214s.... to be or not to be... (UPDATE : TO BE !)
 

Hey guys and gals, need your advise and opinion...

Waiting for my 2011 X5 3.5d, but the build will not start until 1st week of July, thus I have some time to make more changes.

The 214s look just awesome on X5 (Say Hello to my 2011X5D... - bimmerfest - BMW Forums to see how they would look like on the same color I've ordered)... However, there are many pros and cons, and I am just can't make up my mind...

Pros:
Looks and overall car stance


Cons:
Summer Tires - need to get something for the winter
Wear Fast - will probably go though at least 2-3 sets during 3-year lease (driving ~13-14K/year)
Steering not as precise

I was thinking of getting them, them swap the tires for Contis DWS, which are all-seasons and have 50K thread life warranty (cost with mounting and balancing and taxes around $1,200). However, they are not run-flats, but I will have a spare in my car


Those who live and drive in NY metro area and use 214s - have you had any pothole-related issues with the tire and rims?

What about those who switches to Contis - what is your experience, especially as tire starts to wear down?

I can get another wheels/tire set for winter/all-seasons, but I dont really want to deal with swapping wheels and storing them (dont have much space)... Besides, 214s look so good, once I put them on, I want to keep them on ;)


P.S. I also tried to find an all-season RFT tires which would fit 214s - no luck so far... That would give me a piece of mind...

Have I had????...more like...when you have issues....bent rims, cracked one (no bend amazingly)....but I'm vain enough to continue to bear through the costs of upkeep on 214 wheels & tires...

and before anyone ask's...OEM 214's, Bridgestone Dueler HP RFT's....

It really depends on how you drive, where exactly you drive, etc...I have 90K in 2.5 years with travel on CBX, LIE, BQE, Queens BLVD, even route 17 in upstate NY, etc.....really really bad roads

I gotten lost in your reply (long day for me) :)...

So I take it you had a cracked rim ?

How long did your Bridgestones last, and what do you for the winter?

I drive mostly in NJ (central/north), route 78 between 24 and Holland Tunnel is my commute...

(1) slightly bent rim
(1) cracked rear rim (no bend)

OEM Dunlaps - I think I got 15-19K
Changed to Bridgestone Dueler HP RFT - 1st set got 38K...
2nd set I'm on now - 33K and going..

78 has its places....although much better than the commute to NYC from Rock/Bergen...

Winter time - never changed tires...did a great job (not as good as Blizzaks I presume...but worked in all that blizzard snow we had upto both offices in Long Island and Upstate NY...)

Thanks ! Those bents and cracks - are they results of potholes or something else?

Yeah, 78 is now under construction, especially between GSP and Turnpike, horrible!

I suspect its the bumps, dips and potholes that seem to foreshadow my every move. If its not them, then I guess its the small trolls with big hammers that invade my parking spot at night... :rofl:

I am thinking of getting 214s, but remove Dunlops and store them until end of the lease... In the meantime, mount one of the following:

Contis : Continental ExtremeContact DWS xDrive48i&autoModClar=Sport Package

Michelins : Michelin Latitude Tour HP xDrive48i&autoModClar=Sport Package

Neither of them are Run-Flats (damn!!!), but both are all-seasons and perform quite well during winter times. Contis have longer threadlife (advertised), and even survey have better responses, although someone complained about Contis having softer sidewalls...

Any suggestions/recommendations on this?

sorry for the brief hijack, but how reliabe has your X been over those 90k miles? Did you buy an extended warranty/maintenance plan?

Did you actually drive on the snow itself? We are going skiing couple of times a year to upstate NY, there are some snow-covered paths and small hills to climb... Did you expose your bridgestones to them?

Otherwise, I would need to go for the all-seasons, which are not RFTs...

Speaking of NYC, it's the one city where I've lived that I'd highly recommend going for the tire insurance. It paid for itself a few times over since I value aesthetics and loved the look of the sportier rims over the standard ones.

I have the 214's on my 4.8. Dunlops lasted about 15k on front. Replaced all four with Conti's in Feb. No real snow experience, but reviews are good, and let's face it I am in Cincinnati, so not a lot of snow. Got mine for about 1050 mounted (at my dealer no less). I have the third row, so have a compressor/repair kit. If you have a spare, nonRFT is not an issue.

I think the 214s are still the best looking wheel on the e70.

Thanks Ag4.8 ! I know that 214s are best looking, thus the dilemma...

I sent you a PM, but how do you enjoy Contis so far? I recall that you went with Michelin prior to that and didnt like them much...

Yeah....it won't be brief....I've had what everyone else had (glove box peeling, steering wheel peeling, now center console near iDrive peeling) Front sway bar? replaced under warranty, rear shelf divider replaced, all glazing around windows and pillars replaced, CCC unit replaced, LCD screen replaced, Front suspension bracket (don't have pic, but cost me $800.00,) now left front suspension area squeaks a little on small bumps...

I will drive it to 250K on company policy (I tried another route with BMW but they failed to satisfy the customer, me..,) but I have a sneaky suspicion that it won't make it till 200K without significant cost...

No extended warranty, only extended maintenance warranty.

Expose them?? damn, I had to frequently stop and remove all the snow from the inside of wheel because the snow/ice unbalanced the SAV so much that I could not drive past 35mph without serious shaking with the entire car...

So....absolutely, drove the SAV in light and heavy snow, both covered roads and slush roads....all was good. Could be better...but did the job satisfactorily.

Wow, brutal. Thanks for taking the time to list it all out.

I sent you an email. Will send you pics tomorrow.

Overall I have been pleased with the Contis. The ride is a little better. No noise issues. Dunlops a little better in the handling dept, but it is a summer tire and this is a truck (I know, SAV):nanana:

On my 4.8is, I stuck with the Diamaris but got tired of the poor treadlife. I didn't want to go thru that again with the Dunlops and don't want to deal with summer/winter tires (I am in Cincinnati), so I feel the Conti's have been a good replacement tire.

Same happened to my 214s after a brief fun-ride and stop at home. It took me a few minutes to put 2 & 2 together. Anyway, in my opinion, 214s full-time no matter what it takes. ;) All-seasons for NY.

After multiple back-n-forths, the decision is : YEAH, I AM GETTING THEM 214s!

I will decide what to do in regards to rubber down the road (whether I will replace Dunlops with Contis or Michelins non-RFT or get another winter wheel/tire setup)...

Thanks everyone for feedback and support !

Now you need spacers.

Yeap :)

30mm for the rear only, nothing for the front... My bro (genemish) is in exactly same boat, he got 30mm for the rears, it looks great!

Good call on the 214's.

the fronts definitely need it too. not sure about 30's in the rear though. i don't want the tires sticking beyond the extended flares, as i dont want the truck looking like a taco mobile, but to each his own. i have 10 and 20 and it's perfect.

Thanks C! I am a bit concerned putting any spacers on the front as it will affect alignment and steering. I'll try to see how it looks like without the front spacers first, and if I dont like the look, I can always add them later ;)

Good call coz' what's the fun of ownership if you dont like the look. You gotta have 2 set ups IMO if you live where there is snow.

I don't know if it's just me but after I put 15mm on the fronts my turn radius took a huge hit. :( I live with it though.

That is the expected result... You really dont want to mess with the geometry of the front suspension, not to mention it will also affect tire's wear... And I am not talking about just regular street turn, I am talking about highway drives and long curves, it will eat up at the tire's edges eventually...

You're running 15's in the front with your 214's? Are they the same offset as OEM? I'm running 10's and my radius is still the same.

If you throw 30's in your rear, you might want some camber plates to go along with what you just said above. I'm running 10's in the front and 20's in the rear. Turning radius is identical to stock and tire wear is fine. I've run spacers on all my BMW's over the years and never an issue, but then again, I never ran extremely aggressive spacers. The better choice would be to do a custom set of wheels with the appropriate offsets if you want the flushed look to the fenders. :thumbup: