2008 BMW 535xi and M5 rims question
 

Hi all,

I own a 2008 BMW 535xi and I was wondering if I would have any issues getting these M5 style rims for my car:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300452980039&_trksid=p2759.l1259

My concern is that the car is all-wheel-drive and I'm not sure if having different widths in the front and rear tires would be an issue.

If these are OK, are 245/40/19 and 275/35/19 ok as far as tires?

Thanks you!

You can`t use staggered tires, and wheels on all wheel drive bmw`s. They only come on the rear wheel drive cars, with the sport package.

you CAN run a staggered setup on an 535xi. but those rims will not work as they have the wrong offsets. i think you need the offset to be 35mm-40mm. check out this thread of 5series.net:

http://forums.5series.net/topic/1014...1#entry1208760

Well, from a practical standpoint, you don't NEED staggered wheels with an xi, because the rear wheels are wider for the main purpose of gaining better traction for the rear wheel drive car, and with an xi, power is disbursed over all four tires.

The M5 wheels will not fit as the offsets are too low. Regarding xi wheels in general, BMW's upgraded sport 124 wheel is available in an xi-specific fitment with higher offsets. Check realoem.com for part #s; they differ from the rwd 124 wheel. While the xi's are awd, they are rwd-biased and there is no problem running a staggered setup. BMW's own upgraded tire/wheel package for the xi is staggered.

I agree you can run staggered wheels on a 535xi just not those. That same vendor sells the same set with 35 & 40 offsets. Both will fit.

I just purchased a set for my 535xi - 19x8.5 et35(245/35R19), 19x9.5 et40(275/30R19).

Ebay Auction Here

With these sizes of wheels you can use offsets from 35-40 and upto 45 on the rear. Just keep the back offsets equal to or greater than the front.

You may want to look at other tire sizes. Since the key to staggered wheels on an xi is to maintain an equal diamter of wheel + tire in the front and back. You want the gears to spin at the same rate or else over time they will wear down. And you're not going to like the price of repair.

My setup has a 1% difference in diameter between front and back. If you go with a 235/35R19 & 265/30R19 the difference is about 0.7%.

With an et35 you may want to use 235/35R19 & 265/30R19 to reduce the risk of rubbing during sharp turns or hard bumps but I'm happy with mine.

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm new to all this but glad to know that I can get staggered rims. I had also asked the seller on ebay the same question and he pretty much told me the same thing.

Ressan, just wondering, why did you preferred having that %1 difference? Looks and/or performance? And also, how's the ride with these bigger wheels? I'm pretty sure theres much more grip, but does the car feel any heavier/sluggish with these bigger wheels?

Thanks! :thumbup:

By the way, thanks for the link I like their price too! I'm assuming that you got your set with tires? How did you go about the TP sensors? I definitely want to keep that option on my car.

Thanks!

It's all about looks. The ride isn't as "luxurious" as with the stock tires, but that's because you have less rubber between you and the road. As far as heavier/sluggish I'm going to say little or no difference.

I purhased the same set but from a local vendor. The tires are a personal preferrence. Whether you go with run flats(Bridgestone) or not(Continental). I didn't go with run flats. I went with the Falken 452's on recommendation from a friend.

TPMS sensors are about $200 on ebay. If you have the system them definitely install them. You can ask the ebay vendor to install them for you and pay them extra.

Ok thanks. The vendor has Nexen R3000 275/30/19 & 245/35/19 for $835. I looked them up and they seem to be a descent brand. They also have the same set on Hankook for $965 which I found at tirerack for about $820sh. Apparently these are more summer tires. The Nexen have a really nice looking thread tho.

TPMS:
I just went to Autozone to get a windshield sunscreen and just for the heck of it I asked for TPMS sensors and they can order all four for around $86 (19.99 each). However, there were 3 kinds: 43mm - silver insert, 51mm - orange insert and 49mm - black insert. Do you know which one would be the right size for our cars? Is anybody here familiar with those from Autozone?

Thanks

Here is the ebay auction for the BMW sensors with the valve stems.
BMW TPMS
I'm not sure if the Autozone ones are the same. They may just be the sensors without the valve stems.

Try Bavarian X (714-672-0576) and ask for Brad. They have the Beru TPMS. Exact same piece from the dealership at $165/set vs $314. Very nice service. :thumbup:

Also, Miro & VMR wheels are the other reliable options for aftermarket wheels. They are hubcentric and have xi offsets.

Just an update on the tire situation. I got rid of my falcon 452's and replaced them with a set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tires. The difference is significant. They have better traction on dry and wet pavement. So much for listening to friends recommendations. I really like these Vredesteins.

Also, for tire size, if you put 235/35/19 on the front and 275/30/19 on the back the radius of the tire+wheel is identical.

Sorry to hear about the falcons man! I was just looking at the tire thread pic for those Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta and they look really nice. Did you get 235s in the front? I guess ultimately I would like to play it safe with the tires and all wheel drive but if most 535xi owners do 245s with no problems then that's what I'd like get.

I was already ordering my M5 wheels on the phone when the guy told me the ones I was looking at are gun metal and they also have silver and black, so I went back to trying to figure out which finish to get. I'm hooked on the silver finish! I think the car would still look elegant and sporty at the same time.

How do they look?
 

I also just got a 2008 535xi. How do the tires look? Do you have any pics? What kind did you get and from where? Did you get different sizes--or the same?

great info here!

Great thread! I'll have my 535i soon and may look to upgrade w/ OEM look!

I ordered 245/35/19 and 275/30/19 hankook v12 tires (discounttiredirect.com). As far as rims I'm also waiting for my set of M5 silver rims @ 19/8.5" front and 19/9.5" offset 40 and hub centric 72.6 eBay . I'll definitely post pics when my stuff arrives!

Finally got my 166 style rims put on!
 

And here are some pics! :D







[IMG][/IMG]







Some photoshop (to spice up blurry image form cheap camera) ;)


Thanks everybody for your tips on rims & tires specs! :thumbup:

So to wrap it up:

2008 BMW 535xi
166 style rims staggered @ 19/8.5F 19/9.5R 40 offset and 72.6 hub centric (both front and back)
Tires: Hankooks 245/35/19F & 275/30/19
TPMS from Tirerack.com
Stock Suspension
Perfect fit and no issues at all! :thumbup:

Ride Comfort: Huge difference form my stock 17" & 225 tires! The car feels a LOT MORE sportier than ever. There's more road noise but not bad at all with music at low volume. Steering is much more tight and the car seems to inspire more confidence during turns and straight driving!

Those rims look great on the car. Congratulations :). Now all you need is the shadow-line trim.

Hi There,

Vehicle looks awesome. I have a 07 530XI looking to do a similar setup. Quick question - are you in an area that gets snow, and if so, did you save the old rims and tires for winter driving? My stock tires are almost ready for replacement, trying to decide about just getting 4 snow tires for the winter and doing this getup for the spring and summer of 2011. I'm hesitant on 4 snow tires as I drive about 4000 miles a month and really only need snow tires a few days out of the year, but this will be my first year of driving without a Jeep so I also don't wanna be a fool.

Thanks,
I live in Denver but haven't driven the car on the snow yet. I'm keeping my stock rims and tires for winter although I don't plan on putting them on unless I really need to (I work from home and don't need to drive on the snow unless it's for fun). I think with our XIs, snow tires aren't really necessary. All season should do the trick. Last winter I had a 05 infiniti G35X (all wheel drive sedan) with all season stock rims/tires and had no problem at all on the snow. Personally I think all season tires is a good way too go for the spare second set of rims with an all wheel drive car. If the snow is too bad out there the car won't even have clearance any way. That way if you get a flat/dent on your new rims during summer you'll still have a usable all season set until you resolve the issue.

Nice! So what was the total damage for the wheels and TPMS?

The total damage was about $1650 + $99 for the install. :ouch:
Wheels $700 ebay oemwheelsplus.com
Tires $740 discounttiredirect.com
TPMS $213 tirerack.com (somebody posted above this other place that sells them for $164+sh but they were out of stock and I wouldn't be able to stand looking at my rims and tires seating in the garage) :tsk:
Balance/install $99 local discount tire shop.

Side note: When I purchased the tires from their website there was this link with a quote for $99 including TPMS install. When I went to their shop, after the manager had looked at my rims and tires he quoted me $149. I told him about their website price and he replied "$99 for 19s?" he checked and threre it was! LOL :rofl: That's $49 towards a gas tank full of fun!