540i vs. snow/ice

[Mike-AZ]

Well, after having had my beloved '94 540i for over three years now, I will be moving from Phoenix to Buffalo, NY in January to finish school. I am considering selling my 540i and picking up a 2001 SAAB 9-3 for use in the snow........unless of course someone can persuade me in to believing that the BMW is good in the snow as well. I have the tranny with the snowflake mode, but I am not sure what good that really does. I have an open diff and no ASC+T. -- Mike

[Espen]

My 525i had no problems here in Norway this winter.
Just make sure you have good snowtires.

[BillionPa]

ASC+T is pretty useless in wet slippery snow or on ice, but a LSD would be nice.

whats really nice for snow traction is a torque converter.

[Russell]

ASC+T seemed to help in ice and snow to me. Much better than without it. Escpecially compared to my old e28.

[Eric Clark]

I rather take the bus then drive another Saab.

[ILoveMPower]

You will have absolutely no problems whatsoever driving in the snow as long as you invest in some quality snow tires.

[Mr Project]

I drove my 535i through 2 winters and quite a bit of snow/ice. If it was more than 4 or 5 inches deep and unplowed, I had trouble due to ground clearance issues. I had an LSD and all-season tires.

After I sold that car to a friend, he put cheapo (Firestone WinterForce) snow tires on it. Suddenly the car was unstoppable on snow and ice...getting around was no problem at all.

I'm actually planning on using my Touring primarily as a winter/bad weather car, as I'll have a Corvair to drive when it's nice. Pick up a cheap set of 15" wheels and some dedicated snow tires of virtually any kind and you'll be golden.

[brosher]

You will have absolutely no problems whatsoever driving in the snow as long as you invest in some quality snow tires.

I wouldn't go that far. I'm assuming you have never lived/driven in a state with a lot of snow? There will always be the people who tell you all you need is snow tires. This ignores the fact that driving in winter weather is a skill! I would highly recommend picking up a "winter beater". You can continue to drive the 540 when the roads are clear, but this ussually takes a day or two after a storm. You will still be doing a lot of damage to the car from road salt alone though.

I just got my 540i and planning on keeping the all seasons on. I am going to look for an old tacoma or posible an E30 to get me through the deep stuff. I would recommend doing the same. If you really are going to trade to another car pick up a 325xi or an A4. FWD is not the answer in snow, it's a combination of driver ability, tires and ground clearance.

[brosher]

Oh and here is a funny page on snow in buffalo...

http://www.buffaloresearch.com/snow.html

[Tiger]

No problem whatsoever with Nokian Hakka RSi snow tires. I got no traction control on my 540i.

[ILoveMPower]

I wouldn't go that far. I'm assuming you have never lived/driven in a state with a lot of snow? There will always be the people who tell you all you need is snow tires. This ignores the fact that driving in winter weather is a skill! I would highly recommend picking up a "winter beater". You can continue to drive the 540 when the roads are clear, but this ussually takes a day or two after a storm. You will still be doing a lot of damage to the car from road salt alone though.

I just got my 540i and planning on keeping the all seasons on. I am going to look for an old tacoma or posible an E30 to get me through the deep stuff. I would recommend doing the same. If you really are going to trade to another car pick up a 325xi or an A4. FWD is not the answer in snow, it's a combination of driver ability, tires and ground clearance.

I live in Connecticut, and yes we get plenty of snow. If his concern was road salt, I doubt he would have made this thread. He asked if he would have problems getting around, and with my 535 with LSD on blizzaks I had absolutely no trouble zipping up hills. If you live in the middle of the woods, where they don't even plow, obviously an E34 is not your winter vehicle of choice.

[tim s]

tim s.

[brosher]

I'm not arguing that the E34 is a tank with winter tires. I was just trying to say that if you have never driven in the snow, a 540i is not the best car to learn on. Especially one that does not have skid control and an open diff. I would think LSD would make a huge differance as well as tires. :)

[632 Regal]

actually my car seemed to have better snow traction with the open diff than the LSD, reason unknown. With the LSD its a lot easier to just spin the tires instead of building forward momentum. Deffinetly get good snow tires, I got the Semperit sport grips and am very happy.

[Mike-AZ]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys. I have a little bit of experience driving in snow. I lived in Denver for a year and had a '91 Volvo 740 at the time. Man that thing sucked in snow. I'd get stuck in parking spaces on just a little patch of snow or ice as one of the rear wheels spun to no end. I got caught in a bad snow storm going up into the mountains one night. As I was going through the pass, I fish tailed and hit the center divider wall with the corner of the rear bumper which propelled me across the road sideways into a ditch next to the rock face. That was oh-so-much-fun. A 325iX sounds intriguing, but I am a 6'1" 270lb guy, I don't know about that one. Plus it does not sound like it has any ground clearance. Too bad they did not import the 525iX here. -- Mike

[Traian]

I've had no problems in TO last winter, and i ran all-seasons, albeit brand new ones, and there was only 1-2 real bad snows the whole winter. ASC+T is only good for keeping you stuck in snowed in parking spots, the only thing you need to do is TAKE IT EASY. Every time I get excited and try to do something silly and fast I get into trouble.

[Traian]

Hmmm okay, I read your last reply now, ya if the last thing I did while driving in the snow was crash I probably wouldn't feel safe in anything but an X5 either. I dunno mate, I feel confident in my car in the snow, and that's probably the most important thing.

[Mike-AZ]

Hmmm okay, I read your last reply now, ya if the last thing I did while driving in the snow was crash I probably wouldn't feel safe in anything but an X5 either. I dunno mate, I feel confident in my car in the snow, and that's probably the most important thing.


Yeah, I am big into safety. What was amazing about that crash was there was no damage other than a scrape on the gray plastic bumper. I lucked out. I definitely feel that the 540i would be better than that Volvo just because the BMW has the 50/50 weight distrbution thing as well as the option to start off in 2, 3, or 4th gear as well as tighter upshifts. I'll definitely look into snow tires though. Is there any way to retrofit heated seats and maybe some headlight washers?

[Tiger]

Heated seat is easily retrofitted... $75 per seat kit...

[Jay 535i]

Get good snow tires and drive carefully. You'll be fine. The alternative is a real Saab story. :(

[SharkmanBMW]

Get good snow tires and drive carefully. You'll be fine. The alternative is a real Saab story. :(


LOL

Tires are the key... be sure to get the right ones though...

Some are made for heavier cars and will perform better on the e34.

I have Pirelli Snow Sport 210 - they are made for german cars, they can carry a greater load and still perform.

I am in Montreal, so I probably deal with more snow than most, I found the weight of the car is a huge advantage, you just need great rubber to keep you in touch with the road!

I bought my xi for the snow, and now I find that with these tires, there is almost no need to have AWD, I never would have been stuck with a RWD.