20" y - spoke & potholes - please help!

[castex]

hello all,

I love the new E70 and am just about to pull the trigger but I have a slight problem that I hope your advice may help resolve.
Basically, I have fallen in love with the 20" y - spokes, and would love to have them on my car.
The problem is, I live in New Orleans where the potholes can be truly brutal. I have a Mercedes coupe and had to change the 'sport' 17 inch tires with 45% profile because I kept getting pothole - related punctures every month or so.
So, what do you think?
Are the 20 - inch Y-spokes completely incompatible with potholes?
I know their 'low profile percentage' is very low; but they are so wide I wonder if their actual 'tire wall height' could withstand potholes anyway.
Is there any chance I could replace the stock tires on the 20s with a different run-flat of higher profile? It certainly looks like there could be room. Are higher - profile runflats even available in the size required for the 20 inch y- spokes?

Any advice / comments greatly received !

[BG624]

Originally Posted by castex

hello all,

I love the new E70 and am just about to pull the trigger but I have a slight problem that I hope your advice may help resolve.
Basically, I have fallen in love with the 20" y - spokes, and would love to have them on my car.
The problem is, I live in New Orleans where the potholes can be truly brutal. I have a Mercedes coupe and had to change the 'sport' 17 inch tires with 45% profile because I kept getting pothole - related punctures every month or so.
So, what do you think?
Are the 20 - inch Y-spokes completely incompatible with potholes?
I know their 'low profile percentage' is very low; but they are so wide I wonder if their actual 'tire wall height' could withstand potholes anyway.
Is there any chance I could replace the stock tires on the 20s with a different run-flat of higher profile? It certainly looks like there could be room. Are higher - profile runflats even available in the size required for the 20 inch y- spokes?

Any advice / comments greatly received !

I live in NY and went with the Sport Pkg. standard 19" wheels for that exact reason. Low profile tires (35 series rears) and a 5000+ lb. vehicle are not a good combination when you add badly pot holed roads. Personally I think that even with the run flats stiffer sidewall your asking for trouble. Changing out the 20" tires to a higher profile tire would change the rolling diameter which would screw up the speedometer pretty dramatically. I believe all the original wheel/tire choices for the X5 have almost the same diameter.

[trueX5er]

I know exactly what you mean...I have spent a long time in NOLA. The streets were bad before katrina. But right after, when I went back, there were potholes the size of pickups, esp. in the Metairie area and also on St. Charles ave, where I spent most of my time. The rental I had, a Chrysler Pacifica, was almost permanately damaged by the streets. But you probably know more than me.
I would be cautious about getting the 20s, unless they've fixed the streets since early-mid '06 when I was there.
Good luck

[SpeedR]

Originally Posted by castex

hello all,

...I know their 'low profile percentage' is very low; but they are so wide I wonder if their actual 'tire wall height' could withstand potholes anyway.
Is there any chance I could replace the stock tires on the 20s with a different run-flat of higher profile? It certainly looks like there could be room. Are higher - profile runflats even available in the size required for the 20 inch y- spokes?

Any advice / comments greatly received !

I had the same idea, even realizing it would raise the effective gearing with less revs per mile, but after researching could not find any 20" tires with higher profiles to fit the X5.

I'm originally from NOLA and visit quite often since Katrina. IMO, unless you are very careful where you drive, I would not recommend the 20"s. The OEM runflats are over $450 each!!! Not to mention if you bend one of your wheels.

Of course the problem with this is the E70 doesn't look nearly as good without the WIDE 20"s.

[castex]

Thanks, guys

I suppose I'm going to have to just stop looking at all those pics of E70s with the y-spokes

[BG624]

Originally Posted by castex

Thanks, guys

I suppose I'm going to have to just stop looking at all those pics of E70s with the y-spokes

I actually like the 19's that come with the 4.8 Sport. Not as nice as the 20's I agree but nice never the less.

[thisX5life]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus. I was sorely tempted by the 20s, especially considering how modest the price increment is, assuming you're talking about a 4.8 with the Sport Package. I love the look of the 20s, but I wouldn't love it the first time I bent one of those expensive rims! Not to mention what the 20" run-flats sell for. (Plus I have to deal with snowy roads -- not your worry in NOLA! -- and while the all-season tires on the 19s won't be a substitute for real snows, at least I think they'll do in a pinch.)

Just keep repeating this mantra: The 19s look great... The 19s look great... The 19s look great...

[cpd1]

Different continent, same poor roads over here in the UK, would be too expensive to run 20's I think so stuck with 19's plus hopefully comfort will be better too...
C

[x-tian-RRHSE]

Just buy the rim and tire warrenty from the dealership. That should cover for pot holes and what not...