[4nroots]

Question to Ledzep et al

I am going to order an E91 in the spring as a 2nd car. We have been blasted with snow these past few weeks, and our E90 330i is doing really well with its snow shoes on. However, how do you E91 owners feel about driving through the white stuff with the stock tires? do you feel confident, or are you running a set of snows? Reason I ask is because i am holding out for the possiblility of BMW offering a RWD version of the touring, but i'm not totally against the xiT if the stock tires hold up well in the snow.

thanks

[StewtheBassman]

4nroots, be careful, this thread may end up as a flame war, snows vs, AS, and xi vs. i (be prepared!!).

I made it through the first snowstorm around here (god's country and suburbs) okay with my AS tires on the xi. I still get winters 'cause I'm just that way about winter....where exactly in God's country Ontario are you, the Valley? If you are way out I would go snow tires anyway if your roads are often patchy snow-slush-ice-pavement-drifts like here. You'd **probably** be okay with AS, but it depends on your local roads and their upkeep.

The truth is that the driving dynamics between an xi and the are not very noticeable, LedZep care to confirm, Mr Two E90s in his perfect garage?
Good luck and let us know!

[4nroots]

hey stew...thanks for the reply

i'm in goderich, ontario, right on lake huron. the winters can get pretty nasty, so i would probably end up getting dedicated winter tires, but i just wanted to get a perception of how the xi (T) handled the snow with stock tires.

[jesse]

Im in Sweden. Cold place with big boobed blondes!

Got my e91 325 with AS last friday (finally), and I must admit its really good in the snow. The DSC is doing an incredible job!
Dont have the stock wheels tho, grabbed some non-RTF friction tires instead (Michelin X-ice).

[4nroots]

any thoughts Ledzep?

[LEDZEP]

We haven't had too much snow yet, just a couple of small storms. So far, the xiT has done very well. We have the stock 16" all seasons on it. If I lived in the great white north I think I would go with the xi and A/S tires. You might even want winter tires if it gets that bad.

The real issue is not so much traction, but ground clearance. Here is the mid Atlantic U.S. we don't get a lot of deep snow, but I would be more worried about the car becoming snow packed underneath and not able to move.

I'll post more if we get another snow and I have more insight.. so far we haven't had much. Although we recently had ICE and the car did very well.

[beamer]

With all of the speculation about e90 and e92 engine variants, does anyone have any idea about other e91 options in North America? I did a quick search and didn’t come up with anything. It would be amazing to have a 330i/xi available on these shores. Might not be the market yet, but the touring is such a sweet car.

[stressdoc]

A lot of us are hoping that the 330it/335it make it over here soon...

[icedragon]

4nroots, I think the E91 would be a great choice. It's a very sporty wagon.
I don't have an E91, but I do have a 325xi with Yoko AS tires. I drove it through that the snowy weather we've been having in Toronto, and no problems. I don't know if the stock Bridgestone tires are good, but the Yokos AS are great and have good TireRack rankings.

[Benjaminjamie]

The E91 works great in the snow, sleet, and rain.

I drove a 325i for 11 years and the E91 is much better in bad weather.

We have had three snow events in the Washington DC area this fall. I really like driving my E91 during inclement weather.

[winnibago]

totally agree,

we have taken the car to NH / Vermont every weekend (regardless of weather) to go snowboarding, and have seen snowstorms and plenty of black Ice. The stock tires on the sport package (17" a/s) have been holding up very well, with absolutely no complaints on both acceleration and braking.