Winter set up

[CR55]

Hi,
Looking for a winter set of wheels/tyres for my e70 msport,

The std 19" m sport wheels are front 9" wide and 37 offset, the tears are 10" wide and 20 offset.

I have 20" upgrade wheels, front 10" wide and 40 offset, the tears are 11" wide and 35 offset.

I am looking at 20" winters, front 10" wide and 45 offset, the tears are 11" wide and 40 offset,

Question is giving the off set variance between 19" std msport wheels and the upgrade 20" m sport wheel, will the further off set increase of the winter wheels work ?

On the "polar" opposite end of the spectrum will std 18" e70 X5 wheels fit, front and reseat 8.5" wide and 46 offset.

I am guessing the 18" would be the best bet for winter traction but I am completely confused with what will and what won't fit,,,

What are other UK e70 drivers using / fitting ?

Any help greatly appreciated,,

Cheers,,

[pvr]

I bought a set of 18" X5 E70 SE wheels  (non staggered) for my winters and put vredestein tyres on them.

My standard 19" M sport wheels are for the summer.

[CR55]

Thanks for the reply,
Have you had a winter out of them yet or will this winter be your first ?
Is your e70 an msport ?
I know the wheels you have bought and thus is the 2nd option I referred to in my original post, seems a better solution all round given cost of wheels and cheaper winter rubber,,

Cheers,

[pvr]

Yes, my sig gives it away

My car is from Mid March this year, so the winter setup has not been used yet.

Rubber is cheap at £90 or so a corner.

[CR55]

Just realized the sig "link" - thanks,

What size of tyres, 255/50 ?

Cheers

[squeaky2]

Im using the 18" se wheels with the vreidstein's.  Think the tyres are 255's.    The do look a little lost on the rear of the msport but at least it keeps the plastics a bit cleaner 

[X5Sport]

They look like Fiat 500 wheels compared the the normal set.....

[MJim]

I went for the wheels recommended by BMW for the X5, the cross spoke style 177 18in with Continental Winter Contacts.  I thought about 19s from a visual perspective but went for the 18s as they're better in the snow / ice.  It's personal taste but I like how they look, and driving on snow / ice they were brilliant.  I bought them from the German eBay site (winter wheels are a legal requirement so much more choice), near good as new but less than half price vs new.

[X5Sport]

Did you have a roof box fitted at the time - or is that another roof covered in snow that looks like it's your car?

I take it that was a 'stay at home' day for the car.....

[MJim]

Yes that's a roof box.  That was actually how the car looked most mornings, and just got the engine running and left it on for 10 mins to clear the windows and drove off just fine through the snow.  The mountain roads up to the resort (Swiss Alps) were compacted snow and ice and the car also handled them brilliantly.  Got stuck in v deep snow in a car park just the once but got out with a bit of a push (wish I'd known at the time that the button with the skidding logo would probably have done the trick!).  I was glad i'd gone with 18s rather than your favoured 22s  .  I'm told that if you expect seriously wintery conditions then 18s are important, but for UK winters then you can probably get away with larger wheels.  Yes the rears do get slightly lost inside the arch but for those in the know it just says 'I've got winters on'.

[MJim]

@CR55 - have you seen the winter tyre discussion per the sticky at the top of the General Discussion forum started by CondorX5?

[CR55]

Had not noticed the sticky, thanks for pointing out,
Very informative,

[davyk31]

I'm running the 19" SE alloys on my MSport which normally runs 20". Have Vredestein tyres, 255x50x19 front and 285x45x19 rear. They do look a little inboard on the rear but keeping to 19s looks decent, 18s on an E70 are just tiny.

[Don Coffey]

[quote="MJim"]
I went for the wheels recommended by BMW for the X5, the cross spoke style 177 18in with Continental Winter Contacts.  I thought about 19s from a visual perspective but went for the 18s as they're better in the snow / ice.  It's personal taste but I like how they look, and driving on snow / ice they were brilliant.  I bought them from the German eBay site (winter wheels are a legal requirement so much more choice), near good as new but less than half price vs new.

[/quote]Interesting idea to use German EBay.  If you don't mind divulging, what did you pay and how did you get the wheels across?

Don

[MJim]

Ended up costing c£1,000 for good as new 18in style 177 wheels with continental winters c7mm tread (BMW recommended combination for X5, new price was c£2k last year).  They were couriered over for around £50 From memory. No problem at all. They put thick card over the wheel centres and packed them in bags - they're obviously v sturdy.  Just look for well rated sellers that are prepared to export to the UK - there's lots there.