In my experience, Craigslist-type sellers are some of the most inconsiderate people out there. Not sure if most of them are just trying to hedge their bets or what, but I've had some really stupid/awkward/time-wasting situations that could have been avoided by a simple text or call.

I drove my X through last winter with a less-than-new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS on and it was a beast. Very little sliding, and it carved right through fresh snow up to 4-5" inches with no problems. If I lived in Calgary, I'd probably get a dedicated winter set, but in most environments further south, IMO the ExtremeContacts should work just fine coupled with the X's all-wheel drive.

To answer original poster's question....The E53 SUCK in the snow. You would think an AWD SUV would be good. It's not until the Idrive they became pretty good.

The only thing you can do is put hard core winter tires like Bizzacks and buy separate rims. Then its ok.

It's like a hot chick.....if sex is good you over look things like dinner being made when they are stay at home mothers :D

If your a girl reading this just reverse the chick to dude :D

I like the way it looks so I put up with it :p:

If the vehicle is sliding after you come to a stop it has nothing to do with they type of vehicle and whether it has AWD or not. The only factors are the contact patch and the weight of the vehicle.

All season tires should be called No Season tires as they aren't really that good for any particular season, especially winter.

No, the E53 with the wrong tires suck in the snow. Any vehicle with the wrong tires suck in the snow. With a proper set of winter tires the E53 is very reliable in the snow. I had zero issues with mine in the winter using Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires and it ran circles around most vehicles.

The Michelin Latitude Alpin is a different tire than the Latitude X-Ice xi2. The Alpin is a "performance" winter tire...which means it's going to give up some deep snow and icy conditions for better handling in the dry/cold & mostly plowed roads. The X-Ice xi2 is a studless snow & ice tire...which does better in deep snow/ice/sleet.

When shopping for winter tires (any tire really)...make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. The winter tire category has multiple types of tires for various conditions. Just as you wouldn't want to use a great summer tire in a location that will be below freezing for half the year...the times that its cold...the tires will suck big time.

Some are performance winter tires, some are snow/ice winter tires, some are ice tires...then you have the studded & non-studded. Make sure you look in the category that fits the conditions and location you'll be driving.

Good luck. :)

We have Nokian WR G2 all weather (not all season) tires on the X5 and it's great on snow. I happen to have a set of 17" bare alloys sitting in the garage doing nothing. PM if interested.

Oh, and aside from some slush, there wasn't snow on the roads last week...

Will throw some brigestone blizzak's on my 20's (315/275) this winter
We don't get much snow here

Im running a square setup of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT 255/55 R18s and they have been fantastic in the snow and ice here in Winnipeg. Only had one "moment" when I tried to defy to laws of physics :rolleyes: but came out ok. I believe the Goodyears are the most highly rated tires (for studless winter tires) on Tire Rack, for what it's worth.

Good luck with your search!

God.
I've called 4 different shops now, including tirerack and I keep getting different answers regarding the staggered fitment. Some say I can use the stock front size on all 4 corners and others say I must use a different rear size because of the rear rim width. Not sure what the heck to do or who to believe. Kind of frustrating to be honest. And $1500+ isn't too exciting either :P

Good to know. That's what I have on...this will be my first winter with the X5, and they don't like to do much to the roads here until it stops snowing.

My Continentals have probably about 4K on them...

The highlighted statement in your quote above is true...you CAN use the same size tires on all four corners...but if you have staggered wheels...then you need to use staggered tires. It all depends on what wheels you have...and we don't know which wheels you have.

Help us help you better...what size wheel are you thinking of mounting winter tires to? If all 4 wheels are the same size (17"/18"/19"?) then mount the same size tires on all 4 wheels. If you are mounting them on a staggered set of wheels (fronts are narrower than the rear)...then you'll also need a staggered set of winter tires.

You can look at the tire pressure label on the driver's door jamb for the BMW recommended tire sizes. The non staggered 17" & 18" tires are all the same on all 4 corners. The staggered 19" & 20" wheels have different sized rear tires (due to the wheels being wider). But if you have 19" & 20" wheels that are all the same size...then you'd run the same size tire on all 4 corners.

You can also google for a tire size calculator and you can see what the recommended tire size is for a wheel rim's width. For instance, one of my favorite tire size calculator is: Tire Size Calculator - Tire & Wheel Plus Sizing

Again, if you input the front tire size...look for the recommended wheel width...if your rear wheel is wider than the recommendation...then I would NOT try to stretch a narrow tire on a wide wheel. It will also change the overall diameter of the tire and if the difference is greater than 3% (+/-) than the other axle...you could cause unwanted issues with DSC & xDrive or DSC-X (can't remember your model year).

I run a staggered set of 20" wheels (275/40/20 fr + 315/35/20 rear) in the spring/summer/fall...and a square set of 18" wheels (235/60/18 all 4 corners) in the winter.