M3/M4 as a daily driver including winters

[itrocks4u]

Hello,

I currently have 436 F36 xdrive. Absolutely love it but I'm kind of leaning towards an M3 as an early upgrade for next spring. However, I'm not sure if it's a wise decision. Therefore, was hoping you Canadians can she some light on it after some background.

First is M3 suitable for a daily driver? Everyday all year round including winters? I live in GTA so the snow is not terrible. Occasional heavy snow storms but otherwise slushy conditions/freezing rains is a norm in winters. My question is, if I do go for the M3, do you think it would be suitable for winter driving as well? Of course I would get winter tires specifically thinking Nokians, but would it still work. On heavy snow storm days I can definitely avoid driving but can't avoid full winters as this would be the only car.

Being a daily driver would also mean I'm putting about 20,000km per year on it and will likely keep it for 7 to 8 years. Yes, there is maintenance and I'll end up getting extended warranty.

Now being the only car, my wife would be driving it as well. She's pretty good at driving, very careful, but have not driven RWD before. If the rear slips etc. I wouldn't mind but I know it would scare her.

I went to Endras BMW and bumped into a "BMW Genius". Asked him the same question and he straight up said I wouldn't recommend. Said even with winters on his M3 he can barely make it up the hill or drive in slushy conditions. I told him I'm looking for an upgrade and he straight up said no it's not for winter and to stick with what I have. Guess they didn't want my money haha.

Thoughts would be appreciated!

[F83]

With winters? Sure. Suitable as any RWD car. Blizzaks and a couple sandbags in the trunk and you're good to go. Toronto keeps the roads pretty well groomed also.

[aboulfad]

Hit the tires/wheels sub forum and you'll see plenty of threads about winter tire discussion for the F8x. I have always driven BMWs all year around, this is my first M and it will be my DD. I have equipped it with Nokian R2 and ready for snow some of the other reasons that people may not want to drive an M in winter is either the wear and potential additional damage from debris, ... Or they don't know how to handle a RWD in winter conditions, so they shouldn't have gotten this car to begin with ... The throttle isn't 0 or 100%!

[gonoyaro11]

Oh man, are you going to drive awd of your whole life? I hope not.

[Mikster]

Totally doable.
True, read the threads. There's lots of experience with the F80 and winters.
In my case, I too live in the GTA and the F80 is my daily driver. Also have Nokian R2 on 18 inch rims.
I've never had a problem, even getting up my steep driveway or inclined street in snowstorms. I don't put any sand bags in my trunk...that could be a bonus idea.
Couple that with a sensible driving habit, adjusted to the driving conditions, and you should be fine.
Will I deliberately go out in an ice storm? Heck no. But if I'm stuck at work and the weather acts up, I drive sensibly ( with all the other drivers on the 401 who are slowing to a crawl) and I have little issues.
Make sure you get the best winter tires you can afford.
I also find that driving a manual is infinitely more controllable than an automatic, even one with paddle shifters. But that's just me.
Good luck.
M

[bobblehead]

If I used my past experience with a F10 M5 as example, then you should be fine. In condition with snowfall of over 25cm, it will be tougher to drive on any roads for sure. If your daily drive has lots of incline roads, then you should just park your car for that big snow storm day. If you must go out, then bring a snow shovel and couple bags of sand or even your summer wheels for added traction.

[Gearhead999s]

I ran mine all last winter with no great dramas but mind you I also used my wife's X3 on the couple of real bad days we had last winter.I have also driven my previous M's all winter with no great issues on a proper winter setup.

[myzmak]

100% fine

There might be the odd day where it is so nasty you can't really drive it (think like 50cm of snow dumps with side streets you need to drive down that cant get plowed) but, unless you have absolutely no other option but to drive your car wherever you go all the time (ie: cant ever take transit or a cab or borrow wife's car etc) it is fine.

But short of those absolutely once-a-winter-extreme-rare-days (in which half the city will be f-----d) this car is completely fine as a DD all year long.

....lets all remember that before AWD became so popular, in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s most cars were just RWD.....and people didn't bother using winter tires....and they did fine. Now, with better traction control systems AND winters we are laughing.

[sunnyboy]

This will be my second winter with my M4 and completely do-able. Even though enthusiasts prefer not to drive their cars in winter, but these cars are built for daily driving. I have Blizzaks on mine and I can get through almost every day of the winter. Of course, as everyone have said, there are the odd days that too much snow or freezing rain that you want to avoid. Nevertheless, even with awd, you want to try to avoid these days too.

As for your "better 1/2", it will just take a little time to get used to the rwd vs awd, but should not be a problem. People are worry about the torque in winter, etc. However, as you drive in winter, you will notice that your behaviour changes and you will be lighter on the peddle. That will be the same case with your M, thus less torque, then less likelihood to swing out. In addition, the DSC is pretty good at slip control. So good to the point that if you are stuck in slightly thicker snow, you need to turn off DSC (at least in MDM) in order to have enough push to get out (this happened to me once last winter).

At least, this is my experience with the F82 M4. Had an E46 M3 before and that also was a daily driver and had no problems in winter either.

Cheers.

[itrocks4u]

Thanks guys! Guess I'll start harassing dealers soon lol

[pokerface]

I guess one potential thing to be wary of is that oil cooler below the car. If you're putting any credence to the risk that the other members are hyping up on the General / Engine forums then you might have an issue trying to go through unplowed roads and having an ice block damage it.

No experience to share on my part as I haven't ordered mine yet.. but the M3 is going to be a weekend car for me.

[Mikster]

Originally Posted by itrocks4u

Thanks guys! Guess I'll start harassing dealers soon lol

Get to it. You may find a shortage on the premium tires. My Nokians had to come from Europe due to the demand at the time.
M

[myzmak]

Originally Posted by pokerface

I guess one potential thing to be wary of is that oil cooler below the car. If you're putting any credence to the risk that the other members are hyping up on the General / Engine forums then you might have an issue trying to go through unplowed roads and having an ice block damage it.

No experience to share on my part as I haven't ordered mine yet.. but the M3 is going to be a weekend car for me.

Unless it snows hunks of iron or rock where you live this is not a problem.

[JBGD]

This too was a concern of mine going from last 2 335xi's moving to an M3. Listen driving with an xdrive feels like you have training wheels on! Love the rear wheel drive, with the electronic differential it's not a big deal as long as you get a good winter tires and don't have a lead foot. I think the biggest issue you would have, is a lower front end for when you get big dumps of snow 15-20cm.

I Love cornering again so much better in a rear wheel drive, night and day! The M3 is a blast to drive any time winter or summer, you won't regret it. If You need to drive everyday of the winter no exceptions get the xdrive and deal with the shackles if not and you can avoid driving 3 or 4 days a year, get the M3/4 and live alittle, you only get to go around once!

[Etienne8217]

I've driven my 135i, my E92 M3 and now my F80 M3 as a DD and had ZERO problems! LM-60 on my 135i and LM-32 on my M3s. Québec city keep their roads pretty clean during winter.
Absolutly great cars in ANY condition. You just have to adapt your driving to the weather/road conditions.
My car sits on Macht Schnell competition springs in the summer and back to stock height for winter.

[sunnyboy]

Originally Posted by itrocks4u

... I went to Endras BMW and bumped into a "BMW Genius"....

Not much of a "Genius" that you met at Endras...

[itrocks4u]

Originally Posted by sunnyboy

Not much of a "Genius" that you met at Endras...

Yes... he made it quite clear that I should not even consider it :s

[CanAutM3]

I have been daily driving an M3/4 365 days a year for the last 15 years. No issues at all, those cars rock .

[2015F80]

Good to know.

the only thing that has got me nervous is the low height of the oil cooler.

I measured it and it's 5 inches off the ground.

And the front bumper isn't too high either.

When the snow crews are cleaning the streets you can easily get a 10 inch high snow stack.

[sunnyboy]

You are talking about snow bank that city plow causes on the end of your drive way? Yeah, there is not much you can do with those, as they are packed tight and hard. Even if you have a SUV, you will likely want to shovel it first (unless you got a Hummer H1 or something... lol).

But those are usually on very heavy snow days and you probably want to stay home, have some chestnut on a open fire, a cup of hot coco ... etc. So probably not want to go out. hehe

[gq1]

I've had an e46 and an e90 M3 and daily driven both with no major issues except on the real nasty days, and actually I found with a good set of winters (Blizzak's in my case) on most days you can drive the car pretty hard and it responds really well. I decided to park the f82 though because the car is lowered an inch and I usually get a lot of snow where I live plus I have 3 young boys and I can't bear to watch them destroy my interior!!