235/60/17 tires on x3

my 2005 x3 requires 235/55/17 tires, can I install 235/60/17 tires instead? can anybody give me any advised, thanks

Go over to the tirerack thread here on best of bimmerfest. Gary the host is very quick to respond and has always had great info. They deal with this stuff everyday and are happy to share their views.

yes you can BUT if you are driving 100Km/H, in fact you are driving 96.71Km/H

Originally Posted by klieu

yes you can BUT if you are driving 100Km/H, in fact you are driving 96.71Km/H

+1

As your X3 speedometer is maybe as much as 8% too optimistic to start wth (a BMW feature),
the slightly taller tires will bring it closer to industry-standard accuracy (3% fast?).

Handling will likely be not as crisp, but the ride should be softened a bit (but maybe not enough to be noticeable).

Also not noticeable will be marginally slower acceleration, but slightly higher top speed.

May get longer tire life, and lower initial purchase price too.

It's a sensible plan - let us know how it goes.

Thank you, what you said makes a lot of sense and it help me, I am installing 235/60/17 and I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully I won't loose much of the handling.

Will anybody know if 235/60/17 tires will rub against the suspension on a x3, these tires are approximate 1"+ bigger in diameter and I wounder if it ok to install them on my x3.

Originally Posted by caribeal

Will anybody know if 235/60/17 tires will rub against the suspension on a x3, these tires are approximate 1"+ bigger in diameter and I wounder if it ok to install them on my x3.

I don't know.... but, that is a pretty big difference in size... 8% taller..

I wouldn't do it...

My mechanic looked into it and said there is no issue with rubbing. Anything over 60 would be a problem though. Hope that helps.

I just ordered a set of Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow tires in the P235/60R17 size based on the "it's okay" responses on this forum. I hope it has no issues.......did prompt a call from Tire Rack asking "are you sure?".

Ive been using 235/60 r17 and its the best thing I've ever done to increase ride comfort. No complaints at all. I also use even taller and narrower tires for the winter. 225/65 r17. No rubbing on that setup either. I highly recommend either size. They are less expensive as well.

I ordered 235/55R17s from Costco yesterday. I called them back after reading this and asked about the 60s since the 55s are back ordered and the guy said Costco would not recommend it.

Quote: 'From one BMW guy to another, I would not do it".

Originally Posted by mlukas161

Ive been using 235/60 r17 and its the best thing I've ever done to increase ride comfort. No complaints at all. I also use even taller and narrower tires for the winter. 225/65 r17. No rubbing on that setup either. I highly recommend either size. They are less expensive as well.

Costco has a policy to only install as per original manufacturer spec, no exceptions. We have the 60 series, and they work fine. Nice improvement over the 55's. Take it from someone who has 40K+ on them - no issues.

I feel like the X3 should have come with the 235/60 r17 size right from BMW. They ride better, the speedometer is more accurate, and they do a better job filling out the wheel well. Never going back to the 55 size.

Well, some of us prefer the firmer sidewalls and crisper turn-in and midcorner response. Normally I run on the P235/50R18 size for my summer set and I think they ride just fine but I know the roads in the Northeast tend to be subpar.

I would go with the normal P235/55R17 for winter but there isn't anything I wanted on Tire Rack that was within budget. I generally stick with Conti or Pirelli tires and they must meet the "Drive-by sound" requirements of the European Union (so I won't buy anything that isn't sold in other countries as well).

Mounted the tires on today and they seem okay, although I haven't driven it yet. I am slightly concerned about the additional unsprung weight, it didn't occur to me until I took off the 18" summers I have and picked up the surprisingly heavier winter tires. I hope the 2,5 litre engine copes with it okay, I already put quite a bit of strain on it when climbing mountain gradients and zipping along at speed.

I've got all terrain / light truck tires on my wife's '04 3.0i 6spd in 235/60/17 size.

Works great, road manners are not noticeably different (it's an SUV after all), and the extra ground clearance makes me feel a *little* safer playing in the sand at the beach. As I've said in other posts, I'd love to take the ground clearance up a little further, but I think after 235/60/17 you will have to be very, very careful for contact to hard suspension parts - though the wheel wells have quite a bit of room. A spacer might allow for a taller but not much wider wheel / tire combo.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...160&highlight=

I wonder if a more narrow tire would allow for a softer ride, like a 225/60/17. Anyone have experience with a more narrow combination?

Originally Posted by mariodr

I wonder if a more narrow tire would allow for a softer ride, like a 225/60/17. Anyone have experience with a more narrow combination?

I'm using a 225/65/17 for my winter wheel setup. Taller and more narrow and still no rubbing whatsoever. I may use this size next time I buy summer tires. They are also less expensive.

The current winter setup I tried with the taller sidewall doesn't seem to help the ride at all, it might even make things slightly worse than my summer set up, although this could be my imagination or the tire compound. It does make my speedometer read 3km/h slow though (versus what a GPS approximates), so I have to keep this in mind at all times.

Still, beats not having winter tires at all.