Replace 4 tyres or get used BMW 19 inch snowflakes.

[Reusch]

Right here goes I bought the car with these 20 inch alloys on I'm not 100% happy with the style of them.1 tyre needs replacing 1 is a Bridgestone and the other 2 are jinlu >:D.We only do a couple of thousand miles a year she sits happily on my car park the rest of the time(own a Hotel/B&B) odd blast out now and then.I was looking at budget tyres fitted £365 for 4 altenzo brand or do I try and source some 19 inch snowflakes with used better known tyres

[X5Sport]

Well those aren't BMW wheels for certain......

If you want to see what wheels are fitted as OEM by BMW then you could have a look at this site which offers OEM wheels (with or without tyres) at non-OEM prices.  This will at least give you images of all the OEM options.

You can then decide which way you might want to go.  Note that for OEM 20" wheels you will need to fit extended wheel arches as the tread will exceed the limits under the Construction & Use Regulations (tread must not extend beyond the wing with the wheels straight ahead and checked at the 12 o'clock position) and your front wheels look awfully close to that although it may be an optical illusion from the camera angle.  This is NOT an MOT item, although it ought to be.

If you don't want to go to the expense of fitting extended arches, then 19" are your option.  The 19" and 20" OEM wheels are 'staggered' if you hadn't already discovered that..

Richard

[Reusch]

Cheers Richard there not great are they ill have a look at that site and if anyone on here as some 19inch genuine x5 wheels for sale I'm waiting with the reddies.

[crofter]

Hi, yes I have to agree the standard snowflakes are the best look. Maybe try Gumtree, I was looking for winter wheels and tyres and saw quite a few snowflakes at reasonable prices there. Be best to get them well checked though,

cheers crofter

[Reusch]

I've looked everywhere I'm seeing wheels in my sleep just contacted a guy on e-bay hopefully it will come of thanks guys.

[X5Sport]

If it helps at all, the 19" for the E53 'Sport' option car were Style 132 type.  The spare being a 17" Style 57.

[Reusch]

Cheers Richard not to keen on them it's the snowflakes for me and I'll put the 20s on e-bay.

[Reusch]

Richard you mentioned staggered wheels the ones I have on now are all 20s with 275/40/20 tyres are they ok ?

[X5Sport]

The standard 20" configuration is 275/40 R20 Front and 315/35 R20 Rear.  19" are 255/50 R19 front with 285/45 R19 rear.

What the effect is of having thinner tyres on the rear is probably negligible and my only thought would be a loss of traction under abnormal driving situations.  The X5 is predominantly RWD - can't remember the split - and the XDrive shifts it as needed.  Narrower tyres will increase the weight footprint under them so traction loss will be in a different situation.  Cheap tyres may make it worse of course, but that's true for any size.

Is there any sign of unusual wear patterns on the rears?  That might indicate a tracking issue or tyre loading issue caused by the unusual configuration/offsets, but that's unlikely given the mileage you are intending to add per year.

Richard

[Reusch]

I've sourced some genuine 19 inch snowflakes in excellent condition so the flashy 20s :-[ are going on e-bay shortly unless you fancy them Richard ).

[X5Sport]

Thanks for the most generous offer, but I think I'll pass.....need to be 30" at least now from what I started on this thread. )

Got a set of 20"s already, and the 19"s for winter plus two sets for the Mini.....all RFT and therefore expensive to replace when worn out. :'(

R :xmasgrin: