XSeries-forum

Hi all, I've got an 05 E53 3.0 d sport. It's got fairly new marshals on the back and pretty worn bridgestones on the front. I've googled and come up with all different answers on whether to just put new fronts or to change all 4, also if I should only put star marked on. All a bit confusing. So looking for some advice from people on what they have fitted and if they've had any problems. They are 19 inch staggered. Many thanks.

ideally you want all 4 tyres to have a similar rolling circumference to avoid putting the diffs under undue strain.
so a pair of new or part worn fronts should be ok, depending on how much tread is actually on the rears.
i dont think star marked tyres are necessary, again, as long as the tyres all have similar tread.

Only issues I have had is from switching cambered rears to the front. Caused tram lining. I'm running 315s on all corners.


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Thanks for the replies. I was going to stick a pair of marshals on the front but was reading horror stories of gearbox failures without star marked tyres

I'd strongly suggest to go with manufacturer's recommendation and try to stick with it... both tyre size and type. I appreciate that tyres came long way since X53 came to market so feel free to experiment what suits your needs vs. preference but I wouldn't compromise on the size.

In >120,000 miles, more than half of which have been on 19" tyres, I've not had much problem with up to 4 mm of difference front to back. Not tried anything greater than this in difference.
As an observation, my tyres tend to wear by no more than 7mm before replacement is needed. If the difference is 3.5mm between axles, that's still only ~0.9% delta on circumference. I'm sure the Xdrive transfer box can stand that sort of tolerance, if it's a later X5.
A far bigger deal from my view is keeping the suspension, and especially the rear camber, under control. You are better off spending £50 or so every few years to protect an £800 set of boots.