Hello. Newbie here. First forum I've found dedicated to the "Touring" model and I love the pictures thread other than the fact that it makes me want to blow my entire savings on my car.

Anyhow, just purchased an 06' 530 xiT and I desperately need to find new rims. I don't have $5k to do so either. So, to my question, how the hell can a dummy like me know what wheels will fit on my car?

I currently have 17x7 stock rims. I'd like to go to 18 or 19 x 8 to 8.5. I don't understand all this spacer crap and how it all works.

So far I think having the X drive it appears my options are limited. I.E. I cannot get a staggered setup? Correct? Is there a standard size I can look for while doing my shopping? The problem I'm having is as I'm searching a lot of the individual search engines have the 5 series but don't list the Touring. Is the Touring setup the same as a standard 530xi?

Sorry, I am a newb on the board and a newb when it comes to wheels. Thanks for any insight.

 

Did you try Tire Rack? They're great, you plug in the car you have, and they suggest wheels that will fit by taking into account all the stuff like offset, etc., and you can even then get it to show the wheels on your car - they even let you pick the colour that your car is, so it's a pretty good representation.

 

I have tried Tire Rack and tried to use the program to see the wheels on the car. Unfortunately it doesn't have a Touring model to show. I guess I'm concerned Tire Rack doesn't really show you if the wheel will stick out, etc. It gives you a side view of the wheels but all the talk on these forums about spacers and offsets has me concerned with the information on Tire Rack. I'm also not convinced Tire Rack deciphers between X drive and Rear wheel drive.

 

I would honestly recommend that you invest 1 hour upfront understanding the stuff with the offsets and spacers and Touring vs. Sedan. This will save you a lot more time in the future, a lot of confusion, and potentially a wrong order and resulting financial loss. There are so many other people that have discussed the topic, that its a crime not to use their knowledge.

You can see all OEM wheels with sizes, offsets and tyre sizes here: http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/
Its in German, but just select "E60 ff" on the first drop-down menu on the left, and us google translator for any technical terms.

Good luck!

 

Study http://www.1010tires.com/tech.asp?type=wheels

 

Thanks. That is a nice writeup!! Now, off to reading through it 5 times to make it sync in.