[petrolhead330i]

Hello everyone . I'm one of the new users, but I read regularly and follow your posts and I hope to have help from you as long as you from me ... Now I have a few questions for you as I intend to buy a 2009 BMW 330i.

Things that interests me is how good 3 series is on snow and generally during the colder days. How RWD with all the additional options such as DTC and other acts in the snow. I prefer bmw RWD and better driveability against all other cars in his class, but what about when winter comes. What do you thing about Xdrive and Quattro. Which one is better? How do they behave on snow...
What do you think about new 3.0 liter diesel engine with 245 hp and 520 Nm?


Thanks and sorry for my not very good english

[devilzrule]

save yourself the trouble and get xi.

[SteveC]

With the stock low profile summer tyres, its utterly undrivable in snow and you'll get stuck at the meerest hint of an incline

Winter tyres are much better and the car behaves itself reasonably well. I had an Xi and even that struggled in the snow with summer tyres. On winter tyres it could drive up the most amazing gradients

[csupernova]

get winter tire for sure. DTC can only help some but winter tire will def. safer.

[slowSwede]

I live in the southern part of Sweden, so usually there's at least a couple of weeks of snow. Last year, 3 months of it.

Winter tires is a must, studs or not depends on if you get a lot of icy conditions I'd say.
The e92 drives really good, and I'd guess the other E's would as well. I was actually surprised at how good it was and it's really predictable. With all nanny systems on, all you really need to do is point the car in the direction you want to go with the steering wheel, and that's where you would end up.

If you shut all the nanny systems off, it's very predictable and let's you know well before anything get's out of hand.

So for a rear wheel drive car, I'd say it's great. And sure, a 4x4 will always get the job done better. Stopping is always the some though, and that is usually the problem in real life situations.

[TheRox]

RWD in snow handles fine with winters


RWD even with snow tires...has a lot of trouble plowing through snow though ...ie. if stopped on an incline, or through thick snow...it can struggle depending on ur power delivery technique

[742]

People have driven RWD cars in snow for decades. Scandinavians, police, people in North Dakota, our grandparents and so on.

The car is fine in snow. Get proper tires, use a light touch with the right foot and you won't have a problem.

[Cygnusx1]

Originally Posted by 742

People have driven RWD cars in snow for decades. Scandinavians, police, people in North Dakota, our grandparents and so on.

The car is fine in snow. Get proper tires, use a light touch with the right foot and you won't have a problem.

Yes, and no. Driving an old, softly sprung rwd car, with very little damping, high ground clearance, and 175mm tires can HARDLY be compared to driving an E90 rwd in the snow. Suspension plays a huge role in the snow. Been there, done that.

The Subaru Legacy, the WRX, and the STI.... out of all of them, the base Legacy will win in the snow hands down. Why? Soft suspension, narrower tires.

[TheRox]

Originally Posted by Cygnusx1

Yes, and no. Driving an old, softly sprung rwd car, with very little damping, high ground clearance, and 175mm tires can HARDLY be compared to driving an E90 rwd in the snow. Suspension plays a huge role in the snow. Been there, done that.

The Subaru Legacy, the WRX, and the STI.... out of all of them, the base Legacy will win in the snow hands down. Why? Soft suspension, narrower tires.

There is that and the issue of relative superiority.

AWD and snow tire quality and computer technology has come a long way.

This does mean RWD is more manageable today than in the past...but also means that AWD is better than it used to be.

If you're looking for lots of traction, even through small snowbanks and deep snow...AWD will beat RWD. Assume both have snow tires of course.

RWD with snows usually handles fine on the road...even in a snowstorm (I used to have a 200 HP RWD car with snows)...but AWD will be better at inclines, deep snow, snow banks etc.

WIth family int he car and snow, I'd go with AWD.

[tys90]

RWD is fine, we had close to record snowfalls here last year and never had any trouble getting around with a good set of winters on my 335i

[franzzz]

No problems with four M+S wheels and my E92 RWD

[Tom K.]

[quote=Cygnusx1;8208670]Yes, and no. Driving an old, softly sprung rwd car, with very little damping, high ground clearance, and 175mm tires can HARDLY be compared to driving an E90 rwd in the snow. [quote]

With 180mm tires (7.10x15), my 1952 Dodge did quite well in the snow. But only with rear wheel chains mounted - otherwise, it was a pig like most other US cars of that era. Now if you want to talk about 1930's era cars with really skinny tires and high ground clearance...

With studless snow tires, my ZSP E46 sedan handled 5" of snow easily, and about 3" with performance snows. I don't see why a RWD E90 should be different. In cold, dry weather, any non-summer performance tire (designated M+S) should be fine.

Tom

[BTM]

Without awd and snow tires you will undoubtedly crash immediately and probably die

[petrolhead330i]

Thank you all for your replies. I wondered how it behaves RWD for this reason that I like a lot of time to implement the mountains and mountain roads, and since I love the BMW brand it would mean a lot to me if I knew 100% that I will not get stuck in the snow, but then again who knows. However I decide for Xdrive option...

[Twilight1]

It's all about the tires and driving ability. My 335d with WS 60 Blizzaks is one of the best winter cars I've ever driven. Only limited by clearance.

[Sammi]

RWD four good snow boots and your good to go, ground clearance is the only issue.

[talisman311]

I've got an e90 330i ZSP with dunlop wintersport 3ds. The car was undriveable in most of the snow storms we got last winter in Virginia. 6"-8" of fresh snow isn't too terrible, but the car does become a snow plow. Beyond that and it becomes difficult especially if other SUVs have gone through leaving ruts and the snow has melted/froze again.

[jonni44]

Before I moved to CA I lived in Calgary, Canada and had a 330 RWD with Dunlop winters and I only got stuck once.

I went to this girls house to bring her some cough syrup one snowy afternoon and was stuck for an hour or so right outside her house. It wasnt a selfless good deed though, I was definitely trying to sleep with her at that time.

[Denny347]

I hear people say that BMW's are bad in the snow. I understand that summer tires will suck but what about all seasons? I know I know...snow tires are the best. However, I drive a frigg'n Crown Vic for a living with crappy Good Years on it and have NEVER gotten it stuck...even in a 10" storm one X mas eve. I grew up driving 80"s Mustang hatchbacks in the winter...THOSE SUCKED!!! Indianapolis has pretty mild snow fall compaired to the Great Lake region. This is my first winter with a BMW. I need new tires for my 18's. So I can buy new 17" wheels/snow tires and in the spring buy ANOTHER complete set of summer tires for the 18's...YUK. Or I can get Conti DWS all seasons for the whole year. I only put 5-6k a year on my personal cars. Also, having the sport package the front end is very low to the ground. Driving in more than 4" on the ground will be tricky even with snow tires due to bottom clearance.

[Cygnusx1]

My WRX (excellent AWD) with Summer tires sucked in the snow. With Blizzaks it was really, really good at climbing hills in almost all snow, slush, and ice conditions. It also stopped well, and more importantly, it steered well. However, our base Legacy with Blizzaks was quite superior to the WRX in all inclement conditions. The difference comes down to suspension stiffness, travel, power, wheelbase, and tire width. All of which apply equally in a rear wheel drive car.

My train of thought is that one small trip into the guardrail can cost you $1000 easily. How much is a set of snows? Not much more than that. Not to mention that you also preserve the Summer tires while using the snows. Many performance minded drivers buy expensive radar detectors to avoid a speeding fine, but think twice about snow tires. If you live in the Northeast and you have to commute 10-20+ days a year in snow, get the snow tires. You also need to consider the terrain you will be driving on. If it's billiard smooth, straight, and flat, then it's a cake walk, even with snow. Not where I live though.

[petrolhead330i]

Originally Posted by Cygnusx1

My WRX (excellent AWD) with Summer tires sucked in the snow. With Blizzaks it was really, really good at climbing hills in almost all snow, slush, and ice conditions. It also stopped well, and more importantly, it steered well. However, our base Legacy with Blizzaks was quite superior to the WRX in all inclement conditions. The difference comes down to suspension stiffness, travel, power, wheelbase, and tire width. All of which apply equally in a rear wheel drive car.

My train of thought is that one small trip into the guardrail can cost you $1000 easily. How much is a set of snows? Not much more than that. Not to mention that you also preserve the Summer tires while using the snows. Many performance minded drivers buy expensive radar detectors to avoid a speeding fine, but think twice about snow tires. If you live in the Northeast and you have to commute 10-20+ days a year in snow, get the snow tires. You also need to consider the terrain you will be driving on. If it's billiard smooth, straight, and flat, then it's a cake walk, even with snow. Not where I live though.

about Bmw rwd climbing up hill...do you have any experience about that and and how good is on the hill with winter tires?

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by talisman311

I've got an e90 330i ZSP with dunlop wintersport 3ds. The car was undriveable in most of the snow storms we got last winter in Virginia. 6"-8" of fresh snow isn't too terrible, but the car does become a snow plow. Beyond that and it becomes difficult especially if other SUVs have gone through leaving ruts and the snow has melted/froze again.

The Dunlops are performance winter tires and sacrifice some snow traction for better dry handling. It sounds like the OP should opt for a more aggressive "Studless Ice & Snow" winter tire.

You still did better than I did as I got tired of the (Dunlop M3 winters, Conti SportContact summers) changeovers with so little snow and mounted all-seasons on my E46 last year. As a result, I feel somewhat responsible for our blizzards .

Tom