x5 e53 fitting 20 y wheels info please soon as poss tramlining

[dan123ben]

hello there just joined this site i have 2006 x5 e53 with 19 inch star wheels. car drives great i was looking to fit 20 y wheels is this a bad idea? am reading a lot of people saying thay tramline with 20 inch wheels can some one telll me for a fact does this happen and does it ruin the ride of the car thanks for any help daniel

[Denis O]

As ours is a Le Mans special it came with 20's as standard and I've not noticed anymore tramlining than my older 2004 with 19's. I don't know if there's a different suspension set up for the 20's but someone on here will.

And anyway, welcome.

[dan123ben]

some one must know what year is your limited ? what make a size are tyres ?

[Sanj]

Hi Daniel - welcome to the forum.

I've done this, from 19s to 20s. These are always non-runflats so that helps. I noticed VERY little tramlining but let's be honest, they're f**kin' huge, what do you expect. Get the 20s have them 4-wheel laser aligned and you should be good. The geometry is everything on these.

Tyre sizes below:

Front 255/50/19
Rear 285/45/19

Front  275/40/20
Rear 315/35/20

Front alloy wheels: 20x9.5" ET45
Wheel part number: 36116766068

Rear alloy wheels: 20x10.5" ET45
Wheel part number: 36116766069

[rb0135]

I had 20"s and found that the 19"s tramline and the 20"s never did.

However, the 20"s for me on the back were just too wide for my liking, but they fitted 100% without modifications. My 20"s were OEM not after market.

[macca]

i dont have any tramlinning with my 20,s.

however there are two possibilities that come to my mind

1/ tread design, and are they new tyres or did they come off a vehicle with alignment problems giving an uneven wear pattern

2/ the only other time i experienced tramlining was in an X5 that had front suspension bush issues ( worn out)
that thing darted all over the place

[dan123ben]

i have 19 inch at the min and there good ride nice and dont tramline. so i few of you saying its ok i have been doing some reading on other fourms of people getting tramlining after fitting the 20 inch wheels maybe thay didnt get the tracking done after fitting the wheels, am just not sure what to do as there expensive

[Greydog]

OEM 20" wheels won't cause tramlining, tracking will as will odd tyres. Also if the 20" wheels you are considering are not OEM then make sure they have the correct Offset and wont require spigot rings. Wheels with the wrong Offset or bad fitment will not help your road holding one little bit.

[CondorX5]

My 4.8 has 20" wheels as standard and they def do not tramline.  My P38 RR tramlined incredibly badly, known fault with them, but the X5 certainly does not.  I also have 18" OEM winter wheels and they do not tramline either. With the RR it was all down to the tyre make and tread pattern - what tyres are on these 20" rims and are the rims OEM or aftermarket?

[dan123ben]

i drove a x5 e53 other day with 20ich wheels the ride was harsh am going to refurb my 19 inch wheels and keep them now its not worth making the car look better and having a rubish ride. side walls on my 19 inch wheels are  massive the 20 ich side wall is tiny anyhow thats what going to do now. better ride over looks anyday and save my self £1000 to  thanks for help any how

[CondorX5]

Different strokes really. I am no fan of huge rims with tyres with no sidewall, but that's not the case with the 20" tyres, there is still loads of sidewall on a 20" tyre albeit a bit less than the 19".  The ride quality is very dependent on the make of tyre as well as the size, I have found, and while the 20" gives a firmer ride than the 18" winter wheels, the 20" are definitely not "harsh" - must be something wrong with the X you tried or the tyre choice perhaps affected things adversely. 

I have been known not to bother to put my 20" wheels back on after the winter though, so am not one for aesthetics tyre wise

[dan123ben]

its was a limiled edition with 20ich wheesl i could feel the change of wheels size rite away the side was was smaller then my 19inch wheel i have come across this issue in the past i have had lots of car performance cars with big wheels and low profile tyre and when you get in a car with wheels with bigger side walls its so much nicer on your bottom lol am getting my 19 inch wheels refurbed now and that will do me the extra inch to me isnt worth the cost of the wheels plus putting new tyres on them to

[dan123ben]

your 18 inch wheels must give a great ride. when you see the x5 with 22 inch wheels thay look like some kind of clown car i new i guy who get a x5 it came with 22 ich wheels he said it was a joke to ride it so bumpy he ended up putting 18 inch on and said it changed the car 100%

[CondorX5]

Sometimes the wheel size and choice can become quite a heated argument, everyone seems to have strong opinions one way or another!  You are absolutely correct though, the smaller wheels give the best ride quality as the side walls are that much bigger so more rubber sidewall=more comfort.  Your X would feel even better on the 17" winter wheel size - if you lurk about on ebay you should be able to pick up a set of OEM 17" rims fairly inexpensively during the summer - these were standard on many X's a few years back and lots flooded onto the market as people upgraded to 19" wheels -the 17" wheels are the recommended size for the E53 winter wheels with the exception of the 4.8, which needs 18" wheels because of the calipers.

I would not have gone out and bought my 20"s given the choice, but the car came standard with them as its a 4.8is, they do look good but the 18" ride is a lot softer, hence why I tend to forget to change over, as my partner has back problems and much prefers the 18" wheels.  Personally, I think 22" wheels are silly as the ride quality on them is dreadful and they are def not to my taste, too chavvy and blingy and I prefer the OEM look

[dan123ben]

mine came with 19 ich star wheels there getting a refub on monday now there i plenty of side wall on them and the ride is good i have 2006 d sport so the suspention is stiffer any way so fitting the 20 ich wheels wasnt for me in the end the car is used every day so want it to ride nice i just sold my porsche boxster that had 18 ich wheels with low profile tyes and is was to bumpy for me