Considering buying my first X5, advice please...

Greydog · Post by **Greydog** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 12:55 pm

Hi
The first X5 a 4.4 2002 came with staggered 19" wheels you could get Genral Grabber UHP tyres back then which worked really well
then at the end of 2003 in a heavy storm a big tree came down and squashed the X5. I replaced it with another X5 a 4.6is great car after rebuilding the engine due to chain guide failure I still have it. It came with 20" staggered wheels I added a set of 18" wheels and winter tyres for the trips abroad and shooting season I couldn't get Grabber UHP's not available anymore so brought Vredstien Wintrac extreme, great tyres. The 4.6is is now a high day and holiday car as I replaced it as an everyday car with an E70 3.0 sd 2009 vintage which also came with 20" staggered wheels and again I added a winter set 19" this time but again fitted Wintrac Extreme tyres no issues with Transmission or Diffs (so far)

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:06 pm

Wintrac Extreme - They look decent, ideal for me too i think just going by tread pattern.

I had no idea you could mess around this much, got the feeling nobody did it as it breaks stuff!

Seems maybe I should avoid the M Sport if i am going to end up changing wheels, maybe just go for the standard model.

Trouble is this is a real beauty and I am sorely tempted! - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405638366665 (still available)
More sporty than I really want and certainly more than I need, but it's a nice price and with timing chain done and if service history is good, it seems hard to pass up

Greydog · Post by **Greydog** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 5:36 pm

Plenty of wheels for sale on the Auction sites brought the 19" set (square not staggered) from Ebay when I got the E70 went and collected so could check for any cracks welds or obvious buckles £300 then brought the tyres

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 6:55 pm

Sorry for dumb question but can you please explain what you mean by 'square not staggered'.

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 7:32 pm

It means the front and rear wheels are a different width so have different tyres. You might have 285/40/20 on the front and 315/35/20 on the rear. The wheel rims might be 10” x 20” front and 11.5” x 20” rear, hence needing wider tyres on the rear.

A square set up has the same width front and rear, so uses the same tyre size.

It is the staggered sets that are normally fitted. Because the rolling diameter of the tyre is affected by the profile, BMW tyres are ‘matched’ to be the same front and rear. Many manufacturers are close enough, but some can be out. An example was several years back, someone on here measured the circumference of a staggered set fitted with non-BMW tyres and found a 31mm difference. That difference is for every revolution and as you will now doubt quickly spot, that will wind the transmission up. This ‘wind-up’ is what causes excess stresses and eventually something breaks. It’s not just related to BMWs, but occurs on a number of other high performance marques all-wheel drive transmissions..

The transmissions are designed to be used with specific tyres only and using other tyres may cause expensive damage. It’s down to tight tolerances. Something like a Disco, Land Cruiser etc have wider tolerances and/or may use square setups.

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 7:52 pm

Excellent thanks. that leaves me with 2 questions:

1. Is it 'ok' to swap staggered 20 inch wheels for a square set of 18 or 19" ?

2. Are there any 'approved' All Terrain type tyres, or failing that, Mud/Snow type that are a bit better than pure 'track' tyres?

Leslie · Post by **Leslie** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:13 pm

18's wont clear the brakes on an e70 ,minimum 19's
You will find no matter it's se or Msport most e70's for sale come on 20's , you can get winters for these no problem other than cost , I run a cheap set of full winters /mud and snow ( Rotalla ice plus ) on mine and have run them throughout the year and they have been great and lasted well too, I think the fronts had 23k last time I checked with a good 5mm left , I make the odd trip a good 50m into a grassy field to hitch a big trailer and they are fine but clearly not Bmw approved or runflat but I can get 4 for not much more than the cost of 1 approved tyre so I can't complain and you need to make your own choice if its worth paying the extra on a relatively cheap car . I see loads of e70's locally and virtually none or running proper approved tyres now.

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:17 pm

1. Yes.

2. No. It’s a BMW, gravel drives are as ‘off-road’ as you should be going

There are approved wiNuer tyres available. I used Pirelli Ice & Snow tyres for the first few years. Unfortunately I have a ‘staggered’ 19” set and because BMW no longer use one of the sizes, it’s unavailable. To be honest I’ve only really needed winter rubber once. I’m still being careful as my X6 remains covered under an extended BMW warranty, so I have to use Approved.

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Sun Mar 23, 2025 9:42 pm

hahaha. thanks. Gravel drive my a55! Wait til I get one, I'll send you a pic of it on the sand dunes

(joke!)

I am sure I've seen some older E53 X5s doing a fair bit of off road stuff, way more than I ever would. I am not sure yet, I did drive an E53 the other day and have to say I LOVED it. That older style mechanical gear stick felt gorgeous, so solid, especailly when shifting it across and up/down for manual changes. It was a 2006 3.0D standard model, just fell in love!!

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Mon Mar 24, 2025 6:01 pm

I really liked my E53 as well. It had a number of annoying issues from new, but once sorted was a good car. It only got sold as my wife wanted something smaller (I had the X6 by then) and got swapped for a Mini Countryman All4. Bad decision as we never got in with the Mini. Noisy, uncomfortable seats, bad mpg, auto stop/start failed and silly niggles. Kept it just on two years then gave it back.

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Tue Mar 25, 2025 1:15 am

Interesting thanks. Yes a friend of mine had one of those (Mini) and I found it much the same. Interesting and almost quite desirable in a weird way, until I had to take it for a long drive. Not impressed at all,felt like it was held together with chewing gum

What niggles did you have with your E53? How did you rate it overall versus the E70 (I thought you had one of those?)

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Tue Mar 25, 2025 5:43 pm

Niggles, well let’s say having a car built between Xmas and New Year might have been a warning sign!

Oil pressure switch failed twice within first month.
On board Siemens phone (yes it had one in 2005) kept the car awake and killed the battery more than once.
Starter motor - a known issue for 2004/2005 M57 engines - drew 800A instead of 180A. Battery didn’t like that much either.
Power steering hoses had to be changed in first year as they leaked - another particular batch incorrectly made.
Left rear door speaker fritzed out (warranty).
Fuel pump relay (£10) packed in. Engine would not start as a result. £270 to fault find it though.
Auto box destroyed itself at 33,000 miles - replaced under after market warranty. Known problem with that auto box across multiple brands.
Rear windscreen heater delaminated - replaced under warranty.
Two front windscreens. Both broke in the same place with no impact damage! £700 each as BMW insisted on OEM fitting to keep warranty.
GPS antenna failed - warranty.
Sunroof forward section had an issue. Warranty again.

Once all that was sorted it was a very good car.

Poppin · Post by **Poppin** » Sun Mar 30, 2025 10:07 pm

PMSL

Are you sure it wasn't a rebadged Rover?

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