M3 in Summit County (SUV, fuel, AWD, tires)

[a bag of it]

Would I be crazy to bring my e36 m3 to summit county? I'm planning on moving there within the week or so. I lived in boulder for a year with no car and I know it would be fine there, but obviously there is a lot more snow in the mountains. They care of the roads pretty well, so do you think I could do alright with a good set of snows? My friends I'll be living with have a 4wd suv and the public transit system is alright, so I don't need to bring it, but it would be convenient if possible. I don't wanna do it if it's gonna be in a garage 80% of the time though.

Also, I've been doing some research on studded vs studless snows and it seems the general consensus is that studs are outdated and most studless perform as well in most driving conditions. I'm not sure if summit county is considered "most driving conditions" though. What do you guys think? Studded or studless? Should I pony up for nokians or will blizzaks do just fine?

[sunsprit]

If I was going to use this car in the area, I'd definitely pony up for a set of 4 Nokians or Blizzaks.

Between the major storms that can come through, the roads there are cleared pretty well. You'll do a lot of driving on hard pack snow or icy roads ... and the studless snow tires will come in handy during a winter.

My only concern would be driving such a nice car during those months when it will be exposed to the "gravel" when they use that or the chloride on the road. It's a fast way to chip up the front end of the car as well as trap the road treatment stuff into nooks and crannies that the BMW has on the lower chassis. If it was me, it would probably spend most of it's time in the garage during the winter ... but then again, on a nice clear day with strong sunshine, the roads could be rather clear and the temptation to drive it would present.

[wanneroo]

I think if you have Nokians or Blizzak WS70's you are a long way there to not having any problems. It will be harder if you are living on a side street outside of town or something like that with access issues. Also you just have to watch with throttle application and also getting momentum going when climbing hills.

I went through my 1st two seasons in Vail with a 1988 Ford Mustang 5.0 with all season tires. Don't know how the hell I did it but I had some interesting adventures. When I bought my first A4 Quattro life was a lot less stressful.

Since your E36 M3 is reaching collector status the bigger issue I would worry about the damage mag chloride, salt(yes CDOT does mix in a bit of salt with the grit it dumps) and road rash from grit to your car. Also the cold when it hits -20 does things like fry electronic modules or shatter plastic pieces such as window regulators. If you can garage it and try to keep it clean that will help it from deteriorating.

[a bag of it]

I'm thinking about selling it and buying an s4, but idk. I love bimmers and audi's turbo issues scare me.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by a bag of it

I'm thinking about selling it and buying an s4, but idk. I love bimmers and audi's turbo issues scare me.

If you really want to preserve the bimmer, it's not an ideal situation to use it in the winter months in that area. Better to keep it garaged ... and buy something more suitable for winter driving.

IMO, the opportunities in real world driving in the area for cars such as the s4 during the winter months are few and far between. You've got way more HP on tap than you'll ever be able to put on the ground due to road surface conditions and traffic conditions.

That's why you'll see so many 165 HP Subie's in this area ... the AWD works well in the driving conditions, you've got reasonable fuel economy, decent heater, and adequate HP for the hills. The HP is enough to well exceed the speed limits anywhere you'll be driving there.

[a bag of it]

165hp subie....that sounds fun.