough for me to force my wheel brush through.

Where are you located?

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1089665

[Hemisedan]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Get new wheels and tires. It is not cost effective or safe to be constantly switching tires. For the amount you would spend on mounting/remounting every spring/fall you can get some cheap beater wheels off Tirerack that will take the salt and potholes.

In my case, I am going to run the factory 18's (my car came with the square wheel all season setup) and put dedicated winter tires on them until the end of the lease.

Swapping wheels yourself is extremely easy and all you need is a jack and a torque wrench. I do it myself in under an hour...usually takes me longer to deep clean the wheels before I put them away in storage.

Given how bad Boston got hit last year, I would consider leaning more towards a dedicated snow tire rather than a high performance snow. Dedicated snow tires will be better in the nasty stuff but sacrifice more during the dry. In my case, I don't have to work on days that it snows and also have my wife's SUV when needed, so I only need snow tires for short local trips, or the occasional chance of getting stuck driving through a blizzard.

MY only problem with changing the da*n wheels that BMW insists on, is the DAm* lug bolts. Why do they insist on these instead of lug nuts? It took me 45 minutes to change ONE wheel on my Mini JCW and wound up at the tire store for help. My next car will have the lug bolt/nut conversion. Especially for the change of wheels from Winter to Summer tires/wheels. Just my opinion, of course.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by Hemisedan

MY only problem with changing the da*n wheels that BMW insists on, is the DAm* lug bolts. Why do they insist on these instead of lug nuts? It took me 45 minutes to change ONE wheel on my Mini JCW and wound up at the tire store for help. My next car will have the lug bolt/nut conversion. Especially for the change of wheels from Winter to Summer tires/wheels. Just my opinion, of course.

Not sure why that's an issue, unless you were using rims that aren't hub centric and have an issue aligning them or holding the wheel in place?

I've had no issues with any of my wheels on either of my BMW's. Unscrew, take the wheel off, stick the new wheel in place and line up the holes, and stick the bolts in.

[Pray for Mojo]

45 mins on one wheel is struggler territory, maybe get a tire shop to do the change over.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Hemisedan

MY only problem with changing the da*n wheels that BMW insists on, is the DAm* lug bolts. Why do they insist on these instead of lug nuts? It took me 45 minutes to change ONE wheel on my Mini JCW and wound up at the tire store for help. My next car will have the lug bolt/nut conversion. Especially for the change of wheels from Winter to Summer tires/wheels. Just my opinion, of course.

Not sure what the problem is with the bolts...

you can always use a wheel pin if you can't align them...

[och]

Are there any OEM 17" wheels that fit m235?

[Sportstick]

Some of Tire Rack's approved local installers will do the pit stop for you and store the off-season tires, so it's quick, clean, and easy! Storage fees are usually quite low.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by och

Are there any OEM 17" wheels that fit m235?

Not necessarily OE, but BMW outsources their wheels, as do most/all OEs. I think you can feel pretty comfortable with the quality of the wheels tire rack sells. See my link above. Those 17s go over the blue calipers.

[och]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Not necessarily OE, but BMW outsources their wheels, as do most/all OEs. I think you can feel pretty comfortable with the quality of the wheels tire rack sells. See my link above. Those 17s go over the blue calipers.

From my past experiences, most aftermaket wheels have a large center bore to fit variety of vehicles, and that always ends up causing all sorts of vibration issues, not to mention extra stress on the lug bolts.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by och

From my past experiences, most aftermaket wheels have a large center bore to fit variety of vehicles, and that always ends up causing all sorts of vibration issues, not to mention extra stress on the lug bolts.

Understood. Never had that problem with wheels I bought from them over many years/cars.

[och]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

Understood. Never had that problem with wheels I bought from them over many years/cars.

Its not really whom you buy the wheel from, but the fact is, most wheels are hub centric, and its just not a good idea to ride on wheels with larger center bore. They sell these so called hub centric rings - but they don't really work.

http://tires.about.com/od/understand...ric-wheels.htm

[Pray for Mojo]

Originally Posted by och

Are there any OEM 17" wheels that fit m235?

I have a set of BMW 335i 17" wheels that fit over the calipers, there is very few that will fit so you have to buy carefully and the offset is less than ideal.

[och]

Originally Posted by Pray for Mojo

I have a set of BMW 335i 17" wheels that fit over the calipers, there is very few that will fit so you have to buy carefully and the offset is less than ideal.

Interesting, I will have to try it when the winter season comes. I have a set of e90 17's with winter tires that I use on my daughters X1 during winter - if they fit I may get another set for the 235.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by och

Interesting, I will have to try it when the winter season comes. I have a set of e90 17's with winter tires that I use on my daughters X1 during winter - if they fit I may get another set for the 235.

Check the offset. Depending on the side the offset may make them poke out too much.

[Hemisedan]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

Not sure what the problem is with the bolts...

you can always use a wheel pin if you can't align them...

I didn't have a hanger pin, didn't even know they existed. That would help, but I still prefer lug nuts to lug bolts.

[CreativeFuel]

A wheel pin hanger makes life so much easier.

To the OP... I bought a set of Pirelli Sottozero 3 tires last winter and was very pleased with them. Tire Rack will tell you what wheel/tire combos will fit your vehicle.

[cire]

I live in Calgary Alberta. I have a 228 and run 215/50/17 Blizzacks. I like the extra sidewall for the winter and these tires are unreal (WS 80). No need for X Drive.

[opfreak]

Originally Posted by Hemisedan

MY only problem with changing the da*n wheels that BMW insists on, is the DAm* lug bolts. Why do they insist on these instead of lug nuts? It took me 45 minutes to change ONE wheel on my Mini JCW and wound up at the tire store for help. My next car will have the lug bolt/nut conversion. Especially for the change of wheels from Winter to Summer tires/wheels. Just my opinion, of course.

Originally Posted by pikcachu

Not sure what the problem is with the bolts...

you can always use a wheel pin if you can't align them...

My VW rabbit (I think all VWs have this setup) has the same bolt vs lug setup.

I didn't know about wheel pins, but I found it easy to sit under the wheel, put the wheel in between my legs and then use my legs to lift it up to get one bolt in.