Lots of Winter miles to cover - Wheel/Tyre advice setup please.
 

Hi,

As much as I'd love to replicate the current setup of 20" 275 front 315 rear on the X5 with the Winter setup on Snow tyres, I just cant justify the cost for a once a year journey.

I have about 2500 miles to cover over Europe - including the Swiss Alps and deep Poland, so I need to have the right running gear.

The plan is to fit 235/65/17 Goodyear Ultra Grip snow tyres to four OEM (brand new) 17" five spoke wheels (I already had one as a spare so I just bought the other 3).

Will I notice any appreciable deteriation in the drive quality/road holding by going from the 20's to this 17 inch wheel tyre combination.

Not planning any 100mph+ runs on the German Autobahn - just wanna be safe at 85. Is this a bad setup?

I was considering putting 25mm spacers at the rear to maintain the staggered look (the X has the arch extensions all round). Bad idea? TPI or H&R?

From the research I did so far, this wheel/tyre combo - whilst not looking he best - is the most effective in Snow/Ice. Not sure if this advice applies to a car the size of the X5. Did BMW fit this wheel tyre combination as standard on any of the E53 X5's?

The car is a 2003 E53 3.0d Sport so no problem with brake clearance.

Thanks for any advice. Cheers. Kev

I ran 17s with Michey Alpins for 4 winters in the Mtns of western North Carolina, and they made our '01 sport, non-XDrive go like a Mtn goat.
The trade off is a bit less handling in hard cornering, and cosmetics, but you are doing the right thing going with 17s, imo. You will be well
equipped & impressed, I believe.

Yes, the 17s were std on many non-sport E53s in the earlier model years.
GL, mD

+1

I left my 18's at an ex's house only to find out she sold them this summer when I went to pick them up. So now I am going to use 17's, as I never did my brake upgrade. IMHO minus sizing is better for snow traction for the 95% of X5's that are not 4.6 or 4.8. I considered buying tires for the type 87 20's but then I figured who the heck was going to buy those tires if I ever sold the car. So to make a long story short, I opted for a set of OEM 17's type 57. Tires for this are so cheap and easy to find 235/65/17. And since I have the fender flares I will need a spacer pair in the rear.

17s with 235/65 tyres were standard on all non-sport six cylinder (petrol and diesel) E53s both pre and post (04) upgrade here in Australia. I have no trouble with mine at high speeds (+140km/h) even with mild off-road tyres (Pirelli Scorpion ATRs in that standard 235/65 size).

Given that you only have four 17s, what will you do for a spare?

I have a 2001 4.4i Sport. I bought a set of 17" E53 rims off ebay and have fitted Kumho KL78's (235/65/17) all round. Grip in snow is brilliant. As the overall diameter is 1mm different from my 19" wheels, I have no problem using the 19" as the spare to get me home.

Just swapped out my 19" Sport wheels with their wide Diamaris' for a set of 17" OEM wheels with Vredestein Wintrac XL tyres. The UK is in the throes of one of the worstwinters in decades, so I reckoned the tyres would make a big difference on the snow and ice....the journey home tonight on the Vredesteins flt very solid, no sign of slipping on the snow / ice, and the ride quality was really good. I too will use the spare in the boot if needed as the rolling circumference is pretty well the same as the 17"s.

So the 19 fits in the spare tyre well OK? What size tyre is on it?

Isn't your spare a 17?