[evobeatsti]

Looking for the best affordable option for my use case. I live in LA where the weather is great, but one of the reasons for getting an xdrive is to have a daily driver that I can slap some ski racks on and drive up to the ski resort for powder days. I'm looking for the best tire / wheel setup that can handle the snow and also be fine for long distances on dry tarmac. Some options I'm playing with are below:

1. Get a cheaper new wheel and all season tire set for the rare ski trip

2. Mounting all seasons on the stock wheels and going with some cool aftermarket wheel for daily use on the stock ps4s's or maybe some more aggressive tire

What do you think is the best option? If I go with new cheaper wheels for snow use, what size would still work with the xdrive? Could I go down to 18's or 19's square all around? I'm guessing I'd have to keep the same diameter ratio as stock?

[MassComp]

I've always gone with two dedicated sets of wheels/tires....one for Summer and one for Winter. Easier for me just to make the switch-over in my driveway myself, and save the wheels from getting all scratched up at the tire shops from multiple mounting & balancing of tires.

Since your ski trips are "rare" and live in LA, I would go the route of buying a set of cheap 19" wheels (square set) with offset of 20, and some dedicated performance snow tires. This way you don't have to mount A/S tires to your stock wheels (and run the risk of getting them all scratched up), and you just switch out the Summer wheels for the Winter wheel set before the occasional ski trip.

[evobeatsti]

Originally Posted by MassComp

I've always gone with two dedicated sets of wheels/tires....one for Summer and one for Winter. Easier for me just to make the switch-over in my driveway myself, and save the wheels from getting all scratched up at the tire shops from multiple mounting & balancing of tires.

Since your ski trips are "rare" and live in LA, I would go the route of buying a set of cheap 19" wheels (square set) with offset of 20, and some dedicated performance snow tires. This way you don't have to mount A/S tires to your stock wheels (and run the risk of getting them all scratched up), and you just switch out the Summer wheels for the Winter wheel set before the occasional ski trip.

Yes I agree I think this is the best option. My concern with going with true snow tires is that even when I will drive the car to go skiing, it's going to be hundreds of miles on dry tarmac before I reach a place with snow, which I thought would ruin snow tires.

Is there a good option of some sort of all season tires that are fine in the snow?

Can I do a square setup on the xdrive? What should I be looking for when choosing tire / wheel sizes?

[MassComp]

Originally Posted by evobeatsti

Yes I agree I think this is the best option. My concern with going with true snow tires is that even when I will drive the car to go skiing, it's going to be hundreds of miles on dry tarmac before I reach a place with snow, which I thought would ruin snow tires.

Is there a good option of some sort of all season tires that are fine in the snow?

Can I do a square setup on the xdrive? What should I be looking for when choosing tire / wheel sizes?

Yes you can run a 19" square set, and there are even A/S performance tires that will fit your stock 19"/20" staggered set up.

How much are you willing to spend?

[Allerum]

Originally Posted by evobeatsti

Looking for the best affordable option for my use case. I live in LA where the weather is great, but one of the reasons for getting an xdrive is to have a daily driver that I can slap some ski racks on and drive up to the ski resort for powder days. I'm looking for the best tire / wheel setup that can handle the snow and also be fine for long distances on dry tarmac. Some options I'm playing with are below:

1. Get a cheaper new wheel and all season tire set for the rare ski trip

2. Mounting all seasons on the stock wheels and going with some cool aftermarket wheel for daily use on the stock ps4s's or maybe some more aggressive tire

What do you think is the best option? If I go with new cheaper wheels for snow use, what size would still work with the xdrive? Could I go down to 18's or 19's square all around? I'm guessing I'd have to keep the same diameter ratio as stock?

Your easiest option is to get a set of Continental DWS 06+ tires and put them on the stock rims. These have some of the best Snow/Dry traction in a performance AS tire. Also speed rated for 180+. You might go from .98G to .94G in a dry cornering situation and x2 the miles on the tire before wearing it out.