[IbanezGod]

Guys.

I am thinking of picking up an M Sport xdrive X3. I am curious if anyone has experience with this SUV with sport tires in the snow or bad weather? It comes with sport run flat tires. I know tires can be changed but just curious about anyone's experience. The normal X.3 comes with all season tires and I believe they are thinner and larger side walls.

Thanks.

[NOITALL]

Not sure about where you live... You don't seem to get much cold temps and snow (New Jersey). Could possibly "work" (although, you'd be a liability on the road regardless).

Around here you'd be asking for trouble on your first stop sign.

Cheers

[Tjalle]

"Sport tires"? You mean performance tires as opposed to all seasons?

Dont come near a snowflake or an ice crystal with performance tires - they are built with harder rubber and stiffer sidewalls - you will feel like Bambi.

All seasons are half-way shitty. The way to go is sport tires and winter tires - if you appreciate joy of driving - and safety.

[IbanezGod]

Thanks for the feedback, the car I am looking at is the M sport so I'm not sure if it has summer tires or all season. Was just curious how the different tires fared. I was pretty sure the X5 came with sport tires, but it looks like the X3 may come with all season tires. It would obviously be annoying to buy a car with sport tires then automatically have to buy winter tires due to the season. The car would get driven normally, it's not for me it's for my girl

[NOITALL]

Here some cars being driven "normally":

BTW, the name of the car is X3 28i, not 2.8.

Cheers

[IbanezGod]

haha thanks. Believe the X3 all came with all-seasons from the factory. The X5 sport models came with sport tires.

[mge92]

Well I have a X3 and I have the 310M rims as well as the stock 369 m wheels and I have changed the 310M rims to non-runflats because the ride of 20's is rough and takes a lot of the performance away because you have to move around 60 pounds per corner. I swapped to non-runflats and they reduced the weight and made the car ride so much better. I put winter run-flats on the stock rims I got with the car and it rides better than the goodyear ls2 which honestly sucks and allowed me to get from NJ to DC in the snow storm when four lanes turned to two lanes and everyone was stuck on the highway and I was just cruising down on the unplowed shoulder.

Get two sets - One summer and one winter - If 20 or bigger go non-runflat for summer only but of you are going 19 or smaller go runflat for winter and either for summer.

[nyalpine90]

my 2015 x3 msport came with square setup eagle ls runflats. they are shitty tires!
I swap them out with conti's dws06, best tire for the money and ride is alot better.

Now I have 2016 x4 msport stagger setup that came with grand touring summer tires. I swap them out with contis dws06 right before the big storm in NY.

[TerraLvr335i]

I have an M-Sport 28i. In the US, the tires are no different than the standard model, just different sizes. From my perspective (as someone who has owned mostly RWD cars with summer and winter tires), the standard tires are fine for three seasons. Very mediocre in the snow/ice. Try them and see if you need anything more.

It doesn't appear to apply here, but I echo other's thoughts on driving summer performance tires in anything below about 35 degrees F. Slippery and, if there's snow, very scary and dangerous.

[IbanezGod]

thanks, big help. I wanted all seasons so this works out perfectly. It's for my girl so she doesn't need or want sport tires

[RooiValk_ZA]

i recently bought a 2013 BMW X3 2.8i Xdrive A/T and it has all terrain tires on (225/60/R17 Yokohama Geolander A/T-s). the previous owner has driven the vehicle since his first tire change on all terrain tires. this is the 2nd set. it has about 9000km's on (5592miles)

my question is, i read somewhere that BMW does not recommend you rotate your tires on the vehicle, but since this is not run flats, does it still apply for A/T tires? i saw the tires at the front is worn more on the side (due to turning and also the profile is higher) and i feel that i must rotate at least every 10000km's (5600miles) so can i rotate my tires to prolong there life? is it neccassary to do with xDrive or not? might be a stupid question, but is all terrain tires the same as all season tires?

is there anyone on this forum who drives with the same kind of tires on your vehicle and if so, what is your advice? any other advice will also be appreciated.

P.S - i live in south africa and our roads are not so good, also no snow where i live, therefor it just makes financial sense and also from a comfort aspect, to have A/T's on our vehicles.

thank you.

[Tjalle]

Rooi, there has been expressed various opinions on this matter - I will give you mine.

I take it you will rotate wheels - not tyres.

There is no physical law that says you should not rotate your wheels - RFT:s or non-RFT:s -but you should maintain same direction of rotation for best mileage.

Runflats seem to be more sensitive to correct wheel alignment, but you don't have that, and it would not have mattered on your problem.

A/T:s are different from All Seasons. A/S are for those areas - and non-critical drivers- who will accept less steering precision during summer and risk loosing brake-performance during "light-winter".

Your A/T tyres are good on gravel and mud - not so on tarmac.

X-drive does not like tyres with different circumference - it makes the diffs work "unnecessary", but this does not apply to your problem - you are trying to maintain same wear on identical tyres.

[RooiValk_ZA]

Originally Posted by Tjalle

Rooi, there has been expressed various opinions on this matter - I will give you mine.

I take it you will rotate wheels - not tyres.

There is no physical law that says you should not rotate your wheels - RFT:s or non-RFT:s -but you should maintain same direction of rotation for best mileage.

Runflats seem to be more sensitive to correct wheel alignment, but you don't have that, and it would not have mattered on your problem.

A/T:s are different from All Seasons. A/S are for those areas - and non-critical drivers- who will accept less steering precision during summer and risk loosing brake-performance during "light-winter".

Your A/T tyres are good on gravel and mud - not so on tarmac.

X-drive does not like tyres with different circumference - it makes the diffs work "unnecessary", but this does not apply to your problem - you are trying to maintain same wear on identical tyres.

good day,

this is correct, i meant "rotate the wheels" back to front and front cross backwards to ensure proper wear on all 4 tyres. apologies for my bad English.

all terrain tyres are popular in south africa on most SUV's and obviously pick ups. RFT are just to expensive and A/T's suite our roads a lot better. i just don't want some mechanical failure on diffs or electronics to fail due to me rotating the wheels to ensure proper wear and tear. so many people say you should not rotate and what not else.... at least all the tyres are the same size and the wear is quite similar, though the front ones do look more worn on the sides (due to cornering).

is there any recommendation in the sense of specific tyre brands/makes that really give good mileages and performance? i want comfort and am not a sporty driver (will now and then open up the taps for a short distance )

[Tjalle]

I believe you can safely switch wheels - front-rear.

I suggest you buy tyres from dealer or local tyre shop - they should know what's best in your region.

This has also been discussed before: if you don't have a full size spare - buy a "slime kit" with 12V compressor and slime/sealent which will seal most punctures.