I bought my wheels from Garry Romani from BMW of Newport (Rhode Island). He gives E60.net members a 25% discount. He was the cheapest place I found and I contacted A LOT of places. His shipping rates were also the best and the wheels came in the boxes, direct from the factory. The shipping containters were perfect!

Here's the thing... There are 2 sets of the 124's. There are the one's for the RWD cars (stock wheels on the 545/550 sport) and there are another set made JUST for the "xi" cars. The main difference is the offsets. Both sets are 18x8 and 18x9, but the offsets are different. Ours have a higher offset. Go to www.realoem.com to see the different part numbers.

HOWEVER, I mixed it up. I have the RWD (545/550 Sport) rear wheels on my car and the "xi" fronts for my front wheels. The reason for this is that I wanted to push the rears out closer to the well. With the RWD 124's having an offset of ET32, it's like having 23mm spacers in the rear (The xi rear is ET55...huge difference). It looks much better in the rear and now I don't need spacers.

However, for the fronts I had to go with the xi ones because if I did the the RWD fronts, the wheels would stick out WAY beyond the front wells and it would look terrible.

If this doesn't make sense, feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

 

I'm going to order my 135's next week from Gary. I still haven't picked out the tires.

 

Go with the Falkens! I got them from DiscountTire and shipping was free! They're a great tire with an aggressive tread.

 

Well, I ended up ordering the 124's, staggered, for my 530xi from Tony (Quad_m). I was already ordering the M Tech kit from him, so he gave me a deal I felt was comparable to Garry's.

Thank you so much to all those who replied, particularly cmansbimmer, who provided me with tremendous help in making the decision.

Now I need to save up for tires and install on the M tech - does it ever end?

 

thank you for choosing me for your wheels sir.
I am glad to serve you.

ps: you dont need to pay to install the painted M tech kit, you can install it yourself as a sunday project at your garage
its very very easy to install, and will come with installation instructions step by step showing how to be installed.
but of course you might need some extra hands to hold the painted parts not to be scracthed.

all the best,
quad_m

 

I'll definitely take a look at the instructions when the kit gets here. Maybe I'll start with something easier, such as the side skirts, to build some confidence.

Thanks again.

 

Glad to see you found a good deal on your wheels. (Way to go Tony/Quad_m!).

Tony - I'm still contemplating the Mtech front bumper. I may need it soon. Will let you know.

 

I went with the 135m's on my Monaco Blue xi and I love them because you don't see them around and they clean up really easy with a good wheel brush. I bought them from Gary at BMW of Newport ( That's Rhode Island) and got a great deal. He know his stuff. Also got the TPM's from him and the 25% member dicount we get blew everyone away. An added bonus was just talking to someone who knows what works with the 530xi. Everyone else at my dealership and a few others I called couldn't give me a straight answer on what works. Lots of suggestions that my warrantee would be voided with the wrong setup

 

Who who hooked you with Garry beemer? Hahaha! I love Garry. He's the best for deals on OEM parts!

 

Yeah, Gary is a good egg. I'm going to take a run up there next week- will take 2 or 3 days for the wheels to come in.