[B3M3W5iXM]

I bought a 335i xDrive a few months ago with the intention of getting a set of winter rims and tires and driving it everyday. Looking at the options now, after it's all said and done, they'll be about $1500 which was expected.

While searching for a cheaper set on Craigslist, I found a bunch of crapmobiles around this price which has me thinking. (a few of said crapmobiles are Subarus)

Looking for opinions here, what would you do? Beater or rims + tires?

Background: my previous car was an Impreza and I still have Blizzaks (tires only) from it so maybe they'd fit a beater (they're 16" so no chance they're fitting the 335).
Also, one night I was out in snow with that on the Blizzaks, I slid going around a corner and bounced off a phone pole. If I did this in a crapmobile, no big deal. If I bounced my BMW off a phone pole, well, I don't even want to think of that...

[khanh1289]

if you dont mind driving a beater, go for it! but there are costs associated with those beaters also so keep that in mind.

[iDriveanXi]

There is no point in having an Xi if it's going to be garaged in the winter. It's just a car not a Rembrandt. Slap those blizzaks on and enjoy that sucker all year round

[335NJ]

I vote snow/winter tires, because as stated before, you have an xi. If there's a foot and a half of snow, well, use your head there.

But i'd be confident in saying the xi can handle most of the average snowfalls out your way, but if there's a huge storm, i'd say you stay home.

Even though a winter beater may only cost $1,500 for example, you're still gonna dump money into it to make it run well i'm sure. That's triple the cost of 4 winter tires.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Your Xi will be safer and more capable than a beater. It's a car - drive it I'm putting my E92 through the winter. It'll come out just fine. Throw some Blizzaks on and you'll be doing great.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Drive the xi in winter.....I think this car handles winter great with just all seasons and dtc on...could only imagine how good this car will be with dedicated winters on...probably feel like it's on rails....now only If I could feel that confident in the rest of the population driving lol.

[335NJ]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Drive the xi in winter.....I think this car handles winter great with just all seasons and dtc on...could only imagine how good this car will be with dedicated winters on...probably feel like it's on rails....now only If I could feel that confident in the rest of the population driving lol.

Yeah, I had a 17 y/o girl hit the back of my old truck at 25mph, she said she tried slamming on the brakes, but her 4WD must be broken! 6" of snow, and for some reason, she thinks 4WD is related to braking..

[Needbmwpartzz]

Haha...maybe help with engine braking/acceleration.....but ya watch out for those inexperienced types lol

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by 335NJ

Yeah, I had a 17 y/o girl hit the back of my old truck at 25mph, she said she tried slamming on the brakes, but her 4WD must be broken! 6" of snow, and for some reason, she thinks 4WD is related to braking..

Should have told her a parachute would be more effective to slow her down than the 4wd

[B3M3W5iXM]

I'm going to get the rims/tires. My first thought was basically what most of you said "why get xDrive and not use it?"

I just thought it might be fun to beat a POS every once in awhile..

[rick100]

just drive the damn car !!

Seriously its an AWD and it would be better than any beater out there. I actually enjoy driving my XI in the winter because it grips really well , even though I got all seasons

[silver28]

Enjoy your car dude! Unless you live in the Arctic, it's not snowing all the time. YOLO!!!

['02onthebrain]

Drive the xi in winter for sure. I have my xi on blizzaks and the car is a snowmobile! Get a used set of rims with blizzaks on here or Craigslist. I got my oem bmw 18" wheels and blizzaks on here for 600. Well worth it.

[Jturner335i]

I am looking for some 335 oem wheels for the winter... Pm me

[techietaichi]

I don't think that I have to reiterate that it's an XI. It wants to play in the snow.

[ahschell]

Originally Posted by techietaichi

I don't think that I have to reiterate that it's an XI. It wants to play in the snow.

Agreed!

xi models are way more capable than you think. I made it home in over a foot of snow with Michelin Pilot Sports and lowering springs and the streets weren't even plowed yet. I was brushing snow out of the grills after I pulled in my garage! I'm looking for a winter setup myself. Go with the winter wheels/tires.

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by techietaichi

I don't think that I have to reiterate that it's an XI. It wants to play in the snow.

+1. You should be able get a rim/snow setup for less than $1500.

[miker2013]

i was amazed at the level of traction my 335 xi had last winter with a set of hakka r2 rft tires

i have driven several vehicles with 4x4 or awd, including jeep subaru acura toyota... the bmw xdrive with winter tires works effectively as good or better than anything else out there

as we all know, in the summer months the awd heavy front end on the xi models has a tendency to push while under load but interestingly enough, in the winter the extra weight in front and extra traction seems to work perfect, the car literally feels like it is on rails on ice and snow... i tried many times the get the front end to push and slide (which i could make my moms old subaru do at will) and couldn't do it

the xi with a GOOD set of winters is very confidence inspiring in the winter

[B3M3W5iXM]

Originally Posted by thegrinchboy

+1. You should be able get a rim/snow setup for less than $1500.

I'm going to keep my eye out on the forums and see what pops up but that's about what a set of 17's is running with decent snow tires, TPMS, and shipping from tirerack.

[Mick the Quick]

I am not following some of the reasoning here.

Unless the beater fits the Impreza snow tires, you will be driving a FWD or AWD beater with all seasons. How is that any better than a xDrive with all seasons? Moreover, how much "winter" tread do you have left on those Blizzaks?

A beater will cost you a lot more than $1,500 over the long run. You have to pay hundreds of dollars to get it inspected, re-titled, pay for the registration, pay the sales tax, pay the property/excise in many states, pay for maintenance and repair, and so on. A car of that age would be a ticking time bomb, even if it is a Subaru or Honda. Consumables are very expensive and will add up quick, like the brakes and pads, tires, timing belt, and so on. And of course, you have to add the car to your auto insurance policy, which must cost you hundreds of dollars every year (even assuming you don't buy comprehensive/collision).

You would also waste a lot of time on Craigslist and test drives. At that price range, you'd also have to deal with a lot of seedy characters.

Are you going to enjoy driving the crap mobile? I have borrowed my friends' crap mobiles around that price range, and I cringed the whole way while driving. A torture.

On the plus side, you would reduce the mileage and wear and tear on your Bimmer, which will save you money. But you will likely always take your Bimmer instead of the crap mobile unless it is snowing hard, so how much are you really saving on the Bimmer?

I live in New England and a firm believer in snow tires (even on an AWD). But I didn't put winter tires on my 335i xDrive last winter due to my laziness/cheapness, and the car got me around safely without any white knuckle moments whatsoever. Just remember to go slow and realize that nothing will save you from black ice.

Mick

[MuffinMan910]

use the xDrive for whats its made for… throw some blizzaks on and it'll be a champ. I'm getting my blizzaks put on this saturday.

and i also agree $1500 is probably too much. my 17in m5 replica rims and blizzaks are $1300 canadian. yours should be cheaper considering everything is cheaper in the states but i don't need to worry about tpms since my sensors are in the suspension

[zipstic]

I agree with pretty much everyone on here about putting snow tires the BMW and driving it. However, I would not go with Blizzak's. They're pretty much useless in the snow after they are 50% worn when the Multicell tread compound is gone. So you'll get 12k-15k miles out of them until you get to that point. I guess you could get a new set every 12k-15k, but that seems like a waste to me when there are plenty of other good options available.