Second thoughts on the Sport Activity Package - Need Opinions on these pictures
 

So I'm experiencing some hesitation on going with the Sport Activity Package instead of the Premium. I know it's only roughly a $1,800 difference and you get 20" rims, black headliner, and a cooler looking steering wheel (sport seats don't apply to me because I'm going with multi contour).

But one of the biggest positives is also a bit of a negative. I live in MN where 11 inch rear rims are not going to cut it in the winter. I roads stay plowed well but it doesn't seem wise to run an aftermarket rim with and winter tire combo that is 11 inches wide in the rear. I don't mind the look of the premium 19" rims and it is appealing to not have to spend another $2,000 on rims and tires and then have to switch them twice a year. I get it they are not the perfect snow tire but they're a lot better than an 11 inch wide rim with a snow tire on it. But the Oyster seats would look a lot nicer with a black headliner instead of light gray.

Thoughts, insights, opinions? I was deadset on the Sport Activity because I like the look of the 20" rims and the black headliner, just having second thoughts because I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle where I live.

Though I really like the look of these two.

http://i.ebayimg.com/05/!B5yEMdgBGk~..._id=8800005007
20" BMW X3 X5 X6 Matte Black Wheels Rims E70 E71 E53 - eBay (item 300539308283 end time Apr-20-11 09:52:10 PDT)


http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/0/1...0815008_tp.jpg
20" BMW Type 215 Style Wheels Rims Fits Any X5 X6 - eBay (item 300441644142 end time Apr-24-11 10:45:39 PDT)



Another option is this aftermarket rim that is 20" x 9" with a winter tire. But it's hard to see how far in they sit as opposed to the 11 inch rims.
20" perf tires on snow? - XBimmers.com | BMW X6 Forum X5 Forum

Did some digging and apparently this is a 10" front and 10.5" rim in back with 275/40/20's all square. As you can see the tires are really stretched on the rim. This means that if I did the 20x9 version it would be considerably narrower looking.
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/attac...1&d=1294270911
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/attac...1&d=1294270911
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/attac...1&d=1294270911



What really scares me is this look. This isn't ok with me since I'd need to have it on from December through March in MN.
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...18-set-up.html
http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...p-100_1829.jpg

I think you're doing it backwards, considering the steering wheel and headliner in determining which wheels to get.

IMO you should start from the premise that you need winter wheels, whether your summer wheels are 19" or 20". Buying an expensive fully optioned awd vehicle in a place that gets real winters, and running it on summer performance tires, just doesn't make sense.

If you don't like the look of fender flares with winter wheels, then perhaps that influences your decision whether or not to get the package that has fender flares.

Once you have the right size wheels on there for all 12 months of the year, the rest will fall in to place.

Well the stock 19" rims have all season tires as I'm sure you know. Granted that isn't as good as a dedicated snow tire, but MN is really good about plowing and I'm seldomly driving through deep snow. I've always had all season tires and been just fine.

The aftermarket rim look could work with a narrower tire/rim combo, but it's really tough to tell by those 20x9 fill out the wheel well. The real allure to this is getting to have the nice and wide summer tires during the 6-7 months out of the year where they could be used in MN.

Yes, I know. They aren't winter tires, and so for a third of the year your vehicle's performance will be seriously compromised.

It isn't about the depth of the snow, it is about the ambient air temperature.

We got the sport because my wife liked the black trim around the windows. Seriously.

I was dead set against the larger rims, so 19" square.

The aftermarket rims above seem so silly with the small and puny looking brakes/rotors. There is NO functional reason to upsize rims unless the rotors are upsized. Doing one without the other offends my sense of 'form and function'

GL

A

If the OP really likes/wants the 20s, get 'em...if not, get the 19s, imo.
But, as noted, a set of winter wheels with dedicated real winter snow tires, allows the expensive 'tech' one pays for in a new X car,
to show its best in winter driving, and provide for that inherent control capability.

I swapped a winter vs summer wheel/tire set for 5 seasons; it took longer to dig the 'other set' out of the basement and clean them up than it did to make the physical change over. Not hard work.

If I was dropping $70Gs+ on a car for use in real four seasons climate, a set of winter wheels & tires, regardless of how it makes the car 'look' for 3-4 months, would be the first thing I bought for it. My 50Cts.
GL, mD

Why not get the sport activity package and then pick up another set of wheels with winter tires. You'll need them.

So I think 335xray got the replica version of the stock rims that are just like these but in the regular finish. That should be a 9.5" rim up front and 10.5" rim in back. Then did 275/45/20 snow tires on all 4 rims. I know that will make the back tire appear a bit stretched on the rim but should help keep it from getting too wide. The pictures in his THREAD don't look too bad either (stretched or narrow in the back). I sent him a note to get feedback.

The black rims with Platinum Gray should look different and fun. That way I fill out the wheel wells almost as good as in stock trim, get to have the wide rims/tires in the summer and then have a better compound tire in the winter for around $2,000 extra.

I just realized my truck tire on the stock rims that I bought new winter tires for this year are 275/65/18. I believe that would make them the same width (275) as the tires 335xray used. Which means I shouldn't be too wide in the winter.

http://i.ebayimg.com/05/!B5yEMdgBGk~..._id=8800005007
20" BMW X3 X5 X6 Matte Black Wheels Rims E70 E71 E53 - eBay (item 300539308283 end time Apr-20-11 09:52:10 PDT)

HERE is someone who went with 275/45/20 (slightly larger overall diameter, but could be done with a 40) on 4 - 20x10 replica rims.

The upside is all 4 corners can be rotated vs side to side. Though doesn't look like he has the wheel lip arches. Anyone know how much further in those 20x10 non-staggered rims would sit in vs the 20x10.5 staggered rims would?

Looks like 335xray also has a second X5 that he did a non-staggered 20x10 X6m replica on with 275/40/20 rubber.

This might be an option too and would be nice because then I can rotate the rim/tires on all 4 corners.

Just not sure if the rims would fit my X5 though.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ire-setup.html