RWD in bad weather

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matt15

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Hello all! New to the site!! Looking at purchasing a 325i or xi. My question is-how is RWD of a BMW in bad weather i.e. rain, snow, etc. Traction control available and does it make a difference? Afraid to talk to dealer due to will probably tell me what I want to hear. Thanks and happy to be aboard!! [scratch]
 
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hatchman088

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I bought an ix (no xi's in E30's) jsut for snowy weather and it is great
i wouldnt know about a RWD E30 but even my father's 2002 530i has trouble in the snow... if you get a good amount of snowfall i would suggest going out of your way to find an ix for a daily driver, if you arent looking mainly for performance for your car i would get the ix.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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The 325i and xi both come with BMW's Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) In the rain and whatnot the "i" does just fine. But for the snow if you live upstate, and dont wanna swap snowtires with summer/all season every 5-6 months you might want to look into getting the xi. This issue has been debated to death in the past, you could try a search...
 
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nadroj

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I'm pretty sure no e30's came with DSC but I could be wrong. If you are experiensed with rwd it should be pretty easy if not the e30's back end will get lose pretty easy on the I
 
Wallie05

Wallie05

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Welcome aboard, Matt!

I have plenty of experience driving in bad weather--hey I'm a life-long Chicagoan!. Few people know snow and ice better than we do (except for maybe Buffaloians and Minnesotans). When I bought my 323i, the xi wasn't out yet, so I didn't have a choice. After worrying about snow-driving performance, I used to swap winters and summers for the first couple of years, but I grew tired of it and eventually just with all-seasons. Anyways, I can tell with 100% seriousness that i have never had any problems slipping or sliding into a ditch during snow or ice situations. Rain is not even really an issue. I have to watch my revs more closely when starting out (I have a manual), but hey, what's wrong with paying a little more attention in poor weather.

I don't think you need AWD for Ohio; I'm guessing the winters are about equal with Chicago, if not milder. Also, keep in mind that the 5er (until this year) and 7er are all RWD. You think people stop driving those cars in the winter? Nope. I see plenty of 7ers, and even Lexus LS's (also only RWD) floating around during winter time. The smart traction control systems available on RWD cars are amazing. Read some reviews for the GS430--which is RWD. I read a Canadian review which said they would be perfectly comfortable cruising around with GS43 provided it all all-seasons or even snows.

I think responsible, cautious driving goes a long way when it comes to bad-weather driving. ..
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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nadroj said:
I'm pretty sure no e30's came with DSC but I could be wrong. If you are experiensed with rwd it should be pretty easy if not the e30's back end will get lose pretty easy on the I
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poboyis said:
no DSC on E30s, but they did make an iX E30. I am looking for one for next winter. My car is rediculous to drive in the snow.
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I find it funny how he mentions purchasing a 325i or xi from a dealer, who missed the boat... Since when do they sell e30's at the dealership???
 
Wallie05

Wallie05

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poboyis said:
no DSC on E30s, but they did make an iX E30. I am looking for one for next winter. My car is rediculous to drive in the snow.
Click to expand...
Good point about the lack of DSC on E30s. I forgot myself and was thinking E46.... [read] [:I] [B)]
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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Wallie05 said:
Good point about the lack of DSC on E30s. I forgot myself and was thinking E46.... [read] [:I] [B)]
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Oh lord a 4th! Wallie you were right the first time, hatchmann threw everyone off. Im beyond sure this guy wants an E46 since he mentions 325xi and dealer, take care...
 
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Big Daddy

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I find it funny how he mentions purchasing a 325i or xi from a dealer, who missed the boat... Since when do they sell e30's at the dealership???
Click to expand...
He does not mention e30, besides as mentioned an e30 325 would be an ix vs an xi, I think you misunderstood him. Maybe because he posted in the e30 section?
 
Average Jae

Average Jae

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i am happy with my rear only 330i. in the winter i run snows, and in the summer i run high perfs. (i still have my snows, but today was a wacky day, since it hit 65 or so during the day. and did bunch o highway driving. friday tho, it's dropping back down to the highs of 40s.. so no optimal time for me to swap back. [:(]) the issue i had this past winter was the ground clearance in the snow. even if i had awd set up, i would've been stuck anyway.. other than that, no real drama due to rwd.

one thing tho, if you are looking hard at getting an awd setup, consider the a4 quatro. even tho the new x-drive setup is better than before, quatro seems to be the defacto awd setup.

its cool that wallie05 has great experience w/ a/s (all season) tires. i on the other hand, has had some horrible experiences with them in my previous car (talon tsi awd) so i have to disagree. but the big thing with a/s tires, is to remember that not all of them are created equal. some perform better in the winter conditions than others. i'll put up with the hassle to get the best performance possible in every season, rather than average perf all year around..
 
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