Winter wheels - 17 or 19's

[gobiman]

Good choice in my opinion. I was in Germany three weeks ago with a friend who had a Volvo XC90 with M&S tyres. We did a bit of experimenting down a snow-covered road and the conclusion was that they are quite a bit grippier than summer rubber (and "legal" for the winter in Bavaria) although not up to proper winter tyres.
I'm just back from a quick trip to Scotland where I had everything - fast clear motorway, ice, heavy rain, slush, fog and finally a blizzard with settling snow. Continue to be very impressed with the Vredestein Wintracs which I would certainly recommend.
Now you have the rims, you should get winter tyres in the summer (when they'll be back in stock!). Although you will tie up £400 or so in rubber, there will be no incremental cost (other than fitting) as you won't be wearing both sets at the same time.

[AW8]

paulbryson75,

A decent looking set as far as E53 17's options go. If shod with MXV4's I have read they can cope o.k. with a few inches of snow.

I agreed a purchase on a near identical set last month but when arranging collection same day the seller told me she'd accepted a better offer.

If I can't get a used winter set for sensible money I will simply go without & hope for the best in snow & ice.

[CondorX5]

I'm sure you'll find them come the spring/summer. AW8. I also managed to buy a single alloy to match the other 18"s so I have a spare in case of a puncture and will get a matching Vredestein when the dealers eventually get new stock at normal prices. You can collect up a set by buying singles if needs be, even if they have a tyre fitted already - I sold the tyres that were on the 18s I bought for nearly £200. Patience and persistence......

[pvr]

[quote=""CondorX5""] Patience and persistence...... [/quote]

That rules AW8 out then ...

[AW8]

I will do my best not to react to that attempt to provoke a reaction .....despite having been proactive for around 3 months

[pvr]

You just did

Have I ever mentioned how satisfied I am with my winter tyres?

[gobiman]

Just a thought but worth trying German ebay (.de) typing "winterreiffen BMW X5 e53". Link below

http://shop.ebay.de/i.html?_nkw=Winterr ... m270.l1311

Noticed a set of 99 style for 4.8iS with tyres for Eur 799 which isn't too bad -

http://cgi.ebay.de/18-Zoll-Winterrader- ... 230ce7b3c8

I'd avoid private punters unless you speak good German but plenty of dealers on there who will speak English(ish) when called and be happy to ship.
Germany is more used to snow so prices are not crazy.

[AW8]

Sincere thanks gobiman .. Amazing how much more choice there is. I prior disregarded ebay.de due to language barrier, courier & transaction hassles.


Stubbornly reluctant to pay top prices knowing the deals others have had.Other financial priorities too, (dire rental means we've used £330 worth of heating oil in 2.5 weeks!).

[quote=""pvr""]Have I ever mentioned how satisfied I am with my winter tyres? [/quote]

Erm.............I seem to vaguely recall you muttering something along these lines in recent weeks


Anyway............Apologies to OP. No intention to thread jack & thanks for sharing pics of decent loooking 17's on your car

[gobiman]

Good luck!
Unfortunately I think finding 4 17 rims for £100 or so is an exercise in patience for the summer months ahead although quite achievable!
Personally I would always prefer to buy my own winter tyres new given criticality of the component (which is £350-400) but,again, this is a summer activity given the stock issues here in UK.
The German option does at least give an option to buy rims and reasonable used tyres now for around £600 which is more expensive but not ridiculously so.
I was lucky to find 2 99 style for my 4.8iS on ebay here for £80 and then spent two months looking for another 2. Had to go to Germany in the end (got bored!)for just under £200 for another 2 including shipping.
You will, of course, spend months finding bargain rims, get a great deal on winter tyres and then next winter will be sub-tropical....although someone did say that last year on the old forum!

[AW8]

I agree with your realism in terms of likely outlay although frustratingly I have come very close to sourcing sets for more reasonable money. I am not adverse to h part worns,( especially in light of currently hiked new winter rubber costs). Nearly every used car in the uk comes with part worns but few bin the old tyres when they source a used car. The important thing with part worns is to be very selective on integrity of rubber & seller when buying same.

£600 not a huge amount, however, knowing what the New Year provisionally has in store for me such an outllay at this time would not be wise........I could easliy justify selling up to hep fund my plans for 2011. In meantime I jhope to keep a proactive eye in hope of outside chance of securing a good deal.

[Nat]

Hi,

Well at last a picture.

Heres the 4.8 iS with its winter socks..............................


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[AW8]

Looking very smart there

[pvr]

Hmm, yes. Very nice.

That colour has really started to grow on me over the last few years.

[Sanj]

[quote=""pvr""]That colour has really started to grow on me over the last few years.[/quote]

[Dan1502]

[quote=""gobiman""]Just a thought but worth trying German ebay (.de) typing "winterreiffen BMW X5 e53". Link below

http://shop.ebay.de/i.html?_nkw=Winterr ... m270.l1311

Noticed a set of 99 style for 4.8iS with tyres for Eur 799 which isn't too bad -

http://cgi.ebay.de/18-Zoll-Winterrader- ... 230ce7b3c8

I'd avoid private punters unless you speak good German but plenty of dealers on there who will speak English(ish) when called and be happy to ship.
Germany is more used to snow so prices are not crazy.[/quote]

Have you any idea how much wheels would cost to ship from Germany? My wife is German so communicating with sellers would be no problem but I had thought the shipping costs would probably outweigh the savings.