XSeries-forum

hey folks

i would like to put a full set of rubber on my 2004 3.0d x5, looking on the asda tyre website they have some good deals on nankang tyres and bridgestone d-sport tyres

my car has 19" wheels

255/50/19 for fronts

285/45/19 for rears

any suggestions please or opinions on the 2 brands ive listed

Not use them

I run hankook ventus rh06 all round (different sizes obviously). The last quite a long time unlike the General Grabbers which were a tad nicer but not nearly the same mileage. It came with Yokohamas' which stuck like dried Weetabix but the tread disappeared like a school kid going mad with an eraser, I swear the dust behind was the tyre loosing millimeters per mile

With these cars do not go too far into the budget world.  These cars weigh 2-tonnes and you have to absolutely trust that patch of rubber at each corner not to put you into the first ditch!

Standard fit tyres were Michelin Diamaris, and I have used Bridgestone too with no grip/life issues.  Continental are OK, but expensive.  Dunlop are noisy and too short lived.

The E53 can be sensitive to tyres.....see the debate about only using '*' marked tyres as these are 100% compatible with the car.  The problem is the transmission system as either wide difference in tread depth, or the more 'off-road' type tread patterns can cause the system to wind up.  This leads to diff or transfer box failure.  It doesn't happen to everyone, nor with all non '*' tyres, but it has started to appear regularly on the forum.

Thanks for advice. So what are the correct tyres I should be using?

My front 255 50 19 diamaris lasted over 40k miles. Were great on snow and ice. They DID aquaplane on heavy standing water. But excellent value for money IMHO.

[quote="fenj66"]
My front 255 50 19 diamaris lasted over 40k miles. Were great on snow and ice. They DID aquaplane on heavy standing water. But excellent value for money IMHO.
[/quote]

Can you still get them?

Michelin Latitude Diamaris is the 'official' name it seems, and yes you can still get them. 

I think each set on mine lasted about 30k, and would have been better apart from having to drive round all the blasted roundabouts in MK - not good for tyre life!

Camskill Tyres had them in 20" last time I looked so may have 19s.

[quote="X5Sport"]
Michelin Latitude Diamaris is the 'official' name it seems, and yes you can still get them. 

I think each set on mine lasted about 30k, and would have been better apart from having to drive round all the blasted roundabouts in MK - not good for tyre life!
[/quote]

I've got them on my X5, came with a pretty much new set, and I've been very happy with them. So much so that I'll not be looking any further when the time comes to replace them.

Last time I looked about £150 a corner delivered from mytyres, obviously you'd have fitting on top of that unless you have a friendly tyre fitter.

When I looked a few weeks ago Asda tyres came up cheapest for Diamaris for my 20's at about £197 each for rears and £190 for fronts which seems pretty good to me, I'd expect your 19's to be less that that. That includes fitting at a local tyre shop of your choice from their list...
Chris

I have run 19"  Diamaris on mine for nearly 10 years. They last & hold together quite well albeit tyre performance has arguably moved on since these first appeared.

I have been happy enough with these all year round other than in significant snow & ice......in those conditions I understandably found them useless on any sort of gradient, ( I accept my snow & ice review differs from that shared by fenj66)....I have dedicated winter tyres on 17's just in case of having to drive in significant snow & ice.

If buying one sole set of new tyres I would seriously consider Hankook Ventus.

[quote="AW8"]
I have run 19"  Diamaris on mine for nearly 10 years. They last & hold together quite well albeit tyre performance has arguably moved on since these first appeared.

I have been happy enough with these all year round other than in significant snow & ice......in those conditions I understandably found them useless on any sort of gradient, ( I accept my snow & ice review differs from that shared by fenj66)....I have dedicated winter tyres on 17's just in case of having to drive in significant snow & ice.
[/quote]

I have found the Michelin Diamaris to be excellent all year round, they cost a few more £££s than the other but well worth it in my opinion. So much so my spare set of BMW winters are still as new and have not been used  O:-)

I'm running Toyo on mine all round. They are very good for the money and work well in most conditions.

Diamaris the only choice mate.Got near 50k on mine, worth paying that bit extra and personally they look the better tyre on the X5.

For my 3 penneth worth...
I fitted a matching set of REAR wheels all round... with 295 tyres... on standard 19" rims.

the road manners improved instantly & the front tyre outer edge scrub virtually ceased.

additiinally, I also fitted 35mm rear spacers & 15mm front spacers.
This brought the wheel track to identical measurements front & rear...

My X5 now drives like its on rails wet or dry, the cornering & straight line drive is now excellent... and feels VERY stable.
She has done over 155k miles & 25k with the spacers & mods... and the tyres are still 5mm tread after 25,000 miles on all 4 corners.

The tyres I have are Middle of the Range ROADSTONE's..... and drive beautifully & have great water dispersal too.