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2Addicts | BMW 2-Series forum Technical Topics Wheels and Tires -- Sponsored by The Tire Rack Winter Sottozero Serie Ii

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      11-15-2018, 06:50 PM   #1
P2
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Anyone have any experience with these?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...cleSearch=true

I'm looking for non-directional RFT snows and these are the only option at TireRack. There are Conti 830P available elsewhere. But I called Conti and they said anything being sold is leftover stock as they have discontinued them.

I'd get directional except after a couple of seasons the heal to toe wear is unbearably loud.

I'm near Chicago. Winter lately is a few inches at a time. Slushy roads. Becoming more popular is slick roads due to freezing rain/drizzle. Well get a heavy snow 6+ a couple times a year. The first two years with this car I ran the OEM Pirelli's which were surprisingly good for all season. Almost as good as the last winters I had on my 2006 325. But with 5/32s they are not acceptable to me. Just tried them out today with 2 in.
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      11-15-2018, 10:19 PM   #2
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I’ve run a couple of sets of the Sottozero Serie 2 in the past on RWD BMWs, they are a good all round winter tyre, better than any all-season, but not as good as the directional Sottozero 3 or Michelin X-Ice Xi3 on snow and ice. They are close to the best winter tyres on cold dry or wet roads and for handling, though.
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      11-16-2018, 06:25 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerobod View Post
I've run a couple of sets of the Sottozero Serie 2 in the past on RWD BMWs, they are a good all round winter tyre, better than any all-season, but not as good as the directional Sottozero 3 or Michelin X-Ice Xi3 on snow and ice. They are close to the best winter tyres on cold dry or wet roads and for handling, though.
Thanks for the comparative info. I'll probably go ahead and get them. The best snows I've ever used were Blizzack LM22. Directional and soft compound. Awesome performance but loud after 2 seasons. I've boxed myself into a corner with non-directional and RFT for sure. 😀.

I drove my wife's SUV yesterday that has Goodyear Conforteds All Seasons. They are the best all season I've ever used in the snow/ice. If these snows are as good or better then the Goodyear's I'll be set.
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      11-17-2018, 07:45 AM   #4
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I had the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie-II on my previous 330d xDrive Touring and they were as good as previous Vredestein, Dunlop and Michelin I'd had, in the snow. Their strength seems to be in SUV and performance cars in the dry and warmer transitional weather, where they handle relatively better than most winters (including the Sottozero S3): by , say +15% (absolutely subjective).

I now have Sottozero S3 runflats on my M235i and these have been excellent in the snow and particularly resistant to aquaplaning in the wet (of which we have a lot in a UK winter). I'm talking about 30% better than a summer in heavy rain and standing water. By comparison, they probably aren't as good as the Serie-II in warmer weather: by, say -10% (purely subjective).

We have the Michelin CrossClimate on our other car, which is just a small hatchback run-around for local use. These are great all-seasons, but I wouldn't put them on a performance car. My view is that for a performance 2 Series, the difference between an all-season and full winter is too big to be acceptable, although I know not everyone would agree.

So if you're going to regularly hit heavy snow or heavy rain and standing water, go for the S3. If you don't see snow that much, then the Serie-II will give better driving dynamics in warmer conditions, at the price of not being quite as good as the S3 in snow.
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Last edited by msej449; 11-17-2018 at 07:55 AM..
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      11-17-2018, 08:28 AM   #5
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I currently have SottoZero II runflats in OEM staggered sizes on m235ix, since last season, and am mostly happy with them. Good all around winter tire. My conditions are mixed, mostly below freezing, sometimes a lot of ice, wet, dry, sometimes a lot of snow. I think I left a short review on here last season. Worked out better for me than SottoZero 3 and Michelin PA4 which I used previously on the same car. Well balanced handling-wise and dependable. I really liked SottoZero 3 but I think I lost 4 tires on potholes and such and that was why I switched to Michelin PA4 but, although slightly better traction-wise, I didn't like how the Michelins handled at all, making the car feel floaty and heavy at anything higher than the city speeds. SottoZero II answered my prayers and did better. The drawbacks, though, come from the fact they are runflats: less comfortable ride if overinflated and I got an impression they may be more likely to cause wheels damage (bent wheels) because they more readily transmit road impacts directly to the wheels.
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      11-17-2018, 12:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msej449 View Post
I had the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie-II on my previous 330d xDrive Touring and they were as good as previous Vredestein, Dunlop and Michelin I'd had, in the snow. Their strength seems to be in SUV and performance cars in the dry and warmer transitional weather, where they handle relatively better than most winters (including the Sottozero S3): by , say +15% (absolutely subjective).

I now have Sottozero S3 runflats on my M235i and these have been excellent in the snow and particularly resistant to aquaplaning in the wet (of which we have a lot in a UK winter). I'm talking about 30% better than a summer in heavy rain and standing water. By comparison, they probably aren't as good as the Serie-II in warmer weather: by, say -10% (purely subjective).

We have the Michelin CrossClimate on our other car, which is just a small hatchback run-around for local use. These are great all-seasons, but I wouldn't put them on a performance car. My view is that for a performance 2 Series, the difference between an all-season and full winter is too big to be acceptable, although I know not everyone would agree.

So if you're going to regularly hit heavy snow or heavy rain and standing water, go for the S3. If you don't see snow that much, then the Serie-II will give better driving dynamics in warmer conditions, at the price of not being quite as good as the S3 in snow.
Thanks for the detailed comparison.
How are the S3's doing with "heal to toe" wear? The wear when the back of the blocks is worn more than the fronts.
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      11-18-2018, 11:24 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P2 View Post
Thanks for the detailed comparison.
How are the S3's doing with "heal to toe" wear? The wear when the back of the blocks is worn more than the fronts.
I rotate the S3s from front to back, this helps to keep the wear pattern reasonable (square 225/45-18 setup to give a bit more ground clearance and pothole protection than 225/40-18).

I’m at 6mm front and 8mm rear tread depth this winter, so should end up with the tyres fully worn out at 4mm after another 8,000km, as the rear tyres wear twice as fast as the front. The rear tyre acceleration wear tends to even out the heal-toe tread block wear caused by braking.
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      11-28-2018, 02:06 PM   #8
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I ended up with the Sottozero Serie 2. They will be installed tomorrow and I'll report back after I drive in some snow/ice.

Interestingly, when I first looked at them I thought I had ordered the wrong size. They looked too wide. But they are the correct size. Despite being the same size as the Perilli run flats, the tread width is 2 inches wider. The difference surprised me.
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