New Member, New E70 with replicas
 

First of all, I would like to introduce myself to this great forum. I am located in Miami Florida and I just purchased a 2008 E70 X5 for my wife. We had a 2006 Infiniti QX56 which we sold for the X5. I really liked the QX 56, but the wife always wanted the X5, so end of story. So far, it's been 2 weeks of ownership and so far it has been better than I expected, The ride and quality of this vehicle is superior in all ways compared to the QX56. As for the X5, we went with the 3.0 due to gas prices and the vehicle price as well. I found it hard to swallow an extra 15 to 20K for the 4.8, and they look the same. We went with the premium package, 3rd row seating, tech. and rear climate package, white with tobacco interior. Paid 53K. The one thing I had to change and fast, were the wheels. I really hated those stock 18" wheels, they did nothing for the car making it look more like an X3. So I ordered the 214 replicas, which have a polished face and painted inside, unlike the all painted OEM wheels. As for tires, went with the michelins latitudes. Looks much better and rides the same as the aweful runflats. As for the fender flares, still not sure if I should replace them, we'll see. In closing, I would like to thank all of you that post valuable information on this post, it helped me greatly in my purchase and now in some mods.
Attached are some before and after pictures.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-01.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-02.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-12.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-15.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-09.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...005/BMW-08.jpg

thanks for sharing. so, what will you do about a spare since you don't have runflats?

:thumbup: Very nice.

Where in MIA are you if you don't mind me asking? Nice charger btw, how big are those wheels :wow:?

looks good!

Thanks! As for the spare, I carry a can of flat sealer and I also have a small air comp. in the trunk. As for the Charger in the background, it's an SRT8 425HP stock. The wheels are 22" and the car does not come with a spare, just a small air comp. with a flat sealer can. Pretty much the same setup on both cars.
As for location, I'm in Coral Gables.

:xoutpost:

Beautiful X! Very clean and sporty.

Titz looking wheels! And, I like the E70 in white...

Since you already have a small compressor, you
might check a tire plug kit, eg the link below. It is
quite easy to use on the accessible X5 big tires/high
clearance and more effective on puntures from nails,
etc., than the tire goo. Plus, your tire changer guy
will not bitch at you for the goo.

Welcome to the best freakin Auto&Everything Board on
the Net, imo.
GL,mD

Dyna Plug: http://www.dynaplug.com/

Thanks for the tip!
Here is a pic I just found, of my other toy.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...5/100_4384.jpg

:thumbup: I don't mind those wheels, even though I'm not usually into chrome.
Coulda sworn that was CG, was right!

Congratulations!

Very nice setup. I also love the charger you got!

Wow! That ride is LIQUID!! What a great color!

:iagree: I never like white cars, and I think that an AW E70 is hot!

nice wheels :nanana:

very nicely done although the 'chrome' finish isn't my thing. The charger is hot too.

Was considering the same thing (again) with changing to 214 20s but I'd need a spare imo. Selling the 19" spare in the back and getting a 20" replacement just for a spare tire & 20" rims seems like overkill though. :(

Also, how do you people with spare tires work the staggered 20s? I mean they are 2 different sizes front vs. back and there's just 1 spare.

both tires have the same height.

Ahh right, I guess that's all that matters.. brain fart. Pfffft.

AW is the best :thumbup:

Good luck!

Nice. Congrats.

Where did you get those rims from? I've seen exact replicas, but with a polished/chrome finish is new.

So from where and how much?

nice ride... the 214s look great even without the fender flares...

i'm still using the stock 18s till end of winter..then swapping to 214 replicas...

i'm getting them from blustar...along with Michelin Latitude Tour Pros and the wheels are a bit more narrower than the OEMs..(9.5 and 10.5 compared to OEMs 10 and 11)

Blustar offers a complete wheel/tire/TPM pkg for about $3k.

I think these would work perfectly with the non-flared fenders...

but i'm also curious what you got for your ride!!

That seems expensive for replicas. My tire dealer quoted me $3250 for 20" OEM wheels with RFT tires and TPM.

The rims are polished and not chrome. I believe they look better than OEM 214's and not as over done as if they were chrome.
I got them from the link below, and yes, I did make him an offer and got a way better deal.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/20-x1...QQcmdZViewItem

Anyone else have these exact wheels?

I'm looking for 21" replicas of either style 128 or 239. I'll probably wait until spring/summer to get them, as no one makes them right now anyway.

Is this what you're looking for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/21-st...spagenameZWDVW

make sure you are ready to pay for the runflar tires that would be needed for the wheels. ;)

That's even if you can fit RFT on them. The OE rims are double hump to accept RFT I am not sure if the replicas would be the same.

So Nice!!!

that's not bad... don't think i can get anywhere close in that range with the same setup (214s w/Michelins & TPM sensors mounted and balanced)

dealer is asking more than 4k...

Great choice on wheels! Makes a huge difference.

Thanks! Whenever I would do a search for 21" wheels, nothing for the X5 would come up. Now if they only had style 128.......

nice bmw

Smart wife! ;)

Great looking X!

X5 does look much better with those new wheels !

More like spoiled wife;)

:thumbup:

Thanks to all the replies. Took it on a long ride this past week and the wheels performed like the factory wheels. Now I need to sell my OEM wheels. They are style 210 with run flats all season and have 198 miles on them, so they are brand new. $800 plus shipping. Can offer good deal on shipping.

where did you get the new set of rims

I have not seen replicas of 21" style 128 yet. Don't know why they don't have it.

what are the wheels you are selling!!! what size what do they look like . my phone # is 215-416-7240 my name is brad

what are oem wheels what size!!

WHAT SIZE TIRES I HOPE 20 OR HIGHER 215-416-7240

^ he stated in his 1st post that they were stock 18" (non sport) tires. Style 210 is only 18".

THANKS IAM NEW AT THIS !!! NEW MEMBER

Hi, and welcome to the board. :xoutpost:

But please take the caps lock off. I don't think you're actually shouting, but that's the way your message is interpreted.

sorry abou the caps. do you mind giving me some information on your new 22in wheels. where did you get them, did they come with the tires & rims.how much did the it cost?

They are not 22".s they are 20"s, just like the stock 20" optional sport wheels offered on the 4.8 here in the states. I purchased them on ebay.

I have recieved several questions on where I purchased these wheels. I got them on ebay. There are several sellers selling these replicas, but I only found one selling the painted and polished replicas like mine.
Here is a link to the seller:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...AQ:MOTORS:1123

these are the closest i've seen to OEM... most replicas don't have caps and they are slightly different in widths...

blustar has a nice set but they're 9.5 fronts and 10.5 rears...
they don't offer TPM sensors but they do offer wheel/tire pkgs..

wheels and caps have them also and they're 10 fronts and 11 rears... but no caps..(which you can get anywhere)
they don't offer tires or TPM sensors...

after pricing all of these items out....(TPM sensors, tires, wheels, caps, etc) it seemed slightly more expensive than anticipated.... i decided it made more sense to get OEM wheels w/TPM sensors and tires from tirerack.com

total pkg came out to $2800.

I pulled the trigger today with a local shop that sold the 20" Toyo Proxes... $800 tires, totalled with tax it's $1k installed (when the rims get here) and swapping the existing sensors in. The replica rims I got on ebay today from Wheels and Caps (10"/11")- very reputable after researching for hours. Total cost $1016 tires/install + $1086 rims shipped. I still need to get the wheel caps and fender flares for ~$250. I can't wait to finally get 214s on this thing.

I will see how it goes for a few weeks and see about selling my 19" sports with Michelin Latitude runflats (500 miles).

Congrats!!! Glad you finally jumped in. You'll love the 214s, it'll make the car look so much better, you will be amazed. Make sure to take before and after pictures.

question are the new 21 in wheels run flats ?

ummmm......... they're 20", not 21". :confused:

New tires are NOT run flats and I don't miss the run flats at all! The new tires feel so much better, I guess they are softer.
As for the stock wheels, I sold them and got some of the money spent on the new wheels, back.
I'm still not sure on the fender flares. I think the car looks meaner with stock fender flares. What do you guys think?

I'm changing to 21" rims, does that mean I dont have runflat? I'm confused once I read the above comments.

I'm not sure why all the confusion.

Unless it is different for other countries, the vehicle from the factory comes with runflats no matter the size (18,19,20).

A lot of people choose to upgrade their wheels & tires on their own (or through the dealer) after the purchase. Typically when they buy new tires on their own (tirerack or local shop), they are no longer runflats (not much sense to spend so much on a new runflat tire that cannot be fixed - safety during a blowout is the only positive, really).

x5TT, are you asking if you currently have runflats before changing to 21s? If your vehicle is original specs and unchanged, it will be runflats. When you change to 21s, you can buy runflats or not, depending on what's available for 21s.

Keep in mind those X5's with 3rd row seating does NOT come with a spare tire. Thus, a RFT is needed unless you have some other means of recovering from a flat tire.

Actually I'm waiting for my x5 3.0sd atm, But I will change to 21s after purchase and that will be done by dealer. Do you have any idea how much is the RFT compare to normal ones?

This is something I have been trying to find out over the last few months.

Dunlop is the only tyre company that I can see which fits these rim dimensions:
Front 285/35 R21 105W
Rear 325/30 R21 108W
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx RunOnFlat.

Does anybody know of non run flat tyres that fit that would fit the above dimensions?

Kind Regards
ekelly

hi, hawk570.
What is the exact tire size you bought?
Did you buy 275/40/20 (front) and 315/35/20 (rear)?
I got the same set of wheels as you but I don't know the tire size.

Ok, really considering the 214 replicas from caps and wheels. any recommendations or suggestions?

Wheels and X5 look great. What size wheels and tires did you purchase? I am also in Miami and would like to know where you purchased the wheels and tires. I have been thinking of doing the same since I purchased in August.
Thanks

I like those wheels better than the OEM version - looks great!

Hi from Broward :)

Link please

Just checking... the $3250 for OEMs sounds like a great deal. Don't these list for $6k retail?

The 21s list for over $5k but the 20s with rubber should be just north of $3k.. sounds right.

All those old ebay links have expired. Did the polished replica rims you bought come from Wheels and Caps? Or was that some other eBay seller? I don't see any 214 replica rims on eBay now. I like these.

Wow, those wheels really make a difference. I was thinking about getting a set of 18" wheels for winter use, but it changes the looks of the X5 so much I'm having second thoughts. We don't get a lot of snow and ice in MD, so when we do, I guess I'll leave the X5 parked .

OK, got 214s replicas from ebay, got toyo proxes 2 from ebay and bought TPM sensors from tirerack. Awaiting delivery of all 3. Hope everything goes well.

Rims are from ebay, tires from tirerack.com. Used my stock sensors. After almost a year, everything is as when new. Tires have plenty left (about 75-80%) after 12K miles. Rims still looking new. Just still a REAL pain to keep clean!!! I hate the stock brake pads!!

When it's time to replace, we'll replace with ceramic. ;)

Is the drive still smooth compared to the stock 18"s?

What happens if you don't use the BMW Tire Pressure Sensor in your new wheels?
Will you just get an alert?
Can the alert be turned off?
You can still drive like normal right?

yes, every time you start the car you get a warning that takes over your idrive! and it can't be turned off!

Do yo mean, the iDrive is halted and can not be used if the TPS is not present? Or do you mean halted for a few seconds warning and disappears?

Anyone getting new rims and tires have to buy new set of tire pressure sensors for them too?
How much did it cost you for the TPS?
I just got new 20" 214 rims and tires but I forgot all about the TPS for them and they are already mounted and balanced.
I guess I have to unmount and have the TPS installed then remount and balanced?

Thanks.

$208 Shipped for all 4. Yes the warning doesn't go away.