[Chasing Dreams]

With 35,000km/year and my only car I also need to have proper sorted winter wheels on the OG M2. I will be driving the 18" 640M alloys on 235 wide square setup. Tires are Michelin Alpins.

[bri1042]

I'm leaning towards the Michelin Alpin's. I swap wheels twice a year at home already but I'm going to need to find wheels that'll fit over these silly huge brakes. Sigh.

[aminz]

Do you all think I can run 18" wheels for winter set? Does it clear the new (larger?) brakes in M2C?

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by nomoracin

I can't believe yall are preparing to drive your M2Cs in the snow.

If you can afford a spare set of wheels/tires, then you can afford a beater car to drive in the snow!

With alll due respect, thats patently ridiculous. The kind of car, and I use the term loosely, that you can get for the < $2500 a winter setup costs would be nothing less than an embarassment, and a treasure trove of degradation in its own right. Relegate yourself to driving crap for 5 months a year if you want, but these cars and those like them are well driven in the winter months and there's no need to sacrifice driving pleasure by saddling yourself with a 'beater' ... Absolutely nobody can tell my cars have been driven in the winters here in the northeast. Theyre every bit as gorgeous as garage queens that never see the light of day.. Just takes some keeping after, but its well worth it to be able to drive these cars 12 mos/year.

Btw, for winter, mine is a square setup featuring 18" Apex EC-7 ltwt rims with 245 Mich. Pilot Alpins all around .. Love it.. They fit fine over the LCI M2 brakes, but sounds like theyd be problematic for the M2c

[tke743]

Originally Posted by nomoracin

I can't believe yall are preparing to drive your M2Cs in the snow.

If you can afford a spare set of wheels/tires, then you can afford a beater car to drive in the snow!

But where is the fun in that. I enjoy spending part of the year steering with my right foot.

Originally Posted by aminz

Do you all think I can run 18" wheels for winter set? Does it clear the new (larger?) brakes in M2C?

Nope, even Apex says their new 18's (SM-10 and FL-5) won't clear the fronts on the M2C.

[plastus]

Originally Posted by chris719

I would possibly reconsider the Sottozero Serie II. They are not terrible, but a very old tire design at this point. They were replaced in Europe a long time ago and in the US at least a few years ago by the Sottozero 3. The problem, as you noticed, is that nothing else is available in the stock rear size.

My recommendation would be this - if you stay stock sizes and really don't drive when it snows much, consider Continental DWS06 all seasons instead. If you feel you need more winter capability, then go with 245 square or 245/255 and get the Michelin PA4 or Sottozero 3. You will get better dry and wet performance with the Contis and their compound will not be dangerous in cold weather like the summer tires are.

I have done some research into performance winter tires and the delta between that category and some of the better all-season tires are closer than you might think. Nokian figured out they can use their WR G3 / G4 to cover both categories. The true winter tires like X-Ice Xi3 and WS80 are much different.

Yeah, that's my only reservation...it's an older compound for sure (I think from 2008?). I checked the Sottozero 3 tire and it does come in 275/35-19 sizing. I doubt the extra 10mm of width will be a huge deal, but at least then I'll be able to drive on a newer design tire.

[DARKMTTR]

AFAIK, for those in Canada, or Ontario at least, theres a marginal reduction to your insurance as well if you have winter tires - any little bit helps especially with the astronomical rates we're paying here.

Also, can anyone confirm whats the smallest square setup that can be run for winter?

[///M Houbi]

I prefer square setup in winter, so using 788M or whatever stock (staggered setup) wheels are no option for me i winter...

640M are 18 inch and won't fit M2C with BBK.

641M is the „only" official winter wheel set I know of which fits M2C with BBK. It should come with Michelin PA4.

I will order my set in roughly two weeks.

[cptobvious]

Saw a previous post that I thought was pretty funny: "What is this winter you speak of?"

Man, I never realized how much havoc winter plays on people's lives until this thread. It's like planning for the zombie apocalypse!

You guys should all move here to San Diego. It rains like 2 days out of the year, at most. Come over to my place. I got a huge liquor cabinet. We'll go driving together first, and then get drunk.

[Jenius]

Originally Posted by lbahoshy

The Michelin Alpin Pa4 are great "performance" winter tires. I have them on my m235 and 911 and they are great in the dry also. As an all around great winter tire on a performance car, this is my pick! I run winter tires for about 5 months a year so I need tires that are performance oriented and are great in the dry as well as decent and confidence inspiring in the snow. I'll be getting these for my M2C when it arrives !

I am palanning for the same tires when my M2C arrives.

What size are you planning to get? Stil, torn whether to get extra 19” wheels for it.

[Chasing Dreams]

Originally Posted by ///M Houbi

I prefer square setup in winter, so using 788M or whatever stock (staggered setup) wheels are no option for me i winter...

My 640Ms are staggered but were delivered by BMW with a square tire set. Shouldn't be problem.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Chasing Dreams

My 640Ms are staggered but were delivered by BMW with a square tire set. Shouldn't be problem.

788M 10" rear is too wide, in my opinion anyway, for most square setups unless you run 265 all around.

[nomoracin]

I think people misunderstood me...I just wouldn't want to subject such a nice car to the winter abuse of inclement weather and higher risk of accidents...not to mention rusting in the future. For me, my m2c is not even going to see rain let alone snow.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by nomoracin

I think people misunderstood me...I just wouldn't want to subject such a nice car to the winter abuse of inclement weather and higher risk of accidents...not to mention rusting in the future. For me, my m2c is not even going to see rain let alone snow.

Oh if it saw rain it would be ruined!

[GoneIn4Secs]

Lol /sarc

[cptobvious]

Originally Posted by akkando

Oh if it saw rain it would be ruined!

I'm with you, nomoracin. My wife drives a VW Jetta that we picked up for like $13k new right after VW's whole emissions scandal. The dealership must have been absolutely frantic to sell after all that bad PR. 3 weeks after we bought it, someone had side swiped it in a grocery parking lot! And you know what? We didn't give a damn! We just laughed and I rubbed some mud on the side of the car to hide the scraped paint.

My M2C, however, I'm going to treat like a Faberge Egg!

Reminds me of this car review:

[nomoracin]

Originally Posted by cptobvious

I'm with you, nomoracin. My wife drives a VW Jetta that we picked up for like $13k new right after VW's whole emissions scandal. The dealership must have been absolutely frantic to sell after all that bad PR. 3 weeks after we bought it, someone had side swiped it in a grocery parking lot! And you know what? We didn't give a damn! We just laughed and I rubbed some mud on the side of the car to hide the scraped paint.

My M2C, however, I'm going to treat like a Faberge Egg!

Reminds me of this car review:

Lol. That's awesome!

[F87_LCI]

Lol @ the posts that say you're a pussy if you have/drive a winter car/beater. Maybe I don't want some jackwang sliding into me because he thinks that by having some gigantic SUV, this somehow excludes him from the laws of physics and he can drive at twice the limit through a foot of snow and still stop on a dime. Love it when I see these dummies in the ditch after they went screaming past me 5 minutes earlier. I'll keep my OG tucked in the garage in the winter thank you very much...where it's nice and safe...from idiots. ...and I guess I'm just not insecure enough to care what other people see me driving ...winter or summer. My winter beater is a '14 Santa Fe...yes a Hyundai. So?

OP - up to you if you want to drive it in the winter, but if you do plan to, then get a good square set up of winter tires. Assuming you got the new bigger sport brakes, you'll likely have to stick with 19s, but ideally you want 18s...or even 17s if you can get away with it for a winter set.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by ///M Houbi

I prefer square setup in winter, so using 788M or whatever stock (staggered setup) wheels are no option for me i winter...

640M are 18 inch and won't fit M2C with BBK.

641M is the „only" official winter wheel set I know of which fits M2C with BBK. It should come with Michelin PA4.

I will order my set in roughly two weeks.

641M may still ship with the very old Continental TS830 P depending on where you order it from. It also comes in with the M3/M4 size I think, 255/35/19. I suppose if you can get 641M without tires you could get a 245/35/19 front.

Depending on price you might be better off getting four of any front OEM wheel such as 437M, 788M, or 763M. The front 9" wheels when mounted to the rear are almost identical to stock position (only 2mm recessed!). Then you can go 245/255 square or staggered and choose whatever tire you want.

[StLuis51]

Originally Posted by F87_LCI

Lol @ the posts that say you're a pussy if you have/drive a winter car/beater. Maybe I don't want some jackwang sliding into me because he thinks that by having some gigantic SUV, this somehow excludes him from the laws of physics and he can drive at twice the limit through a foot of snow and still stop on a dime. Love it when I see these dummies in the ditch after they went screaming past me 5 minutes earlier. I'll keep my OG tucked in the garage in the winter thank you very much...where it's nice and safe...from idiots. ...and I guess I'm just not insecure enough to care what other people see me driving ...winter or summer. My winter beater is a '14 Santa Fe...yes a Hyundai. So?

OP - up to you if you want to drive it in the winter, but if you do plan to, then get a good square set up of winter tires. Assuming you got the new bigger sport brakes, you'll likely have to stick with 19s, but ideally you want 18s...or even 17s if you can get away with it for a winter set.

Great point on mentioning that the issue is also other drivers. Plus while I am stationed in Germany, I will continue to use a beater because they throw a lot of salt everywhere here during the winter. BTW 14 Santa Fe for a beater? Shit that's a great beater. My beater is a 98 320i wagon.

[Davil]

Originally Posted by cptobvious

Saw a previous post that I thought was pretty funny: "What is this winter you speak of?"

Man, I never realized how much havoc winter plays on people's lives until this thread. It's like planning for the zombie apocalypse!

You guys should all move here to San Diego. It rains like 2 days out of the year, at most. Come over to my place. I got a huge liquor cabinet. We'll go driving together first, and then get drunk.

I love San Diego. Feels like a holiday town but just that bit larger to make it liveable. The drive over would be challenging though.

[dont_Mistak3]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I will definitely be driving it in the winter (this will be my only car) so it looks like I'll need to get winter tires after all. Once again, I don't know much about wheels/tires so here are a few other questions:

1) Is there really a risk of damage to the wheels if I just stick with the same set for all seasons and just change the tires twice a year? Honeslty would prefer not to spend $$ on extra wheels since I really like the 788Ms anyway...but don't want them to get damaged either. I would have them swapped at a shop twice a year (before winter starts and as soon spring starts) but I thought I read somewhere that the wheels bearings and other parts may be damaged if you switch tires on the same wheel too often.

2) I'm probably going with the Pilot Alpin PA4 but since they only have 245/255 is it recommended to keep 245 in the front and use the 255s for the back or just 255s all around? What difference does that 10mm make? OR the only tires that come in both 245/265 are the SOTTOZERO 2 I guess thats another option if I want to keep the suggested sizes but once again does that 10mm really make a difference?

Thanks in advance for BEARING with me!! (wheel pun intended )