Wheel Spacers

[RobertoTaylor]

UPDATE:

I ended up purchasing some H&R 20mm spacers for the rear. Once those arrive and I install them, I'll decide if I need to add a spacer to the fronts. Thanks for the help!

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I have a 2015 X5 M Sport xDrive. It originally came with the 20" 469M wheels, but the previous owner upgraded to the 21" 310M wheels. I replaced the tires in August of last year, and my front tires already need to be replaced again, and the rears will need to be replaced in the next couple of months.

The 21" tires are so damn expensive that I have decided to go with a square 20" setup. Wanting to keep an OEM look, I found some 20x10 469M reps on eBay and ordered those. I also just ordered some 275/40R20 tires for it, and I'm going to powder coat the wheels gloss black.

Now to the wheel spacer question. I know I'm going to need some spacers for the rear due to the difference in the offset. After doing some research I saw on the Burger Motorsports website that the xDrive and M X5's have to use a 16mm spacer due to a tall factory hub. Does anyone here have any insight on this? I was originally just going to order a set of 10mm spacers for the rear, but they only offer 15mm and 16mm spacers and according to their info I would need to use the 16mm for my car since it's xDrive.

Any info on this is appreciated.

Pic of my current setup for attention.

[jiggz]

I'm curious how you're eating through tires so quickly, do you drive quite a bit? I have 20 & 21" setups in OEM specs and the 21's don't seem to wear any faster than the 20's?

Anyhow, there's a lot of different spacer sizes for these vehicles. Many people here go through Ben at RG Sport, he's one of the vendors here (link below). If you can provide the offset of this 469 replica wheel, he can suggest a rear wheel spacer size. And I'd mention if you're looking to retain the OEM look, or more of a flush look, that will impact spacer size. Depending on offset there might not be a big enough spacer to go flush on a 10" rear wheel w/ the M Sport fender flares?

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/member.php?u=76551

[RobertoTaylor]

Originally Posted by jiggz

I'm curious how you're eating through tires so quickly, do you drive quite a bit? I have 20 & 21" setups in OEM specs and the 21's don't seem to wear any faster than the 20's?

Anyhow, there's a lot of different spacer sizes for these vehicles. Many people here go through Ben at RG Sport, he's one of the vendors here (link below). If you can provide the offset of this 469 replica wheel, he can suggest a rear wheel spacer size. And I'd mention if you're looking to retain the OEM look, or more of a flush look, that will impact spacer size. Depending on offset there might not be a big enough spacer to go flush on a 10" rear wheel w/ the M Sport fender flares?

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/member.php?u=76551

We put 19K miles on these tires all normal driving. It's the wife's daily driver and we also take it anytime we go on trips. They are Continental CONTISPORTCONTACT 5P and it was the only thing available last year when I needed to replace them and they were not cheap. I've been using Continental's for quite some time now even on my 535i, and this is the worst set I've ever purchased. I usually run the Extreme Contact DWS on my car and they last a very long time. Not sure what was up with this set though.

I'll make sure to reach out to the vendor and see what he recommends for spacers.

[Smonkbmw]

Googled Continental CONTISPORTCONTACT 5P. Those are a "extreme performance summer" tire. That is the majority of your problem, the tires are soft. You get more miles out of the DWS as they are a all season.

[zero2sixtyZ]

r33_RGSport Contact RGSport for H&R spacers with the correct center bore.

[RobertoTaylor]

Originally Posted by Smonkbmw

Googled Continental CONTISPORTCONTACT 5P. Those are a "extreme performance summer" tire. That is the majority of your problem, the tires are soft. You get more miles out of the DWS as they are a all season.

Yup! Those were the only tires available at the time. #ThxCovid

[jiggz]

Sounds like you got the expected mileage out of your 21's given how these vehicles go through tires. I've run OEM spec 20's and 21's for years (Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin) on my E70 & F15 - 20K miles is about all your going to get. You might get 25K but they'll most definitely need replacing by then, if not sooner.

[RobertoTaylor]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Sounds like you got the expected mileage out of your 21's given how these vehicles go through tires. I've run OEM spec 20's and 21's for years (Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin) on my E70 & F15 - 20K miles is about all your going to get. You might get 25K but they'll most definitely need replacing by then, if not sooner.

I should be able to get a little more life out of them now that I'm going with a square setup and can rotate them.