# Winter tires for ZHP?



## DS18661 (Jun 16, 2003)

Has anyone found winter tires that fit the ZHP rims? I really don't want to buy a second set of rims. Thanks!


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## ff (Dec 19, 2001)

DS18661 said:


> Has anyone found winter tires that fit the ZHP rims? I really don't want to buy a second set of rims. Thanks!


Check tirerack.com


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## MysticBlue (Jun 20, 2003)

Ya, BFGoodrich 31 x 10.5 15's on my Dodge Dakota 4x4. The first sign of snow (and the gravel that is soon to follow) and my ZHP's going into hybernation for the winter.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

DS18661 said:


> Has anyone found winter tires that fit the ZHP rims? I really don't want to buy a second set of rims. Thanks!


Sorry to brake it to you, but 18" wheels with 35 series tires and snow are not a good combination. Especially when you are running 255's in the rear.

Get a set of 17" steel wheels instead. You will make up their cost in one year's worth of mounting and dismounting/balancing, etc (winter AND spring).


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## ObD (Dec 29, 2001)

All that unmounting and mounting twice a year will trash the wheels. Spend the extra dough and buy a set of wheels for winter. You can swap them yourself when the snow season starts and ends. No more waiting in line at the tire store. It's cheaper in the long run.


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## LouT (Jun 11, 2003)

ObD said:


> _ All that unmounting and mounting twice a year will trash the wheels. Spend the extra dough and buy a set of wheels for winter. You can swap them yourself when the snow season starts and ends. No more waiting in line at the tire store. It's cheaper in the long run._


_

I concur and I suppose Tire Rack would be the best source of info, but how narrow of a 17' wheel would work on the 330 ZHP? I wished I could keep my 16s with Ital type 5s & LM22s but everyone tells me that 16s don't fit on the 330. Although we had a light winter in the Willamette Valley last season, I did find that the Blizzaks are great rain tires as well._


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## Andy (Jul 16, 2003)

I too have a 330i ZHP, that I plan to get a set of winter wheels & tires, but have a couple questions for you guys...

1. I want to have extremely good traction in the snow, therefore I should probably get winter tires compared to A/S tires in order to get the best possible traction. However, the weather here in Columbus is VERY unpredictable, sometimes we have a lot of snow and sometimes we don't. Are there any issues with getting winter tires if we have a very mild winter (hardly no snow). Am I better off getting A/S tires?

2. Which winter tires would you guys recommend? I'm currently looking at three, which are:

- Michelin Pilot Alpine
- Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50
- Dunlop Winter Sport M2

Thanks!!

(I apologize if I hi-jacked this thread, but thought it related.)


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## Cadetdrivr (Apr 27, 2002)

LouT said:


> I wished I could keep my 16s with Ital type 5s & LM22s but everyone tells me that 16s don't fit on the 330.


This might be your lucky day.

The AT ItaliaType-5's are the ONLY 16" (that I know of) that clear the brakes on the 330. FWIW there are dozens (hundreds?) of members here that use the 16" sucessfully on the 330; myself included.

Of course, one quick call to Tirerack can confirm that they will work on the ZHP. (I can't think of a reason why not, but you never know.)

Cheers!!


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

Andy said:


> I too have a 330i ZHP, that I plan to get a set of winter wheels & tires, but have a couple questions for you guys...
> 
> 1. I want to have extremely good traction in the snow, therefore I should probably get winter tires compared to A/S tires in order to get the best possible traction. However, the weather here in Columbus is VERY unpredictable, sometimes we have a lot of snow and sometimes we don't. Are there any issues with getting winter tires if we have a very mild winter (hardly no snow). Am I better off getting A/S tires?
> 
> ...


I have a ZHP that I will ideally use in only mild winter weather, so the winter tires I will use will be some kind of high-performance winter tires like Blizzaks Lm-22's or Dunlop M2's. Probably LM-22's. I already have a set of M68 rims (17") to mount these on.

My old car, the 190E Benz, runs Blizzak WS-50's on 185/65 R15 tires, and that car is nothing short of incredible in the winter despite not having any traction control of any kind and being very front-heavy. Blizzak WS-50's are awesome snow/ice tires but are not very good for performance/handling.

LM-22's are (supposedly) good winter tires with great performance/handling characteristics, but it wont turn your car into and icecat like the WS-50's will. I don't need my ZHP to be that great in snow because I have a better winter car. Weigh your priorities and your geography before making a decision. Of course if you will only see flurries here and there, all-seasons may be the way to go.

My $0.02.

EDIT: The first winter I had my WS-50's on my Benz we happened to have a very mild winter. On days of 45+ degrees you could almost feel the tires melting :tsk: . I wore them out pretty badly that winter. In contrast, last winter they performed very well and barely showed any extra wear.


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## Andy (Jul 16, 2003)

mbr129 said:


> I have a ZHP that I will ideally use in only mild winter weather, so the winter tires I will use will be some kind of high-performance winter tires like Blizzaks Lm-22's or Dunlop M2's. Probably LM-22's. I already have a set of M68 rims (17") to mount these on.
> 
> My old car, the 190E Benz, runs Blizzak WS-50's on 185/65 R15 tires, and that car is nothing short of incredible in the winter despite not having any traction control of any kind and being very front-heavy. Blizzak WS-50's are awesome snow/ice tires but are not very good for performance/handling.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your reply... good info!! I read up on the LM-22's at tirerack.com, and I like what I read... sounds like this is the perfect combination of winter traction and handling.

I notice that tirerack only offers (from what I saw) two sizes in this tire 205/50HR17 and 225/45VR18. I plan to purchase the M68 17" replica wheels from The Wheel Exchange. These wheels are 7 1/2" wide... isn't that too wide for 205s? I thought 205s where for 7" wheels.


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

All good advice. Except someone mentioned 17" steel wheels..no such animal that I've heard of.

You can check out the complete listing of winter wheels and tires we have here : http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/winter/index.jsp

Also check back in about 3/4 weeks for possibly more options closwer to winter time.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

Andy said:


> Thank you for your reply... good info!! I read up on the LM-22's at tirerack.com, and I like what I read... sounds like this is the perfect combination of winter traction and handling.
> 
> I notice that tirerack only offers (from what I saw) two sizes in this tire 205/50HR17 and 225/45VR18. I plan to purchase the M68 17" replica wheels from The Wheel Exchange. These wheels are 7 1/2" wide... isn't that too wide for 205s? I thought 205s where for 7" wheels.


Andy,

They make LM-22's in the stock M68 tire size, that is 225/45 Front and 245/40 Rear. They may be out of stock, but they do make them. Check Bridgestone's website.

Now, those tires fit on the 7.5 inch and 8.5 inch width rims that are original. I don't about replicas, but I assume they would work with the 225's. Check with the Tirerack.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> All good advice. Except someone mentioned 17" steel wheels..no such animal that I've heard of.
> 
> You can check out the complete listing of winter wheels and tires we have here : http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/winter/index.jsp
> 
> Also check back in about 3/4 weeks for possibly more options closwer to winter time.


I could have sworn someone said they were available at the dealership. :dunno: :eeps:


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

[email protected] said:


> All good advice. Except someone mentioned 17" steel wheels..no such animal that I've heard of.


Here are pics of the 17" BMW steel wheels.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

alee said:


> Here are pics of the 17" BMW steel wheels.


Thanks Alee, I thought I was going insane.


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## alee (Dec 19, 2001)

mbr129 said:


> Thanks Alee, I thought I was going insane.


LOL, not that you'd want them... they're way too ugly for words. :yikes:


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

17" steels! Oh, we must to get our hands on some of those! Dealer only for availability i'm asumming...any idea how much they're asking for them?


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## mquetel (Jan 30, 2003)

alee said:


> Here are pics of the 17" BMW steel wheels.


Any chance you have part #s or other ordering info? I was under the impression they did not exist, also. :dunno:


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## rumratt (Feb 22, 2003)

mquetel said:


> Any chance you have part #s or other ordering info? I was under the impression they did not exist, also. :dunno:


Don't know if it's still valid, but 
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13576&highlight=17+steel+wheels


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## rumratt (Feb 22, 2003)

Andy said:


> Thank you for your reply... good info!! I read up on the LM-22's at tirerack.com, and I like what I read... sounds like this is the perfect combination of winter traction and handling.


Andy, The LM-22's and the Dunlop Winter Sport M2's seem to be liked a lot. There's quite a bit of info in old threads here if you want to search to dig it up. The rumor has it that the LM-22's had slightly better ice perforance, but the Dunlop M2's had slightly better dry performance. But they were both ahead of the rest of pack. :dunno:

Personally I'm more likely to get the Dunlop's because I drive on dry pavement more than on ice (even in the winter), but my guess is that it's a tossup. Either would be fine. :dunno:


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