Style 211 Wheels on E53 ?

[jspellberg]

Seeking some advice on wheel compatibility (E70 to E53)!

Just bought an E53 ('05 4.4i) and am torn between the Style 168 and Style 211 wheels. I would ideally like to mount Style 211 wheels (19" x 9" E70 sport package), but am not sure they are compatible. I will be taking my vehicle to Mexico, where the roads will likely be a bit rougher, and the extra sidewall (128 mm for Style 211 vs 110 mm for Style 168 wheels) could be useful. Also, Style 211 wheels can be rotated among all four wheels, which could prolong tire life.

I have talked to service specialists at two different BMW dealerships... one told me that there should be no problem installing Style 211 wheels, but the other warned me that this is "not recommended" due to the offset differences (he said that 211 offsets are 48, both front and rear, whereas offsets for E53 hubs are 45 in front and 48 in rear - does this make any sense?). I did some research on offsets, but still don't completely understand this. Of the wide variety of wheels that ARE "officially" compatible with E53, the offsets vary widely from 45 or 48 (I think offsets for Style 168s are 30, for example), so it seems that it IS possible to add 211s.

But my question is, will doing so cause any safety and/or performance problems later down the road?

Here are the OEM specs of the 211 wheels:

19" x 9"
255/50/R19
(sidewall = 127.5 mm)
Load Index = 107

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!