I bought a used 2001 M3 last winter, in January, and the owner had a set of Blizzaks on it, on a some beat up M3 second-hand rims. Two weeks after that we had that bad snow and sleet storm and I had to go to work to conduct an interview of a prospective hire that was flying in. It took me two hours to go about 25 miles, from Jersey City, to Edison. The Turnpike was not plowed and the slush was not wet, but ground up and very slick and mixed with oil.
This was probably the worst possible condition to drive in that I would actually try. I would not drive on ice. Well, by being very careful with the throttle, I was able to make it safely, with the traction and stability control constantly coming on. If the car was wearing the summer tires, I would have gotten killed. Part of the problem is your car. The majority though are other people's. Plenty of people drive SUVs, AWD and FWD cars that are less affected by the slick conditions, and they can and do go faster than they should. You should be in a position to keep up somewhat, or you are a traffic hazzard. Hugging the right lane doesn't help either, since you are an obstacle to merges.
Considering that cosmetically scarred BMW rims sell for a song, and many times owners will sell them with tires with a decent amount of tread left on them for not much more than the rims, you really should get a second set of rims with actual snow tires. Not all weather tread, but something with an aggresive tread to let you drive at a safe spead in slush and snow.
This was probably the worst possible condition to drive in that I would actually try. I would not drive on ice. Well, by being very careful with the throttle, I was able to make it safely, with the traction and stability control constantly coming on. If the car was wearing the summer tires, I would have gotten killed. Part of the problem is your car. The majority though are other people's. Plenty of people drive SUVs, AWD and FWD cars that are less affected by the slick conditions, and they can and do go faster than they should. You should be in a position to keep up somewhat, or you are a traffic hazzard. Hugging the right lane doesn't help either, since you are an obstacle to merges.
Considering that cosmetically scarred BMW rims sell for a song, and many times owners will sell them with tires with a decent amount of tread left on them for not much more than the rims, you really should get a second set of rims with actual snow tires. Not all weather tread, but something with an aggresive tread to let you drive at a safe spead in slush and snow.
