[4Hockey4]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

I have run both tires. DWS06 is a bit better in winter mess but not quite as good in the warm weather months. AS3+ seem to wear better for whatever reason. Neither is a bad option though.

So would the AS3 be a MUCH better performance tire then the Pirelli RFT ? or only a bit.

Sounds like I have to stay with 225 all the way around unless I get different rims. Have the stock black ones

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by 4Hockey4

So would the AS3 be a MUCH better performance tire then the Pirelli RFT ? or only a bit.

Sounds like I have to stay with 225 all the way around unless I get different rims. Have the stock black ones

Yes way better. That said I don't typically advocate throwing away perfectly good tires. When you're due make a change.

[4Hockey4]

So they added the "+" to the A/S 3 Michelin and that increased snow traction by 28%. Don't ask where they got that number, but needless to say, it improved over older model

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by 4Hockey4

tirerack, updated with winter

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=216

Thank you. That's good info to have.

I still think I'd lean towards the Conti DWS06 if I would occasionally be driving in snow and go with the AS3+ if I would very rarely be driving in snow. I think the DWS06 will maintain more snow driving capability as it wears plus it has snow traction indicator bars. Yeah, I'm bias as my experience with the tire was really good and I have friend's that ran DWS06 on their RWD cars and they did really well in KC.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by 4Hockey4

So they added the "+" to the A/S 3 Michelin and that increased snow traction by 28%. Don't ask where they got that number, but needless to say, it improved over older model

Given the change in compound, I wonder if they'll wear quicker. My Michelin Alpin PA4s have worn very quickly (half worn in 8K miles). It's just the nature of excellent winter (and summer) tire compounds if you want them to perform.

[BenDiem]

All,

Thank you very much for your comments! Appreciated.

In summation/conclusion, I've opted to purchase Conti Extreme Contact DWS 06 A/S tires.

My thought process is that this is my DD, and I don't drive this car aggressively, so an A/S tire should do just fine.

I'm looking at $636 dollars (Discount Tire), and probably a total of an additional $100 dollars or so more for tire protection and other ancillary fees. This is cheap insurance for a DD, that should get me through 12 months/change of seasons w/o much headache/drama. I figure if it snows heavily, I'll just stay home until the roads are cleared...

Great discussion!

Cheers all,

BB

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by BenDiem

All,
I figure if it snows heavily, I'll just stay home until the roads are cleared...

You're in the Midwest, right? You'll be totally fine with DWS06 and half an ounce of common sense. First you have good snow removal, second and equally important it's flat where you are.

Northeast with horrible road crews and hills, completely different ballgame.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

You're in the Midwest...it's flat where you are.

IIRC, OP said he lives in Cincinnati. There are definitely hills there, and some are quite steep.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by BenDiem

All,

Thank you very much for your comments! Appreciated.

In summation/conclusion, I've opted to purchase Conti Extreme Contact DWS 06 A/S tires.

My thought process is that this is my DD, and I don't drive this car aggressively, so an A/S tire should do just fine.

I'm looking at $636 dollars (Discount Tire), and probably a total of an additional $100 dollars or so more for tire protection and other ancillary fees. This is cheap insurance for a DD, that should get me through 12 months/change of seasons w/o much headache/drama. I figure if it snows heavily, I'll just stay home until the roads are cleared...

Great discussion!

Cheers all,

BB

Xdrive with DWS06 will be completely fine in 3-4" snow and will be pretty damn fun.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by dradernh

IIRC, OP said he lives in Cincinnati. There are definitely hills there, and some are quite steep.

I would agree. I live in Kansas City and it's quite hilly (elevation ranges from 500' to 1,200' across the city). Western KS? Yeah...flat as a pancake.

[Sportstick]

I will be the minority voice here. Most of the comments (having XDrive, for example) are focused on the least important aspect...getting the car moving. Even on flat surfaces and even with less than blizzard-level accumulations, the more important parts are turning/stopping, and dedicated winter tires will outperform even the best all season tires on snow and ice...and not just by a little. I would be much more interested in avoiding injury and damage to people and property than getting to the office on time.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I would agree. I live in Kansas City and it's quite hilly (elevation ranges from 500' to 1,200' across the city). Western KS? Yeah...flat as a pancake.

It's similar in Cincinnati, where the range is something like 470' to 945'.

[4Hockey4]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

I will be the minority voice here. Most of the comments (having XDrive, for example) are focused on the least important aspect...getting the car moving. Even on flat surfaces and even with less than blizzard-level accumulations, the more important parts are turning/stopping, and dedicated winter tires will outperform even the best all season tires on snow and ice...and not just by a little. I would be much more interested in avoiding injury and damage to people and property than getting to the office on time.

I agree and see that in VA with all the idiots hauling ass in 4WD's.

Bottom line, if you take your time and even just have a decent set of tires, its fine. If I can do it in a Cuda/Trans Am in the 70's/80's with crap tires, surely we can avoid damage to body and property now

[morphomeman]

It's the stopping part where the snows really help.
About a dozen years ago, I was driving my 235 down an icy hill, at the bottom of which there was a stop sign and a T-junction onto a main road.
About half-way down, when I realized that there was no stopping, I steered towards the side of the road and ran fairly gently into a snowbank.
That was my lesson. The next day I ordered snow tires from TireRack.
With the 235X, as soon as winter was approaching, I invested in a set of 17" wheels and snows. I will swap the summers out in about ten days.
This will be my fourth winter on these snows.
The main downside is having to store the summer wheels and tires and lug them up and down the stairs from the basement twice a year.

[Maynard]

If OP hasn't pulled the trigger yet, I'd put in another strong vote for two sets, summer and winter. Most tire places will store them for you, and swap them at the 'rotation' intervals (same work for them). The only real extra cost is the second rims, the tires are getting double the lifespan. Put the winters on your stock wheels now, and shop a nice light set for the summers (you'll realize how much a diff this can make in handling). So for the cost of a set of rims, you can get the most out of a car you spent how much on? Seems foolish to compromise performance that you already paid so much for, to get such a small price break.

[German1967]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Xdrive with DWS06 will be completely fine in 3-4" snow and will be pretty damn fun.

I ran the A/S3+ in Kansas City the past winter through 7" of fresh snow (President's Day weekend) and they performed excellent! I have no place to store my extras tire set in KCMO and hence left that in another state. I was positively surprised how well the A/S3+ performed vs my WS 80s. Still - for this year - I will move top WS-80 from December to March and then switch back to A/S3+.

[Bonasca]

I actually regret not leaving my A/S tires on.
Instead, I shelled out over three thousand bucks for a BMW winter tire package and I'm skidding all over the place, struggling to get traction. The tires are terrible (Goodyear Ultra Grip 2)

I would have been better off keeping my A/S which performed just as well as these crappy tires when it snowed before I made the switch.

I am utterly disappointed, and as usual, dealership folks just shrug. "oh well, too bad for you."

[cristo]

Our 2020 M240i convertible came with all season run flats.
I got a set of Michelin X-ice Xi3 winter tires (215/50/17) on BBS wheels.
Will change the run flats to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires when spring arrives.
I'm a firm believer in dedicated summer tires and dedicated winter tires.
Also got a compact spare with tool tray and jack for the trunk.

[Miata13]

Originally Posted by spdandpwr

Can we run a square setup on the xdrive models or is it recommended to run 225 / 245 front and rear to preserve the awd system. I just got the car and am quickly realizing the summers aren't oriented for even fall weather

Our '19 230i xDrive came with a second set of 17" BMW wheels and square Conti WinterContact TS830 SSR run-flat winter tires in the 225-50-17 size...so square setup is fine.

[Maynard]

Yes, xdrives came with square setups for either all-season or snows. Even better is to run narrower winter tires on the stock square wheels (7.5" IIRC), like a 205 or 215 if you can get a primo snow tire in that size - quality of tire trumps width, though, so better to run a Blizzak or Conti Winter 225 than a noname 215. Narrower tires don't float in the slush as much, and the sidewalls will be more taut so it won't feel as mushy.

[PDM5]

Here in Northern VA I put the Alpin PA4 on the stock wheels and will put the MPSS's I pulled off on hopefully VMR 801's in Sunken Treasure in the Spring. I wish I would have gone with the Conti DSW06's as the temps in Winter here can jump up to mid 50's+ and as another posted stated, they are complete garbage in the wet above 55 degrees. I was caught off guard a bit and now can't run them until the beginning of April like I was hoping.

[JP1021]

I run A/S3+ on my M235i. A few weeks ago we (Nashville) had a slight dusting of snow. It was enough to murder the interstate overpass that I travel over daily. Out of the wall of cars sliding sideways or sitting stationary, spinning their tires I was one of the only people with traction. No slides, and the abs didn't even activate. That instance made them worth every penny.

Admittedly I had very little knowledge of tires when I originally purchased the car, and the first snow taught me quick. MPSS are effectively useless in it, and worn MPSSs are hockey pucks for tires even in no snow if it's cold. It was like driving on wet glass.