ben0850 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Evening chaps... Now before I post my query I should "paint the picture" as I'm sure to get a ton of ribbing and **** taking :-) I live on a farm which is the wife's family business ( we have our own farm and her bro and dad run their own too under the same business). I work at weekends and evenings on the farm but I work in architecture and commute into Leeds everyday (half hour from farm to train) and also do a lot of motorway miles related to my job. When we got the farm I reluctanly sold my M3 sports coupe ( yeh a know to$$er lol) and bought a diesel X5... Now I know an X5 is as capable off road as a shopping trolley but it's only for road use and to get home in the snow now we are in the sticks!! (we have a defender for off road with BF tyres on). I would like your advice please guys on what tyres to out on for winter, I will be doing a fair few miles ( all Tarmac ) but will need to get home up steep hairpin bends and hills on untreated Tarmac roads often covered in snow.. I've been offered some pirelli scorpion Ms tyres but don't fancy them as I find pirelli wear really quickly and are over priced...any ideas guys? Ps...and I know the first suggestion will be sell it for a disco but I love bm's and a mate works for the race team so my servicing costs are for nowt lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokie Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 So you want your cake and eat it You need to buy a tyre that suits your most extreme circumstance . There is no point buying a tyre that will get you halfway home if the snow gets bad My boss has got one of them Chelsea thingys like yours he just put a set of rubber on it that cost £400 a corner My advise would be get a spare set of wheels with some mud terrain tyres for the winter . At least you always get a snow alert the night before so you can swap over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J@mes Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 If you can have a spare set of wheels, I'd get dedicated winter tyres fitted to them, proper snow and ice tyres which are made of a different compound. Having driven my D3 on Grabber AT2 in snow and ice and a Merc ML320 on dedicated winter tyres, the difference was night and day. The Merc ML had so much more control it was unreal - even on a dedicated snow and ice off road driving course which I did in Austria this year. If you can only have one set, buy road tyres and carry a set of snow socks or snow chains in the vehicle, and get plenty of practice at putting them on in the dark, wet and cold. Get some carpet to kneel on, and a pair of gloves. All terrain and mud terrain tyres are fine for getting going in the snow and ice, but make no difference when it comes to turning and stopping compared to a dedicated winter tyre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixer1 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) From what you say on 90% tarmac with snow every now and again - the pirelli scorpions are one of the best tyres! i had my wifes old freelander round an incredibly slippery and steep quarry and through some bad snow all on pirelli scorpions..(albeit this was about 10 years ago so pirelli scorpions may have changed!) Edited June 23, 2011 by gixer1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diceman Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Spare set of winter wheels and tyres really is the way to go. A colleague who lived in Germany for years always swaps to a ratty set of wheels with proper snow tyres as soon as the winter sets in, (this is compulsory in some parts of Europe) and her little Fiesta simply runs rings around everything else on the road, including most 4WDs on road tyres, when it snows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelongwayup Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I would have to agree with the guys above about a set of dedicated snow and ice tyres. We're off to the top of Norway next year and have to have snow tyres fitted to comply with their rules, so all I plan on doing is buying a second set of wheels from a breakers yard or similar and putting some winter tyres on them. That way my 'regular' tyres will last a lot longer too if I swap the wheels over once the weather starts to change here. You really do have far more control with snow tyres on compared to standard ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I'd bin the X5. You can't polish a **** If this is the BMW X5 challenge, they've not really tried to challenge it Oh and check out the support vehicle at the end. Kind of sums it up really http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJE4VUDZuo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelongwayup Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Truth be told though, who takes a £50k motor offroading when you have a defender at home also equipped to do that? All he wants is for his luxury motor to get him to work and back home again in the bad weather. They aren't designed to be thrown about over rocks and through deep water really.... They aren't my cup of tea so to speak but I have no problems with anybody owning or wanting one as a lot of land rover owners seem to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Truth be told though, who takes a £50k motor offroading when you have a defender at home also equipped to do that? You speak as if Defenders are cheap. £31,000 for one of the new ones. I'd be a bit wary taking that off road Edited June 24, 2011 by Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thelongwayup Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 You speak as if Defenders are cheap. £31,000 for one of the new ones. I'd be a bit wary taking that off road Not at all Billy. I would also go careful in it but it is a different vehicle altogether. X5's aren't really designed to do the things a LR can do. In my opinion an X5 is aimed at comfort and a spacious interior for your higher prestigious market, with the ability to get you off a bit of wet grass etc. A Land rover, be it defender or Disco is aimed more at your practical person who will want the ability to drive up a mountain side. You only have to look on You tube though to find videos of range rovers (a similar class of prestigious motor to the X5) struggling on a bit of wet mud. A lot of it is down to the right tyre choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimfire4969 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I'd bin the X5. You can't polish a **** If this is the BMW X5 challenge, they've not really tried to challenge it Oh and check out the support vehicle at the end. Kind of sums it up really http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJE4VUDZuo Love the clip, the river they go through at about 1 min, not very deep i P!$$ more on a Saturday after a few beers. Each to there own :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfletch Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 One caution any tyre you fit MUST be up to the speed rating of the vehicle or your insurance will be invalid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKPoacher Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I'd bin the X5. You can't polish a **** If this is the BMW X5 challenge, they've not really tried to challenge it Oh and check out the support vehicle at the end. Kind of sums it up really http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJE4VUDZuo Cypriots take their Toyota Corollas through worse than that when going fishing to the Evretou Dam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Cypriots take their Toyota Corollas through worse than that when going fishing to the Evretou Dam. 3:20 is the winner for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Cheers for the advice chaps, second set of wheels and snow tyres for winter it is. Billy...if you read my original post you will see I already know the X5 is no good off road. That's not why I bought it! If I need to go off road then we have other vehicles to do it, the BMW is purely a Tarmac vehicle which I hope will get me home in winter and also cope with our 2 mile farm lane better than my old sports car did :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I did read it, I was just teasing you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I did read it, I was just teasing you Lol I enjoy being ripped...I bought an X5 after all! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitloop Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 so a x5 is desined to go thrugh shallow puddles eny thing bigger than a kerb needs a ramp bulding and keep a check on the tyers as thay eat them and if you go on a field to a car boot take a frend with a defender as suport plus when you get back from your expadition to the car boot it needs seversing and new brake pads and disks it sounds like the car i'v always wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 You know i think my SJ could probibily match that off road course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andythechicken Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Look at some Vedrestein Wintrac Extreme I have some on my XC90 - all year round use. On a set of 19" rims and high speed rating. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Look at some Vedrestein Wintrac Extreme I have some on my XC90 - all year round use. On a set of 19" rims and high speed rating. Andy Top advice, thanks Andy will give those a look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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