Re: Do you HAVE to get winter tires? (long) (archive)

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: : How important is it to you to have winter tires? Do you live somewhere up north? I have been wondering about this issue for quite a while - getting winter tires on M3s seems to be a popular thing to do, but is it because they are not drivable in snow in regular tires, or is it because people are trying to save their rims from corrosion caused by salts they spray roads with? Is it only people from the northern states and Canada who get winter tires? I live in Maryland, and even though we do see some snow in the winter, it seems to be nothing that traction control could not handle. My current automobile is a front wheel drive and has no traction control, and so far it has gotten me through the winters with no prob and no winter tires. I know the RWD makes a lot of difference but shouldn't that be compensated by onboard gadgets? In other words, will I have to get winter tires for my new M3 living in MD?

: Based on three personal experiences driving my 95M3 in less than two inches of snow, here are my recommendations. If you can leave your M3 in the garage when it snows then you probably don't need snow tires while living in Maryland. If you have any thoughts of traversing in more than 1/2 inch of snow/ice get snow tires. As the previous response indicated, the electronics on all modern cars attempt to maximize the use of the available traction. Summer tires offer little traction in the snow and virtually none on the ice, hence, a lot of traction control of no traction is still no traction. Just remember, if you trash your M3, even slightly, you'll kick yourself for not taking preventative measures when you had the chance.

: After my third attempt of driving gingerly in very little snow and narrowly escaping cosmetic damage to my car, I've decided to leave it in the garage whenever there's a threat of snow.

I would echo these sentiments! I have a 92 Corvette with 275/40 tires which are great for summer and good in the rain, but absolutely useless in more than 1 inch of snow or any ice at all (despite ASR - acceleration slip regulation). I understand that the new M3 will have similar tires. My first purchase will be snow tires - a cheap investment. Try to avoid that sickening feeling as $50K worth of sheet metal and Bavarian engineering starts spinning into the ditch. Best of luck!

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