looking for winter tires help please

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wlsmith12

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Messages
20
Location
Chicago IL USA
I own a 2014 BMW i3 rex and looking for winter tires. I get so much conflicting information from Dealers, blogs and ect in my area. I have Tera World 19" #428 rims with staggered set up of 155/70/19s in the front and 175/60/19s in the rear. Do you know if the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-500 and in just one size will fit on my rims? The dealers want to sell me all new rims….. Thank you for the help,
 
The winter tire setup for the i3 uses a square setup, all wheels are the same size as the fronts in the staggered setup. You'll notice when you search for tires on tirerack or other sites that they'll display 4 of the 155 tires. So even if you could use your existing rims, you'd only be able to use the fronts.

It's better for the tires to have a different set of rims anyways because it isn't good to take them off/on the rims each season, you'll end up destroying the bead over time and won't have a good seal.
 
I bought mine over 3-years ago, but at the time, you could buy the BMW winter tire package (tire, TPMS, wheel) ready to bolt on for about what TireRack wanted without the TPMS, and you'd have the BMW warranty on them. May not be true any longer...you'd have to check. The tire/TPMS/wheel package at the time was cheaper than buying the same bare wheel!

As said, nobody makes a wider rear tire in winter compound for the i3's staggered rears, so yes, you do want new wheels to save the costs of swapping, not counting that you'd need to buy at least two anyways.

In the USA, there are only two choices for winter tires that will fit and were designed for the i3: the OEM Bridgestone, and the R2 from Nokian (which may actually be a better tire). Nokians are not as easy to find but can be about the same cost. In reality, it will be about another month before you'll likely find winter tires that were made this year (you DON'T want some from last year unless you drive LOTS - they get harder as the rubber ages, and don't work as well as fresh rubber). FWIW, winter tires are generally made during the summer (and summer tires in the winter), then they have to be shipped, and they don't usually start to show up until September or March, for new summer tires.
 
If you want to use your original rims with the 155 mm winter tires - some people have reported doing that on the i3 FB page. However, this is not an officially approved setup - the original rear rims are wider than officially approved for these tires and most installers will refuse to install them. So, it is possible but not recommended and there is some risk of the tires not performing as intended.
 
When you try to put a narrower tire on a wider rim than the design, you will end up with a smaller rolling circumference, the bead won't be able to hold the tire as well, and the tread that hits the road will be slightly warped which can lead to faster and uneven wear. FWIW, when it comes to winter tires, at least when you're in slush or deeper snow, a narrower tire generally performs better.
 
jadnashuanh said:
In the USA, there are only two choices for winter tires that will fit and were designed for the i3: the OEM Bridgestone, and the R2 from Nokian (which may actually be a better tire). Nokians are not as easy to find but can be about the same cost.
Jim, have you found any US resellers that carry the Nokians? I searched for these last year but I couldn't find any that fit the i3, only the Bridgestones. I bought a set of Nokian snows for my wife's FWD car and really liked them. Haven't been able to compare them side by side with the Blizzaks because all the vehicles I had those installed on we're AWD. I know they are both great snow tires but I've read the Nokians are better. I didn't run winter skins on my current i3 but plan to if I lease another one in October.

Also I've noticed the Nokians are a bit more expensive in other tire sizes, not sure about the i3 size tires.
 
I have a Nokian dealer in my city, and there are at least a few more in the area. Go to the Nokian website and see where your nearest dealers are. NOte, winter tires generally won't be in stock (at least new ones) for probably another month. If I hadn't made the purchase of winter tires part of my deal when buying my i3, I would have probably bought the Nokians...if I have the car long enough, I'll try them. Every comparison test I read has them coming out on top. Are they a major difference, can't say, but I've had their winter tires before, and they have always worked well. Where they're made, then need it!
 
ASUN said:
Are there now winter tires available for the 20's or is it still max to 19's?
What about all season tires?
The only winter tires for the i3 are 19". There are summer tires for both the 19 and 20", but only all-seasons in the 19" that I've seen.

Both Bridgestone (the OEM supplier) and Nokian make winter tires for the i3.
 
jadnashuanh said:
ASUN said:
Are there now winter tires available for the 20's or is it still max to 19's?
What about all season tires?
The only winter tires for the i3 are 19". There are summer tires for both the 19 and 20", but only all-seasons in the 19" that I've seen.

Both Bridgestone (the OEM supplier) and Nokian make winter tires for the i3.

I was hoping there are now more tire options, especially for the 20's.

I now have a small bit of regret for getting the 20's. The wheels look best, but if there is an all season option that would be nice.
 
FWIW, the industry highly suggests that you consider minus-1 wheel sizing when looking at winter tires for several good reasons:
- often, you can't really see where there may be a pothole or other obstruction under the snow, and the smaller wheel with a higher profile will be (much) less likely to be damaged
- a narrower tire grips better through snow
- a narrower tire means a smaller distance it has to squeegee out any slush to reach the surface and gain better traction
- a narrower tire is less likely to float on either the snow, slush, or other soft surface

I don't know of any 18" wheels and tire combinations that will fit the i3, but for optimum performance in the nasty weather with what is available, the 19" verses 20" is a better choice.
 
jadnashuanh said:
FWIW, the industry highly suggests that you consider minus-1 wheel sizing when looking at winter tires for several good reasons:
- often, you can't really see where there may be a pothole or other obstruction under the snow, and the smaller wheel with a higher profile will be (much) less likely to be damaged
- a narrower tire grips better through snow
- a narrower tire means a smaller distance it has to squeegee out any slush to reach the surface and gain better traction
- a narrower tire is less likely to float on either the snow, slush, or other soft surface

I don't know of any 18" wheels and tire combinations that will fit the i3, but for optimum performance in the nasty weather with what is available, the 19" verses 20" is a better choice.

Thank you. I was hoping I don't need to buy new tire & wheels combo...thanks again for the above advice. Duly noted, well said.
 
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