Guest_First Time Buyer

I live in New England and ordered a new 5 two weeks ago. Expect delivery 2nd week in Nov. Got Sports Package w/ 18 inch wheels and understand that I will need new rims and snow tires right away. Am interested in recommendations for where to get a second set of rims (Dealer, other??). Was considering trying to get the 116's that will come with the 540, but have not looked at price.
Any recomendations on where to go?

Also, what brand of tires are 5's shipped with?

ky_soldier

See this link for all of the BMW wheels...

http://www.kalach.easynet.be/bmw_wheels.htm

Personally, I would go with a 15 or 16" wheel, and pure snow tires. I grew up in MA and lived there again from 98-00. I had an E46 (current 3 series) then and I had 17"s for the summer, 15"s for the winter. Go through your dealer for the wheels, but become a BMW CCA member and you should get 10-20% off. If you are in MA, I will give you the name of my buddy I went to school with in the service dept at the dealer I used. He can make sure you get a discount. Get the tires from tirerack.com You can not come close to beating them for price. Stay within the manufacturers specs for pressure. This is VERY important for proper safety and performance of the tires. Stay away from aftermarket. Wheels and tires are not something you just "throw on" a car like this. It takes engineers a lot of time to identify the proper specs for torque, loads, etc. Let me know how you make out....

XR92

I believe that a 530i or 545i with sport package will come equipped with DUNLOP SP Sport 01 DSST (Dunlop Self Supporting Tire ... i.e., run flat). Can anyone confirm?

TIRERACK.COM recently listed them (although photo is wrong). 245/40-18 sells for $265 each. 275/35-18 (rear on 545i) sells for $308 each.

See and read about the tire at the following DUNLOP website:
http://www.dunlop.fr/site/tyres/car/search.../patterns/SP01/

If you're getting a 545i, keep in mind that the brake rotors are BIG, and you probably can't go smaller than 17" wheels. On 530i or 525i, will 15" wheels clear the rotors?

Beemer

When you order Starspoke 124 18 inch wheel set you get Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST. Thats what we get here in Europe atleast.

Not 100% true...
For the 545i you can?t go smaller than 17 inch wheels but on the 525i/530i 16 inch is the smallest wheel size.

Guest_FIRST TIME BUYER

Thanks...this was all great info.
I live in CT. I called Tirerack and they have 18" Dunlop snowtires.
I am leaning toward just buying the 18" snows, but have had several people recommend that I should drop down in size to 16" or 17" sizes.
Dropping down in size would mean having to buy new rims too.
I am not sure why people are recommending dropping down to 16" or 17"??
I would be interested in reasons.

reckamech

This is called down sizing. First you would go from a let's say a 255 to a 235 width tire. This is recemonded because this reduces your contact with the snow so you can cut through and reduce the "plowing effect" a wider tire would cause. Secondly, you would go from a 45 series tire to a 55 or 60 series to give yourself more tire to handle the snow and ice considering you went from a 18" wheel to a 16" wheel. Remember you must keep your overall diameter of the wheel and tire combo the same to prohibit speedometer error and poor gas milage. Hope this helps.

Beemer

BMW recommends 225/50R17 on the 545 which is the smallest you can go.
OEM Wheels that fit this dimension is Styling 138 and Styling 116 (standard 545i wheels). Wheels should be 7,5x17.

Dunlop Winter Sport M3 DSST is available in 225/50R17H and is recommended by BMW.