275/45R20 non-staggered wheel and tire experience

[nathan_OR]

Thought I'd share my story so far, and update as time goes by, hopefully useful to someone else at some point.

I drive a 2011 BMW x5 (e70) with the 20" Y-spoke style 214 staggered wheels (20x10 up front, 20x11 in the rear). I live in Portland, Oregon, so you have an idea of the weather I drive in.

The OEM tire size is 275/40R20 front, 315/35R20 rear.

I wanted a good year-round tire with good snow traction (I snowboard at Mt. Hood in the winter) and otherwise a decent road handling tire for my daily commute. I like to take a corner hard now and then but I'm okay giving that up to not have to drive summer tires that only last 25k miles and lose traction in 1" of snow.

So I settled on the Continental Extreme Contact DWS tire. It's available in the staggered OEM size, but nobody had it in stock and besides I liked the slightly taller 275/45R20s that were posted on this thread. But they don't make a matching rear tire for the 11" wide wheel.

So after talking to several tire shops, including wheel tech, all of whom said the 275/45R20 would stretch onto my staggered rear wheel just fine, I bought (4) Conti DWS 275/45R20s and took my car in for the install.

They had 2 techs working at it for about half an hour, and couldn't get the rear tire to seal and inflate. And, I could see from the attempt to mount it that it was going to look really silly on the rear wheel, with the sidewalls at stupid looking angles.

So I decided to get another pair of 20x10 front wheels and mount all 4 in a non-staggered setup.

We tried the front wheels on one side to see how it would look but I thought that visually the rear wheel was too far under the fender to look good. So I decided to add a 25mm spacer.

I just purchased (2) of these replica 214 20x10s from this eBay seller who advertises that these reps are made by the same manufacturer to the same spec as BMW OEM wheels.

I also purchased (2) H&R 25mm spacers, part #50757404, from this ebay seller.

I'll get the wheels and spacers in the next few weeks, mount 'em up, and take a few pictures.

I'll try to also check back after the winter is passed and say how the Conti's are holding up.

Thanks for the others who posted the info on the forum that led me to this setup, I'm happy to be rid of the staggered rears and the limited tire choice, extra weight, and inability to rotate (call me old fashioned).

Nathan in PDX

edit: H&R, not H&K

[Naz24]

But why buy two reps AND spacers instead of just finding a supplier for the 315 tire?

[nathan_OR]

I kinda wanted the square set up, taller tire, and narrower rear anyway... I was on the fence about doing it, and the lack of available 275/40R20s just made the decision for me.

[ard]

Why would you take a 'tire techs' opinion on what is correct, safe or will fit?!?!

The published mfg specs for THAT tire list 9.0 to 10.5" width rim. Anything else, even if it fits, is dumb to try.

But you got to the right place in the end.

The ebay vendor LOOKS like what you want- unfortunately, how can this info possible]y be verified? I am not being snarky, but is there any way to verify this? (Sorry, but so many fly by night shops in south florida...)

The benefit to you is that you can rotate front to rear... not inconsequential

A

[nathan_OR]

Originally Posted by ard

Why would you take a 'tire techs' opinion on what is correct, safe or will fit?!?!

The published mfg specs for THAT tire list 9.0 to 10.5" width rim. Anything else, even if it fits, is dumb to try.

But you got to the right place in the end.

The ebay vendor LOOKS like what you want- unfortunately, how can this info possible]y be verified? I am not being snarky, but is there any way to verify this? (Sorry, but so many fly by night shops in south florida...)

The benefit to you is that you can rotate front to rear... not inconsequential

A

eBay is always a bit of a risk. There was another forum member who bought these same wheels and seemed to be doing okay after a month or so. The other point is that he has 17k+ 100% positive feedback so I figure he's probably not a complete scammer, but hey you never know. I'll tell ya when/if the wheels crack or the finish peels

As far as trusting the tire and wheel shop guys, yeah I will admit: after 3 different shops that I called, all of whom were not trying to sell me the tires, agreed that it should be no problem to mount 275/45/R20s on 20x11" wheels, I thought it was probably going to work. But of course I did have the option if they didn't fit or look right to go with 20x10s, which I did.

[ard]

Originally Posted by nathan_OR

eBay is always a bit of a risk. There was another forum member who bought these same wheels and seemed to be doing okay after a month or so. The other point is that he has 17k+ 100% positive feedback so I figure he's probably not a complete scammer, but hey you never know. I'll tell ya when/if the wheels crack or the finish peels

As far as trusting the tire and wheel shop guys, yeah I will admit: after 3 different shops that I called, all of whom were not trying to sell me the tires, agreed that it should be no problem to mount 275/45/R20s on 20x11" wheels, I thought it was probably going to work. But of course I did have the option if they didn't fit or look right to go with 20x10s, which I did.

The point is simple... If twenty shops all said they wold fit, THEY'D ALL BE WRONG!

I think the wheels will last.

The question is likewise simple: is he telling the truth? Same mfg, same mold, same everything- just no part number.

I alway thought BMW copyrighted the design and hence there own sub-vendors couldn't just copy them. But thi s seller says otherwise, and 17k plus happy customers can't be wrong...

[mharris2007]

I have wondered if there is an alternative tire size for the stock sized E70 M Sport package wheels, but it looks like sticking with the stock sizes would be best. I'm always trying to get the best deal but even on discount tire direct with the rebates it still priced out to about $1,000 for a set of four tires mounted and balanced. Is this about what everyone is paying for the 20" M sport package tires?

[ND40oz]

$1000 is pretty cheap for a set of 4 mounted and balanced unless you're going with really cheap tires. Even the Conti DWS's at discount tire were around $1250, tack on another $140 if you want the tire warranty. I just paid a little less then $1800 for Latitude Tour HPs before any rebates. Tirerack can't even get you a set before shipping for under $1000.

[mharris2007]

Originally Posted by ND40oz

$1000 is pretty cheap for a set of 4 mounted and balanced unless you're going with really cheap tires. Even the Conti DWS's at discount tire were around $1250, tack on another $140 if you want the tire warranty. I just paid a little less then $1800 for Latitude Tour HPs before any rebates. Tirerack can't even get you a set before shipping for under $1000.

That's good to know. Appreciate the information. Can there be anything done in terms of rim sizing and tires to decrease the cost of tires. Although, then you'd have to build in the extra cost of buying an entire new set of rims which would likely make any decrease in cost a moot point for a number of years.

Matt

[ND40oz]

The M Sport Pack really limits your options, because it only comes with the staggered 20s on the 35i and on the 50i you get the staggered 19s standard with the option to upgrade to the 20s. The cheapest way is to skip the M Sport and just get the Sport package and then opt for the 19" non-staggered all season option when you order your vehicle. Tires are much cheaper in the 255/50/19 sizes and you have a lot more options, the problem is the 315/35/20, there's just not a whole lot of options in that size. If you're willing to pay more for the M Sport pack, then your going to have to pay more for tires or buy another wheel and tire package.