My sales guy talked me out of two thing when I ordered my vehicle:
Don't order the 20" wheels,
Don't order the running board.

His reasoning - you won't be able to control your car in the snow (I live in the midwest), and when snow/ice accumulate on your running board, you won't be able to open your door. Also your pant leg would get dirty as your drag your pants on the dirty running board.

My former car was an e39 6 cylinder 5 series. When I had std 16 wheels with Michelin MXV engergy all season tires on it, even when it snowed (up to 2"), i was pretty confident driving the rear-wheel drive car. The handling, the traction was fine. The braking was comproised but predictable. But when I changed to 18" staggered setup. If it snowed even 1/2 inch, I barely had tranction, braking was non controlable, and I wasn't confident enough to even go fast to observe the handling. So what I'm trying to say is, I trusted what my saleman was telling me.

But a local guy is selling his 20" (1500 miles on the tires) thus perked up my interest. I could always use my 19s, style 212 with Michelin all season tires in the snow.

Here is where you can help, by sharing your experience and wisdom, here are my questions:

1) For those you who made the switch, besides the aggressive look -- what did you gain as far as performancewise?

2) Wouldn't bigger wheels with bigger tires contribute to more unsprung weight? -- therefore more stress on the suspension components? -- more stress on the braking system? Longer stopping distance (though different tires would also contribute to stopping distances)

3) Or are the style 214 20" actually lighter wheels vs the 212 19"? (for example, the M5 18" wheels were actually lighter at 19 lb minus the tire)

4) The staggerd setup will induce more understeer -- was that very signficant after you made the switch? how much heavier did the steering get? I can always "feel" the road through my steering wheel in a BMW, how much of that dynamic has changed once you made the switch?

5) lastly, the person selling the style 214's (no blemishes) with the 1500 mile tires wants $2700 for them -- is this fair? what did you pay if you didn't buy everything brand new?

6) Obviously if I make the switch, I will need to change out the arches, then of course I would like to add the running board -- do you guys really get your pant leg dirty? Did the snow/ice really stopped your door from opening? In a normal day, I go from garage to garge from home to work, so it's a non-issue 95% of the time. I am only 5'6" and I have noticed I drag my trailing pant leg already as i step/slide into the vehicle.

7) lastly, is this all cosmetic? don't get me wrong, I want a sharp looking car... especially those that have been shown from Dubai -- why they can get their X5 so specialized and we can't do it here...

I know it's a lot of question, but this would really help me decide. (and convince my wife!)

__________________
4.8|Sport Pkg|Prem Pkg|Cold Weather|Nav|PDC|Comfort Seats|Nappa Leather|Convenience Pkg|Rear Climate|3rd Row|HUD|SAT Radio|HD Radio|Dual-Monitor Rear DVD Player.