[ConservativeConsumer]

This is my second post here - after the one with a brief introduction...

Bought 2022 X5 xDrive40i a week ago. Did trade in my 2017 Audi Q7.

In am in Minnesota, thus having winter tires this time of year is a good thing. Checked Tire Rack offerings where I normally buy winter wheel/tire packages for my cars. Everything is in 19"+ rims and many good tire selections are on backorder for who knows how long. And the sets do come at about $2500 or so cheapest...

My Lady, - in casual conversation, - asked me if my Audi Q7's winter set would work on X5. I kind of laughed (unwisely in any case), but then - just for fun - decided to investigate. From my Q7 I had 255/60R18 Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV tires with less than 1K miles on them mounted on 18" rims purchased from Tire Rack. The tires happened to be +1% diameter vs. X5's OE R20s. To my surprise, I found out that the bolt pattern of X5 wheels is identical to VAG vehicles - 5 X 112. The question was whether wheel offset will do and the the hub will fit. The Tire Rack (with all due respect) told me that my old wheels/tires won't work - with all kinds of explanations, such as wrong offset, wheel bolt setting holes' shapes wrong, X5 must have 19" or bigger rims, etc.

Well, when it comes to winter tires - I like less alloy and more rubber, narrow is better, and always would go with smallest rim possible. So, still could not see why my 18"s would not work. Went to Discount Tire - they are good guys in my home town - to simply try them on. Guess what? They fit perfectly! Apparently, calipers on X5 are no bigger than on Q7 (not talking about M5 version), hub diameter is identical (no centering rings needed), wheel wells have plenty of room, OE bolts work well with 5 full turns to tightening. The DT specialist I've worked with suggested to use a slightly longer aftermarket bolts (Beemtek or something like that manufacturer from Italy) making 8 full turns to tightening. Also, legally the DT were obligated to install TPMS sensors (I opted for HUFs vs. Schraders) which my X5 recognized in about 3 minutes after driving started and I was prompted to reset TPMS in infotainment system. Am happy all went well!

While this post might not be recognized as valuable info for BMW "purists", but I hope it might be handy for those with functionality in mind.