are all OEM BMW E53 wheels interchangable with all years of E53?
 

Been looking on Craigslist for a set of non staggered 17 or 18 inch BMW wheels to use on my 2004 E53/sports package (staggered 19 inch rims) for winter tires. I'm getting conflicting information from sellers on compatibility of wheels off non sports package E53"s with my setup.

Does anyone know if wheels from all years of E53 X5's (2001-2006) are interchangable?

I've searched on google and X outpost and haven't found the answer.

Thanks in advance

JimL

All E53 wheels are interchangeable, with the qualifier that the 17" wheels don't fit over the brake calipers of the 4.6/4.8.

There are other BMW wheels that won't fit the E53 due to incorrect offset.

I don't know the direct answer, but if you know the diameter, offset, width and bolt pattern you can figure this out. There are (or were) a few web sites that had offset calculators and even fit calculator so some googling might be in order.

I would guess the bolt pattern (5x120) is pretty standard across X5 and many other 5-bold BMWs. They seem to like that sizing.

It may be obvious, but worth stating, the issue is either rubbing on the suspension parts (can't bolt on without spacers) or rubbing on the fenders. Rubbing on the suspension is mostly about the offset; fenders typically the diameter especially in front. Sticking out beyond the fenders is probably a no no to the po po, but some people like the look.

Forgot about that minimum diameter problem, which might be worse if a big brake kit was installed.

Bolt circle may be the same, but there are two sizes of bolts used depending on the BMW model, ie 3 series vs X5.

Some wheels may also be not as strong considering the vehicle weight.

Your search must have missed this chart which I've posted on bimboard/bimfest//bimforum/xoutpost... :)


And as already stated above...watch out for larger brake options which may dismiss the smallest e53 (17") wheels from the mix...you can verify this by looking at the tire inflation chart on your driver's door...BMW has a tire size & PSI recommendation for each wheel/tire combo that was available for your model.

OK, thanks everyone, especially Qsilver7. tremendously helpful

JimL

I forgot to address this confusing issue...but I don't think it's really a big issue as long as you use (or keep) your original wheel bolts...since they match your tire iron. The issue is with the bolt's head size...it's either 19mm or 17mm...but the width/length of the bolt's thread is the same

The e53 does have an oddity in it's wheel bolts. The length and thread is the same through out the production run (M14x1.5)...but the head of the wheel bolt is 19mm on the early e53 X5s...then from 12/2005 build date up...BMW went back to using a 17mm head on the bolt (which is like the majority of other BMW models...at least the e32/e34/e38/e39).

Again, I don't think this posses any issues with whichever e53 wheel you may decide upon. Because all of the e53 wheels have the same part nbr regardless of the build date...and both the 19mm & 17mm wheel bolts fit all of the e53 wheels.

For an example...you can do a part nbr cross reference search for the e53's 19mm & 17mm wheel bolts and you''ll see that they are used on the same wheels with the same part nbrs:

• part # 36 13 6 756 298 (19mm) up to 12/2005: RealOEM.com * Part Cross-reference
• part # 36 13 6 781 153 (17mm) from 12/2005 up: RealOEM.com * Part Cross-reference

You can see the styles here.....I installed style 63 on mine, 19 staggered with all season Hancooks.

All BMW wheel styles X X5-E53 | BmwStyleWheels.com

Nope. You are talking about wrench size. I am talking about bolt size. WRT the above point, we were discussing all BMW OE wheels, not just E53 wheels.

If you look at your own chart, some wheels are designed for M12 bolts and some for M14 bolts. The 12 and 14 refer to the bolt diameter, not the wrench size. You may be able to get away with a bolt not designed for a certain wheel, but I wouldn't do it.