X5M - Winter advice

[alistair]

All,

I just had a moment of crazy and swapped my X6 50i and 335is convertible for an X5M - *awesome* car.

I was hoping to put the 19" winter rims I had for my X6 onto the X5M, knowing that the hub sizes were the same. HOWEVER, the offsets are different.

I plan on taking the X5 up into the mountains to ski, so need something that won't be a sled, with the boarders laughing at me for getting an "M" stuck in the snow.

Unsure what the best options are:

1. Replace the sport rubber on the 20" M rims with all-season tires
2. Buy a new set of winter rims

I'm obviously not driving on snow on the summer tires - that's madness

Has anyone had experience of driving on snow with the staggered setup using all seasons?

-Alistair

[Poleposition]

Personally, if I know the car will be used on snow, I would get a dedicated snow tire. Anything less would be inferior and not as safe. Even an all-season tire. Check out the tires in my winter thread. Highly recommend.

[Phipsibear42]

Go with a Square set-up with another set of rims, all being the same size. Don't run staggered in the winter, you will have no handling in the snow. Also, use a snow / winter tire not all-season (Blizzak or Pirreli).

[retusn]

Picked up my X5M last week. I bought a set of tires and stock rims in Stock sizes with Pirelli Snow and Ice tires. I plan to swap them out in the next week or so once the weather cools down and shows signs of winter being here. We have been in the 60's all week and possibly into next week.

[RaTeD ///M]

Like everyone is saying get a squared sizes and a spare set of rims for winter and summer. I have the stocker X5M rims with squared blizzaks and x6m rims with the bridgestone duller stock tires for summer.

As far as snow we only had 2 snow falls since going into winter and it wasn't very much so I didn't really get to fully test it out but I did noticed I had a lot of grip and wasn't able to get it sideways unless I really gas the shit out of it! Right now its negative 10 and the roads are completely dry as were in a snow drought.

[mrmomo313]

Originally Posted by retusn

Picked up my X5M last week. I bought a set of tires and stock rims in Stock sizes with Pirelli Snow and Ice tires.

this is the second winter I'm running the pirelli scorpion ice and snow 315/35 and 275/45. I mounted them on some x6m reps and theyve handled michigan blizzards with ease, only down side about running a squared setup with 275's all around it wont look as good if you care about that

[alistair]

Thanks for the advice all!

I sucked it up and ordered the M winter rims, TPMS sensors, and the new Pirelli Scorpion Winter Runflats. Not tried the RFT version before, but had the "regular" ones on an '03 X5 and they were amazing in the snow and ice.

Just hope I don't run into snow this weekend, before the new shoes arrive!

[RaTeD ///M]

Originally Posted by mrmomo313

this is the second winter I'm running the pirelli scorpion ice and snow 315/35 and 275/45. I mounted them on some x6m reps and theyve handled michigan blizzards with ease, only down side about running a squared setup with 275's all around it wont look as good if you care about that

Actually, mine look kind of kool as it has the stretched tire look and makes the concave stick out more in the rear! lol

[kappaerachi]

I am using Bridgestone Blizzak DM v1 275/40/r20 all around for winter. No issues. Great winter tire. 275 would be better than 315 on the back IMHO.

[Rakus]

I'm gonna throw on some Conti DWS all season tires and I don't see too many situations where my wife or I will be driving it in thick snow fall. For daily rain and cold weather I think the Conti will do fine. BTW I'm just swapping the tires on the same stock wheels. Most likely just put the summers on once weather improves

[3Bims]

Unless you are driving in deep snow, tires are more important than xdrive. So, while no one answered your actual question, everyone is in agreement to go with dedicated winter tires. I have the BMW setup (rfts). The car does great in the snow. For extra insurance, I also have the donut spare.

[ndabunka]

Originally Posted by Rakus

I'm gonna throw on some Conti DWS all season tires and I don't see too many situations where my wife or I will be driving it in thick snow fall. For daily rain and cold weather I think the Conti will do fine. BTW I'm just swapping the tires on the same stock wheels. Most likely just put the summers on once weather improves

Good choice and mine as well. It appears that many are getting EXCEPTIONAL performance out of the all season DWS's in as much as 5-6 inches of snow. For those of us who NEED an all season, it's probably the best single option out there as it's performance was the only all season option that was even close to winter tires. For those who have snow on the ground for months out of the year, you probably would want to go with a dedicated snow tire but if you are like me or any of the other population that has snow on the road less than 20% of the time, the all season DWS's are a great option for driving around on dry roads 90% of the time and will also get you up and down the hill for those ski trips and jogs through the woods to grandma's house

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by alistair

Unsure what the best options are:

1. Replace the sport rubber on the 20" M rims with all-season tires2. Buy a new set of winter rims

I'm obviously not driving on snow on the summer tires - that's madness

Has anyone had experience of driving on snow with the staggered setup using all seasons?

-Alistair

Option 1. Go with Contis DWS non-RunFlat. You will not look back.

[kungpao]

Out of sheer curiosity, what was the difference in the offsets? I'm assuming the M's have a wider stance than the rims you had for the X6? Would spacers have been an option to push the rims out?

-kp!

[RaTeD ///M]

So we finally had our snow dump of the year probably a little over 10 inches when its all said and done. With this staggered setup it handles really well in the deep snow and especially in black ice situation using these blizzaks.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by kungpao

Out of sheer curiosity, what was the difference in the offsets? I'm assuming the M's have a wider stance than the rims you had for the X6? Would spacers have been an option to push the rims out?

-kp!

The X6 and the X5M/X6M all have the same offsets.

[alistair]

Not the same offset sadly. The (OEM) winter rims for my 50i X6 had an 11mm different offset on the front wheels on the X5M.

As a result, the wheels rubbed on the brake discs.

The hub sizes are the same between the X5M, and all X6 variants. The X5 uses a the same hub size front and back, whereas the X6 and X5M use a different hub size at the front vs the rear.