kev397

I'm about to get new winter tires and wheels for my 2006 525i. And I'm thinking about using factory wheels (ones that I have now style 138, My link ) on winter tires and putting new wheels with my all season/summer tires. I've decided to go with Michelin studless tires for the winter tire.

1) Any suggestions on websites or wheel brand/model for this? (want to keep the price at no more than $150 per wheel for now)
2) I might consider upgrading it to bigger wheels. Is there any other advantages besides looks and handling in going with bigger wheels?

ADD

I really like my Nokians.

I assume the Scandinavians know about snow and ice.

Also, you don't want a larger wheel size for winter tires. You'd actually want to go to a smaller/skinnier wheel for better winter performance.

Check out tire rack

kev397

Winter Tires/wheels will be for sure 17" since as I mentioned, I'll be using the factory wheels (17") for my winter tires. And I've decided to get Michelin X-Ice Xi2 (Studless Ice & Snow) tires.

Wheel size/looks question was on my rest of the season tires.

cleung

There are quite a few good vendors on this forum that carry a variety of wheels from expensive to inexpensive. I would suggest starting with them and searching the forum for pics of everyones different wheels and wheel sizes to see what you like. My suggestion would be to not go any smaller than 18" for your summer setup, this comment is mostly based on how much I hate the look of my 17" winter setup.

Brent P

Nice choice. I have the X-Ice Xi2 on 17" factory wheels and it's a fantastic setup. I read a head-to-head test on Tire Rack where they road tested and compared it to the equivalent Bridgestone, Nokian, and Goodyear studless winter tires and it beat them all (Bridgestone #2, Nokian #3, Goodyear #4).

luigi524td

17's for maximum snow and ice traction and control. Michelin snows are great ... Tirerack may be getting low on stock of the really hot snow tires since winter has arrived in many places already! Shop thru the link in my signature to earn some additional rebate $$'s .

kev397

Just made the purchase. I did use the link in your signature for further rebate as well.

Decided not to upgrade to 18" wheel my summer tires since it's a small engined 525i.

Winter Tires: 225/50R17 Michelin X-Ice Xi2
Wheels: 17 x 7.5 OZ Envy Silver Machined w/Clearcoat (click here for pic)

I think I'll keep my factory wheels for non-winter tires and the new wheels for winter since they will come mounted and balanced at no charge when I get them.

gregoryalee

I have michelins on my original 17" OEM rims for the winter.. My 166s are off for the snow. I hate winter!

Ben_XI

Have the same size tire/wheel set-up, 225-50-R17 Michelin X-ice on BMW 138s. We were in the teens with snow/ice on the roads and the tires worked as advertised.

patsch

Nice wheel choice.

I also went with the 17" Michelin X-Ice and mounted them onto a set of DR37 rims for the winter. Haven't seen any snow yet, but the ride on dry ground is surprisingly nice compared the the 18" run flats.