# Studded Tires for e46 Wagon w/Sport Package



## sellmeyer (Oct 19, 2009)

I have an e46 325iT Wagon w/Sport Package and Style 96 wheels (8"x17"). I live in the mountains of Colorado @ 8000' and we get lots of snow. I need some snow tires.

Looking for feedback on two sides to this coin:

a) What is the most narrow tire choice for these wheels? I believe these are style 96 and are 8x17. Have a look at the pic and confirm. I know that I can run 225/45R17, but can I run anything more narrow on these wheels?










b) I don't want to compromise on safety this season nor do I want to get stuck somewhere. I feel like I should be committed to a studded tire, but there don't seem to be many options.

Based on a conservative tire size that I know I can run, 225/45R17, it looks like I can get a Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 or a General Altimax Arctic. The Nokian sounds great but is about twice as expensive as the General and may be harder to find.

The Tire Rack guys seem to recommend the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 and the Michelin XIce XI2...but I don't know anybody around home who runs a non-studded tire up here.

Any thoughts on this for a wagon that will spend 2 out of 3 days on snow/ice and on hills for the next 5.5 months?

-thanks!


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## Llarry (May 17, 2002)

I'm a big fan of Tire Rack and have bought many wheel/tire sets from them, etc., but this might be a case when local is better...

I think studded probably is the way to go given your conditions. I have no personal experience with Nokian but for years I've heard praise for them in extreme winter conditions.

So are you going to swap tires on your wheels twice a year? Or are you going to convert your existing wheels to winter only and buy another set for summer?

Narrower 205/50R-17 winter tires might be better for extreme conditions, but the fit on your relatively wide wheels may not be ideal -- a bit stretched.

Another option might be to downsize to a 16-inch alloy wheel with 205/55R-16 winter tires, which will also fit your E46 just fine. The overall diameter remains the same so your speedometer and ride height are unchanged. Obviously this would be more money now, since you would need to buy not only four tires, but also four wheels. On the other hand, 16s are generally a little less money than 17s and you might be able to find steel wheels in that size, if you can deal with the ugly... 

Welcome to bimmerfest!


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## sellmeyer (Oct 19, 2009)

I should ad that I have 18" wheels for Summer Tires...the 17" wheels came as an extra set with the car and so I'm turning them into a Winter config. It is easier to put winter tires on the wheels that I have than to purchase new ones-less costly too-maybe.


How do I get Gary to chime in here?


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## Llarry (May 17, 2002)

You can contact Gary directly either by email or phone -- see the sticky above.

Tire Rack does not carry Nokian -- they carry two studdable tires in 225/45R-17 -- the General and a Pirelli. Studs run $15 more per tire. The specs for the General in 205/50R-17 specify rim width to 7.5", which eliminates that narrower tire for your 17 x 8 wheels.


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

LMC said:


> You can contact Gary directly either by email or phone -- see the sticky above.
> 
> Tire Rack does not carry Nokian -- they carry two studdable tires in 225/45R-17 -- the General and a Pirelli. Studs run $15 more per tire. The specs for the General in 205/50R-17 specify rim width to 7.5", which eliminates that narrower tire for your 17 x 8 wheels.


Good info :thumbup:


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## sellmeyer (Oct 19, 2009)

LMC said:


> You can contact Gary directly either by email or phone -- see the sticky above.
> 
> Tire Rack does not carry Nokian -- they carry two studdable tires in 225/45R-17 -- the General and a Pirelli. Studs run $15 more per tire. The specs for the General in 205/50R-17 specify rim width to 7.5", which eliminates that narrower tire for your 17 x 8 wheels.


I'm confused, 'tire rack carries two studdable tires in 225/45-R17, yet you are saying the General is a 205/50-R17'? I found the 225/45 on the tire rack site and the chart shows it is good for the 8" rim...so I'm not sure what the problem is or WHY GARY GAVE YOUR COMMENT A THUMBS UP?

At least on the tire rack site, it looks like I have these two options and the cheaper option has better reviews from customers. For really technical (read science) stuff, I shy away from SURVEYS and go for TESTS. Since I can't find any testing data on these two tires; I don't know if the more expensive tire is worth the xtra money...?

The Nokian choice is going to set me back $1100 elsewhere. I'm just not sure how much difference there is between these options in terms of performance and safety margins, etc.

-I feel alone here; time to consult the tarot cards I guess.


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## Llarry (May 17, 2002)

sellmeyer said:


> I'm confused, 'tire rack carries two studdable tires in 225/45-R17, yet you are saying the General is a 205/50-R17'? I found the 225/45 on the tire rack site and the chart shows it is good for the 8" rim...so I'm not sure what the problem is or WHY GARY GAVE YOUR COMMENT A THUMBS UP?
> 
> At least on the tire rack site, it looks like I have these two options and the cheaper option has better reviews from customers. For really technical (read science) stuff, I shy away from SURVEYS and go for TESTS. Since I can't find any testing data on these two tires; I don't know if the more expensive tire is worth the xtra money...?
> 
> ...


Sorry if I worded that awkwardly. TR has two 225/45s listed. In case you wondered about using a narrower 205/50 tire as an alternative to these two, at least one of them is stated by the manufacturer's specs to be too narrow for your 8" rim.

I do understand your comment about surveys versus tests. In fact, while I value Tire Racks tests, they are not tests by an independent authority -- which IMHO are the most trustyworthy. But we have limited information sources. Objective tests are better than subjective surveys, but I would think surveys, for all their flaws, are better than nothing.

Personally, I would not put great faith in tarot cards, but that's just me... :eeps:


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