[silverado]

I've been rather pleasantly surprised today in my first real experience driving my car in the snow with Dunlop M3 DSST tires on 17" wheels. However, I thought it is worth posting a special thread to warn people about the low clearance of this setup (I have the sports package).

My initial strong confidence was seriously shaken after I basically bottomed out on a side street going up hill. It was really tough getting out because the right side of the car had good grip but, because of bottoming out, the left side wasn't totally on the ground. The car's back end would spin to the right and counter steering didn't do enough because of lack of contact. It was very tricky trying to prevent the back right side of the car from hitting the curb or a tree that was on the right. I kept backing up the street, staying on the left and going up with the car going up the hill at a 30 degree angle with a huge counter steer. In the end a plough came from the front and ploughed a large area that allowed me to finished the rest of the street.

The rest of the way home, my car was basically ploughing the middle of the lane where the snow is high. No other sedan on the road was as low as mine. It was really weird to be scraping the snow for most of the way home!!

I think one thing that makes bottoming out in this car especially bad is that it is basically sealed on the bottom with flat panels, making the car have a uniform flat surface on the bottom at the lowest possible depth clearance of the car instead of varying depths. This was the first time I ever get stuck in the snow and it didn't feel good.

[prolix21]

so you're saying we need winter springs too

while i wasn't in enough snow to experience bottoming out, its good to know its a possibility in drifts and whatnot

[Casey 5]

Wait for the snow plough.

[llaroo]

hmmm, I have the dunlops and I'm not sure how I feel. I don't know if its the car or the tires but I'm not liking this car in the snow

[Tierfreund]

Originally Posted by prolix21

so you're saying we need winter springs too

That´s a good idea, actually. Maybe some pneumatic or hydraulic system (can you say LoowwRaaiiiddeerrr?)

[ase2dais]

But can you just imagine the same situation with your stock 18's.

We havent had real good snow here for me to experience the same conditions you had.
ZSP and non ZSP profile, is not much of a difference.
Am I missing something here?
maybe you should have just waited a little longer to get the snow plowed.

[silverado]

Unfortunately I couldn't have waited and other cars were able to go through (I saw their tracks, and they weren't big cars). Let's face it, the car with ZSP is low and it is a bit lower with 17's. Again, the car is generally very good in the snow, but one has to be careful about the low clearance. It is lower than most other sedans.

[flipmde786]

maybe you should've gotten an xi...

I'm quite skeptical about the 330i being "great" or "fine" in the snow with snow tires. But seeing how many of you are saying it, I started rethinking my choice to get an xi. Then again, I see this thread about getting stuck. Someone shed some light; I'm confused.

[silverado]

I think there is no reason to be confused. If the snow is too deep for a car -- any car -- it can get stuck. Ground clearance is one more variable that needs to be taken into account when driving in the snow. This was the point of my thread.

I drove for 6 hours in the snow yesterday and had no problems except this one. It reminded me that I'm driving a low car and I need to adjust to that.

[flipmde786]

Originally Posted by silverado

I think there is no reason to be confused. If the snow is too deep for a car -- any car -- it can get stuck. Ground clearance is one more variable that needs to be taken into account when driving in the snow. This was the point of my thread.

I drove for 6 hours in the snow yesterday and had no problems except this one. It reminded me that I'm driving a low car and I need to adjust to that.

I also thought there was no reason to be confused until everyone started saying that RWD with snows is great and FWD is overrated and AWD is unnecessary. I'm not just talking about getting stuck because of being too low, but the overall winter driving experience. After all, I was planning to get a 330xi, but if it is indeed unnecessary, then maybe I can save the additional $2500 or so.

[dubroz]

Originally Posted by silverado

I think there is no reason to be confused. If the snow is too deep for a car -- any car -- it can get stuck. Ground clearance is one more variable that needs to be taken into account when driving in the snow. This was the point of my thread.

I drove for 6 hours in the snow yesterday and had no problems except this one. It reminded me that I'm driving a low car and I need to adjust to that.

I live in Boston too and drove through the same snow you speak of. It was the first winter exeperience with new 325XI. From the way things handled, you would have thought it was summer. The way home took 1 hour, I passed all sort of cars stuck on the sides of the road, but the best part of the drive was when I passed a stuck plow (no joke)!

The snow was was soft and powdery, not icy. No fear of hurting the car. Came back home at 6pm to find about 8-12 inches in our driveway. We have a long driveway, about 200 feet to the garage. I took out a shovel to break through the 2ft of plow buildup at the entrance ... then gave it some gas and drove right through the white stuff like it wasn't there :rocks:

The 325xi is better in the snow, higher ground clearance, and that AWD thingy

[LEDZEP]

Yep... once any vehicle bottoms out in snow you're stuck. I had an Isuzu Trooper get stuck once because too much snow was packed under it... until we have hovercraft this will be simple physics. The E90 is certainly a low car and will be suceptible to this.

[silverado]

Yes, I'm sure xi is better in very deep snow, as it will raise the maximum snow depth you can go through to a degree. Also, if you look at the BMW website, they list the i and xi as having the same ground clearance (at least I couldn't fine any difference listed). In my case, I have the Sports Package which is known to be lower than the standard car. Have to get used to having a "sports" car that is low to the ground.

[Wolf359]

The car is lowered a mere 0.8 inches...

This is a luxury sport sedan, that sort of trade-off is to be expected (On the xi as well, it will go a bit further but forget about it if you have 1 foot of snow).

Maybe that's a reason why people still buy SUVs despite the price at the pump...!

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Wolf359

The car is lowered a mere 0.8 inches...

This is a luxury sport sedan, that sort of trade-off is to be expected (On the xi as well, it will go a bit further but forget about it if you have 1 foot of snow).

Maybe that's a reason why people still buy SUVs despite the price at the pump...!

I'm sure that's the reason why some people still get SUVs and they should if they have to be able to drive in unploughed, deep snow. That is the best you can do in those conditions.

Others get them because they are... well... crazy