Winter tyres

[Cupar2]

I have recently bought a 2013 X3 20d M Sport Automatic, and I am mightily impressed... quite a car!

However, I live in the Scottish Highlands, and am a little anxious about my tyres for the coming winter. My car has 19 inch wheels, and is currently on Goodyear Excellence, with 4/5mm of tread.

My question is this: If I buy a set of 17in or 18in BMW X3 wheels, and fit them with winter tyres, will I be OK to pop these onto my X3 for the winter, and then go back to my staggered 19in wheels/tyres in the spring?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[X5Sport]

Almost certainly yes 

The standard BMW wheels for winter are usually non-staggered.  You are still well advised to get ‘*’ marked tyres for winter in order to protect the transmission.

If you have a look at Realoem on line and use the last 7 characters of your VIN in ‘serial number’ it will pull up your model and there are winter wheel sets showing.  That will tell you what the sizes of wheels and tyres used, and therefore what to go a huntin for 

For my X6 I have a 19” winter set with Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow, and a 20” summer set with Bridgestone Duellers.  My ‘off car’ set are stored by BMW as I bought the winter through them and they have the space to store them.  I change over when the temperature falls below 7°C all the time and likewise back in the Spring once frosts stop.

[Cupar2]

Thanks for your helpful reply.

That Realoem website is amazing!