20" Performance Tires make BIG difference
 

Just purchased a set of 214s and summer performance tires (275 front / 315 rear - Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport) for my 2012 35i Premium and just wanted to say that there is a BIG uptick in handling and drive feel compared to the 19" (255s).

Originally just got the wheels/tires for more aggressive appearance (arch extensions and wider tires) as well as the look of the rim itself.

But after driving on the new wheels/tires for 3 days the car feels more like my buddy's X5 that has Adaptive Drive. It doesn't dive as much in corners, feels like I am riding higher (may be my imagination), and just feels tighter overall.

It is almost like having a different X5 altogether.

Just passing along my experience for any owners with 19" all-seasons who may be considering a set of summer rims/tires. If you can spare the extra money (rims/tires/arch extension are not a cheap upgrade) then I would recommend it. I think you will enjoy your X5 even more.

You're not. It's just your imagination. :)

The 20" wheel & tyre overall diameter is actually slightly smaller than the 19"s. So you're in fact riding lower. But we're talking just a few millimeters here. Nothing you'll notice.

But what you'll notice is the slight increase is fuel usage - due to the smaller diameter wheel/tyre combo, increase drag and weight.

I have 19's with AD...so there! :P

may not have anything to do with your summer performance tires. ;) 20s are awesome. Saw a difference even with my all-seasons.

Yep, just upgraded to the 2009 X5 4.8i, with the 20s. The ride is fabulous, not to mention the look from the back.. :)) gotta love it!!
But i wanted to ask y'all on the recommendations on the tires - i have the dunlops, but i hear a lot of folks talk bout' the bridgestones and the Pirelli Zeros, any others out there?
Any comparisions?

Cheers,

The placebo effect is strong young Luke....

??? wider tires don't make a difference? What's your experience?

I used to find the ride on 19" RFT winter tires was less harsh but I couldn't wait to get 20" RFT summer tires back on the car. The 20" tires did seem to improve the handling (e.g. entering and exiting off-ramps as I think rh71 has commented on before).

Appearance and the general handling feel is why I've gone to 20" tires for both my summer and winter tire sets. Most of my winter driving is with very little snow or ice so handling is important to me.

Did you install the fender flares? Do you have any pics of the 315s without the flares?

Yes have the flares but....
 

Although I did drive for 10 minutes away from the dealer before I realized they forgot to install the arches.

Will say that the car looked very odd with the rear wheels sticking out past the width of the car. The front tires (275s) didn't stick out as far.

Unfortunately don't have any pictures.

Get the arches, they took about 1.5hrs to install and were a small % of the total cost of adding the larger tires/rims.

Good luck.