BMW Werkz banner

I Need An Honest Answer...

2K views 20 replies 19 participants last post by  PR325is 
#1 ·
Folks...I just bought a '99 323is...(identical to the '98)

I live in Michigan. How bad is this car in the snow? Will I need snow tires?

Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
welcome, nice ride, enjoy :cheers
I have a 323i ' 96 in the UK, and guess depends on how heavy winter is, we get -10c at the most, good tread on rear tyres and I was fine.
 
#3 ·
Honestly.

Yes you will need snow tires. I have all seasons on mine and drive back and forth from school in upstate New York to home in New Jersey. During this past winter I drove through 3 snow storms and fought through hell to get home. My car was spinning out like crazy and if it wasnt for other cars on the road cutting a path for me, I would have never gotten home. Now mine is an earlier year car, but it's stock and is terrible in snow. I would recommend snow tires, esp since you live in an area which gets more snow then me.
 
#9 ·
it makes a huge difference. i live in buffalo. now i have a winter car, but last year i wasnt as lucky. though i do have a TI as well, which may have made it even worse... those things have no wieght in the back... even with snows it was tricky(and fun) sometimes.
- but really any RWD car should get snow tires if theyre gonna be driven in the winter
 
#12 ·
my 98 323 does fine in the snow. its not as bad as i expected it to be. of course i'm not driving around in more than a few inches on the roads, but hell, its a great excuse to call in to work hahahaha
 
#15 ·
I agree with getting a second pair of rims and snow tires and swapping them out in the winter. Plus, you can buy a second pair of "good" rims(17-18 inch) and put summer tires on them and snows on the stock ones, like me. Also sand bags in the trunk help alot too. Best thing is knowing your car. The more comfortable you are with the car the better driver you should be, by knowing the cars and your limits. I used to drive a 944 porsche and now my BMW so rear wheel drive is nothing new to me.
 
#16 ·
Definitely get snow tires. I have a set of 205/55 I believe. My summer tires are 225/50. 205/55 is a great snow/ice tire size, if you ask me. Also, as yours is a later model e36, does it have traction control? If you do, that will help a lot too.

If you have snow tires it's not bad at all. It will be better than a lot of FWD cars on the road. Believe it or not, a lot of those things are like sleds! Just remember you still have to follow the rules of physics!
 
#18 ·
I know abit about snow too :banghead

I can't get off my parking space with summer tyres in the winter :D
With all-season tyres it was at least driveable last winter.

Have allways used studded tyres before which is alot better.
 
#19 ·
what i did was buy myself a nice set of rims with z rated tires for the summer and got some winter tires mounted on my stock rims. When it snows even a little bit the nice rims with the normal tires slide all over the place, even more snow makes it just suicide to drive. With the winter tires i can drive the car as i normally would, almost. The difference is immense. I have also driven my roomates 328 quite a bit and it has all season tires on it, and those handle barely better than my summer tires. In short, get winter tires.
 
#20 ·
I have to say I love driving in the winter. I have one set of rims, and the tires need changin', but my beemer can handle any terrain. I have traction control which never lets me lose my grip, or pull easy wheelies. It comes in handy to turn the traction off if you get stuck in snow. Anyway, the BMW is notoriously known for its rear-wheel drive, and how dangerous it is to have it during the winter, but if you can use the hand-brake properly, then the car can do wonders in the snow.
 
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