Improving Ride Comfort : Changing 20" Rims for 18 or 19"

[pixelmad]

Hi Folks,

I have my 07 E70 for a year now and am struggling with the ride quality. It came with Sport's Suspension, 20" Wheels and RF tyres so everything was stacked against me. I am a Landscape Photographer and so spend about half my time on back roads, gravel roads or no roads at all; and I feel everything…. jarringly. My regular photography partner spends half the trip feeling sick. This is my 5th BMW but first 4x4 from them and I’ve never experienced a ride as harsh as this.

I’ve read from lots of places that changing wheel size and swapping RF for NRF tyres is the cheapest options to improve ride comfort. My plan therefore is to pick up a set of used 18 or 19” E70 Rims and buy a new set of NRF tyres.

I would really appreciate any and all input from the experts on this forum. Should I go down just one size to 19, or is 18 ok? Anything else I need to consider, liker spacers(?), etc? What are the best tyres for comfort and low road noise?

Thanks in advise.

Regards
John

[sid10]

Hi John
          Which model do you have ?
Does it have the wide arch kit on ? ( M sport )
If it does 18" are going to look quite daft on the car , using spacers to correct this can lead to a void insurance so best check with them first !
It is always recommended by BMW to use star rated tyres as the none rated ones can often be a completely different size to the star rated ones which can lead to problems with diffs & gearbox failures .
The M sport & Se used different offsets , & had specific wheels for each model so best checking that out also !
If you pm me I can send you some more information .
  regards
  Sid10

[pixelmad]

[quote="sid10"]
          Which model do you have ?
Does it have the wide arch kit on ? ( M sport )
[/quote]

Thanks for the prompt response Sid10. How can I tell? Perhap in the VIN code details?

Any of this relevant?
S220 Self-levelling suspension
S226 Sports suspension settings
S2LE BMW LA wheel Y-spoke 214
P330 Sports package

[sid10]

Hi m sport has body coloured wheel extended arches , se has black plastic wheel arches , if the rears stick out a bit it is a m sport .
  Looks like you have a m sport with style 214 wheels .
Steer clear of se wheels their offset is front et48 rears et53 , yours should be et48 fronts and et21 rears for 19" , square set up is et48 all round , keep away from X6 wheels also as they have different hub sizes front to back 74.1 front 72.6 rears . ( so won't fit on the hubs ) X5 E70 is 74.1 all round .
E53 X5 wheels won't fit either they are front and back 72.6 .
      Regards
          Sid10

[pixelmad]

Wow, this is more complicated than I imagined. My car has black moulding around the arches, front and back... if that helps. Is their anyway to definitvey check what I have?

[sid10]

Picture may help ?

[Glen]

Hi

Put your reg in here

https://cazana.com/uk/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAwrbEBRDqxqzMsrTGmogBEiQAeSE6ZVvFePpIHvfpGD-2VYX3B7V7v2REZy6o1mXhyHRSGUMaAnt_8P8HAQ

[Graeme]

Hello Pixelmad,

Mine is a 2007 car too.  It also has black mouldings around the wheel arches - I believe, though will stand corrected, that all the cars made then had this trim.  Painted ones the same colour as the car came later.

In 2002 I recall test driving an E53 with sports suspension and found it very hard. It thumped when it went over a matchstick!!  I was advised to find one with the sports suspension deleted from the spec.

My E70 has the sports package but the ordinary suspension though with the uprated rear because it's a 7 seater.  It came with 20" wheels but the dealer changed them for 19" to give that little extra compliance in the ride. They're different front and rear - 255x50 on the front and 285 x 45 on the rear. I've used three different makes of runflats - Continental, Bridgestone and Goodyear and all are hard by their very nature. I also use Vredestein winter tyres that are non runflat and they are more compliant - though as I don't have room for a spare tyre I carry a couple of cans of Tyreweld and a pump! It is vital to fit a whole set at once to protect the transfer box and differentials.

I think that as you have the sport suspension it will jar on poor roads.  I too am a landscape photographer and find my car even with its ordinary suspension thumps and bangs on tracks and unmade roads! I hired a Juke on four visits to Ireland and it too thumped uncomfortably on the narrow roads and tracks of Cork and Kerry!!  One thing though - comfort is more important than looks!

Hope this helps,

Graeme

[pixelmad]

[quote="Glen"]
Hi

Put your reg in here

https://cazana.com/uk/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAwrbEBRDqxqzMsrTGmogBEiQAeSE6ZVvFePpIHvfpGD-2VYX3B7V7v2REZy6o1mXhyHRSGUMaAnt_8P8HAQ
[/quote]

I'm in Ireland so that did not work. However I used an Irish version and this is what I got back.

2007 BMW X5 3.0D SE FF42 5DR A

[pixelmad]

[quote="Graeme"]
One thing though - comfort is more important than looks!

Graeme
[/quote]

That's great background, thank you. And yes, I agree with the above 

[pixelmad]

From what I can find on the web these are the specifications for the 19" Rims and tyres I  need.

9Jx19 ET48 / 255/50R19
10Jx19 ET53 / 285/45R19

Can anyone confirm this please?

Cheers
John

[Alan Gunn]

[quote="pixelmad"]
From what I can find on the web these are the specifications for the 19" Rims and tyres I  need.

9Jx19 ET48 / 255/50R19
10Jx19 ET53 / 285/45R19

Can anyone confirm this please?

Cheers
John
[/quote]
That is the same as i have on my car.

[pixelmad]

[quote="Alan Gunn"]
That is the same as i have on my car.
[/quote]

Great, thank you for confirming. Is your's also an SE?

[martin33100]

We have an SE and it was spected with the dynamic pack so sports suspension, 20's with the slightly wider  rear arches, also has running boards and sports seats but I don't know if they are also part of this pack.
Ride was harsh on RFT's, changed them over to Michelin Latitude Sport 3 non RFT's and the ride is now so much better.
Also got over 20k out of them, we have the normal 5 seater so I bought the BMW space saver and Jack kit that hoes in the lower boot.

[Glen]

Martin you got the bluefin yet ?(sorry wrong thread)