I just ordered a 335i xdrive with the M sport pkg and therefore 18" summer tires...I have never purchased winter wheels and tires before and would appreciate some advice. 1. Do you recommend 18" or 17"...if 18", do I need to stay with different sizes in front and back? 18" seems to have some better looking wheels on tirerack.com.. 2. Wheels seem to start at about approximately $100/wheel and go up from there...how do I choose a wheel other than what it looks like? 3. Based on my research, seems like the Michelin Pilots are a good option... I drive mostly highway at high speeds and want to be sure I am putting the right quality on the car. I live in southern NH so although we get snow, it's not an every day occurrence. Therefore i am looking for a nice ride and good handling as my first option and snow performance as secondary. My first thought was to put all seasons on the car but based on many threads i have read, seems like snows are the way to go. I don't really need the summer tires since my summer ride is an M roadster (I am a very lucky man). Thanks in advance for your help and advice. 4. However, Do I Need to put run flat snows on this car since the summer tires are run flats?
You might be well served by a conversation w/ a Tire Rack rep. If you have a factory tire pressure monitoring system, you'd likely want something compatible (wheels &/or tires), so you might have to choose wheels on that basis. Besides proper fitment, I consider the weight of the wheel (the lighter, the better), and design - the easier to clean, the better. Find wheels that don't need additional centering hub rings or so on, that's always a nuisance. I like center hub designs where you can access lug bolts by fingertip, as opposed to a thick center-hub that requires a deep-well socket for removal/installation. If 17" wheels clear your brakes, then for winter, I'd tend to go for a smaller dia. wheel where you can have more tire sidewall - better for impacts, potholes, etc. on crappy winter roads, plus soften the ride a bit for winter. I think it's BMW's tendency to stagger f/r sizes to make the car inherently understeer more. Unless Tire Rack advises of a fitment problem, I'd go for the same size all around - then you can rotate front-to-rear seasonally or as needed. Afaik, there's no requirement that you'd have to use run-flats (Tire Rack should have an anwer to that). Up to you to judge which you want; run-flats offer their own advantages/disadvantages. If you go non-runflat, then of course you don't have a spare wheel/tire, plus the jack/chock/lugwrench needed to change a flat, unless you opt to load up the trunk. Run-flats, in theory, you should be able to roll along to someplace to get another tire. I think there's been many comments about lack of run-flat availability, although, being spare-enabled in my much older cars, I haven't been following that closely. However, if a run-flat is damaged too much and one is still stranded, it kind of defeats the purpose.
Michelin Pilot Alpine PA3 might well be a good choice for your mostly-plowed-highway requirements. There are others similar to that Bridgestone LM-something, Continental, etc. tirerack.com is a great place to search. 17" should fit pretty well - my son has an OEM 17" set of rims for his 335i, with Bridgestone RFT's on them. You need to buy the TPMS sensors to mount on the rims, no matter whether you buy RFT or regular, else the car will complain all the time. You can throw one of the summer tires (and a jack & wrench) into the trunk if you buy non-rft's.
Tire Rack is a useful information/tire/wheel source. Their wheel/tire selector will help you find proper offset/size wheels. For Winter use a smaller diameter and slightly narrower tire offers better compliance for potholes and increased PSI on slippery surfaces. You WILL like your xdrive! FWIW, the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D are an excellent German made A-Bahn tire that handle very well and also work well on snow and ice in my experience and that of many other BMW owners. TR tends to push the Blizzak line but in my experience they tend to be greasy feeling unless you are driving on snow or ice covered roads all the time.
Snow tires I have an 09 335i x drive with sport pkg as well. I bought the Bridgestone blizzak LM 25 from the Tirerack..........awesome tires for the northeast Ohio winters. Any of the cheaper winter wheels are fine..........I have purchased 3 different styles over the years and all of them perform well (sport edition A7, Rial Salerno Sport edition F5) The Tirerack cust serv agents are great, they will help you if you have issues or can't decide what you want. I bought the non run flats for winter................only issue was I had to carry one of my summer tires in the truck with a small jack "just in case"............................. Blizzak also makes a W60 & W70 whhich are also great tires
Check first what your owners manual specifies for winter tires. You need runflats only if you want the (supposed) benefits of runflats and don't want to carry a spare or are willing to chance it.
Snows I also have a 335ix (2009) with the sport package and Dinan stage 2 I went to the tire rack and got 18" OZ Chrono HT (great sale price). They are light and strong and look great, but I just checked and they don't seem to have 4 left. I got the Michlin PA3 tires (225/40) and had the pressure sensors installed. I live in MA and have had no issues. I did buy an extra wheel though because they are a discontinued wheel.
