New winter tires
 

Just got Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow tires installed and the spare tire kit. I'll report more after driving more on them.

I got them to fit the M Sport staggered 19's. See SuperView of the Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow
10 inch wide rears won't make the best snow tires but I don't live in Chicago. So far they've only been on cold dry roads and cold wet roads. The winters are slightly more noisy than the Bridgestone OEM tires but much more quiet than my sister's Blizzaks. Handling is only slightly compromised. More than enough grip to have fun in the conditions so far. I hope to run into snow in WV over Christmas. I'll report back with how well they do in conditions they are designed for. Given the snow forecast and my sisters step drive, I know they'll get some test.

As far as the spare tire kit, instead of spending 2 hours in my cold garage, I spent 1 hour in the BMW customer lounge. :) If you want the spare, its MUCH smarter to spend $150 up front than $500 including installation, mounting and balancing afterwords. But at least I'll have peace of mind while not having runflats over the winter, and not having to be stranded in the cold if I get a flat.

Wouldn't you know it, Wheeling, WV has only gotten about 1 inch of snow since I've been here but Charlotte, NC got about 4-6 inches. There was already snow in the driveways and a gravel side street but I haven't encountered anything on the roads. So far even on my sisters long steep snow covered asphalt driveway, the X5 hasn't even thought about slipping a tire. There's probably no good parking lots to go out and play in to see what it really can do. :(

This is in my niece's driveway after driving thru a slushy mess on the road.
One day up north and my shiny white X5 looks like this. :(

Rich, I am caught up in NY state with that snow storm that rolled in. Still running the summer 19's on my sport and they do not perform well in the snow. Glad I saw your post, I will buying some winter tires asap. How are you doing with the rock chips?

I've got 20" wheels with Lexani all season tires and the only thing I understood - X5 is not the SUV ( SAV as they call it ) you wanna drive in snow. Long time ago ( about 6 years) I used to have Toyota 4Runner, which performed just fine in snow like we have in NY today. X5 ? - forget it....it just does not go anywhere..no matter what kind of tires you have. My neighbor has winter tires and his SUV ( SAV ) helpless to get out of this snow as well as mine. The other neighbot has 5 years old PathFinder...and he's driving all over my neighborhood all day long.
I like to drive my 4.8i X5 and it's a good car for summer, spring and fall, but not for winter.

Good luck to anybody caught in NY winter's storm.

You've got performance 20" all season tires on it and you blame the vehicle? It is all about the tires. X5 works great in snow with the right rubber.

I'm not sure LX9100s are the winter performance benchmark. I'm sure some true winter tires would make a world of difference. It seems to do ok in the winter.

YouTube - BMW X6 M, X5 M Snow Action. Part 2.

Thanks for the video and it's nice view, but it's totally different situation.
I'm talking about 15"-20" of snow...look at this video and tell me where do you see snow covering even 1/4 of the wheel.
I'm not saying X5 is bad, but it's not good for winter driving. You can't compare X5 with real SUV like Range Rover or 4Runner.

Like this?
YouTube - 2011 BMW X5 diesel in NY Snow - Blizzard - Dec 26 2010 - Pa