[SiempreSeattle]

Hello! Excited to be joining the BMW family... well, my wife has always had a 328, but I'm flying to pick up a new-to-me 2021 X5 xDrive45e next week.

It's a CPO with crazy low miles for that year (6,000!) and pretty loaded, but my question is this:

am I going to regret that it has the 21 inch wheels?

Or should I ask the dealer if they'd be willing to swap out the 21s for some 20 inch wheels?

I'm not going to performance drive this rig. I'm not wild about the thought of not being able to rotate tires front/rear. Is it that big a deal in the xDrives? How does that system work in terms of slippage between the front and rear, is it going to grind one set or another into dust too soon?

I've read online and am still unsure so I figured I'd ask folks who knew.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by SiempreSeattle

Hello! Excited to be joining the BMW family... well, my wife has always had a 328, but I'm flying to pick up a new-to-me 2021 X5 xDrive45e next week.

It's a CPO with crazy low miles for that year (6,000!) and pretty loaded, but my question is this:

am I going to regret that it has the 21 inch wheels?

Or should I ask the dealer if they'd be willing to swap out the 21s for some 20 inch wheels?

I'm not going to performance drive this rig. I'm not wild about the thought of not being able to rotate tires front/rear. Is it that big a deal in the xDrives? How does that system work in terms of slippage between the front and rear, is it going to grind one set or another into dust too soon?

I've read online and am still unsure so I figured I'd ask folks who knew.

I ordered 21” with my 2021 45e. it’s my first bimmer as a DD, and I didn’t know about its staggered setup until a month in

I switched to a squared 20” setup for multiple reasons:
1) rotate tires front to rear for greater longevity
2) more available tire selection and availability
3) run-flat all-season configuration aren’t made in the OEM 21” staggered sizes at all, and I prefer to run one set year-round instead of separate summer and winter sets
4) lower cost (varies)
5) slightly better ride quality (though the 21” rode fine for me)

[cobramite]

There are some aftermarket 20's that come off looking like 21s. 22s are what really looks good on these SUVs but I also live in Florida so the all season or snow tires are not a factor and am not really concerned about tire rotations etc. A stagerred set up looks kinda bad ass on these vehicles, would not have purchased a 100K dollar BMW if I was concerned about gas mileage or tire costs. This vehicle will only see 6-7 thousand miles in a year and will be sold or traded in less than 3 years.
I might look at this issue with a different perspective if it was racking up 20,000 miles/year.
Had 21s on our last X5 and went with 22s on this X6 M60i which was a good decision for our location and aesthetic preference.
I'll be contacting Ben(RG) a supporting vendor here that I have had good dealings with previously for a 15mm/20mm spacer package this week which will look even more aggressive.

[SiempreSeattle]

For me, I kind of need all-season; we get some snow in winters, but not enough to make changing to snow tires every year worthwhile.

And I like the idea of the run-flats because of the lack of a spare.

Okay, thanks… if anyone has more input that would be cool.

[TexasBimmer89]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

I ordered 21” with my 2021 45e. it’s my first bimmer as a DD, and I didn’t know about its staggered setup until a month in

I switch to a squared 20” setup for multiple reasons:
1) rotate tires front to rear for greater longevity
2) more available tire selection and availability
3) run-flat all-season configuration aren’t made in the OEM 21” staggered sizes at all, and I prefer to run one set year-round instead of separate summer and winter sets
4) lower cost (varies)
5) slightly better ride quality (though the 21” rode fine for me)

This guy nails it, if I could do it over again I would get 20s instead of the 21s.

But I’m going to make lemonade. Once I wear out my current tires I will upsize slightly to put on Michelin primacy all season tires on my 21” wheels.

[DBU]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

I ordered 21” with my 2021 45e. it’s my first bimmer as a DD, and I didn’t know about its staggered setup until a month in

I switch to a squared 20” setup for multiple reasons:
1) rotate tires front to rear for greater longevity
2) more available tire selection and availability
3) run-flat all-season configuration aren’t made in the OEM 21” staggered sizes at all, and I prefer to run one set year-round instead of separate summer and winter sets
4) lower cost (varies)
5) slightly better ride quality (though the 21” rode fine for me)

What wheels and specs (size and offset) did you go with? What size tires works well?

[SiempreSeattle]

I called the dealership (Motorwerks, in Minneapolis) and asked them if they could swap the wheels. Unfortunately they wouldn’t; my rig and any they would swap with are CPOs, and the wheels wouldn’t match the build sheet and they felt like corporate might not be crazy about the warranty issues.

The guy said “it’s dumb, I know, and we don’t think it would make any difference and odds are it would help us sell the one we switch them to” but they aren’t going to.

So at some point I’ll probably be looking to trade some really nice 21s for some 20s… ������

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by DBU

What wheels and specs (size and offset) did you go with? What size tires works well?

hi. I went with Rohana 20x9”ET27 on 275/45R20 tires all around and added wheel spacers in the rear only (18mm).

[jaxdtw2196]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

I ordered 21” with my 2021 45e. it’s my first bimmer as a DD, and I didn’t know about its staggered setup until a month in

I switch to a squared 20” setup for multiple reasons:
1) rotate tires front to rear for greater longevity
2) more available tire selection and availability
3) run-flat all-season configuration aren’t made in the OEM 21” staggered sizes at all, and I prefer to run one set year-round instead of separate summer and winter sets
4) lower cost (varies)
5) slightly better ride quality (though the 21” rode fine for me)

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I live in Atlanta and took delivery of a new X5 in December of 2021 that is fitted with the staggered 21 inch setup. It's definitely a higher maintenance way of life. About the only thing you gain from having the 21's is that it looks cooler, but that's it. We do have some very cold days here in winter where I won't drive the car, and that's correct you can't find all season tires for the 21 inch setup.

Tire availability is definitely a problem. My car was delivered with Hankook Ventus Evo tires that howled so loudly on freeway concrete that I couldn't even hear myself think. Absolute garbage. Swapped those out with a set of Pirelli PZ4's I got off TireRack that have made me very happy, but I'll be lucky if I get a year and half out of them.

If I could find a good deal on a set of OEM 20 inch wheels I'd probably swap them out just for the sake of longevity and rubber availability.

[Matt 335is]

If you want to take a short road trip to NC in a couple months I'll give you a good deal on my brand new 20" 740M wheels with whatever tires they come with from factory.

I'm doing PCD in SC so they'll have a couple hundred miles on them from the drive back, but I'll be immediately replacing them with different wheels/tires.

[cptcolo]

Originally Posted by SiempreSeattle

Hello! Excited to be joining the BMW family... well, my wife has always had a 328, but I'm flying to pick up a new-to-me 2021 X5 xDrive45e next week.

It's a CPO with crazy low miles for that year (6,000!) and pretty loaded, but my question is this:

am I going to regret that it has the 21 inch wheels?

Or should I ask the dealer if they'd be willing to swap out the 21s for some 20 inch wheels?

I'm not going to performance drive this rig. I'm not wild about the thought of not being able to rotate tires front/rear. Is it that big a deal in the xDrives? How does that system work in terms of slippage between the front and rear, is it going to grind one set or another into dust too soon?

I've read online and am still unsure so I figured I'd ask folks who knew.

Yes I would definitely try to get the 20" wheels over the 21" wheels. If the dealer would agree to swap for little or no cost I would do that. The tire options for the 21" wheels are very limited, but there are many great 20" tire options. Some excellent performing an economical 20" tire options include the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 summer tire (~$1250 for all 4 wheels installed at Costco) and the Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-season tire (~$1300 for all 4 wheels installed at Costco.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is a very high performance summer tire, very grippy, but still gets pretty good wear, almost a no compromise performance tire. Great for places like Arizona or Florida all year round.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is an excellent all-round all-season tire with very good rain, snow, and ice grip (it is M+S and 3 peak rated). For an all season it does grip very well, has pretty good thread like ~45k miles real world, has decent rolling resistance and ride quality. It does make a soft whirly noise, that some (not me) find annoying. Great if you just want one tire on all year round and live in a place that sees ice or snow for some of the year. The tire really does brake pretty well on ice.

I would also say that a spare isn't really needed for the non run-flats (just like it isn't needed for the run-flats). Just keep an electric on manual pump and a bottle of FlatOut Tire Sealant Sportsman Formula (seals holes up to 0.5 inch, as tested and proven by ProjectFarm) in the under floor trunk storage box of your car. That will fix nearly any tire problem you have and you will have a basically fully functioning tire after that.

[SiempreSeattle]

Originally Posted by Matt 335is

If you want to take a short road trip to NC in a couple months I'll give you a good deal on my brand new 20" 740M wheels with whatever tires they come with from factory.

I'm doing PCD in SC so they'll have a couple hundred miles on them from the drive back, but I'll be immediately replacing them with different wheels/tires.

I'll send you a PM.

[Skimo612]

Originally Posted by cptcolo

Yes I would definitely try to get the 20" wheels over the 21" wheels. If the dealer would agree to swap for little or no cost I would do that. The tire options for the 21" wheels are very limited, but there are many great 20" tire options. Some excellent performing an economical 20" tire options include the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 summer tire (~$1250 for all 4 wheels installed at Costco) and the Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-season tire (~$1300 for all 4 wheels installed at Costco.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is a very high performance summer tire, very grippy, but still gets pretty good wear, almost a no compromise performance tire. Great for places like Arizona or Florida all year round.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is an excellent all-round all-season tire with very good rain, snow, and ice grip (it is M+S and 3 peak rated). For an all season it does grip very well, has pretty good thread like ~45k miles real world, has decent rolling resistance and ride quality. It does make a soft whirly noise, that some (not me) find annoying. Great if you just want one tire on all year round and live in a place that sees ice or snow for some of the year. The tire really does brake pretty well on ice.

I would also say that a spare isn't really needed for the non run-flats (just like it isn't needed for the run-flats). Just keep an electric on manual pump and a bottle of FlatOut Tire Sealant Sportsman Formula (seals holes up to 0.5 inch, as tested and proven by ProjectFarm) in the under floor trunk storage box of your car. That will fix nearly any tire problem you have and you will have a basically fully functioning tire after that.

I have the Crossclimates on other vehicles and they are great for life in The North. I'll definitely replace the RF tires with those when time comes up.

Related--have you ever used the FlatOut can on a hehicle like this? I've used something like it on bikes, but I'm wondering about this, as I'd love to avoid the search for a space-saver tire...

[cptcolo]

Originally Posted by Skimo612

I have the Crossclimates on other vehicles and they are great for life in The North. I'll definitely replace the RF tires with those when time comes up.

Related--have you ever used the FlatOut can on a hehicle like this? I've used something like it on bikes, but I'm wondering about this, as I'd love to avoid the search for a space-saver tire...

I personally have not needed to use it, and may never need to use it. If I do ever use it though, I will post an update to the forum. I have heard that it works very well and doesn't mess up the TPMS sensor.

[RB722]

Originally Posted by Matt 335is

If you want to take a short road trip to NC in a couple months I'll give you a good deal on my brand new 20" 740M wheels with whatever tires they come with from factory.

I'm doing PCD in SC so they'll have a couple hundred miles on them from the drive back, but I'll be immediately replacing them with different wheels/tires.

Hi Matt,
Any chance those wheels are still available?
Thanks
RB

[Matt 335is]

Originally Posted by RB722

Hi Matt,
Any chance those wheels are still available?
Thanks
RB

Actually yes, they are currently still on my new X5.

One of the custom wheels I ordered got damaged in transport and now I'm waiting on a replacement from oversees. Not sure when it will arrive and when I'll have the time to buy new tires and get them installed.

I'll keep you posted if you'd like.

[AGONXF30]

The only good thing about getting the bigger wheel packages is the addition of better cooling and speed limiter raised from 130 MPH to 155MPH (At least in the US).

[LipLip]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

hi. I went with Rohana 20x9”ET27 on 275/45R20 tires all around and added wheel spacers in the rear only (18mm).

That looks solid, I want to do something similar.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by LipLip

That looks solid, I want to do something similar.

thanks! personally, I’m tired of the black wheels and looking into options

[LipLip]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

thanks! personally, I’m tired of the black wheels and looking into options

Yeah I want titanium maybe slightly darker. I’m rolling stock 740s at the moment, kind of like plain yogurt- not good, not bad but, way too tucked in