[spucktacular]

Originally Posted by GFK007

Super late on this - but the MP4 AS's have been more than sufficient in the snow.

Now sure how much snow you get in Westchester, but here in Montreal I can tell you I'm seriously regretting buying the Pirelli Scorpion Winters instead of the trusted Nokian Hakkapelita tires I've always had on every other car, driving my wife's GLC back to back with my X4M in an active snowstorm is like .... pathetic, my x4m with 484hp feels like a sloppy pig in deep snow and stops like the titanic.

I can't wait to replace these stupid Pirellis with Nokian's next winter, with the M differential and perfect weight balance, our cars are actually INCREDIBLY potent in snow WITH the right rubber on them.

Anyway, if you got snow outside, and spent 100k on a toy car get some real tires, if you have dry pavement 98% of your winter and a pickup truck for the other 2%, than might as well even keep the summers on in 21".. how comfortable do you want to be, that's the question..

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV that's some real winter compound.. on par with the M badge in serving it's purpose, its a winter tire, so get the best one at pushing winter around... stupid pirellis, I don't know why I listened to BMW.... p

Anyone reading this have Nokian's on their X3/X4 M?

[Klazu]

Yep, I have Nokian R3s here in Vancouver and they have been excellent with the little snow we get. You can tell that they mean serious business just by looking at the tires and the deep rubber patterns. Really happy with the purchase and I am a bit sad not getting to go anywhere and try them out due to the lockdown.

[strohw]

Originally Posted by spucktacular

Now sure how much snow you get in Westchester, but here in Montreal I can tell you I'm seriously regretting buying the Pirelli Scorpion Winters instead of the trusted Nokian Hakkapelita tires I've always had on every other car, driving my wife's GLC back to back with my X4M in an active snowstorm is like .... pathetic, my x4m with 484hp feels like a sloppy pig in deep snow and stops like the titanic.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV that's some real winter compound.. on par with the M badge in serving it's purpose, its a winter tire, so get the best one at pushing winter around... stupid pirellis, I don't know why I listened to BMW.... p

It's all compromise and for most people a performance winter is more than enough. If you get enough snow to need a true winter then you know that now after trying out a performance winter where you live. There are some slightly better performance winters out there but none of them are a true winter tire. A true winter tire is also going to be sloppy too but when it's dry. It's going to feel like ass in corners or high speed.

Me for example, I'm on Wintrac Pros which are a performance winter that I personally feel are a bit better than the Scorpions. I just drove to work this morning going 70mph in 3" of unplowed snow. The only time this year I've felt I would need a true winter is when I was driving around 10" of rutted up snow with deep ditches on both sides. At that point it's also starting to plow with the air channels under the front bumper. So I get a tire that does what I need for nearly anything in winter yet it doesn't turn to mush in corners or at speed when the roads are clear.

The good thing is they make the tire you want in the correct size for your vehicle so you could always sell those and buy the R3 for next winter.

[Zachp13]

I have had the Nokians in Tahoe on my M40 for the last 3 winters and they have been awesome in all sorts of snow. Have been in all sorts of weather from ice to 10" of snow and they leave all the other people stuck on the side of the road. I will be getting a new set next winter to put on my X3m that is in production at the moment.

[1Volfan]

Had my first test with the Scorpion Winters last week and I too was disappointed. My 4Runner with Falken A/T tires was much better in snow than this dedicated tire. Given that this year has been an anomaly snow-wise I’m not going to run out and replace brand new tires, but I was definitely expecting more from a dedicated winter setup.

[Flyguy84]

Originally Posted by Transfer

Wheels and TPMS through Discount Tire who installed. I bought bolts from ECS. I used the Niche website to make sure all specs were what I wanted and matched bolts to their list.

Nice setup on you X3M, went with Niche Gamma 20x9 et38 square setup with Pirelli Scorpion Winters. Thanks for the post and recent feedback on how the tires handled the snow just solidified my purchase.

[tm811]

Hey new X3M competition owner from snowy canada!

Car is currently sitting on the lot and I need to get some winter wheels and tires for it so I can take it home lol.

I've settled on square set up of 255/45/20. I am just looking for rims now and am a little concerned about choosing the proper offset. I know the stock 21 summers are Front +31 and rear +39. I found a few sets of 20's I like (8.5, 5x112, 66.6 bore). They differ in this regard:

one set is a 40 offset and the other is a 20 offset. Does it really matter which one I pick? Also if I chose to do 9 over the 8.5 would that affect the offset I should pick

[spta97]

Originally Posted by spucktacular

Now sure how much snow you get in Westchester, but here in Montreal I can tell you I'm seriously regretting buying the Pirelli Scorpion Winters instead of the trusted Nokian Hakkapelita tires I've always had on every other car, driving my wife's GLC back to back with my X4M in an active snowstorm is like .... pathetic, my x4m with 484hp feels like a sloppy pig in deep snow and stops like the titanic.

I can't wait to replace these stupid Pirellis with Nokian's next winter, with the M differential and perfect weight balance, our cars are actually INCREDIBLY potent in snow WITH the right rubber on them.

Anyway, if you got snow outside, and spent 100k on a toy car get some real tires, if you have dry pavement 98% of your winter and a pickup truck for the other 2%, than might as well even keep the summers on in 21".. how comfortable do you want to be, that's the question..

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV that's some real winter compound.. on par with the M badge in serving it's purpose, its a winter tire, so get the best one at pushing winter around... stupid pirellis, I don't know why I listened to BMW.... p

Anyone reading this have Nokian's on their X3/X4 M?

I was a bit disappointed in the snow performance as well - here's my thread. Now that I've had them in more snow, I do like them primarily because snow doesn't last by me (roads are clear the next day).

The dry performance of these are better (way better) than dedicated winters. So for those who just get occasional snow I think they are a good choice.

For reference, here were my initial impressions from the linked thread - I'll add they get very unstable over ~120 MPH:

Summary:
Increased winter performance without sacrificing much in dry performance.

Details::
- Road Noise: Maybe a slight increase over the summers, but insignificant.

- Ride Quality: initially I had them at 38 PSI. The ride was less firm but felt too squishy. At 42 PSI they feel like my OEM 21”s (which I like) and handle better.

- Cold Performance: Here is where they shine vs the summers. I no longer get slippage when taking off after reversing out of my driveway. The summers would slip with barely any throttle when cold. And I’m talking 40 - 50 degrees, not super frigid.

- Dry Performance: I’m not pushing them but I have to admit they handle very well in dry conditions. I had a particularly aggressive turn today (full steering wheel lock) and they just barely started to slip.

- Wet Performance: No complaints thus far. The cold/wet conditions seem to be no issue for this tire. Feels sure footed.

- Snow Performance : We had a minor snow event recently. I found the tires did well getting traction on fresh snow, but was able to cause a skid (ABS kicked in) on 1” of slush in a parking lot during moderate braking at low speed. I also replicated the same on my street by aggressively engaging the brakes in fresh snow. It stopped, but took quite a bit longer than I expected. Kicking out the back end was no issue as well but that could be the rear bias of the AWD and 505 HP.

Overall I am happy with the performance but I was expecting better snow traction from a dedicated winter tire on AWD. I expected they would grip as well in the snow as in the dry - though my expectations could be unrealistic. Not sure since it’s been over 20 years since I ran a dedicated winter tire.

Please also share impressions if you are running another winter tire (I.e, Yokohama Blue Earth, Michelin Latitude Alpin LA2, etc) - there appears to be very few choices.

Edited to add - I’m happy I spent the money on dedicated winter wheels and tires. It has instilled a feeling of confidence and increased the conditions within I can drive my X3M.

[2020X3MCDG]

Originally Posted by spucktacular

Now sure how much snow you get in Westchester, but here in Montreal I can tell you I'm seriously regretting buying the Pirelli Scorpion Winters instead of the trusted Nokian Hakkapelita tires I've always had on every other car, driving my wife's GLC back to back with my X4M in an active snowstorm is like .... pathetic, my x4m with 484hp feels like a sloppy pig in deep snow and stops like the titanic.

I can't wait to replace these stupid Pirellis with Nokian's next winter, with the M differential and perfect weight balance, our cars are actually INCREDIBLY potent in snow WITH the right rubber on them.

Anyway, if you got snow outside, and spent 100k on a toy car get some real tires, if you have dry pavement 98% of your winter and a pickup truck for the other 2%, than might as well even keep the summers on in 21".. how comfortable do you want to be, that's the question..

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV that's some real winter compound.. on par with the M badge in serving it's purpose, its a winter tire, so get the best one at pushing winter around... stupid pirellis, I don't know why I listened to BMW.... p

Anyone reading this have Nokian's on their X3/X4 M?

I have the R3s on mine and they are great I have run them on my SRT Jeep previously. It is a great tire. They are soft and the low speed rating is a bit of a challenge at times but no complaints from me.

Only tire I would consider over them is the Michelin Alpin series but they were not available at the time.

[Klazu]

This thread seems to be popular on this topic, so posting this here as well to help others with their research...

Just like everyone, it seems, I also kept going back and forth about the decision on how to solve the issue of winter tires. I have always owned a separate set for winter and wanted to do that also with the X3MC for its convenience.

I was originally looking to buy the 20" 764M OEM winter set, however it costs a ridiculous C$6,999 here in Canada and even after a dealer discount it would have been C$5,999 - no thank you. After a lot of research, I ended up buying Niche Vosso Matte Anthracite wheels at size 20x9 with +27 offset (SKU: M204209044+27) for C$1,653.

For tires themselves I wanted to get the best possible winter performance as weather on local mountains can get reallty bad at time, so I and opted for Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV in square setup 255/45R20 105T for another C$1,518. So, in total the winter set came to roughly C$3,250 ($2,540 USD) with TPMS sensors.







I ordered 68mm hub caps off eBay for C$20 to make the wheels look even nicer.











So what do I think about how the set looks like? I love the style of the Vossos but wish there would be a two-tone variant available. 20" wheels will look a bit small on the X3M regardless of of style and less sporty due to fat winter tires. Even then, I am pretty satisfied with the look, especially for the price.









We haven't been getting a lot of snow in Vancouver this winter and due to COVID we haven't either been driving up to the mountains. So, my chances to test out my new Nokian's in snow and ice has been limited but based on the little I can tell, they do grip very well and are also fairly quiet to run. Not quite as quiet as the Michelin's on my old X1, but good enough.

In terms of ride comfort, the winter tires of course feel very different to the summer tires in a positive way. The Nokian's are not made for performance driving so they can feel a bit squishy if pushing them in a corner which some other tires may not do, but that hasn't been a bit issue for me.





I know few people have also been going with Niche wheels and sounds like others have also been happy with their choice, so I can recommend them as a cost-effective winter setup.

[spucktacular]

You won't regret the tire choice! Rim wise, for winter the narrower the better (ie, 8.5" ideal) just so they don't stick out past the rubber with 255 width and end up scraping them on chunks of frozen icy snow. You'll just have to be more careful.

My old x4 had 8" narrow winter rims and 50/18 profile Hakka 8s. I could literally climb over sidewalks with it during winter.. it was such a joy, and when it was dry out she happily slid sideways around an intersection, on the hakkas. Miss that old girl, gave her up too soon

Originally Posted by Klazu

This thread seems to be popular on this topic, so posting this here as well to help others with their research...

Just like everyone, it seems, I also kept going back and forth about the decision on how to solve the issue of winter tires. I have always owned a separate set for winter and wanted to do that also with the X3MC for its convenience.

I was originally looking to buy the 20" 764M OEM winter set, however it costs a ridiculous C$6,999 here in Canada and even after a dealer discount it would have been C$5,999 - no thank you. After a lot of research, I ended up buying Niche Vosso Matte Anthracite wheels at size 20x9 with +27 offset (SKU: M204209044+27) for C$1,653.

For tires themselves I wanted to get the best possible winter performance as weather on local mountains can get reallty bad at time, so I and opted for Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV in square setup 255/45R20 105T for another C$1,518. So, in total the winter set came to roughly C$3,250 ($2,540 USD) with TPMS sensors.

I know few people have also been going with Niche wheels and sounds like others have also been happy with their choice, so I can recommend them as a cost-effective winter setup.

[Flyguy84]

Originally Posted by Klazu

This thread seems to be popular on this topic, so posting this here as well to help others with their research...

Just like everyone, it seems, I also kept going back and forth about the decision on how to solve the issue of winter tires. I have always owned a separate set for winter and wanted to do that also with the X3MC for its convenience.

I was originally looking to buy the 20" 764M OEM winter set, however it costs a ridiculous C$6,999 here in Canada and even after a dealer discount it would have been C$5,999 - no thank you. After a lot of research, I ended up buying Niche Vosso Matte Anthracite wheels at size 20x9 with +27 offset (SKU: M204209044+27) for C$1,653.

For tires themselves I wanted to get the best possible winter performance as weather on local mountains can get reallty bad at time, so I and opted for Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV in square setup 255/45R20 105T for another C$1,518. So, in total the winter set came to roughly C$3,250 ($2,540 USD) with TPMS sensors.







I ordered 68mm hub caps off eBay for C$20 to make the wheels look even nicer.











So what do I think about how the set looks like? I love the style of the Vossos but wish there would be a two-tone variant available. 20" wheels will look a bit small on the X3M regardless of of style and less sporty due to fat winter tires. Even then, I am pretty satisfied with the look, especially for the price.









We haven't been getting a lot of snow in Vancouver this winter and due to COVID we haven't either been driving up to the mountains. So, my chances to test out my new Nokian's in snow and ice has been limited but based on the little I can tell, they do grip very well and are also fairly quiet to run. Not quite as quiet as the Michelin's on my old X1, but good enough.

In terms of ride comfort, the winter tires of course feel very different to the summer tires in a positive way. The Nokian's are not made for performance driving so they can feel a bit squishy if pushing them in a corner which some other tires may not do, but that hasn't been a bit issue for me.





I know few people have also been going with Niche wheels and sounds like others have also been happy with their choice, so I can recommend them as a cost-effective winter setup.

Looks great anychane you have a picture looking directly at front wheel to see clearance between brake caliper and wheel? I ordered a set of Niche Gamma 20x9 wheels and the fronts don't fit and clear caliper and currently working with company I ordered from to find a solution which will most likely be returning current wheels and ordering new wheel. Which my second choice is Niche Vosso wheel since I have seen a few folks on here have success with 20" fitting x3M Comp.

[RAKLAW]

Im in Westchester and frankly would never be comfortable with AS tires on a performance vehicle.
I have always shoed my guys with Pirelli Scorpion Winters and they are more than adequate.
I started winter driving on the family business flatbeds and its all about controlled driving. No tire is going to overcome icy and deep snow conditions, unless the driver heeds winter driving techniques period

[Transfer]

I'll chime in here again regarding Scorpion Winter tires because I love them. Granted I'm mostly driving on cold wet or dry pavement but I wrote up my snow thoughts a couple weeks back after we got a dumping of snow. I mostly appreciate how very good they are in all conditions <60F, not just snow/ice. Sure there are going to be better tires for pure snow and ice, but they do a good job and they slay the road for everything else compared to softer tires.

Here's my blurb with pics: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showp...3&postcount=76

Regarding Niche wheels and offsets, I've been very pleased with my Vosso set in black 20x9 ET25. Niche does an excellent job of posting specs on their website even including bolt head type which was relevant for my ET25 wheels. I also appreciate that my wheels are proper hub bore size so no fiddling with center rings. I think the X3M needs an offset <30 for fit and appearance which is tough because there are a lot of >30 offset wheels out there. I personally do not use spacers unless no other option as I've had issues with them.

[tm811]

Sitting on gunmetal 20s square set up. pirelli ice zero FR 255/45/r20. Have been great tires. Quiet. Havent slipped once. Highly reccomended

[SM2]

Should I replace the rears? Looks like the tires were over inflated. Middle is about 4/32 and outer portion of the tire is 6-7/32nds

[Marmugmotleocay]

I will be using the BMW 695 winter wheel package from my X3M40 once it's out of the body shop.

[tarmactrr]

Adding my winter setup here. Cheap wheels (230/each) Curva C300 20x9.5 ET30 squared setup.

Tires are 265/45/20 Continental Viking Contact 7

[yamsta]

I'm looking to get a square setup for my 21 X3MC: 20x9 +25 with 265/45/20 tires. I'm confident this will have no issues in the rear, however I'm not sure if this will work on the front -- anyone have experience with something similar?

[Ilyam5]

Originally Posted by slicer

BBS CI-R in 20x10 et25
Michelin snows in 265/45/20

No spacers

Nice set up. How do 265/45 fit in the front. Any rubbing?

[danniexi]

Originally Posted by yamsta

I'm looking to get a square setup for my 21 X3MC: 20x9 +25 with 265/45/20 tires. I'm confident this will have no issues in the rear, however I'm not sure if this will work on the front -- anyone have experience with something similar?

fitment will be fine, but you’ll be better off running 255/45. 265 will be too wide on a 9” wheel. also, it’ll defeat the purpose of winter tires (you want to run a skinnier contact patch on snow).

[slicer]

Originally Posted by Ilyam5

Nice set up. How do 265/45 fit in the front. Any rubbing?

Fit perfect and great results. Snow performance was exceptional. I have the tires listed for sale in the classified section