What do you think of these wheels for winter?
 

I am in desperate need of a set of 18" winter wheels for the new X5. I found these on TireRack for $125/piece. The 5 spoke design is not my ideal choice, but I think with a little powdercoating, these wheels can look pretty sweet for my winter set-up. What do you guys think? I couldn't find anything cheaper that was half way decent.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...ng&showRear=no

Not bad but never heard of that name.

LOL! Neither have I, but for $500 for the set, you can't beat it. Plus, these are just the winter wheels. If I could have it my way and not mother natures way, I would love to keep the 20's on all year round. Unfortunately, we're not so lucky here in NY. Anyway, I think they'll look decent. I just couldn't justify buying another set of OEM's as a winter set-up.

You can use 20" on everyday NY snow unless you are driving on 8-10" of snow.
Few members have done it and they are from NYC area.

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...-ready-go.html

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...est-griza.html

Yeah, but I don't want to dismount and mount winter tires to performance tires on my truck each season. For one, with runflats (the high performance tires that come with the truck are RFT's), the odds of damaging the wheel greatly increases every time you go through this process. Second, it's just too much of a pain in the butt to do this. It's much easier having 2 sets of wheels with tires for the variety of seasons. Since the 20's that come with the car have the high performance tires (they're not even all seasons), I'm going to have to get new tires regardless. I figure I'll just powdercoat these 18" wheels a Gunmetal color and they'll look great for the winter. Sure, they won't look like the 20's, but they'll be fine. Plus, this is the wifes car. She probably wouldn't even notice the difference. Hahahahaha!

PS - I'm running the stock 19" M5 wheels for winter on my M5. I have the Blizzak LM-22's (255/40/19) at all 4 corners. The car handles amazing. Unfortunately with the X5, I'm doing the opposite, in that it comes with 20's, but I'm downgrading to 18's for winter. With the M, I bought a set of 20" Radenergie R10's for Summer and kept the stockers for winter. :thumbup:

For winter wheels, get something that you are not overly concerned about the finish on (salt) and that you wouldn't cry about if they were curbed (assuming at some point you slide on ice and brush into something). :)

I was not suggesting that you use the same set of 20". You have to have 2 sets. Mounting and dismounting tires is not good for integrity of tires.

Also agree with Wagner's comment. Winter also brings more potholes to NY roads. ;)

Exactly.:thumbup:
Did I mention I was looking for a cheap alternative for winter :p: ? I'd love to have 2 sets of 20's for winter and summer, with a high performance set of tires for summer and a set of Blizzaks for winter, but that's not cheap. Plus, having the added sidewall with 18's will definitely be a plus with the wife driving it every day. The likelyhood of her avoiding potholes in the winter are slim to none:doh: . It's bad enough when she occassionally drives the M5 and doesn't avoid them. I cringe at just the thought. ;)

A little OT: cmansbimmer: have you ever been to Montreal, QC before with your M5?

On the wheel topic, i think 18" would be good, but i dont think those wheels would look good on the X5.

Seems like a good wheel for that price - I think they would look pretty good for a winter wheel.

I have not been to Montreal in my M5, but I did grow up playing Ice Hockey and traveled up to Montreal (Cote Saint-Luc) every year for a Hockey Tournament that was hosted in QC. ;)

As for the wheels, I just can't find anything else in that price range that will work for me. They might not be perfect, but for the price, it's a pretty sweet deal. Also, keep in mind that I plan on powdercoating these wheels a nice, gunmetal color, so that should help too.

Shipping is only $39.98 for these wheels, as TireRack's hub in Delaware can get these to me in a day, if I order them in the morning. Crazy! $540 for 4 wheels and that includes shipping. I think it's a no-brainer. Sweet!

hey C =P