New-to-me 35d. Wheel/tire advice wanted

[Dazza335iC]

Hi all, I recently added an F15 35d to my stable. The E39 M5 was great when I was working from home and only driving 1-2 days/week, but life changes and something more practical was necessary (the M5 stays for weekend fun!). It's a 2017 35d with the M Sport package, Carbon Black, and very little else.

The car came with two sets of OEM Style 469 wheels, both in black. One set has the OEM Pirelli RFT summer tires, the other has OEM Pirelli RFT winter tires. On both sets I can really feel the unsprung weight of these large wheels and heavy tires. They thwack over sharp objects like expansion joints, and on uneven surfaces at speed I can notice the suspension struggling to dampen the wheel motions. I'm considering going with a set of Style 449 19" wheels and non-RFT tires to reduce unsprung weight, add some sidewall, and improve ride and NVH.

Has anyone done something similar and can share your experience/impressions? Thanks!

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by Dazza335iC

Hi all, I recently added an F15 35d to my stable. The E39 M5 was great when I was working from home and only driving 1-2 days/week, but life changes and something more practical was necessary (the M5 stays for weekend fun!). It's a 2017 35d with the M Sport package, Carbon Black, and very little else.

The car came with two sets of OEM Style 469 wheels, both in black. One set has the OEM Pirelli RFT summer tires, the other has OEM Pirelli RFT winter tires. On both sets I can really feel the unsprung weight of these large wheels and heavy tires. They thwack over sharp objects like expansion joints, and on uneven surfaces at speed I can notice the suspension struggling to dampen the wheel motions. I'm considering going with a set of Style 449 19" wheels and non-RFT tires to reduce unsprung weight, add some sidewall, and improve ride and NVH.

Has anyone done something similar and can share your experience/impressions? Thanks!

The 19's definitely ride smoother. Which is expected. I'm not sure the "feel" of the weight is improved very much. The N57 has grunt for sure, but it feels more refined than the M57 so doesn't generate the seat hug under hard accel the old diesels did.

Though, with the adaptive suspension, and in sport mode... the N57 feels just fine in ours. And the ZF 8 spd vs out old ZF 6 with the E70 brings a welcome boost in economy.

Sorry, not sure if that helped at all. But yes, smoothness and civility is much improved on the 19's. Acceleration... not sure you'd notice much difference.

Were you closer, I'd let you test the difference and possibly trade you our 449s for the 20s. I am running them on the E70 currently but prefer the look of the 20s. Our F15 is running 20s as well.

[KRS_SN]

Dunlop sp sports maxx gt. Wear rate is high but comfort is superb. I've gone through 4 sets at 80k miles.

[lht5059]

Having daily a base X5 35d and a X6 50i M-Sport (important here because suspension setups are different) with trying 18s, 19s, and 20s with both RFT and non-RFTs, I would just get rid of the RFT for some good all-season/summer but retain the 20s...

Yea the 19s feel a bit lighter since they aren't as wide as 20s, but then that 1" diameter and extra width make a difference when it comes to look and, IMHO, how planted the car feels at speed + through corners. Also, look-wise, I've always enjoyed the rear end of the X5 with wider wheels and tires... If you don't need to snow tires, maybe swap that set out for some good summer and keep the OEMs Pirelli handy in case you need to rely on its run-flat ability for long-distance drives.

[happydude]

Michelin pilot sport 4 a/s are my favorite. I’ve tried the Dunlap dueler and continental dws06 and will be sticking with the pilot sport 4 a/s.

Only used the stock 20” staggered wheels so can’t comment on wheels.

[///d]

Ditching the RFT and getting non-RFT will help with the noise and harsh ride quite a bit.

I have OEM 19" 467's with Blizzaks, and 20" TSW with Mich AS3+. My 19" setup is just as heavy, if not heavier than my 20" setup. I notice minimal difference in ride quality from my 19's to my 20's. Fuel economy does not change at all between sets.

I feel like 19's are just too small for the big body and wheel arches of the X5. Even 20's are on the small side IMO.

[Dazza335iC]

Originally Posted by lht5059

Having daily a base X5 35d and a X6 50i M-Sport (important here because suspension setups are different) with trying 18s, 19s, and 20s with both RFT and non-RFTs, I would just get rid of the RFT for some good all-season/summer but retain the 20s...

Yea the 19s feel a bit lighter since they aren't as wide as 20s, but then that 1" diameter and extra width make a difference when it comes to look and, IMHO, how planted the car feels at speed + through corners. Also, look-wise, I've always enjoyed the rear end of the X5 with wider wheels and tires... If you don't need to snow tires, maybe swap that set out for some good summer and keep the OEMs Pirelli handy in case you need to rely on its run-flat ability for long-distance drives.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've never run RFTs before (even on my 335d where they were OEM) so I was a bit unsure whether the additional NVH was from the narrow sidewalls or RFT construction. Sounds like just going to non-RFT might be a good option.

Originally Posted by happydude

Michelin pilot sport 4 a/s are my favorite. I’ve tried the Dunlap dueler and continental dws06+ and will be sticking with the pilot sport 4 a/s.

Only used the stock 20” staggered wheels so can’t comment on wheels.

I've used DWS06+ on my last three daily's (E39 M5, E90 335d, W211 E55 wagon) and really liked them in all conditions. But I haven't tried the 4 A/S. What do you like about them over the DWS?

Originally Posted by ///d

Ditching the RFT and getting non-RFT will help with the noise and harsh ride quite a bit.

I have OEM 19" 467's with Blizzaks, and 20" TSW with Mich AS3+. My 19" setup is just as heavy, if not heavier than my 20" setup. I notice minimal difference in ride quality from my 19's to my 20's. Fuel economy does not change at all between sets.

I feel like 19's are just too small for the big body and wheel arches of the X5. Even 20's are on the small side IMO.

Sounds like you've had a similar experience to lht5059 regarding 19 vs 20 inch. And I agree the 19s probably won't look as good. Thanks for your input.

[happydude]

Originally Posted by Dazza335iC

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've never run RFTs before (even on my 335d where they were OEM) so I was a bit unsure whether the additional NVH was from the narrow sidewalls or RFT construction. Sounds like just going to non-RFT might be a good option.



I've used DWS06+ on my last three daily's (E39 M5, E90 335d, W211 E55 wagon) and really liked them in all conditions. But I haven't tried the 4 A/S. What do you like about them over the DWS?

On the x5, my experience with the dws6 was a bit too soft and “bouncy” I think read that the sidewalls were not as stiff as the mps4 a/s. When I tried the mps4 a/s the “bouncy” feeling went away and just felt much smoother.

[Variante Alta]

Big thumbs up for the Continental DWS 06 Plus tires. My F15 35d M Sport came with runflat Pirellis which were noisy and wore out quickly. The DWS on the 469s (staggered) feel great, provide excellent handling, are quiet and have worn very evenly and lightly so far. They are quite fine on harsh bumps compared to many low profile set ups I've had…I will definitely buy them again when this set ultimately wears out.