[richardodn]

Just had a big snowstorm here in Denver and my X3 just handled it. We had 13"+ of snow with some slush near the ground. I'm quite pleased, especially when compared to the all-season runflats that were on it last year. I mentioned it earlier, but here's my setup.

Rial X10 17x7.5 et32 (OE fitment)
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-90 235/60/17 (Slightly taller and narrower than original 245/50/18)
New TPMS
New lug bolts
Entire package from tireack.com < $1500

It feels a bit more floaty in turns than my summer performance 18" non-runflat, but that extra cushion will come in handy dealing with potholes. If you don't see too many of those, I'd consider an 18x7.5 or 18x8 wheel with 235/50/18 tires for winter duty.

[ScottyRyan2019]

Yes to winter tires. Just took my Vovo XC60 out from last nights heavy snowfall and it went effortlessly though the snow with the Pirelli Scorpion Winter tires on it. Wife is getting them put on her new X3MC before we take delivery of it Monday. Oh, and I also turn off every Nanny assist the vehicle has. I want all four tires digging

[kevink1]

my x3 has the best snow performance of any car I've ever owned. Of course, it is the first AWD vehicle I've ever owned And my last 2 vehicles were RWD.

I live in Oklahoma, so I don't consider snow/winter tires worth it for the limited bad weather we get. And even then it tends to be ice.

A couple years ago I made a trip to Vail in January, and only had 1 issue sliding off a parking lot. It was one of those "named" weather channel storms, and Denver was kind of scary. I-70 was supposedly closed to cars without AWD or better, or chains.

So, if I lived up north, I would spend the money for the winter tires.

[3002 tii]

New Englander here and I've been using a dedicated winter setup on my F25 for few years now and have been very pleased with the Blizzak WS80's.

I recall 2 winters ago driving up the Merritt in the middle of a nasty storm. Plows had not come yet so I felt like Noah parting the sea... to my left and right of course were bunch of cars stranded or fishtailing themselves in circles. The best was when I approached a hilly section of the Merritt and drove past an Audi S4 on summer tires. He couldn't get further than 10 feet and the next exit was over 1 mile away lol.

[TEF]

I live in a lake-affect snow belt that recently got nearly 200 inches of snow in one winter, so I am a believer in winter tires. Moreover, in the 20 years living here, I traditionally used Bilzzaks of one form or another. However, now I am using Continental and General winter tires. Frankly, both are less expensive and, on xdrive BMWs, both are great on snow and ice. It's my understanding that Bridgestone was one of the first manufacturers to use winter rubber compounds, so the Blizzak was truly superior to other brands at the time. Currently, almost all manufacturers use similar rubber and, per Consumer Report testing, Blizzak is no longer at the top of heap. Given the X3's clearance and AWD, most brands will function fine. Just keep mind that the narrowest winter tire (meeting the car's specs) work better. I recognize that wider wheels and tires provide a fashion statement befitting a BMW, but in bad-weather driving, one quickly realizes that going and STOPPING on slippery pavement is the object of having winter tires.

[richardodn]

Does the current CR testing include the new Blizzak WS-90?

[TEF]

It includes the WS-80 that comes in 7th (out of 10 brands) in the category. However, to be fair, it does not include the latest designs from any of the other brands either.

[hogwldfltr]

Well in the early stages of the most recent NE snowstorm the X3 has done admirably on the highway as my first experience with it in snow. Tomorrow morning will be the real tell as so far it's only seen about three inches. Running relatively new (a couple of months old) Michelin All-Season Run Flats.

[Vikingstaff]

New member checking in on his thread from last year. In the last 20 years I’ve owned in order: Yukon, Yukon, Escalade. We have downsized significantly to the X3 due to all of our kids being older and “right-sizing” the SUV for me, my wife, and our dog. Winter handling is a concern for me with such a small and lighter vehicle in our harsh Michigan winters. I am also concerned with the BMW AWD system which I read favors rear wheels first, vs. what I am used to with full time AWD to all 4 tires independently. I appreciate the information above in this thread in providing advise.

As someone that lives in Michigan, and travels regularly to Northern Michigan in the winter, handling in adverse conditions is essential. Sounds like I will need to get winter tires for our vehicle.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by Vikingstaff

New member checking in on his thread from last year. In the last 20 years I’ve owned in order: Yukon, Yukon, Escalade. We have downsized significantly to the X3 due to all of our kids being older and “right-sizing” the SUV for me, my wife, and our dog. Winter handling is a concern for me with such a small and lighter vehicle in our harsh Michigan winters. I am also concerned with the BMW AWD system which I read favors rear wheels first, vs. what I am used to with full time AWD to all 4 tires independently. I appreciate the information above in this thread in providing advise.

As someone that lives in Michigan, and travels regularly to Northern Michigan in the winter, handling in adverse conditions is essential. Sounds like I will need to get winter tires for our vehicle.

With winter tires, the vehicle will have no issues getting through most conditions safely, that is until clearance becomes a problem. The computers are monitoring the vehicle's behavior and will apply power to the front and back to keep will spin to a minimum. Traction and stability control will aid to reduce fishtailing and wheel spin. I think it's a beast in the snow and does way better than my factory lifted S10 ZR2 pickup truck with posi, that's until it's so deep that the bottom of the X3 starts substantially scraping the snow since there's not a lot of ground clearance.

[Ol' Fart]

I have been running 17s on my 2016 X3 28d for the past 2 Winters. The X3 is quite capable in the Winter. As someone else stated, ground clearance is the limiting factor. My 17s are off a '08 335 xi and they fit fine. My tires are actually a little oversize (leftovers from my Land Rover) but I only experience a slight rubbing on the r/f when backing at full lock to the left.

[tracer bullet]

MN resident here. Stock all seasons were clearly biased towards performance. Moving to dedicated snows was night and day difference. So worth it.

If you have the space and ability I'd get the snows on a new set of cheap wheels and swap over every 6 months yourself. I have a garage corner that has all-season tires stacked next to my lawn mower during the winter, and my snow tires and snowblower in their places during the summer.

[HPR]

Colorado driver here. I'll echo what others have said. A set of dedicated winter only tires is the way to go. The car is absolutely sure footed in snowy conditions and has never left me stuck. In fact one of the reasons I bought the car was because a friend had an X3 and was always talking about how good it was in the snow.

[evilchargerfan]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

Seeing the thread title I was optimistic about this device discussion :

I too was looking forward to a discussion on meth injection

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by evilchargerfan

I too was looking forward to a discussion on meth injection

haha.

for people who dont get it, this kit is called '' snow performance'', and could be suitable for the turbo x3s.

none of the less, I really like the performance of meth injection on paper.

I put a meth kit on my turbo audi, butt dyno didn't really feel anything, but logs tell me the timing is @ tune specs and intake temps are smoother.

I put the nozzle pre-throttle body, so the spray get on the temp sensor.

[BavarianPrince]

In the mountains of Colorado Perelli Ice and Snow is the only way to go....

[kzgdriver]

Originally Posted by Merlin82

I live in Alberta Canada and we definately get a fair bit of snow. And I have always found the X3 to be more than capable. I have a set of 18's with the Nokian winter tires and have never had a problem getting around. Next time I may even try their Hakka 9 studded tires, but I have been extremely happy with my non studded tires.

Fellow YEG'er here who just purchased an X3 and saw your post. I too have the RFTs which I can already tell will suck in winter. On my previous car ('06 330xi) I was using Nokian WRG4s and loved them. Did you ever try/consider All-Weather tires or just always gone with two sets of tires/rims for winter and summer?