275 45 20s on style 87
 

I thought I got a great deal for style staggered 20 inch style 87 rims......plasti-dipped them in black and then realized the tires were wrong size. they guy told me they came off 2005 x5.....i just assumed everything tires would be right size.

tires are almost new ...tempting to leave them on ...would it be safe? would they look OK? the guy also told me they were genuine BMW..he said bmw markings were lost when he powder coated them ( light grey)... is there any way to figure out if these were OE?

so what do you experts have to say?

The tire size has nothing to do with the rim originality

Look on the inside of the spokes for markings
And ur tire should b 275/40/20 for the front and 315/35/20 at the rear 9.5 inch front width 10.5 inch rear rim width

And the markings are cast on the wheel and u cant lose them

+1.



Also my theory on the slightly bigger front tire would be it would mess around with the transfercase some.
Someone can correct me on that...

OE wheels with style 87 will have stamp said BMW right in front of the wheel .
Aftermarket will have a stamp said BWM .

so, they were powder coated light grey and then plasti-dipped black? is the inside part of the wheel coated too? you can see some marking on the inside - what do they say?

Ur right imo because the staggered setup is alrdy a tiny bit off, and then wrn u change the size it messes with it more

what size are the rear tires? post some pics

Ditto above...without knowing what size tires are mounted on the rear...we can't really give you a good answer as to the affect the 275/45/20 tires on the front will have. We need complete information for both front & rear since both axles have an affect on the various technologies (ABS/DSC/xDrive) that need them to be within the same general tolerence of 3% (+/-) ...and any tire size calculator will indicate that a 275/45/20 tire and 315/35/20 tire has a diameter variance that is GREATER than 3%.

And ditto about the markings on the wheels. The BMW initials as well as the BMW part nbr (last 7 digits) and other wheel specs are cast into the wheel (around the hub's front side surface) on the style 87 wheel. It would take a really thick coat of paint to cover that data to the point that it was totally smooth. If you don't see any BMW specific info around the hub...rest assured that they aren't orig BMW wheels. :cool:

275/45/20s on all 4.


I didnt see any markings anywhere...tires were already mounted through...

yes inside of wheels are powder coated as well. didnt see any markings.

not confusing the two....BTW are you happy with your toyos?

If all 4 tires are the same size you are fine. I would think if the wheels were staggered like the OE, then a 275 on a rear rim is going to look stretched though.

A question foir myself,

WHy are the rear tires 35 and front are 40?, or does the wider rear affects it in a way so its no different from the front? But still theres a diameter difference right?

Basically why are rears not the same as fronts

they are staggered like OE ...that is why I am concerned

If the fronts are 275/45/20 and the rears are 315/35/20 then you need to change the front tires

Post some pics

I am a little confused....i have 275/45/20s on all 4 rims

To pezho405: the aspect ratio has to do with diameter, not width. Wider rear needs a smaller aspect ratio to retain the same diameter as the front. And the wider rear is to handle the extra power on the 'is models. I think there are other threads on tire sizing.

To kashmir: you are good because all 4 tires are the same size, this is actually the best for your drivetrain.
the tires are a little larger than stock, but that should actually improve the accuracy of your speedometer :)
for the rears being staggered and having the 275 on the 10.5" rim, that's at the limit of acceptable rim sizes for those tires, but you should be ok. The rear tires just won't look as good as the front wheels.

Yeah they stick and wear slowly

But wet not so good, got nothing to compare to is the problem

LOL I can see it!

...just curious...are you sure that the wheels are staggered (rear wheels are wider than front)? Perhaps all the tires are the same size because the wheels are also all the same size.

:worthless:

I havent measured them but they look different with different offsets...two are more concave when you look at them from street side.

lol...will try to get some tomorrow.....

275 40 on the rear is fine. It's sized accordingly and depending on the *tire brand*, should be speced to fit the 10.5. It WILL look a lil stretched...but for all intents and purposes, the sizing is fine

the tires actually are 275 45 20...

they are NOT factory if the tires on the rear wheels look fine. they would be a small tire for that wide wheel.

Truth.

Stock wheels are staggered in size.

I had 275/45/R20 on all four 9.5" wide rims (non staggered) without any major issues (except minor speedo and odometer difference from stock rotating diameter). Extra side wall was nice around city roads!

here are some pics

one more

Looks like the larger wheels don't have any rim protection from the tires, otherwise it looks great.:thumbup:

they look fine...i more concerned about safety and potential risk to transfer case.

wasn't it agreed early in this thread that your transfer case is safe and the only problem with that setup is the looks aren't as good as having 315's on the wide wheels?

the difference in tire sizes is around 3.7% which is greater than recommended +/- 3%..

oh, I see the confusion now. No, that 3% rule is for differences in sizes from front to rear. Since all 4 tires are the same size there is 0% difference. Basically, the goal is to have the front wheels spinning at the same RPM as the rear wheels to prevent the transfer case from overheating due to constant slip.

ok....thanks for clarification... i am a total noob as far as cars go!!

your welcome! things like this are definitely worth asking about!

a lot of aftermarket wheels are sold as 9.5" wide for all 4 corners, so thats a dead give away. Chances are the orig owner bought the 4 aftermarket wheels and put the proper tires on them. He just never bought the staggered wheels so no need for larger width tires in the rear for this set up. I'd vote for the wheels all to be the 9.5" widths.

if they were of the same widths...would they have different offset which they definitely have..........two of them have more concave look

Kashmir, the manufacturer COULD be using the same width 9.5" all around but yes have different offsets, to make the "staggered" look but its kinda cheating... its like adding spacers to our wheels, which I do on my winters, to make it look like a wider stance, when in reality I have the same width wheels all around, but now a staggered offset.

Have you looked on the back of the rim's spokes or hub to see if there are any wheel specs?

Even replica's will usually indicate some type of wheel specs like width/height/offset. Again, look on the back (if you have mounted them yet) and jot down any info you see. If you can't decipher what it is...then post it up and perhaps we can help you with it...just make sure you jot down exactly whats cast into the wheel.

Or take a good pic of the info and post it. :)

Here are the markings from the spokes :

DOT
ENAC A1S17

found above marking on all the rims

the rim with smaller offset has this: CDW CD953
the rim with larger offset has this : CDW CD 954

All Rims say "DESIGN IN GERMANY"



thanks

Example of replica style 87 wheel spec locations
 

Those markings don't really indicate specifics about he wheel's dimensions etc. For example, in the images below, the wheel's width, height, & offset is cast into the rear spokes & hub of this replica style 87 wheel found on eBay:

The width & height (9.5" x 20") is cast into the right spoke at the 2 o'clock position and the wheel offset (45mm) is cast into the bottom indentation at the 6 o'clock position between the lower left/right holes for the lug bolts. This was the type of "specs" I was referring as to what to look for. :)

http://www.germanautorecycling.com/i...8163-26486.jpg

http://www.germanautorecycling.com/i...8172-26488.jpg

http://www.germanautorecycling.com/i...8168-26487.jpg

First of all thanks for the effort and taking time to post. I didnt see any markings like the one you are pointing to (20x 91/2)....that would be hard to miss even for me!! I will take another look tomorrow though.

thanks again

Depending on who made them...they may not have cast the specs into the wheel...and all the info about the wheel is coded by the mfg in the numbers you previously posted...or they may be in a different location. For example, the BMW wheel's specs are on the front side around the hub. :)

DESIGN IN GERMANY...

is it supposed to be same as MADE IN GERMANY?

so if You have a 4.4. or a 3.0 then You feel your x5 is the same as a 4.6IS or a 4.8IS................???? well if you want to meet and race I well show You the difference , as would a 4.8IS to my X5...............completely different X5 .................the wheel you would like to install on your X5 are not MADE for your Your X5...................sorry ..........You can put 9.5 on front and back[HAHAHAH] OR 10.5 on front and back ...............it is not made for it SORRY................ IS x5 are made for completely different ...............there are a few out there for under $20k ................
I really don.t want to hurt your feelings

wrong thread??

"Design in Germany" and may be "make in china" or possibly "make in germany"

who knows!!

checked again...there were no additional markings. didnt find offset markings anywhere....

i did measure the rims width with a thread...there is a difference of an inch....At this point , i am convinced that a have staggered rims. 95 and 10.5

Same size tires are not going to be the same height when stretched across a wider span (10.5) than a tire across a narrower rim (9.5). As long as the tire pressure is at recommended pressure and tread at about the same wear, measure the distance from floor to top of tire. Then calculate the difference to see if it is greater than 3%. The OE size tires on 87 rims are 315x35 on 10.5 rim and 275x40 on 9.5 rims. Different mfg. tires can be different heights but as long as all four tires are the same brand and proper sizes the set should still be within the 3% front to rear. The OE sizes provide a tire that will fit the size rim properly as far as tire seal and tire overhang. If the differences between your tire height front to back is greater than 3% it is something you should correct. If not, I suggest you check a tire store like Discount tire to see if the tires you have on the 10.5 rims are too narrow, a safety issue. FYI- I really liked the Toyo tires. I have tried many brands out there and now go with Continental Extreme as they are less expensive, have the softer ride (like Toyo), great wet and dry grip and last double the miles.

took them to a local tire store. they measured the widths with calipers....the rims are actually staggered. the guy also thought rims were OE...

they couldnt get the rims on the hub...blamed them on the powder coating that the previous owner had done. they eventually sanded it to smoothen the inside of the hub and were able to get them on. next they told me that they were not able to tighten the lug nuts properly...it appears that plasti-dip had found its way into the lug hole....they cleaned those holes up and problem

they look great ...the profile of my X5 looks totally different...very pleased with the looks.

here is the bad news though.....on my way home....i felt steering wheel vibrations at speeds 60-70 miles...have never had that problem before.

i know it could be suspension issue. but i just had axles, thrust arm bushing and lower control arms replaced.

what do yo guys think? did they shave off too much from the wheel center ..leaving a gap...do i need hub-centric rings? what else could have go wrong?

Tire balance

you mean have them rebalance them..?

Have them "roadforce" balanced

Search in google : hunter roadforce tire balancing machine



unless your centerbore is wrong/damaged

went back to the tire place , they told me one of the rims was bent...so went to a rim repair place( had to drive 50 miles each way),.. after working on it for 45 min ...he told me he couldnt fix it completely ...he called it 90% round. no improvement in vibrations though. drove straight to a roadforce balance place. they told me that 3 of the rims had some wobble but one was pretty bad..and this is not the one that i had fixed. vibrations have improved by about 80%.after roadforce balancing.

at this point not sure if I should just get new rims or try to get the bad one repaired.

if the vibration goes away, should i still be concerned because most of the rims have some wobble

i know someone on this thread had posted that he had two front rims for sale...are they still available?

Rims that wobble are going to wear the tires more than rims that do not. They will also cause more wear to the suspension components. If your plan is to replace 2 of the rims like the ones you have than you should wait to you should wait and get all 4 checked and straightened as needed

Since you are not sure of the mfg. of the rims and it is unlikely the previous owner damaged all 4 rims--I would make sure they are worth repairing. It may be you will be back to the same place before long.

i suspect that your rims are not OE rims - a few years back, I did an evasive maneuvre in Managua avoiding a percieved threat and banged the front right rim, so the tire popped... i took the rim to a repair place, and $20 later and all day later, they got the rim back into round shape again...

the point is - it is soooo hard to bend the OE rims, you really have to jump concrete curb at 50 MPH... once the repair was done, the rim stayed true to round shape...

if you have 3 rims that are bend, the previous guy either had fun running the car on long stairs, up and down, or the rims are made of inferior material and do not stand the test of time and external force...

my rims are plasti-dipped (not powder coated) and i sprayed plasti dip everywhere, including the holes... torqued fine, and no issues...

you should start considering new set of rims, just to be on a safe side...

Your rims aren't OEM. You can see a single 4 sticking out through all of the coating. There should be a ton of markings on the front which are missing. If the powdercoat was thick enough to hide the markings, it would also hide the design lines on the spokes, which is isn't. Good luck with them. Plastidip should not affect the lug holes, and whoever powdercoated the wheels was downright dumb if they did the hub bore as well. I would try to get your money back and get different wheels.