Quote:
Originally Posted by VancityG82
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilalien
It won't see snow because you will garage it, or won't see snow because you think lower mainland Winter doesn't occasionally get almost cold?
If you want to take the car up to Squamish/Whistler, or out to the Coquihalla and beyond the you need snowflake-rated tires October through March (I think those are the months that the law kicks in).
My recommendation, having lived in the lower mainland for a few years and many more in places with real winter: run 2 sets, summers and performance winters. Why compromise on tires with a car like this? It is meant to be driven year-round, and with xDrive should be more than capable of handling Canadian winter (even silly mild "winter" like around Vancouver).
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I live in Brentwood and commute to either Downtown Van or Richmond. I havent lived in Vancouver for a long time since I just recently relocated from Yukon Territory but all of my friends in Burnaby and Downtown Vancouver said they usually see max 3-4 days of light snow in these region over a year. I am not planning to drive to Whistler or anywhere North BC with M4 so I am not concerned about the legal obligation portion that you have mentioned.
My understanding is that performance all season is sufficient enough to handle mild snow of 3-4 days a year. Main reason for me to be hesitant for seperate winter set is that I really like the look of stock wheels and it would be too costly to purchase same stock BMW wheels + proper winter tires. Heck I was driving my WRX Sti with all season tirein Yukon, Whitehorse during -35 degrees winter and it was totally fine as long as I drive normally so its hard for me to imagine performance AS tires will struggle for grip at 1-4 degrees celcius in typical Van winter but I could be wrong. |
I hear you. I came to the Van area from Calgary. Not Yukon, but real winter nonetheless. I ask had an STI before my current BMW. I've driven dedicated summer and winter sets over my last three cars.
You're right in that it doesn't get too cold here for all-season rubber compounds. It does get too cold for summer (basically as of this week, much to my annoyance).
Do what you're comfortable with, and if you have the luxury of not having to drive in those few days of almost-winter, great. Personally, it is worth it to me to maximize those summer-friendly months (March/April through October) with summer tires and swap on an alternate set for the cold months. To each their own… good luck!