Spec X5 Overland Build

[kspark]

Originally Posted by thstone

Glad that you liked the WildPeak's. I think that there are a lot of very good AT tires on the market so its hard to make a bad choice.

Tell us more about your experience of finding the limit of the X5 while off roading. That's got to be a good story!

Well, truth be told it was more MY limit than the car!

I was off-roading across a ranch. The X5 easily tackled rutted trails and had good ground clearance to get over medium rocks. It was particularly good on gravel and snow.

I found the "limit" was when I needed articulation. With no diff lockers the BMW had to work a lot harder in a few places where I've easily cruised through in a Tacoma. That's when I smelled the odd smell coming from it, and decided to turn back. I didn't want to risk any situation where the underbody might get damaged, since I had no skid plates and was out of cell service.

I would never go rock-crawling with this car, but I'm not into wheeling. I trust it on any level surface. As a ski / adventure vehicle that will be on-road 80% of the time, it's perfect for me and the driving experience is much better than a Toyota truck.

[richardb]

Originally Posted by kspark

Should be <31" in diameter on stock suspension. 265/55 19 might work.

How about a 255/60 19? That is 31'' exactly

[richardb]

I have a set of 9x19'' and 10x19'' staggered wheels. Any thoughts on running a 255 60 19 front and rear on this set?

Would the overall size be ok if stretched slightly more on the 10'' rear wheel?

[TriX5]

I have a set of style 132 which are 9" front/10" rear. Have been running 255/50/19 all around on the e53 and presently they have a set of winter tires mounted in that size. So, yes, totally doable.

[richardb]

Originally Posted by TriX5

I have a set of style 132 which are 9" front/10" rear. Have been running 255/50/19 all around on the e53 and presently they have a set of winter tires mounted in that size. So, yes, totally doable.

Thanks for your reply! I found a better wheel/tire calculator online (rimsntires.com) which allows for rim width input. It shows that the 9'' and 10'' widths will not change the overall dimension. Should be good to go.

Now, does anyone use a 255/55/19 or 255/60/19 on stock suspension? I believe the 255/60/19 is 31'' which is possibly the maximum limit an E53 can accommodate.

[richardb]

Anyone tried a 255/55/19 or a 255/60/19?

[thstone]

Snow!!!

I drove up to Lake Arrowhead, CA (about 60 miles north east of LA) early this morning where there was 3-5 ft of snow and it was super beautiful!

At first, I was a bit hesitant to use the throttle much but once I got the hang of it, the X5 handled great. The roads were fairly clear in town but there was a lot more snow and ice on them as I got up into the hills. The General Grabber AT/X tires had pretty good grip in the snow since they are Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rated.

Three Peak Mountain Snowflake Explained

Here is some video of the X5 Overland in the snow - you can jump to 1:45 to see where it took me three tries to make it up the hill because I was a bit too timid on the first two tries and then gave it some throttle on the 3rd try and made it easily.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fRadrFntBus" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Video embed doesn't seem to want to work so here is a link:
Spec X5 Overland Lake Arrowhead, CA Jan 2021

[kspark]

That thing was like a mountain goat up the hill. Impressed with the Grabbers too.

[Nolimite39]

That's pretty cool, I'm actually surprised how well the non-xDrive system fairs in all your videos. A testament to the tires as well. . . and maybe a little to the driver.

[thstone]

Thanks for the comments!

Despite its reputation as a family grocery hauler, I am finding that the E53 performs really well in a wide range of conditions despite the lack of advanced tech that came in the later E70/F15/G05 models. It seems that BMW got a lot right with the E53.

I'll have another opportunity to get off road in two weeks. I just got the towing system installed so I'll post up something on that this week.