:) good thing you checked ... 19's won't have any issues. There is a particular style of 18" BMW wheel that is made for the winter setup of a 4.6 or 4.8is .. I forgot the style number, though ... maybe someone can chime in?

so I went to a tire shop with one of the X3 wheels to ask if they could balance it only on the outside portion of the inner portion of the rim. They said no problem - it won't be quite as acurate as using an inner and outer weight, but should balance just fine.

So at this point I am leaning towards sticking with these wheels despite the tight clearance. I really need to put one rim on there again without the weight to make sure there is enough clearance.

I wouldn't worry about clearance issues and snow in our area... having moved here from Canada and having lived 5 years in the frozen hell that is Ottawa, I can tell you that in a place where 4 months of the year you are in snow and -20 'C temperatures, I wouldn't want t to have that tight a tolerance (ice buildup), but in our weather conditions, and Sierra, I don't think you will have any problems.

That is a good price though. If you want to get rid of them, let me know. :thumbup:

I don't think it would be too bad either. Although, I do tend to go skiing when the storms are the nastiest since I love to chase powder. But temps are normally in the 20's during the day and maybe down to 10 at night which isn't so bad. The problem I get with my Audi is packing snow in between the tire and the fenders since there is so little clearance. I have not seen snow up in the back of the rim at all.

I have a line on a decent set of 19" rims for $600 also locally. But my problem then becomes tires. I was looking at picking up the Blizzak LM-25 4x4 which is on clearance at TR. But the 19" size is now gone. They still have the 18" size for $169 each. So if I went with 19 that leaves either the Dunlop Grantek M3 or Pirelli Scorpion Ice without spending an arm and a leg. 18's are quite a bit cheaper overall.

OK - here are my options.

1. stick with the 18" X3 wheel and use either a 255-55-18 Blizzak LM-25 4x4 or Falken HS439 performance snow tire

2. go with an aftermarket ADR 19x8.5" wheel with the Falken HS439 or Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow

Overall cost adder to go to the 19" size is $250, which buys me better looks and piece of mind on the clearance issue.

I'm leaning towards the 19" at this point.

Here is Falken tire I am looking at:
Tires - Eurowinter HS439 - Falken Tire

Or the Pirelli, which is a more proven choice:
Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow

without the weights there you should be ok. you'll notice, though, that you'll have only millimeters worth of clearance

exactly. which kinda worries me for a winter / snow set-up...

well .. ice/snow tends to get stuck between the calipers and the wheel itself, so, if you live in a climate where sub-zero (centigrade) temperatures are the norm during winter, I would advise against using those wheels for a winter / snow set-up ... they do look nice, though!

I agree - decided to play it safe and go with 19" wheels. I picked up a set today. I plan to outfit them with Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow in a 265 or 255 size.

So Faz - let me know if you want to take a look at the 18" X3 rims because I do need to sell them after-all.

:thumbup: