2011 bmw x5 diesel rim question

[8ball]

Originally Posted by eugeneberet

never said i was planning to buy replicas. i was going to buy real ones that people take off thier cars. plenty are sold on ebay (even better craigslist -).
i just didnt understand why they would fit.... till now.
thanks for the insight.

I took my 214's off my 2011.

[Brutus07]

Here's what I've found over more than a decade of driving "sporty" cars and reading forums like this where people share their experience.

1. Aftermarkets bought from one of the major sources (tirerack, discounttiredirect, etc) are probably better quality than "no-name" ones you find with mysterious origins.

2. That said, I've bought some of the latter to save money (as in $800 for a set of 18" 5 spoke wheels and 235/35 Kumhos) and had no problems with quality. For not much more than a set of "good" tires I got tires and rims that looked a lot better than OEM. I've also bought more "name brand" ones and also had no issues.

3. When you do this, hold on to your OEM set, as many buyers will want them when you sell the car and aftermarkets of any kind on this X5 will hurt its value more than the money you got from selling yours. Then sell your fakes for maybe 1/2 what you paid. Net cost is almost nothing. Because many sellers will mount/balance tires on rims you buy for free, you save there. If you replace yours with OEM wheels you can probably sell it with those on. Don't forget the TPMS. About $200 a set maybe, plus installation.

3. I have, though, had roundness/strength issues with expensive BBS wheels that came on a 540i I bought used, so I wouldn't generalize that more money is always better. I have had minor balance issues with tires bought locally and with those bought over the web.

4. Often for the price difference vs pristine wheels you can afford to replace the cheapos a few times if needed. So bad pothole luck I wouldn't worry too much over. If your area has bad roads stick to smaller wheels.

5. Yes, cheaper ones may be heavier, and that can affect performance. However, unless you are really into racing around you may not be able to notice the difference. Find the specs, it may not be a huge difference. I can say for a fact that the wimpy 18" on X5's are worse than the "heavy" 20" in many areas (looks, grip, response, etc) so at some point heavier might be better overall. My personal thinking is that this is an SUV/SAV, and if you wanted great handling to the degree wheel weights mattered you'd be here discussing your 525xi wagon instead.

6. You can buy refinished OEM BMW 20" Y spoke wheels online. I found a place advertising them (and others of all brands) for under $300/ea.

BMW OEM RIMS BMW FACTORY WHEELS STOCK RIM CHROME REPLICA WHEEL USED RIMS BMW Wheels BMW OEM RIMS BMW FACTORY WHEELS STOCK RIM CHROME REPLICA WHEEL USED RIMS BMW Rims No idea if they are legit or not, or if they stand behind their quality, but they seem to have a lot of selection. Makes since that someone out there is just buying up and fixing damaged wheels or new take-offs.

There are also ebay sellers who specialize in OEM takeoffs (though these may be rare and expensive still). Be careful with ebay purchases, double check everything, and you can get a nice bargain.

[quackbury]

Originally Posted by Brutus07

4. Often for the price difference vs pristine wheels you can afford to replace the cheapos a few times if needed. So bad pothole luck I wouldn't worry too much over. If your area has bad roads stick to smaller wheels.

Not necessarily. One of the problems with many (not all) "cheapos" is that they are not manufactured for long. So if you buy a set of 4 XYZ wheels in 2010, expecting to keep them for the life of the car, and then break ONE wheel in 2011, there is a good chance you will have to replace ALL FOUR wheels with a different make/model, since no individual XYZ replacements are available.

So when you are doing the math, make sure you are really saving $$$ if you have to puchase SEVEN "cheapo" wheels vs. 4 high quality.

There are aftermarket wheels that usually (not always) have long manufacturing runs - many of the BBS, Breyton and HRE's fit into this category, and I am sure there are others. But for grins, look up a year-old back issue of Roundel, Car & Driver or some other mag. Go to the Tire Rack or Discount Tires Direct ad. Then see how many of the wheels available a year ago are still in stock today. (If the ad says "closeout" it's often a bad sign).

Some folks buy 5 aftermarket wheels instead of 4 just to avoid this. (Doesn't work that well if your BMW has staggered wheels like my M3 or my soon-to-be-delivered X5D with the 19's).

[MRV99]

If you just want a 5th wheel and don't care about a matching your current wheels then just by any e70 of eBay/craigslist and your good. No muss no fuss. You will not have to worry if you get a flat and will work till you get your flat fixed

[quackbury]

Originally Posted by MRV99

If you just want a 5th wheel and don't care about a matching your current wheels then just by any e70 of eBay/craigslist and your good. No muss no fuss. You will not have to worry if you get a flat and will work till you get your flat fixed

Works fine if you get a flat. Not so well if you break the wheel itself.

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by quackbury

Works fine if you get a flat. Not so well if you break the wheel itself.

If you were to break your wheel, then you would have to replace your "spare" anyway because you would need another spare. If he wants ammatching spare, he will have to be patient or spend the $$$ on a matching OEM. Any way you put it, he has to figure out how much money he wants to spend and his priorites on matching vs non-matching

[quackbury]

Originally Posted by MRV99

If you were to break your wheel, then you would have to replace your "spare" anyway because you would need another spare. If he wants ammatching spare, he will have to be patient or spend the $$$ on a matching OEM. Any way you put it, he has to figure out how much money he wants to spend and his priorites on matching vs non-matching

Either you are missing my point or I am missing yours.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I had an Audi Coupe. At the recommendation of a prominent online retailer, I reshod the car with aftermarket wheels (MSW? TSW? I forget). Since they were made in Germany and TUV approved, the retailer assured me they were of the highest quality.

A year later I broke one of them in a Boston pothole. Unrepairable, as the rim was cracked and the tire would not hold air. Called the retailer to lbuy a replacement, only to earn the wheels were no longer available.

Now I DID have a spare - 5 of them in fact, since I had kept the OEM wheels. The problem was the aftermarket wheels were "plus-2's". IIRC the OEM wheels were 17's, the aftermarket wheels were 19's. Not only did I look downright stupid riding on 3 19's and 1 17 (of a totally different design), but the diameters were sufficiently different that the ABS sensors were totally thrown off. (This was back before traction control had been invented).

So a year after spending two grand on the aftermarket wheels, I had to pull them off and throw the OEM's back on. I was NOT a happy camper.