WHAT?!?

So you paid for the mount and swap, and didn't get any 'benefit'- specifically being able to take measurments and understand PRECISLEY where they rub????

I'd be....annoyed.

Anyone have 20s that aren't staggered?

Ard, annoyed is a mild term. They were a large national chain, suspect they needed the rack cleared to make more money. Took my stuff to Peerless Tires here in Colorado, and they fixed me up with a new set of wheels, Sorry Lambeau I went with the TR60s also. Peerless checked measurements, did some research, and will test fit before doing the swap. I will post updates and pictures when the work is done.

Alright, I got this project done. The old girl is ready for winter. Thanks Lambeau for the offline support and tutorial. I could not have done it with out your help. BTW, Snow last night just above 12,000. :)

I also just put larger tires on my 2007 4.8i.

I put on 265/60/18 cooper AT4 4s tires on style 93 7 series wheels that are 18x8 et24.

I had the center bores enlarged to 74.1 on them which added to the cost but I think it is a better setup than using spacers (especially since I had to go down from 19's to 18's and needed to buy new rims anyway).

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show...1&postcount=27

-Rich

See and I approach this whole tire size/diameter equation from a different angle. I am lowered and would like a little larger diameter tire to fill the wheel wells a bit. I wonder how large diameter I can get while lowered.

Depends on your wheel size. I am running 295/40R20 all around. It’s about 0.65” taller and helps fill the wheel well a bit better... and rides smoother.

I think it also depends on the year. My 2007 4.8i required that the driver side grille vent be trimmed. I will post some pictures when I get a chance.

The wider tires might actually be just as bad as taller depending on the offset. Lifting would have probably made my situation worse because the arc of the fender would be higher and have more interference with the larger tire so lowering is likely not going to create a clearance issue unless you hit the top side of the inner fenders.

I would argue that larger, wider, and lower profile tires probably make for a worse rougher ride rather than smoother. The tire brand/type probably changed your ride more than the size... Wider tires are also much worse in rain and snow than narrow tires because they tend to hydroplane and lose traction when trying to cut their path.

Less sidewall makes for a rougher ride, more sidewall makes for more sway during cornering so it depends on what you want. Wider tires really don't give any extra traction due to the downforce being equal and it just making for a different shape of the contact patch. This is true in a straight line where wider tires give some other benefits when cornering... Wider tires do however give more treadwear which is usually the reason to do it.

In most cases I am against lowering a truck or raising a car (and I am against slamming either because the roll centers get compromised).

Whether the e70 (or e53) X5 is a truck or car is really debatable... It is really more of a car suspension wise so I am contradicting my normal thoughts a bit by putting AT tires on it but I wanted some more durability when going into Mexico or when camping....

-Rich

Rich, to be honest, I really just like the way wider tires look. Stock is 315 rear, 275 front. I split the difference and am running 295 on all 4 corners (20x11 Style 214 wheels all around... which is the rear wheel size). I can rotate now. I think the biggest ride improvement was going away from runflats, seconded by a slightly taller sidewall. Stock suspension, no plans to alter that.

Interesting. Any spacers required for your setup? I was thinking of going with a 20x10 wheel and 275/40 tires and am just looking for information to file away.