[Dgjo2022X5MC]

With confidence in my new winter wheels and tires, forged ahead with morning trip through Berkshires to Williamstown, MA for my kids squash match.

First snow trip in the Alpins. They were amazing. Tracked very straight when driving at speed as well as under power up crazy hills and valleys. Really no drama with slush to 3-4” fresh snow on 25 degree roads.

I noticed a distinctive center groove in track on packed snow. Real cool seeing the tires work.

Was able to power up hills and didn’t even notice when stability control kicked in. In other words, I didn’t notice any loss in power with wheel slip. Regular drive mode (NOT MDM!).

Braking was condition dependent, but very confident.

Highly recommended. I would NOT have made it with all seasons. I know as our RR Sport has all season Pirelli.

[Jeff J]

I'm on Pirelli Scorpion Winters, and have been in 2 meaningful snows so far this year. The first was completely drama free and gave me great confidence in the capability of the setup.

The second was a very wet snow, and I was surprised at how easily the back end kicked out when accelerating from a stop around a corner at a surface street intersection. Even being intentionally careful (no more accelerator pressure than it takes to break the pedal friction off idle, and in manually selected 2nd gear with all comfort settings) there was instant oversteer. I'm going to blame that on an unseen ice layer below the slushy snow, though. Tracking and control once on the highway was perfectly fine.

Of note, I'm on the factory 21/22" wheels with factory 295/315 widths which I know is less than ideal and surely does not help with rear wheel traction on the cold wet stuff.

We get another round this coming week, so we'll see what happens...

[Nick Daffern]

Thanks for the write up. I put the same BMW factory 21/21"/295 optional winter wheel/tire set up on my car this week but there hasn't been any snow here yet. We live northeast of Seattle where it's pretty hilly and I had big problems last year with the 21/22" wheels and summer performance tires. I've got Thule Summit XL spider chains just in case, but it'll be interesting to see how the Alpins perform when the snow finally arrives.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Guys, is your winter set up the following part #'s? I am getting conflicting stories from BMW websites.

Notice the different wheel size numbers....11x21 Rear? and 10.5x21 Front?
Winter Set Up

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Originally Posted by MADBMWX5MC

Guys, is your winter set up the following part #'s? I am getting conflicting stories from BMW websites.

Notice the different wheel size numbers....11x21 Rear? and 10.5x21 Front?
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53449659506_a236183601_b.jpg[/img]Winter Set Up

The square 295s are the right winter setup. The rear wheel is slightly larger for a quasi-stagger, but the 295 fits it no problem. I ordered mine from the dealership so they make sure of fitment. I can check the part numbers for you from my invoice and advise.

PS. I had winter Scorpions on my F86 and it seemed more drift happy. Never had much full snow to thrown them around in, but on pavement they seemed more tail happy than the Michelin Alpins. Maybe something to do with the tread pattern.

[rix5m]

I'm using 20" rims/with the same tires as the OP if you want to save some money they fit (I went with Voosen wheels)

[MADBMWX5MC]

Originally Posted by Dgjo2022X5MC

The square 295s are the right winter setup. The rear wheel is slightly larger for a quasi-stagger, but the 295 fits it no problem. I ordered mine from the dealership so they make sure of fitment. I can check the part numbers for you from my invoice and advise.

PS. I had winter Scorpions on my F86 and it seemed more drift happy. Never had much full snow to thrown them around in, but on pavement they seemed more tail happy than the Michelin Alpins. Maybe something to do with the tread pattern.

Thanks for your reply, did they come in mounted/balanced, with TPMS, center cap? All you had to do is get them on the X5 and adjust idrive monitor (tire set up?)

[Alan l.]

I had the same tires on my F80 M3 Comp and they got me through one of the worst snow/ice storms I've experienced coming back from Toronto to New York a few years ago. Wish they made more sizes to fit the stock 21/22 wheels.

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Originally Posted by MADBMWX5MC

Thanks for your reply, did they come in mounted/balanced, with TPMS, center cap? All you had to do is get them on the X5 and adjust idrive monitor (tire set up?)

The dealer had to order all the items as separate parts as I recall, then mount and balance. By separate parts I mean the tires and wheels. This was all handled at the parts counter.

It wasn’t like BMW had the mounted wheels and tires in a warehouse. At least that’s not what my understanding was. This is the third set of BMW winters I have had and the prior two seemed more like a ‘package’, e.g. one part/kit. The dealer tried to end up charging me more than the BMW advertised winter setup price and I called them out on it. I ended up paying for labor to I install and added in an alignment. It all worked out. There seemed to be a bad handoff in cost from parts counter to SA.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Interesting. I went ahead and pulled the trigger and ordered the winter set. When I asked the selling dealer the same questions (e.g., TMPS, center caps, mounted, balanced, etc.) the answer was: "These wheels come complete and ready to install once delivered!"

We'll see...

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Originally Posted by MADBMWX5MC

Interesting. I went ahead and pulled the trigger and ordered the winter set. When I asked the selling dealer the same questions (e.g., TMPS, center caps, mounted, balanced, etc.) the answer was: "These wheels come complete and ready to install once delivered!"

We'll see...

That’s what I always thought, buttttt it’s the dealer we are talking about. All I know is they showed up in my car.

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Originally Posted by Dgjo2022X5MC

That’s what I always thought, buttttt it’s the dealer we are talking about. All I know is they showed up in my car.

And now that I think about it, my summer wheels were returned with circular cardboard pieces. Maybe the winters were a ‘kit’ as there was a sticker on the cardboard. And the DOT in tread was not 2023. I think 2022. I can sleuth this out. lol.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Ha, no need. Order is in..more to follow. Thx for all your help.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Originally Posted by Dgjo2022X5MC

That’s what I always thought, buttttt it’s the dealer we are talking about. All I know is they showed up in my car.

Well, here they are. I ordered them (GetBMWparts) on Jan 8 and they arrived on Jan 11. Since GetBMWParts is BMW of Silver Spring, MD about 1 hr North from me, I arranged to pick them up myself. No issue, as you can see they came fully mounted and balanced. Unable to put on the X5M since it's in the shop getting PPF and Ceramic Coating. I am going to go ahead and ceramic coat these myself with ARMOR SHIELD IX DIY CERAMIC COATING before they get nasty...

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Awesome! I had the same round cardboard and strapping so looks likw they are pre-assembled. Makes sense. Good luck, happy drifting.

I have concluded there is a substantial difference with 21” all around and winter compound over the 21/22 summer setup. Car is noticeably bouncier even in sport+. I suspect all by design, or nature of softer winter compounds.

[Cobra_X5MC]

since these are 21's all around. does it throw off the rolling diameter on the car? ie the spedometer etc.

[MADBMWX5MC]

I would say no, but I will let others who have done this chime in. "This" would be changing the settings on iDrive similar to the screen below:

IMG_3404

[weinerbarn]

Originally Posted by MADBMWX5MC

Well, here they are. I ordered them (GetBMWparts) on Jan 8 and they arrived on Jan 11. Since GetBMWParts is BMW of Silver Spring, MD about 1 hr North from me, I arranged to pick them up myself. No issue, as you can see they came fully mounted and balanced. Unable to put on the X5M since it's in the shop getting PPF and Ceramic Coating. I am going to go ahead and ceramic coat these myself with ARMOR SHIELD IX DIY CERAMIC COATING before they get nasty...

+1 on GetBMWparts. That's where I sourced my set and the customer service was amazing. The winter set is great and I feel very confident driving in the snow.

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

Here is the tread pattern. Like old Gatorbacks on Corvettes.

[Dgjo2022X5MC]

So glad I invested in the winter setup this year.

[MADBMWX5MC]

Ha! Yes, great decision.

[MADBMWX5MC]

So, I have been driving on my winter setup for about 1 week. I've had no issues and they feel good. A bit of a road noise, but the ride is much better. Let it snow now...