I have dry mounted the Z Chains (actually cables) on my 19" Y spoke wheels. The clearance was OK. It looked like a good snug fit of the cables to the tires with little chance of the cables rubbing the rims.

When running up to Tahoe the CHP requires everyone carry chains, but it's generally agreed that by the time chains are required on 4 wheel drive, everyone is stopped anyways.

By the way, I'm running Pirelli Scorpions, which I believe is the best compromise for the 2% snow conditions my X5 sees.