Longer lasting X5 4.4 wheel/tire options?

[X5Baron]

I have a wonderful, fully loaded 2005 X5 4.4i with factory 19" sport wheels and Michelin-Diamaris tires. Unfortunately, with only 38,000 careful, highway miles I have just about worn out my SECOND set of tires. Wanting tires that can be rotated (the rear 19" wheels are wider than the front) and that will last longer begs the question...should I buy the smaller standard wheels/tires or is there a better wheel option that will allow longer lasting, rotatable tires while retaining the sport look of the larger wheels? Maybe the 18" wheels from the new (E70) X5?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated!!!

Thanks, Patrick

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by X5Baron

I have a wonderful, fully loaded 2005 X5 4.4i with factory 19" sport wheels and Michelin-Diamaris tires. Unfortunately, with only 38,000 careful, highway miles I have just about worn out my SECOND set of tires. Wanting tires that can be rotated (the rear 19" wheels are wider than the front) and that will last longer begs the question...should I buy the smaller standard wheels/tires or is there a better wheel option that will allow longer lasting, rotatable tires while retaining the sport look of the larger wheels? Maybe the 18" wheels from the new (E70) X5?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated!!!

Thanks, Patrick

Patrick,
What is the wear pattern on your tyres when they are worn out? Are the rears wearing on the insides? Are the fronts also wearing out at the same time?
Regards Colin.

[X5Baron]

Colin: Thanks for the response and the question. My wear pattern is surprisingly well distributed for non-rotatable tires and the front and rear tires seem to be wearing out at the same rate. So, there doesn't appear to be any problem with my driving style or the car's setup...they are just wearing too quickly. At their price, these tires are costing way too much per mile driven considering the fact that I do a fair amount of highway driving.

I may give the Kuhmo tires that Lakai suggested a try. That experiment will be much less expensive than buying new wheels. I may also look into buying two more wheels that match the fronts, so I can have a rotatable set of tires next time. Any thoughts on that idea?

Thanks, Patrick

[fatboyoz]

Originally Posted by X5Baron

Colin: Thanks for the response and the question. My wear pattern is surprisingly well distributed for non-rotatable tires and the front and rear tires seem to be wearing out at the same rate. So, there doesn't appear to be any problem with my driving style or the car's setup...they are just wearing too quickly. At their price, these tires are costing way too much per mile driven considering the fact that I do a fair amount of highway driving.

I may give the Kuhmo tires that Lakai suggested a try. That experiment will be much less expensive than buying new wheels. I may also look into buying two more wheels that match the fronts, so I can have a rotatable set of tires next time. Any thoughts on that idea?

Thanks, Patrick

Patrick,
I have an '05 Diesel sport with the staggered 19" wheels. The original tyres were Bridgestone Turanza ER30. These tyres are rated by the Tire Rack as GT tyres rather than a summer sport tyre. For me, I found them to be very quiet, had good grip in the wet and dry (no snow our way) and, with one reversal on each rim (tyre off rim and mounted other way round), they lasted 58000km (36000mls). I had one wheel alignment done during this time, and asked them to take as much of the negative camber out of the rear wheels as possible as the tyres were wearing on the insides
I replaced the tyres with Yokahama Advan ST, at 58000km, (Bridgestone Turanzas not available at the time) and had another wheel alignment done. 15,000km later and the rears are almost worn out, the fronts though have heaps of tread left. Went back to the tyre vendors and had another wheel alignment done. One of the rear wheels was way out on the "toe" and they said that this could have been the reason for the accelerated wear of both back tyres. Would not accept any liability for an incorrect previous alignment though. When the rears are cactus, I will replace them with Advans again, but will take the car to BMW and get a wheel alignment done on their BMW approved, Biessbath (German trade name) alignment machine. After that, I will go back to the Bridgestones, if they are still available.
As to your question on same size tyres all round. I made enquiries, but couldn't track down any used rims in either the 255 or 285. Genuine articles too expensive and managed to get maximum wear from all tyres by rotating (inside to outside) once on the rim anyway. I think you can squeeze the larger rear tyres onto the smaller front rims as well, if you can't track down some rims.
Good Luck,
Colin.

[BMWLOVER]

I am thinking of getting bridgestone er30 for my beyern 19 wheels. They seem reliable. What are your thoughts?

[X5Baron]

I don't know anything about the er30's, but Bridgestone has always made a good product. I just put Pirelli Scorpion Asimmetrico tires on mine and I'm thrilled with them so far. They are all-season, Z rated tires that are quieter and actually cost less than the summer, V rated Michelins they replaced. Tirerack.com has a good comparison page to help you decide what'll be best for you.

Good luck, P

[doc@tirerack]

WE have had favorable reviews on the new(er) Michelin latitude Touring HP. They have a slighlty less aggressive all season compound that has helped with durability for most of my customers. Part of the problem with wear is that the X5 runs quite a bit of camber in the back (at factory settings), I think there was a thread that a few people have had the camber adjusted to be set just outside factory spec. to compensate (anybody ?)