BMW X5d lousy in snow due to runflats a/s

[rexus300]

Our 2015 BMW X5d is a great car and we love it. BUT the traction in the snow is so pathetic that its worst then any car I have owned in the past 15 years with all season tires. This car has the Michelin Lattitude Tour HP runflats all season 255/50R19 and I blame the runflats. They cannot move the car in few inches of snow and the X5 slides so badly that it cannot recover on turns even at slow speeds. The X5 cannot even climb our driveway without a few tries vs our Audi, Lexus, and Mercedes sedans with all seasons and winter tires. I am so appalled that BMW pushes this technology on their cars. Its not even that great. Our Ml350 with the regular Michelin tires is 10x better in the snow. Very minimal slipping or sliding and rarely any ABS activation...

Michelin Premier LTX (nonrunflat), here we come!! I am ordering them this week from tire rack. I do 25k miles of driving a year and so does my wife and this is her car and we cannot fathom keeping the runflats on them for any longer. Luckily i have the spare wheel set.

I knew that the runflats were not going to be any good on this great SUV when we got it last month and now it really cements my animosity towards runflat for good.

[X54TH]

I hope that's not the case for the Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow RFT's (staggered 20") setup I just installed on our X5. Yikes. Got me worried now.

[rexus300]

Originally Posted by X54TH

I hope that's not the case for the Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow RFT's (staggered 20") setup I just installed on our X5. Yikes. Got me worried now.

I am sure you will be fine since you got the winter runflat set up. I have winter tires on my A7 and A8 regular non runflat of course and they are amazing but for the X5 we will stick with good all season tires. Heck, our 2013 Ml350 has the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires Nonrunflat exact same size and speed rating as the BMX x5 Latitude Tour Hp tires and the Mercedes is much better in the snow. Going to regular tires makes a huge difference for both all season and winter in my past experience with my BMW 5 series.

[X54TH]

We haven't had any snow as of yet so we'll have to wait and see. So far I am really impressed with these Pirelli Scorpions which have been very comfortable and dry handling has been outstanding. So far so good.

[MattBianco]

Like I always say: Nokian Hakkapeliita run flats for winter.

[BMWSRT]

You will not have any issues with pirelli scorpion ice and snows.....

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by X54TH

I hope that's not the case for the Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow RFT's (staggered 20") setup I just installed on our X5. Yikes. Got me worried now.

You'll be fine. Ive read nothing but positive reviews of this tire installed on the X5. I just got a set myself waiting to go in my stock 469M.

Alan

[MysticBlue]

Cars are not good or bad in the snow... tires are. I've said it before and I'll say it again; All Season tires suck. They try to be kind of good at everything but in reality aren't good at anything. Compromising summer performance to try to get by in the winter and compromising winter performance to make them useable in the summer makes them lousy at both.

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by MysticBlue

Cars are not good or bad in the snow... tires are. I've said it before and I'll say it again; All Season tires suck. They try to be kind of good at everything but in reality aren't good at anything. Compromising summer performance to try to get by in the winter and compromising winter performance to make them useable in the summer makes them lousy at both.

+1

[rexus300]

Originally Posted by MysticBlue

Cars are not good or bad in the snow... tires are. I've said it before and I'll say it again; All Season tires suck. They try to be kind of good at everything but in reality aren't good at anything. Compromising summer performance to try to get by in the winter and compromising winter performance to make them useable in the summer makes them lousy at both.

I agree with you 100%. Hence the reasons why I blame the all season run flats. My A7 with the blizzaks is super amazing in the snow and I drove it yesterday without issues and I feel so much more secure in it. The X5 will get some good set of non-runflat tires next week from tirerack and I will update all of you guys. We have few family friends that have the 2014 X5 with the 18 inch rims and goodyear LS-2runflats and they say its good and they are happy but I doubt that it is that much better then my 19 inch rims and michelin latitude tour hP tires. Most average consumer really wont fuss about this like us.

[rexus300]

Originally Posted by X54TH

We haven't had any snow as of yet so we'll have to wait and see. So far I am really impressed with these Pirelli Scorpions which have been very comfortable and dry handling has been outstanding. So far so good.

Glad to hear! Keep me posted.

[DBV1]

100 percent agree. Put snows on both of our vehicles and make a huge difference. Nokian's are awesome!

Originally Posted by MattBianco

Like I always say: Nokian Hakkapeliita run flats for winter.

[atomic80]

Originally Posted by X54TH

I hope that's not the case for the Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow RFT's (staggered 20") setup I just installed on our X5. Yikes. Got me worried now.

I have those tires and they do fine in the white stuff
BMW X5 in the Snow by Jason Tang, on Flickr

[dubsesd]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

You'll be fine. Ive read nothing but positive reviews of this tire installed on the X5. I just got a set myself waiting to go in my stock 469M.

Alan

i got these for my dads x6. performs great even with the 315 rears

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by atomic80

I have those tires and they do fine in the white stuff
BMW X5 in the Snow by Jason Tang, on Flickr

You can't help it but to post a beautiful picture even in a non-photo related thread.

[X54TH]

Great pic. Car looks really good in the snow.

[SlammedR8]

I don't understand why anyone who lives in a cold city/state/province (that gets actual snow accumulation on the regular during the winter months) wouldn't buy a set of dedicated snows?

As mentioned above, All Season are good at NOTHING...they aren't meant for performance/summer tires and they are also not meant for winter/cold weather. So they have basically no use.

Winter tires are a no brainer, for anyone who leases a car...usually after a 2-3 year term you will need to replace the tires before giving the car back. BUT...if you get a set of dedicated winter tires, your stock set that the car came with will have an extended life period since in the 3 years you drove it, you really only drove it for about 2 years on those tires. So depending on the tires, and your driving habits, chances are you won't be buying a brand new set of tires just to give the dealership their car back.

The same goes if you own/finance..as no matter how you cut it, you are extending the life of the "summer/all-season" tires that the car came with and instead of buying the next owner of your car a brand new set when you are done with the car, you will have driven on dedicated snows for the 2-3 years you drove the car.

Its really a no brainer!

Oh wait one more point. I always sell my winter tires when I am done with the car, usually on a forum or craigslist/kijiji and I usually get about half of my money back. I just sold my mom's winter tires off of her Acura RDX after 2-3 years of use for $600 bucks. We paid under $1000 for them. So it cost my mom $400 to a) have winter tires b)not have to replace her stock tires when her lease was up)

Like I said..no brainer!

[rexus300]

Originally Posted by SlammedR8

I don't understand why anyone who lives in a cold city/state/province (that gets actual snow accumulation on the regular during the winter months) wouldn't buy a set of dedicated snows?

As mentioned above, All Season are good at NOTHING...they aren't meant for performance/summer tires and they are also not meant for winter/cold weather. So they have basically no use.

Winter tires are a no brainer, for anyone who leases a car...usually after a 2-3 year term you will need to replace the tires before giving the car back. BUT...if you get a set of dedicated winter tires, your stock set that the car came with will have an extended life period since in the 3 years you drove it, you really only drove it for about 2 years on those tires. So depending on the tires, and your driving habits, chances are you won't be buying a brand new set of tires just to give the dealership their car back.

The same goes if you own/finance..as no matter how you cut it, you are extending the life of the "summer/all-season" tires that the car came with and instead of buying the next owner of your car a brand new set when you are done with the car, you will have driven on dedicated snows for the 2-3 years you drove the car.

Its really a no brainer!

Oh wait one more point. I always sell my winter tires when I am done with the car, usually on a forum or craigslist/kijiji and I usually get about half of my money back. I just sold my mom's winter tires off of her Acura RDX after 2-3 years of use for $600 bucks. We paid under $1000 for them. So it cost my mom $400 to a) have winter tires b)not have to replace her stock tires when her lease was up)

Like I said..no brainer!

I agree. My Audi A7 with the separate winter wheels and blizzaks and our Audi A8l with the winter wheels do amazing in the snow. Both of them are owned. We store the wheels/tires and bolt them on for the winter season with our independent mechanic who has a storage place for us. When I gave back my Lexus GS F-sport at end of lease this past spring, I sold the 2 year old winter set and used that money towards my Audi winter set which i customized.

The X5 is a leased car and we had a 2013 Ml350 before that with the regular all season tires and we just felt that it was very good for that car that the X5 will be fine with a good set of all season non runflat michelins rather then getting a separate winter set. I was more appalled as to the fact the runflat made the car drive alot worse then the Ml350 with the same tire but non-runflat version. The Ml350 with the all season Michelin latitude tour hp is amazing in the snow and last 40k miles. I will think about the winter set for the X5 if the non-runflat michelins premier ltx dont do well. Either way we got 2 other cars with winter wheels/tires that we can use.

[MotoWPK]

Originally Posted by SlammedR8

I don't understand why anyone who lives in a cold city/state/province (that gets actual snow accumulation on the regular during the winter months) wouldn't buy a set of dedicated snows?

Of course what is meant by 'actual snow accumulation' on a 'regular [basis] during the winter months' is relative, I think the eastern flank of the Colorado Rockies generally qualifies. And the reason I don't have dedicated snow tires is because winter here is three seasons. One day a significant snow fall (13" this past Monday/Tuesday), followed shortly thereafter by sunny days rapidly clearing and warming the streets. Then there's the regular trips cruising for hours on end at 75 mph on a warm highway - these are not the conditions dedicated snow tires are best at.

Comparing the OEM Michelin Latitude Tour HP's on our '14 X5 35d to an example dedicated snow tire, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta's;

Speed rating: Michelin = H (130 mph), Nokian = T (118 mph)
Load index: Michelin = 107 (2,149 lbs.), Nokian = 103 (1,929 lb.s)

While the Nokian's ratings do exceed reasonable operational demands, they provide less margin. In addition, the Michelins are quieter and last longer.

So while CO does have a goodly amount of snow to deal with, most winter days are sunny with clear pavement. And, to my experience, the Micheline Latitude Tour HP run flats do a fine job compared to the many other all season tires I've run.

[RR-NYC]

Originally Posted by SlammedR8

I don't understand why anyone who lives in a cold city/state/province (that gets actual snow accumulation on the regular during the winter months) wouldn't buy a set of dedicated snows?

As mentioned above, All Season are good at NOTHING...they aren't meant for performance/summer tires and they are also not meant for winter/cold weather. So they have basically no use.

Winter tires are a no brainer, for anyone who leases a car...usually after a 2-3 year term you will need to replace the tires before giving the car back. BUT...if you get a set of dedicated winter tires, your stock set that the car came with will have an extended life period since in the 3 years you drove it, you really only drove it for about 2 years on those tires. So depending on the tires, and your driving habits, chances are you won't be buying a brand new set of tires just to give the dealership their car back.

The same goes if you own/finance..as no matter how you cut it, you are extending the life of the "summer/all-season" tires that the car came with and instead of buying the next owner of your car a brand new set when you are done with the car, you will have driven on dedicated snows for the 2-3 years you drove the car.

Its really a no brainer!

Oh wait one more point. I always sell my winter tires when I am done with the car, usually on a forum or craigslist/kijiji and I usually get about half of my money back. I just sold my mom's winter tires off of her Acura RDX after 2-3 years of use for $600 bucks. We paid under $1000 for them. So it cost my mom $400 to a) have winter tires b)not have to replace her stock tires when her lease was up)

Like I said..no brainer!

Anybody that does any research has read the same thing: all-seasons tires are no-season tires because they aren't great in summer or winter. While this may be true when comparing them to dedicated winter or dedicated summer tires, it means nothing to these cars.

In the summer, your X5 couldn't dream of outperforming an all season tire like the DWS06. These cars are fitted with summer performance tires that far exceed the capabilities of the cars themselves. In the winter, they may not be as good as a proper snow tire but in many parts of the county, like NYC, it would be a joke to buy dedicated snow tires for a couple snow days a year.

I had Michelin Pilot Sport a/s 3 on my. On that forum, I'd hear the same argument about no-season tires blah blah blah. Those tires could take anything I could possibly put them through on the road and then some.

I drove through 6+ inches of snow and had zero issues. If these were mounted on the X5, I wouldn't even consider dedicated snow tires even if I lived in snow country.

[fooit]

Originally Posted by RR-NYC

I drove through 6+ inches of snow and had zero issues. If these were mounted on the X5, I wouldn't even consider dedicated snow tires even if I lived in snow country.

It's personal, if you drive carefully then you may get away with good A/S tires, but if you like to push it a bit then you better get a proper winter setup.

[Ray knight]

Odd. i got the factory 19s with run flats and mine is a beast in the snow. it goes better than my Raptor in snow.