Switched back to 19" rims

[spyderdoc]

A short story on my journey through wheels on my X5d. I figured since there were so many people asking about 20" wheels, I'd share my story....

My 2009 X5d came with 19's from the factory. I liked the look of the 214s, so at 18k mi, I bought a set of 20" OE 214s and installed the Bridgestone summer RFT. Ride was a lot firmer, feels every nook and cranny in the road. Strangely,the 20's had less tram-lining than the all-season Bridgestone RFT 19s when driving on the grooved/cemented 85 in San Jose. Once the 20's hit about 18k mi, the road noise and roughness increased dramatically. The outside edges of the fronts were worn to the point of no tread and the inside edges of the rears were down to threads at 19k.

I looked into getting non-RFT conti DWS in 20s, but in the end, I preferred to keep the RFT since I have 3rd row and no way to carry a spare. I ended up putting the 19s back on and so much nicer to drive everyday. I removed the fender flares and basically back to stock look, other than having the 19's powder coated black semi-gloss (style 212, looks nice!).

I felt that the price of the 20in tires along with quick wear and super rough ride pushed me to go back to the 19s. Also, we make trips to Tahoe in the winter, so makes more sense to have the smaller (and all season) tires that will handle better in snow....Ard's comments and thoughts about rim size helped "seal the deal". It really seems to make no sense from a performance measure to have the larger rim. However, I must admit, the huge tires sure did look very nice.

One other observation, I'd say I had a 1-2 mpg drop with the 20's, likely from the increased unsprung weight associated with the larger rims.

So, I'll likely sell my OE 214s soon (along with wide flares, rivet tool, 2009 TPMS, and a set of unused wheel locks). Just got to clean them up. Anyone in SF Bay area interested, shoot me a PM.