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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum xDrive and first snow
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      01-27-2013, 10:12 PM   #23
COBodom
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F10CarlitoNYC View Post
You kind of have a point. I had a A6 Quattro and it felt more stable than X drive. Well it was the first snowfall and it's usually more slippery than normal. Guess gotta wait til the next large snowfall to really see.
Exactly, I would really wanna give it a try when we get some real snow here (prolly not this winter though).

So far this winter performance (or a lack of thereof) I can best describe as being more comparable to my old front wheel drive Passat B6 on stock all season tires than Quattro on all-seasons. Traction control light went crazy in my bimmer just the way it would in Passat. I don’t even remember seeing this light in Audi. Yet again some say, in some cars it engages silently anyways without any indication on the dash.

Anywho, since the vast majority of us here blame the stock tires; that’s prolly what’s causing it.
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      01-28-2013, 08:53 AM   #24
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While I do see your point about not wanting to spend the $ on a set of better tires since its a lease I also look at it as cheap insurance. If it prevents you from any car accident its already money in the bank for you imo. Figure a set of good tires could be had between 8-1200.... which isn't that bad plus you can always sell them after the lease is up for a few hundred bucks so the actual cost is maybe 60-70% of that. Given that the reviews for the Goodyear tires are pretty much crap in all conditions this is something to consider if you plan on using the car all year round.

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      01-28-2013, 12:13 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by COBodom View Post
Exactly, I would really wanna give it a try when we get some real snow here (prolly not this winter though).

So far this winter performance (or a lack of thereof) I can best describe as being more comparable to my old front wheel drive Passat B6 on stock all season tires than Quattro on all-seasons. Traction control light went crazy in my bimmer just the way it would in Passat. I don’t even remember seeing this light in Audi. Yet again some say, in some cars it engages silently anyways without any indication on the dash.

Anywho, since the vast majority of us here blame the stock tires; that’s prolly what’s causing it.
I drove thru 4" of snow with all X-drive and OEM Conti tires, never saw the traction light came on at all.
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      01-28-2013, 01:56 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by COBodom
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Originally Posted by woderd View Post
what tires do you have on it?
GY 225/55R17
and there you have it!

Both Quattro and XDrive have their advantages in certain driving scenarios. Once your Goodyear's wear out, switch to a better All-Season tire. It depends on your driving style if you want to go with a Touring or High Performance tire.
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      01-28-2013, 04:34 PM   #27
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I mean all seasons or summers?
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      01-28-2013, 07:49 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by woderd View Post
I mean all seasons or summers?
all-season
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      01-29-2013, 02:01 AM   #29
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I had a 2011 A4 Avant before buying the 2012 535xi. (I decided the A4 just wasn't big enough for me and passengers.) Being in Alaska, I always run winter tires. Frankly, the A4 handles better in the snow. As the OP said, "like it's on rails." Quattro sends equal power to front and rear all the time. The F10 xDrive understeers, i.e., plows and wants to drift wide. You've got to kick it in the ass (throttle) and crank the wheel tighter to engage the front drive, then she engages and all is reasonably well. It's rear-drive biased in my estimation and cranking the wheel and staying on the throttle - even increasing it a bit - seems counter-intuitive but it works. I've learned to adjust. They're completely different cars - the A6 would be a better comparison. I like the F10 535xi much better but drivability in snow isn't one of the reasons.

PS: I always run winter-specific performance tires. But then, I much prefer a socket wrench to an adjustable (crescent) wrench when the job calls for it.
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      02-24-2013, 10:27 PM   #30
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I have a 2011 550i xDrive with 21" HRE P40L with Toyo T1R and I have no issues at all. I live in upstate NY and its always snowing up here....I never even saw the traction light come on yet. I feel the safest I have ever felt in a car....
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      02-25-2013, 01:19 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryakanisachoad View Post
Good choice of a word: disappointing. It's exactly how I feel about the OEM tires.

It's like BMW does it on purpose just to mess with us. "Lets make the best car in the business and then ruin it with xxx tires!".

+1

I was a bit dissapointed with the handling of my e46 coupe until i got rid of the OEM's and installed proper tyres. It was like getting a new car!

In winter there is simply nothing more important then getting the right tyres. You can skimp on summer tyres, but for winter tyres get the best money can buy.
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      02-25-2013, 12:40 PM   #32
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Got around 10 inches today. Was on the autobahn and the car in front of me kicked up a bunch of snow and ice. When I stopped, I noticed the front towing bar cover was missing. Annoying.
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      02-25-2013, 12:53 PM   #33
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seems to me much ado about not much - kind of a hard case to make that it is more about any difference in the AWD as opposed to the type of tires you've got on. I've driven M5 and M3 in Wisconsin winters - even rear wheeled drive high performance cars can do just fine in heavy snow conditions with proper tires - I prefer the Dunlop Wintersports. I haven't had any problems whatsoever negotiating unplowed streets in my neighborhood with my current 550i xdrive even despite the stock all-season runflats that came with the car.
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      02-25-2013, 03:39 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IaHawk View Post
seems to me much ado about not much - kind of a hard case to make that it is more about any difference in the AWD as opposed to the type of tires you've got on. .
I agree with you and would sincerely like to believe that xDrive is just as good if not better than Quattro.

On a separate note (not pertaining to your post; I am just making a general comment), obviously if I put proper winter tires on the xDrive the car will handle the right way, it would be a disaster if it didn’t. That’s not the point though. I have zero intention of buying a set of winter tires for 4 days of snow in NYC.
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      02-25-2013, 05:22 PM   #35
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yes - I get your point - your experience is what it is. I'm just not all that convinced that there is going to be much noticeable difference in the all-wheel drives of different high end manufacturers given the same driving conditions, same driver, and same tires. I've only test driven Audi's - but I have had other AWD vehicles including Lexus. But I'm pretty sure Audi's would have just as much trouble in our snow here as a BMW would, if you were riding on high performance summer tires. Plus there is in my experience a big difference between driving high performance cars on good winter tires like Blizzaks or Wintersports versus on all-season tires - especially run flats.

Bottom line for me is I'd rather never have to drive on all-season or even high performance snows - I like the ride and looks of Extreme Contact Conti's in the summer time. The problem is that it snows a fair amount usually here in Wi and I like to drive my cars year round. It's just a PIA to have to go through the ritual of changing them. With my M cars I actually had winter wheels and just swapped them during seasons. It's even more of a PIA to change tires on the same rims. Just got my current car in Dec and so far no complaints about it's handling in heavy snow - but I don't like the ride of the run flats on dry surface so eventually I'm making a change. Keep in mind I also have the Dinan suspension which is quite a bit different than the stock suspension and a bit lower to the ground.
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      02-26-2013, 06:50 AM   #36
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Winter Tyres are now quite normal here in Holland; up until a few years ago it wasn't. I drove Audi Quattro's before and everybody made fun out of me that I was driving with winter tyres. Both Quattro or X-Drive are useless without winter tyres in slippery conditions.

I prefer X-drive more because it is much more RWD biased then the quattro. Off course that is a personal preference. That same preference made me install a Drexler LSD on my previous F10
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