20' vs 19' ride comfort?

[MRV99]

I have had 4 X5's(E53,(3)E70) and I have had winter sets on all of them. I have had many different wheel sizes so I feel I have a pretty good idea of the differences between the group.

Where to begin......

I am a strong believer in dedicated Winter/Summers (on all of my BMW's) and have had many personal experiences why winters are so much better than All Seasons. I would rather have best performance in winter/summer than pretty good over the entire time.I am not going to debate this, it is just my belief.

I have no issue swapping wheels twice a year and storing the off season set(for both cars). Plus the nice summers don't get abused with less cleaning and salt.

The cost of two sets over the life of the car is almost the same as single all season set so that is not a factor to me(have many different cars to prove this case over the years)

Now for sizes.

19' vs. 20' To me, there is very little difference in ride quality between the two. When I switch from the 20's to the 19's, I can detect the taller sidewall and skinnier tire but that sensation goes away very quickly. I would say 2-3 days and I have forgotten the switch(other than the nasty skinny look compared to the 275/315 look). Since the X5 is the wife's car, I do have RFT's winters/summers so there will always be a bit of harshness compared to the non-RFT's. I do have/had Adaptive Drive on all my E70's I have owned. I can say that it rides better with AD compared to just sport(had a sport loaner w/ 20's for 30 days during 63 day in the shop lemon). My definition of harsh ride may be different than yours. I really like a firm ride and feeling the road when driving is not that bad to me.

Side note: On a past X5, I did have 18' winters and had 20' summers. The transition from 20's to 18's was very noticeable. The X5 felt very floaty on the 18's, so much that I sold the 18' winter setup(after 1 month) and bought 19' wheels if that says anything.

Winters:
The 19' or 18' does not have an effect in snow performance. What really affects the performance is the tire width. When looking at the 19' vs 18' the sizes are 255/50/19 vs 255/55/18 These have the same tire width so there is not a advantage/disadvantage in the tire width. People do say smaller rims are better in the winter mainly due to the more forgiving sidewall of the 18' compared to the 19' which in winter can help prevent damage from potholes. The main point is, wider tires, the worse they perform in the snow. The rim size is a personal preference.

[gorun]

I guess this is all personal and is very dependent on the roads in ones area. I have an E70 4.8 sport pack with adaptive drive on 20s runflats and a second set of dedicated winters which are 19s and non runflat. The difference is MASSIVE, not just in ride quality but in acceleration as well. The 4.8 is not torquey and you can feel the difference of the wider heavier set big time. I measured the wheel and tire combos on a scale once and if I remember correctly the 315/35/20 rim/tire was 36kg and the 255/50/19 was 30kg. Remember this is unsprung weight so 6kg per corner is significant.

I also have an W166 ML63 AMG PP. It has a 295/35/21 summer set and a 265/45/20 winter set. Again the difference in ride between the two is very significant. The difference in acceleration is much harder to detect as the ML has crazy power and torque

[JJPP]

Originally Posted by MysticBlue

Shouldn't be any difference in snow traction between 18" and 19" all weather tires... they both suck. I know this wasn't specifically what you asked, so feel free to ignore my rant, I just bring it up for anyone who is concerned about winter traction. Last year I went from all weathers to snow and ice rated on my Dakota. Huge difference in the snow and ice. I could put it in 2wd in situations where I used to put it in 4wd and could hardly tell I wasn't in 4wd. When I get the X5, I plan on getting 20" with performance tires, and a separate set of 19" with snow and ice tires. I know not everyone wants to spend the extra money on wheels, but it makes it quick and easy to change over for winter driving, and I don't plan on ever driving on all weather tires again. A tire that tries to do everything doesn't do anything well.
But to answer your question, I don't think there will be much difference between 18 and 19 inchers. Get what you want.

For how much do you think I can get a separate set of 19" winter tires? Thank you in advance.

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by JJPP

For how much do you think I can get a separate set of 19" winter tires? Thank you in advance.

I am not 100% sure but I thought I read on one of the X5 F15 forums that the E70 rims WILL fit the F15. If the E70 rims fit, it will be cheaper to find OEM rims. IF you need F15 rims, your options are limited.

You WILL need to purchase TPMS for what every set you buy. E70 TMPS will not work. $250-$300 from getbmwparts.

You have a few different choices based on my experiences


1) Start looking on Craigslist/Ebay/BMW forums for those who are selling their winter set. I have had really good luck selling my past winter setups for around $800-$1000 on OEM rims. $800-$1000

2) You can just purchase a set of non-OEM rims and Winter rubber. Now is a great time to buy the rubber because they are cheaper in the end of winter than start. Your looking about $800ish for the rubber and what ever the aftermarket rim you choose.

3) You can find a set of OEM's that people are selling on Craigslist/Ebay/BMW forums. I have had really good luck finding OEM take off from out west. I bought rims for my E60, E70 and M3 which came off cars with less than 500 miles on the rims. I was able to take my time and find really clean sets for around 150-200 per rim OEM. I prefer OEM rims for winters since I know the quality of the rim and have more confidence in winter conditions (salt and impacts)

4) Bite the bullet and purchase a BMW sourced Winter set. That will cost the most.