Help, My 330i can barely go faster than 15 miles in snowing conditions

[mosquito113]

I have a 2001 330i. Just recently I have finally realized that my dream car was really useless in bad weather conditions. Just about two days ago, it was barely snowing at Reno,NV. and the road was just started to cover with snow. When I was trying to drive back home, the road condition was just starting to get a little worse. I started to notice my car was struggling very very hard and if I pressed the gas pedal down, it started to get out of control. I had to snow the car down to almost 10 mphs. At the moment I really felt quite embrassing while watching a Honda Civic passed my by so easily. The next day I went to BMW and told them about the problems I had, and they told me it was normal because 330i is not made to travel in these kind of conditions and it is also a rear wheel drive and no matter what, a front wheel Honda could always pass me easily.

Can anybody give me any advice? I really don't know if its the car problem, or is it true that all rear wheel drive vehicles are sensitive to snow? I mean I can't even drive 15 miles or faster???

thanx

[Nebulous328]

There isnt anything wrong with your car, and there is not much you can do to remedy the situation with which you are dealing. You can however improve the traction of your car in snowy/icy conditions by purchasing a set of snow tires for your car. If you do this you will, or should anyway, buy a set of wheels for your new snow tires. It is recommended that you keep the size of the wheel around 15" or 16" though. I have heard many good things about the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's nad that they are an amazing snow tire (the equivalent to Z rated summer tires). You might look into getting some of those, im sure that will help out substantially. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bs_ws50.jsp

Also, in reference to front wheel drive cars in the snow, they are much better then rear wheel drive cars in the snow or ice. This is because the power is being sent to the front wheels which pull the car over/through the snow or ice, which keeps the car in a straighter line than rear wheel drive cars which push the car along. The pushing of the rear wheels ontop of ice can cause an instability in the handling dynamics that is very unnerving and cause the car to rotate. Therefore the front wheel drive cars on the road have an advantage over the rear wheel drive cars, that is until summer comes.......

[tigerirons]

Did you try turning off the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) That will allow you to control the car yourself (or not control it) without the pesky electronic system taking away the power of the car. BTW- keep your hands on the wheel...

[freniv]

Hi, I too am having the same problem with my '95 325i conv. On the first snow fall in Toronto, Canada I was going nowhere. This is the first time i'm on this forum but here is a link to another site so you can read advice that I was given by others.

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/ubb/For...ML/002226.html

Since it's rear wheel drive you can put a bag of sand in the trunk for added weight. If you're stuck and you need added traction you can throw some under the tires.

hope it helps

Ivano

[328isRob]

I had the same problems when I had high performance tires on it. I put some all weather and even tried som snow tires, it made a world of difference. Never had any problems in the snow, ice on the other hand was bad byt hey that's bad in every car.

[agapehme]

I have had the same experience. The solution was a new set of rims, if you want to keep your alloys looking good ar even damage free, and a set of true snow tires as Nebulous328 suggested. Buy a full set of four. That did it!!! I went with Goodyear on my 325I and Toyo on the M3.

[JFischel]

Putting the sand bags in the back of the car may ease the situation, but it's terrible for the tires, they will wear out much faster. Your best bet is to get FOUR snow tires, directional are the best.

Josh

[e4gr3lt]

Regarding the inability of 3 Series cars to go in snow. I took delivery of a new 325i in May of this year. I live in Masachusetts near the N.H. border and I knew when I bought the car winter tires would be absolutely necessary if I were to drive the car year round. I have four Nokian Hakka 1's on steel wheels that I bought from Bavarian Autosport in Portsmouth, N.H.. We've had little snow up here so far this year but I have driven the car in what little snow we have had and the tires seem to provide good traction. My wife has driven a RWD Volvo for the past six winters and we always have run winter tires during the cold weather months. A combination of careful driving and the proper tires have allowed her to go anywhere that was NECESSARY. In other words, put off the trip to the mall or the video store until the roads are clear. All Season tires are NO substitute for a true winter tire!

[nobee]

The very first time I took out a MB C-class (rental vehicle) out in the snow, the Electronic Stability Program (their version of DSC) almost got me into an accident. Any hint of wheel slip, the ESP would pull back on the acceleration. Ex: I tried making a right turn onto the main road and had some wheel slip; the ESP kicked in and withdrew over 50% of my throttle and I almost got rear-ended! My suggestion is that the DSC kicked in and detected some some slippage, therefore, reducing your acceleration. Nothing wrong with your car, I'd recommend turning off the DSC when driving in the snow and/or ice.

Its been snowing over here in Germany for the past couple of weeks. Without snow tires, I would be in deep doo-doo w/ my 5-series. I recently purchased 4 x Kumho 195/55/15s and they work like a champ. It was really surprising how soft the rolling stock felt in the garage. No wonder I get great traction!

[Artis]

BMW is a very good vehicle in snow if you know how to.
I live in Latvia which is Northern Europe and there is lots of snow here.
So I have to drive on snow and sleet for several months.

The essential hints:

1. Install 4 real winter tires, the best you can afford. As a rule, you usually get what you pay for. All-season tires will not do ! (Do you have all-season shoes ?)

2. Keep the correct tire pressure, strictly as per the manual.

3. Learn to drive:

Unlike FWD cars, the RWDs (BMWs), will have two (2) steering mechanisms in winter. One is the round one in front of you. The other is the right pedal beneath. In winter, you steer with a combination of both. For those who know how to do it, BMW becomes a perfect winter driving machine. For those who don't ... anyway, you can learn it.

Go to the nearest empty parking lot. Switch off DSC if you have one. Make sure the lot is big enough and empty, has a smooth surface and is slippery enough, i.e. it should be 100% covered with ice and snow.

Now, you can do anything you wish. Try standing starts, feeling the moment when the wheels break traction. Try feeding only as much throttle as necessary. Open the window to better hear when the wheelspin starts. (To smootly accelerate, you shouldn't have the wheelspin.) Do all kinds of slides, drifts, don't be afraid to loose the rear end. In short, try to get a feeling of how the car reacts to your various inputs.

Half an hour of this will make you a much better driver. In two winters, there won't be any Hondas overtaking you. Maybe only Subarus.

[BigZird]

I honestly don't see what the problem is with snow driving. I grew up in Toronto, Canada, and never had winter tires on any cars I've driven. I'm in Massachusetts now and am driving with a car I bought in California and haven't seen any problems.

If you drive carefully, and adjust speed for the weather conditions, there doesn't seem to be a need to spend so much on special tires/wheels. Especially on city roads, in which you're more or less confined to driving at the same pace as others on the road ...