[sard]

Hi. I live in S. California and used to go up to Mammoth Mountain 1-2 times a month. My friends and I never had a 4 wheel drive car so when the weather was bad we would have to put on the snow chains. That kinda sucked doing it at like 4 am. Earliest we've had to put chains on was about Bishop.

Onto the point of my post. Now that I will soon have an X3 .. I'm assuming with the Goodyear LS2 All Seasons .. is it safe for the worst weather driving up to Mammoth Mountain and into the ski resort with no chains? 75% their worst weather? I'm sure this has been discussed on other forums, but whatever. Out of all the times I've been up there I think 90% had chains on when the weather was bad. Maybe 90% of vehicles tend to be 2 wheel drive? The ones that didn't have chains were big 'ol "real" looking 4x4's with big knobby tires.

How bout buying a set of winter tires/wheels? Then safe with no chains? That's a bit too expensive though .. Would the drive up there (330 miles) on the asphalt suck on the winter tires?

Thanks.

[Lotus7]

Originally Posted by sard

Hi. I live in S. California and used to go up to Mammoth Mountain 1-2 times a month. My friends and I never had a 4 wheel drive car so when the weather was bad we would have to put on the snow chains. That kinda sucked doing it at like 4 am. Earliest we've had to put chains on was about Bishop.

Onto the point of my post. Now that I will soon have an X3 .. I'm assuming with the Goodyear LS2 All Seasons .. is it safe for the worst weather driving up to Mammoth Mountain and into the ski resort with no chains? 75% their worst weather? I'm sure this has been discussed on other forums, but whatever. Out of all the times I've been up there I think 90% had chains on when the weather was bad. Maybe 90% of vehicles tend to be 2 wheel drive? The ones that didn't have chains were big 'ol "real" looking 4x4's with big knobby tires.

How bout buying a set of winter tires/wheels? Then safe with no chains? That's a bit too expensive though .. Would the drive up there (330 miles) on the asphalt suck on the winter tires?

Thanks.

BMW is very specific about the types of chains that can be used, and speeds that are safe with chains. At best they are a real PITA to put on and always are a potential source of tire and wheel damage.

If 90% of the cars on the mountain are using chains, you probably won't be happy with the performance of LS2 All Seasons. A dedicated set of Winter Tires would probably be a good bet. Most contemporary Winter tire designs work perfectly well on dry roads as long as the temperature is not too warm (above 50 deg. F., or so) and as long as you don't try to push them to maximum cornering limits or excessive speeds when dry.

I've used Winter tires in the Midwest during seasonal changes in the spring and fall on warm days with no problems at all. Extensive use on warm or hot roads will wear the winter tires out pretty fast, but otherwise won't cause any serious problems for you.

The X3 Manual section related to chains is quoted below:

Snow chains
Fine-link snow chains
Only certain types of fine-link snow chains have
been tested by the manufacturer of your vehicle,
classified as road-safe and recommended.
Consult your service center for more information.
Use
Use only in pairs on the rear wheels, equipped
with the tires of the following size:
▷ 205/65 R 17.
▷ 225/60 R 17.
▷ 245/50 R 18.

No snow chains with tires of size 245/45 R19
Do not mount snow chains on tires of size
245/45 R 19; otherwise, the vehicle can become
damaged.◀

Follow the chain manufacturer's instructions.
Make sure that the snow chains are always sufficiently
tight. Retighten as needed according to
the chain manufacturer's instructions.

Do not initialize the Tire Pressure Monitor after
mounting snow chains, as doing so may result
in incorrect readings.

When driving with snow chains, briefly activate
Dynamic Traction Control if necessary.

Maximum speed with snow chains
Do not exceed a speed of 30 mph/50 km/h when
using snow chains.

[skier219]

Check the official state rules. In Utah, you need AWD/4WD or chains on certain mountain/canyon roads when there are winter conditions (they do check this and will turn away 2WD cars without chains). CA has similar rules around Lake Tahoe, and I'm sure they apply in the mountains around Mammoth as well.

[sard]

Wow.. I ordered the M Sport which has the 19" tires... so according to that I cant even put chains on it >.<

Would Winter tires alone be okay for "just received 3-4 feet of snow overnight" days?

Would the all seasons alone be okay for less than that.

The town of Mammoth and the main roads do have snow plows doing their thing throughout the night/day.

[Lotus7]

Originally Posted by sard

Wow.. I ordered the M Sport which has the 19" tires... so according to that I cant even put chains on it >.<

Would Winter tires alone be okay for "just received 3-4 feet of snow overnight" days?

Would the all seasons alone be okay for less than that.

The town of Mammoth and the main roads do have snow plows doing their thing throughout the night/day.

Re: 19 inch tires: Yep, apparently not enough clearance for chains with the wider, low profile 19 inch tires.

Haven't had any experience with LS2's, but the reviews are not the best. I've tried the Pirelli P7's in snow and they’re actually pretty good in up to 2 inches of fresh snow but barely acceptable on ice. If all I had available were "All Seasons" and if the snow was being measured in "feet", I'd stay home!

Have used dedicated winter Blizzaks (old LM-25's) on a Suby Legacy and on our Audi A4 wagon (both all-wheel drive) and they work superbly. The Suby would easily go through deep snow and was only limited when it got so deep that the car bottom "floated" the tires. The A4 was almost as good, and was again limited by ground (snow) clearance only.

[TarHeelFan]

I encountered the similar situation where the All-Wheel Drive world was new to me and I had asked about driving in snow conditions. I had a great recommendation for SCC Super Z6 Cable Chains. It turns out I was hit by a freak snowstorm in Yosemite where they had to close the roads. After opening the roads it was mandatory to have chains on the vehicle before they allowed us to leave. We had tried to get out of the parking lot without the chains and the car would not get traction. With the chains...Piece of cake.

I have the 18" Potenza All Season tires that came stock on the car.

I highly recommend these chains...

http://www.scc-chain.com/traction%20pages/Trac_SZ6.html

[Radioactive]

I don't believe CHP allows anything but chains when "chains required" is posted. Does not matter what setup your car has. Never forget driving from Mammoth to Bishop with chains and a wiseass in a red corvette doing about 45 mph went flying by us. We saw him in Bishop with his fenders shredded.

[sard]

I have the stock 18's that came with my M3 .. they measure 8.5 x 18 / 9.5 x 18 .. is it okay to put staggered setup on the X3? Maybe I can dismount the tires on those rims and put some winters on there.

[sard]

Originally Posted by Radioactive

I don't believe CHP allows anything but chains when "chains required" is posted. Does not matter what setup your car has. Never forget driving from Mammoth to Bishop with chains and a wiseass in a red corvette doing about 45 mph went flying by us. We saw him in Bishop with his fenders shredded.

Serves him right

[Radioactive]

I'd call CHP to see what setup they will allow such as "winter tires".

[sard]

Originally Posted by TarHeelFan

I encountered the similar situation where the All-Wheel Drive world was new to me and I had asked about driving in snow conditions. I had a great recommendation for SCC Super Z6 Cable Chains. It turns out I was hit by a freak snowstorm in Yosemite where they had to close the roads. After opening the roads it was mandatory to have chains on the vehicle before they allowed us to leave. We had tried to get out of the parking lot without the chains and the car would not get traction. With the chains...Piece of cake.

I have the 18" Potenza All Season tires that came stock on the car.

I highly recommend these chains...

http://www.scc-chain.com/traction%20pages/Trac_SZ6.html

Ok, I'm familiar with those, thanks. But it looks like I cant even fit those on my stock 19's.

[turbotoy4me]

I am not sure what the law requires in California. I have traveled over the mountain passes here in Colorado for years with all wheel drive and all season tires with no chains and no problems. This is in some of the worst winter weather we had, traveling over Vail pass, Monarch pass, Red mountain pass etc... The snow tires are always a bit better as others have pointed out, and especially nice if you have two sets of wheels so you can swap them for that weekend run up the mountain.

[Lotus7]

Just wanted to comment that it feels pretty bizarre to be writing about snow tires and chains today. The real temperature hit 98deg. F. here (Midwest) today and the prediction is for a Temp/Humidity index reading of 107 tomorrow. Thinking about tire chains today just doesn’t feel right!

[sfax]

Originally Posted by Lotus7

Just wanted to comment that it feels pretty bizarre to be writing about snow tires and chains today. The real temperature hit 98deg. F. here (Midwest) today and the prediction is for a Temp/Humidity index reading of 107 tomorrow. Thinking about tire chains today just doesn’t feel right!

The international nature of this forum means that we jealously read about 4-6 weeks time taken to delivery times in the US compared to 10 months here in the UK. Then we turn to the weather: 98 degrees in the Midwest? Here's the outlook for London this week (we are in the height of summer at the moment)


.

[TuffLittleUnit]

Good weather then this week, sfax? Mebbes it'll rain properly next week.

[Bustofa]

Originally Posted by sfax

Here's the outlook for London this week (we are in the height of summer at the moment)


.

That's a lot warmer than we're getting up here at the moment!
TODAY
Rain
High: 18° ** Low: 13°
TOMORROW
Rain
High: 14° ** Low: 12°
THURSDAY
Mostly Sunny
High: 17° ** Low: 11°
FRIDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 16° ** Low: 11°
SATURDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 16° ** Low: 11°

[Want the thrill]

Originally Posted by Lotus7

Just wanted to comment that it feels pretty bizarre to be writing about snow tires and chains today. The real temperature hit 98deg. F. here (Midwest) today and the prediction is for a Temp/Humidity index reading of 107 tomorrow. Thinking about tire chains today just doesn’t feel right!

I agree Lotus! I don't even want to think about winter! Summer is already going too fast. We are right around the corner from you in Michigan and have the same temps (105 heat index all week). Even the lake has warmed up nicely and has been in the mid to upper 70's. Can't beat hitting the beach in the summer!

[perto]

Same weather as in UK. just one day delay :-(

[sfax]

haha, I know it's worse away from the south east - lived in Manchester for 3 years where it used to go months without a dry day! After posting that earlier, this evening it was glorious weather. I was sat in the garden in the blazing sun for about 20 minutes... and then it went in and I got cold!

[skier219]

Originally Posted by Lotus7

Have used dedicated winter Blizzaks (old LM-25's) on a Suby Legacy and on our Audi A4 wagon (both all-wheel drive) and they work superbly. The Suby would easily go through deep snow and was only limited when it got so deep that the car bottom "floated" the tires. The A4 was almost as good, and was again limited by ground (snow) clearance only.

I can confirm that -- I had Blizzaks on an 05 Outback XT, and it was unstoppable in deep snow. Easily the best ski car I have owned. Back when I really chased powder, I'd often get first tracks in 12-18" of snow in the resort parking lot before they even got a chance to plow it. Sometimes that was as fun as the skiing...

[sard]

Originally Posted by skier219

I can confirm that -- I had Blizzaks on an 05 Outback XT, and it was unstoppable in deep snow. Easily the best ski car I have owned. Back when I really chased powder, I'd often get first tracks in 12-18" of snow in the resort parking lot before they even got a chance to plow it. Sometimes that was as fun as the skiing...

Did you ever need chains also with this setup?

[utcadman]

I live in Park City Ut and drive to Mammoth a couple tmes a year. Moved here from LA. In my opinion you would not need dedicated snow tires on your car for the trip. Just All Season. SoCal would not be a friendly place for dedicated snow tire. Last year I was driving to Mammoth while they were recieving 54" for the day and CHP was allowing 4wd as long as people had chains in the car... I thought this was a bunch of BS...I had never heard of that before. I bypassed them and went up the 6 toward Tonopah and did not have an issue.

The other thing I would add is conditions can get just just right in the mountains where no combination of snow tires and AWD will make a bit of difference... It just gets that bad.

Other observations...roads are plowed. Once it stops snowing conditions improve greatly and very quickly. So worst case scenario just wait.

With all of that said, I am going with a dedicated snow tire. Blizzack LM60 just becasue I live in the stuff. If I didnt live in it...No way would invest. The LS2's or any other all season tire will get you around just fine... Especially for the weekend trip up!