Tex735

Hello all!!! I am new to the forum and new to the BMW ownership experience!! I bought this 2004 530i with the sports package three days ago and I LOVE the car. There is a problem though... The owner before me apparently had little money and went cheap on the tires. The front tires are the Bridgestone Potenza run-flats sized 245/40/ZR18. I'm guessing these are the originals. The rears are where I have a question. They are some cheap Nexen N3000 sized 275/35/R18. I would like to know if they somehow stuck the 275's on the rear rims trying to make it look cool, or if BMW staggered the tire sizes back in 2004. I have been unable to find a single '04 530i with staggered tires online anywhere. These could be aftermarket wheels and they could be 545i sport package wheels. They are BMW wheels, however. I am thinking that they where trying to pull off a look or that was the only "somewhat" compatible tire size the store had in stock. Bottom line... Please let me know if anyone with an '04 530i sport package could look at their original size tires so I can make this right. Thanks!!!!

EBMCS03

For the 530 it doenst have staggered tires...

http://www.e60.net/information/options/wheels/

JPJ

Use the link EBMCS03 gives above and see which style wheels you have. If they are Style 124 they are originally from a 545/550 and these are the correct size tires. If they are Style 123 they are the original 530 sport wheels and should have 245/40-18's all around and they are not wide enough to handle the 275's safely (in general I think you need a 9" wide rim for a 275 tire and you would only have 8").

DrLev99

I am going to guess he has 124's on there. We shall see...

Tex735

Thank you SO MUCH!!! I have the 123's and some dumb-a#$ put 275's on there. The thing that tipped me off was that during the test drive, I felt a vibration and the salesman said that a tire was probably out of balance. Well, I got it home and the FTM went off. I aired up the passenger rear tire and went on about my business. The next morning it went off again. I went to a tire store to have the slow leak fixed and found that the tire had pothole damage. I didn't hit a pothole, but someone did! I bought a full coverage waranty/insurance on the tires and wheels so that tire is covered. I am going to try to get both rear tires replaced with factory originals due to the unsafe condition of running the wrong size on that rim. Again, thank you for pointing me in the right direction on this. You guys are a lifesaver!!!

phelix

Are the rears run-flats?

Wichet

Hi i have 2004 530d and have the sports package on the car, the car will come with the staggered set of 245/40/18 front and 275/35/18 rear with run flat tyres . Mine are on set of 124 alloys

wichet

bad2bone

yeah, the 124s come with staggered setup while the 123s are same all around

Tex735

Well, I went to the dealer this morning to inquire about a replacement tire for one that was bad (bought an additional warranty for 5 yrs) and told him the story. He sent the car to the back and the service manager told him that I DO have the correct size tires. This is extremely weird. The wheels look like the 123's. I tried to take a tape measure, but that is almost impossible with a tire mounted on the rim. They had to order the 275's and they should be here tomorrow. I have been riding on the doughnut today (scarry since it has some miles on it). The tires on the rear wheels don't look like they bulge out from the wheel very much more than the fronts. I am still not convinced that those rear wheels are 9 inches wide vs. 8 inches like the fronts. It is nearly impossible to compare them or measure them while on the car and with tires mounted. Has anyone ever seen an 8 inch wheel with 275's mounted on them? Is it pretty easy to tell that the wrong tire is on the rim? I am a little worried that they will put the wrong tires on there and tell me that I'm good to go. They ARE going to replace both the rear tires which is good, however I don't want the wrong size. I am thinking that I could take a piece of string and wrap it from the inside edge of the rim, between the spokes and over to the outside edge and measure the string and compare the two wheels that way. I'm thinking that the string should be about an inch longer if the rear wheels are indeed wider than the fronts. Other than that, I'm at the mercy of the service manager being correct. Wish me luck!!!

**UPDATE**

I just measured the wheels and they are all the same when measured with a fabric tape measure. Looks like someone is blowing smoke... I just called the dealer and am waiting for a call back. I'll post what I find out.

525iEnjoy

you should have a 245/40/18 on all 4's or 245/45/17 on all 4's

A 275/40 would need a 9 inch rim in either a 17 or 18 rim