XSeries-forum

Stop it Condor, you're making me laugh ). 

You're certainly not agreeing sycophantically with me, that's for sure.  As we were discussing winter tyres then I gave the OP the credit that he would be able to distinguish between winter and non winter tyres when making a purchase.  Why would anyone think otherwise?  For the avoidance of doubt buy the Scorpions with the snowflake symbol on them and you've got a true winter tyre.

One upmanship?  Read your own posts old boy, you've taken exception with my verdict on the Vredesteins summer qualities and gone at it like a dog with a bone.  I'm off out for a drive on my CRAZY big summer tyres lol. 

Come on, as you say there's room for opposing views without sniping, albeit in a very polite and well written manner. 

Well I appreciate all the feedback. I missed the winter tyres sticky thread/topic as I only ever peer into the E53 related forums. That'll learn me  )

Dhm, hope you survived the uncomfortable drive on your crazy big summer tyres......FWIW, I certainly do NOT have a Y chromosome lurking anywhere and am definitely XX, so your assumptions on that score are, well, wrong.  A "old BOY" I certainly am not unless you have very special powers in gender reassignment over the internet, that is. The jury may well be out on "old" though .

I really don't have a problem with anyone using whatever tyres they want - OP just wanted some advice, that's all, and to give correct advice as per manufacturers guidelines is what we do try to do on here, a lot.  Voiding insurance policies by not mentioning non OEM approved winter setups is actually a very important detail.  As is the fact that 19 or 20" winter tyres are very expensive compared to 17 or 18", regardless of the individual preference for make of tyre, and that the 17 or 18 will perform better than the 20 under the same snow /ice conditions. Those are just facts, regardless of personal opinion and choice.

Added to which, Pirelli Scorpions come in multiple subtypes......the STR for instance is a great all round tyre which I used winter and summer on my Range Rover.  So it was not clear exactly which one you were referring to - the dedicated winter tyre is the esoterically and innovatively named Scorpion Ice and Snow .........

We all pay our money and make our choices - but I think you may find that 20" winter tyres are not the norm, nor are they the best performers in the most extreme conditions due to the lack of sidewall real estate, whatever make they may be.  These days, major manufacturers all have a winter range, most of which perform very well in most of the weather conditions the UK experiences, although with a sustained spell of extremely hot weather like we are having at the moment, no winter tyre will stand up well to lengthy commutes on tarmac reaching temperatures which has already melted part of the M25.........

Whatever old girl, whatever. 

[quote="Bargain Bucket"]
Hi folks.

Having bought a "summer" car (E46 330Ci Convertible) I plan to mostly use my E53 over winter. The existing tyres are Diamaris and the rears need replacing. So ideally I'd like to put some tyres on that are more suitable for winter (and do the same at the front when they wear out). Not ideal to mix tyre types but I'm not going to chuck perfectly good tyres away. So I'm after recommendations for winter tyres please, taking into account the issues people have had when not using star rated tyres. Are there any star rated winter tyres available (that can be used on damp spring/summer days)? All idea very much appreciated please.
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To throw my ten peneth in!!
Last November I put 19" Grabber UHP's on my X5 they work really well off road (well as far off road as I go Shooting and towing a Horse Box) They were great in the snow and are still on the car today, so far they have covered around 8k miles and are showing very little wear and will certainly (baring accidental damage) make another winter. Total cost was just under £600 from Blackcircles after a bit of haggling. I think that is great value; so far, and no real difference in road noise or comfort. Our current weather will test their all round ability but so far so good.

The AMG would eat rear tyres, if I got 10k from a set it felt like a bonus and to do that I had to drive like a pussy!