I am looking for any advice that you might have for a newbie who wants to change his standard wheels('06 530xi) for some larger diameter. The questions I have pertain to: 1. Preferable diameter 2. What offset do I need? 3. Does staggered make any difference aside from aesthetics? Thanks
halfpastfive: I upgraded from my stock 17" to the OEM Style 166 (M5) wheels at 19". You can purchase/order them with the M5 offset, or the M6 offset (with the latter filling the wheel wells a bit more than the former--the M6 is 12mm further out from the hub than the M5 offset). Some people go with 20" but that's preference, really. I decided that 19" was enough, and if you check your manual and/or the placard on the inside of your driver's side door it'll tell you the max wheel/tire size. I have 275/30/19 at the rear, with 245/35/19 on the front, with Michelin Pilot Sports (they're very expensive, but worth it; you might consider another great tire, the General UHP, which is much less expensive). I went with the staggered setup, which IMHO is much more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, it accounts for understeer as our cars are RWD. Good luck! Hope this helps.
Thanks Terraformer. Do you drive a AWD 5-series? My understanding is that the xi's need greater offset than the RWD 5's. On the topic of understeer vs oversteer - FWD cars tend to understeer and RWD tend to oversteer - at least AFAIK. I have heard that the staggered setup for the AWD cars may improve the understeer sue to the AWD but not all agree
I don't have all the answers to your questions. #1 - This is probably an appearance preference thing, otherwise 17s are good for winter driving. #2 - The offset you need is ET43. BMW has several 8x18 that work: Style 123, 124,135, 152 and 246. #3 - Don't know if it makes a difference for AWD cars... I prefer non-staggard, so I can rotate my tires on my xi. Assuming you have 17s now, let me know if you no longer need them... I might be interested. Good luck. Pat
The XI's do have the 43mm offset. You cannot mount oem 166 rims on your car. They will not fit properly. The offsets are not the same.
