Where the Rubber Meets the Road

For those of you looking for a custom wheel for your late model BMW 3 Series with the appearance of the M3 wheel, Tire Rack has the solution. The Elbrus I08 is a great addition for someone looking for an inexpensive Winter / Snow Tire & Wheel Package for their 3 Series coupe, sedan or convertible.

This particular wheel would also be ideal for someone who has a late model 3 Series and would like to give their Bimmer the M3 look without the M3 price tag. These wheels are nearly identical to the styling of the Original Equipment wheels at a fraction of the cost.

Elbrus wheels are manufactured using the latest pressure cast technology and feature an extremely durable I.C.E coating. Not all alloy wheels are created equally and there are several casting methods used to manufacture alloy wheels. These Elbrus wheels are high pressure cast and are more resistant to damage than standard gravity cast. They also offer a durable finish well suited for winter use.

The most popular upgrade for cars and trucks is new custom wheels and tires. After that, suspension upgrades are very common on both late model and older vehicles. Typically, drivers will want to simply raise or lower their car or truck for aesthetic reasons, but there are often performance reasons for suspension upgrades, as well.

Raising, often referred to as lifting, is most common on trucks and jeeps. In addition to creating a taller ride height, this is regularly done for performance reasons such as allowing for larger wheels and tires than what the factory (O.E.) suspension will allow.

There are two primary ways for lowering a vehicle: lowering springs or an adjustable coil-over suspension kit. Both of these options will give the car a lower center of gravity and stiffen the car's chassis, which will allow for less body roll in corners and improved handling and cornering. Coil-overs give the added advantage of ride-height adjustability and with certain models, dampening adjustability for fine tuning the balance of ride quality and handling.

Whether you're looking for performance shocks, gas shocks or other products to upgrade your suspension, it's important to consult with an expert. Changing a car's suspension will require alignment adjustments and may create fitment challenges with your custom rims (wheels) and tires.

You're a smart, savvy motorist who made the decision years ago to run dedicated winter / snow tires for your vehicle. You have been enjoying the superior performance in snow and on ice, while other cars go sliding through intersections and get swallowed by the looming Ditch Monster.

What you may not be aware of however, is the amount of tread depth needed to provide adequate snow and ice traction. Even the best performing winter / snow tire needs proper tread depth to provide good traction in winter driving conditions. It's important to inspect your winter tires each fall to ensure they are ready to handle the months of upcoming cold, snow and ice.

In order to provide snow traction, a tire needs more tread depth than it would for rainy or dry conditions. If the tire doesn't have enough volume of space to retain snow, the tire slips and slides across the snowy surface. When your tires have snow retained into the tread, snow-to-snow contact creates traction. See in the picture below how even the half-worn tire in the middle doesn't have the volume needed for good snow traction.

Sheer ice and hard-packed snow traction require two properties to maintain adequate traction, soft tread compound and tread sipes. These sipes open up to provide hundreds of biting surfaces that grip into the ice and packed snow, while the soft compound allows these sipes to open in extreme cold temperatures. This is why an all-season tire with sipes will not perform as well in freezing weather, the tread hardens and the sipes are less effective. See the photo of the the last tire on the right (below) to see what the sipes look like when they're almost worn down completely.

Few things are more heart-pounding for a driver than applying the brakes and discovering nothing is happening. A very common cause of this is inadequate tire traction in winter weather. After all, no matter how good the car is, if your tires aren't suited for the road conditions, driving on ice and snow can be treacherous.

Many drivers have been conditioned over the years to believe the best solution for this issue is to install tire chains. Although chains are still a good solution for some, advancements in tire technology have given drivers a viable alternate solution.

Today's Studless Ice and Snow tires utilize the latest tread designs and compounds to provide excellent traction in severe snow and ice conditions. These tires also perform well on dry roads, which is the primary downside to using tire chains. Tire chains are good for temporary use only but for everyday driving, winter / snow tires are a better solution for the following reasons:

• Safer driving on dry roads
• Proper fitment for each vehicle
• No need to remove tires on clear days
• Will not damage roads and driveways

Tire chains provide good traction in deep snow, but they severely diminish handling and traction on dry roads. Also, late model sedans and coupes have limited fender clearance compared to older vehicles which can prohibit the use of chains on many cars. Tire chains are generally antiquated for most conditions, however, there are still some useful applications such as mountain driving. For example, tire chain requirements in California depend on the severity of the snowstorm and are as follows:

• Requirement one: Snow tires or chains are required.
• Requirement two: Chains are required on all vehicles except four-wheel drive vehicles equipped with snow tires on all four wheels.
• Requirement three: Chains are required on all vehicles, no exception.

• Tread volume: A tire needs more tread volume for snow traction compared to wet traction. Snow tires need more tread depth in wintry conditions to compress snow in their grooves and release it as they roll. If there isn't sufficient tread depth, the "bites" of snow that can be processed on each tire revolution will be reduced to "nibbles," and the vehicle's traction and mobility in snow will be reduced.

• Active Siping: Sipes are the small "cuts" you see throughout the tread of winter / snow and most all-season tires. These sipes open as the tread comes in contact with the road surface. As the sipes open, they create "biting edges" which conform to the small grooves in the road and ice to provide additional traction.

• Soft Tread Compound: The soft tread compound unique to winter / snow tires is engineered to remain soft in freezing temperatures. This is necessary for the tread to conform to the grooves in the driving surface and create traction. All-season and summer tires get harder when the temperatures begins to drop below 40 degrees, which doesn't allow the tires to grip the road as effectively.

BMW X5 drivers have struggled to find a good winter solution for those with the 20" sport package.

Given that there is only one option for winter tires using the O.E. 20" staggered fitment, many customers elect to use the 18" option for winter tires. This allows for more options and improved snow and ice traction over the 20". This option uses a 255/55R18 on all four corners of the vehicle.

One advantage of this "minus size" winter wheel setup is the improved snow and ice traction vs. the wider 20" O.E. tires. Another advantage of the "square" setup (same sizes front and back) is the ability to rotate your tires front-to-back which will allow for more even treadwear and longer tread life.

Another advantage of a Winter / Snow Tire & Wheel Package as opposed to only winter tires is that switching back and forth between tires can lead to expensive mounting and balancing. On average, this will cost around $240-$300 annually. Winter wheels can be changed for around $40-$60 per year or you can do it yourself at home for free.

Read "Tire & Wheel Package Installation" for details on how to install your Tire & Wheel Package yourself.

Weather conditions you encounter when driving are a key factor in determining if you need new tires. Simply checking the tread and thinking it looks safe or is not down to the treadwear indicator is not enough to ensure safe driving. The reality is that weather and road conditions are critical factors because of the differing amounts of tread volume or "void space" required for adequate traction.