Rim/Tire Winter Setup Help

[h20mobius]

I'm tentatively off tomorrow to buy some "style 96" BMW wheels with Wintercat (Les Schwab - a regional brand) studded tires.

The guy claims to have run them on a 4.4i Sport/Prem, which is the same setup I have, however, if I'm not mistaken, the style 96 wheels came from a 3 series?

Is there any problem running these wheels on the X? I currently have the 19" sport wheels with Diamaris.

[4.4sport]

I don't think Style 96 wheels are possible on an E53. Perhaps the guy meant Style 69?

[motordavid]

Dunno if 96 wheels will fit/or do the job. They take a 45 series tire,
(not my pick for a winter tire size), and though offset is 47 and might
be ok, not sure of that 96 wheel hub bore size or lug bolt dimesions for good
fit on X's hub. As for studded tires, not my pick either unless I was frozen lake racing.

A quality dedicated snow tire offers much more benefit and usability than a more
narrow focus studded tire, imo.

With all the real X5 wheel sets floating around, I would seek a set of those, if it were
my car.
GL,mD

[h20mobius]

96's worked like a champ... We've had an especially bad winter in Oregon the past few weeks, and had mandatory chain/stud requirements a few times due to the snow & ice...

I agree, normally I prefer a snow tire vs. studs, but seeing as these were the "right" price, I didn't pass them up. I will only run them through Feb.

Regarding fit, the offset, bore pairing, lug depth all seem appropriate and snug. The ONLY issue I encountered was a small "rub" between the strut assembly casting and the wheel balance weights on the inside of the rim. Verified the rubbing was caused by some excess material on the strut connection point casting (from the mfg process) and filed it down 2mm. Works great now.

[h20mobius]

Pictures of Winter Setup w/style 96 wheels, Thule Atlantis (corrected) 1600, etc:













Summer Mode:

[CarveRoad]

What do you think of the Ascent box? Are those the Thule rapid aero bars?

Looks very cool.

[h20mobius]

Originally Posted by CarveRoad

What do you think of the Ascent box? Are those the Thule rapid aero bars?

Looks very cool.

Correct, Rapid Aero Bars (450R I believe?) and Thule Atlantis (corrected**) 1600.

I love the box... it's easy to use, closely resembles my Black Sapphire Metallic color, is the appropriate "proportion for the X5 and stores a ton of gear. Just yesterday I fit 3 boards, 2 sets of skis & poles, boots, etc etc.

I particularly like how it doesn't interfere with the Tailgate or Sunroof popup operation.