Gotcha. I thought I was missing something. The strange thing is that BMW recommends a staggered setup for winter when rule of thumb is narrow is better than wide

I know, I thought that was strange too; but if BMW Canada recommends it, I figured they know what they are talking about since they get much more snow than we do here in NJ.

Looks great AwesomeM3. Did you buy the complete set? Dealer?

I have 50i with sports package 20" style 336 wheels. I was trying to put together a winter set myself but I ended up buying 19" Style 335 take offs from a brand new X5 (with all-season runflats) -- basically the wheels you get with 35d/50i sports package without the 20" upgrade. The only problem is the that I will need spacers in the rear to fill in the arches if I want them to look right.
They are not winter tires but will get the job done. I think I got a pretty good deal for almost new oem set: 19" Style 335 wheels, TPMS, tires and center caps -- mounted and balanced at the factory.

BMW Canada is in the business of making $$ by selling you goods; making their goods appear 'luxury' and 'exclusive' helps profit margins. Also, if any of the wheels is damaged/stolen and requires replacement, and BMW Canada is the only source... well, you get the picture.

Thanks :thumbup:

I bought the package from a BMW dealer in Canada. BMW NA doesn't offer the package, only BMW Canada, but it's all BMW NA parts...go figure! :dunno:

All of the parts (wheels, tires, TPMS, etc) are BMW NA, so it will be easy to get replacement parts if needed. All parts are available through BMW NA, but the Winter wheel and tire package is only available through BMW Canada.

Sell the All seasons and grab a set of Winters. You should be able to find somebody who pay for the OEM Runflats and you can spend a bit more for winter rubber.

For those in Calgary, there's a set of 19" style 211 with Nokian R for 980.00. I already have winter tires for my E53 but great option for those E70 drivers.

BMW X5 OEM Wheels w/ Nokian hakkapeliita R Winter Tires - Calgary Tires, Rims For Sale - Kijiji Calgary Canada.

Price already commented on this, but to add some background.

A recent discussion with BMW Canada about a service issue with a new X1 included the disclosure that BMW Canada doesn't employ any engineering staff, just marketing and customer contact personnel. That may or may not be accurate, but it was BMW Canada that said it in this case.

That supports the hypothesis that the BMW Canada 'recommendations' may be based more on what they have lot of in the warehouse than on what specific tire/wheel combination works best in winter conditions. There is nothing wrong with their recomendations in this case, but there is no magic to them. It is more important to use a good winter tire instead of an all season, than which specific winter tire it is, IMO.