[ukbluehand]

Hello everyone,

New to the forum although I've had my X3M since May this year. I am looking for some advice, please.

I have 255/40/R21 front tyres and 265/40/R21 rear; which I think are the original tyres fitted (I bought my X3M at 5k miles from a main dealer and am now at 10k)

I'm planning on putting winter tyres on these wheels and get a new set of 22" for the summer. For the winter tyres, I was thinking either Continental Winter Contact TS870 or the Pirelli P ZERO WINTER.

1) Do I have to stick with the 265 tyres at the rear, or can I put at set of 255 on all-round? I've read around and can't see it will hurt anything, but this is really NOT my area of expertise!

2) Any thoughts on which tyre would be best, or any other recommendations (in the UK)?

Thanks,
Stewart

[R0ot.Us3r]

if you're going with a square set up I would recommend 265 all around, at least in the US, the 255's are more expensive than the 265's

[JDS]

Hi Stewart. I ran the Pirelli Sottozero 3s on my 840i (here in the UK), and on my M3C prior to that in the USA and thought they were great winter tyres.

I have the same stock OEM set-up as you with summer tyres currently, and have been surprised as to how well they have handled the frigid temperatures and conditions this past week. I would have expected much less plyability and more hardening below 4 deg C, let alone -6C.

I have been a long time user of dedicated winter wheels and tyres but am considering just switching the summer tyres to all season and keeping with the 21" rims.

I may try sticking with the summer tyres for a while since I don't really want to get into chaning the tyres on and off the same set of rims, due to damage/scratching concerns. I have only done 3K miles and so they are not ready for a change yet.

I believe your 255 all round suggestion would be fine but only from what I have read also. Please don't take my word for it.

[moff]

Originally Posted by JDS

Hi Stewart. I ran the Pirelli Sottozero 3s on my 840i (here in the UK), and on my M3C prior to that in the USA and thought they were great winter tyres.

I have the same stock OEM set-up as you with summer tyres currently, and have been surprised as to how well they have handled the frigid temperatures and conditions this past week. I would have expected much less plyability and more hardening below 4 deg C, let alone -6C.

I have been a long time user of dedicated winter wheels and tyres but am considering just switching the summer tyres to all season and keeping with the 21" rims.

I may try sticking with the summer tyres for a while since I don't really want to get into chaning the tyres on and off the same set of rims, due to damage/scratching concerns. I have only done 3K miles and so they are not ready for a change yet.

I believe your 255 all round suggestion would be fine but only from what I have read also. Please don't take my word for it.

I wanted to get a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Seasons but they don’t come in 21”s which is crap. Pirelli Scorpions are average so not sure what the best All Season option for a bit of performance is?

[JDS]

I hadn't realised that you couldn't get the Pilot Sport AS in a 21" rim. There is a large thread on this subject elsewhere in the forum that I will re-read, but I think a lot of the contributions were from the USA, where there may be different options. IIRC, it was the one recommending the 295/265 upgrade.

[ukbluehand]

Thanks for the responses. I've decided to go with the Continental Winter Contact TS870 winter tyres in the end, as they did very well in various tests, including https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/...-Tyre-Test.htm

I will get a new set of wheels + the Michelin PS4S for summer.

Drive safe, everyone!

[JDS]

Probably a good option. I am trying to avoid going down the second set of wheels path, since I promised my wife when buying the X3MC that a AWD vehicle won't "need" them, after having them for my previous 840i and two F80 M3s.

It's looking like the only reasonable 21" all season option in the UK is the Pirelli Scorpions.

Michelin do a PilotSport SUV tyre, but it is still classed as a summer tyre and not an all season. It is not really clear what the "SUV" designation actually means in terms of tyre construct and performance.

[95wildtt]

Originally Posted by JDS

It's looking like the only reasonable 21" all season option in the UK is the Pirelli Scorpions.

I have 20" Scorpions AS on my X4MC, for winters, and am very happy with them.
Just as a data point for you.

[JDS]

So do you swap them in the summer? The idea of an AS is that it stays on all year round and is a balanced compromise between performance and poor weather handling.

Ideally, I want to keep my existing 21” rims and fit an AS tyre to it.

[95wildtt]

Originally Posted by JDS

So do you swap them in the summer? The idea of an AS is that it stays on all year round and is a balanced compromise between performance and poor weather handling.

Ideally, I want to keep my existing 21” rims and fit an AS tyre to it.

Understood, I was just giving you a data point on the Scorpions...
Yes, I do swap as I have 21" with PS4S for my Summer setup, but that's just my choice.

[JDS]

Thanks. Appreciate the input and perspectives. I may end up waiting until the OEM tyres need replacing. They performed better than I thought they would in some bad weather in early December, but I can’t say I have complete confidence in them.

Never good when they are the four bits keeping you in contact with the road.