Winter tires and wheels, 17" or 18" ?
 

I'm about to buy 4 winter wheels+tires for my X5 E53; I've been told that the 19" 285/45R19 and 255/50R19 I currently use are too wide and for best ice/snow performance I should choose a 17" (235/65 R17)
Are 17" so much better on snow than the bigger 18" ?
Does anybody use such a small wheels on X5 ? How does it look ?
Even though it's just for 3-4 months / year I don't want the car to look ridiculus :-)

Thanks
Nico.

I would say 17" wheels I know going on trips we all want to go in style but it's better to be safe!!

it's not so much the diameter of the wheels. what's more important is the width of the tread; narrower is better in snow and ice.
i have the stock 235 / 65 - 17 with michelin alpine sports on my '02 3.0 and they are incredible.

17" is the standard tire/wheel size in the US. Use the "search" button if you want a picture of an X5 with those wheel/tire combo.

I agree that safety is the priority before vanity!

Agree the 17" is best for winter tires. However, you don't say what model E53 you have. The 4.6 and 4.8 had larger brakes, and 18" standard rims were the minimum size to clear the brake calipers. The 3.0 and 4.4 can use 17" as those were original equipment.

I have a 2005 3.0d, I can mount 17"->20" wheels.
Thanks!.
Nico.

The standard winter wheel/tire package provided by BMW Canada for the E53 4.4 is 18". In my case, it is 18" BMW Style 74 wheels with 255-55-18 Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow. Great package for the snow and looks good too.

shameless self pitch: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-items...-now-pics.html

17s with dedicated snows are the best combo in snow/ice...
however, they are smallish and cosmetically not the choice if
looks are high on your list.

18s do very well, too espc with dedicated snows...
That set that Wagner is humping are first class and
effective. The OP residing in Italy sort of precludes
shipping from the US.
GL,mD

I found (and just bought) a slightly used 17" wheel (original) +tires (235/65 R17) for €400. I hope the tires are not too old.