Hello all..I will soon be the proud new owner of a 2009 535xi wagon...I have been reading all the posts and have learned much about my soon to be BMW. However there is one question that I have not been able to find the definitive answer to. The first mod that I will be doing is wheels. From all the research it is my understanding that I cannot or should not get a staggered fitment for an XI model. I would love to throw on a set of OEM M6 style 167's but they are staggered. Can I just replace the tires with 245/35/19's in the front and 275/30/19's in the rear or do I have to get wheels that are all 19 x 8.5 with 245/35/19's all around. I understand that having a staggered setup wouldnt do anything in terms of performance for an XI model but it would make it a lot easier for me to purchase a set of OEM M6 rims. This would help me out a bunch if there is anyone with an answer explaining what is the correct fitment and why. Thanks in advance for those who can help me out.
By the way, the car is Monaco Blue with black leather and bamboo trim, premium, sport, cold weather packages and navi.

Coming from a long heritage of BMW ownership including e36 325i, e39 528i, e39 530i, e46 m3, x5 and now my new baby the almighty e61 535xi.

 

Congrats on the wagon. You'll love it. More so if you spring for the Dinan ECU upgrade.

 

Thanks! Thats next after the wheels...how much of a difference does the ecu upgrade make? I understand that there are massive hp and torque gains but what about everyday drivability? My wife will be driving this car occasionally and she doesnt want to drive something that will spin her out on the twisties...so I guess what im asking is is the throttle response increased and if so is it overbearing?

 

Congrats! You will have beautiful car

I?m also in the prosess of buying new wheels for my Xd for next summer. I?ve been finding out the best ET for my X. Concerning that you definitely can?t have OEM 167 rims in X-model because original ET 43. Miro M6 replicas are available.

I asked the same question about the staggered set up. Wheel calculator says there would be 6mm difference in diameter between 245/35 and 275/30. Its been said here its not a problem, but I?m considering to have all wheels the same width. Not decided yet.
Enjoy the forums! A lot of information available

 

Throttle response isn't sudden ... actually a little a bit of lag or it may just be that it's a fairly heavy car. Driveabilty is super nothing overbearing about it at all til you get in the throttle past about 2500 rpm. Then it's a rocket ship.

 

+1 Miro M6 style wheels available with high offset for xi fitment. PMed you regarding that btw. welcome and enjoy the forums.

 

If we ever get good, clear, well-formatted answers to this question it should be saved as a "sticky" or maybe in the FAQs.

I'd like to put nicer looking wheels (well, different, i guess "nice" is in the eye of the be-holder, right?) on our 535xi too but I"m scared of spending lots of money for stuff that ultimately won't fit.

Good luck in your search and congrats on the new speedy wagon.

 

OK, let's start off by this...

1) You can do staggered wheels on an XI. However, I don't believe you can do staggered on the XI "Wagon". You can only do staggered on the XI sedan. I think it's so funny how people say you can't do staggered because of the AWD system on an XI though. If that were the case, then BMW better pull all of their X5 4.8i Sports off the road immediately, because that's a staggered set-up when you're running their OEM 20's (275's in the Front and 315's in the rear) . I had 19" staggered's on my 07 530 XI. You just need high offset wheels (3 series is a good place to look). This is key. You can't...repeat CAN'T use standard RWD E60 wheels on an XI. If you do, the wheels will stick out way beyond the wheel wells and it will look terrible.

2) The OEM 19" M6(167), M5(166) and 172 wheels will NOT fit on the XI. Your only option is to do some of the replica companies, such as MIRO or VMR, should you want 19's in a staggered set-up. However, again, I don't believe you can do staggered in the wagon. Why? Here's why: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...hg=36&fg=15

The 124's in the 535xi Sedan come as a staggered set-up. However, in the wagon, which is what this link is, only gives the option for ET43 at all 4 corners. On the sedan, the wider rear gives an offset of ET55.

Here's the wheel offset calculator to check the differences in specs:

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

And here is the link for your OEM specs on your wheels.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mode...hg=36&fg=15
*Click on the wheels that came with your car and you will find the OEM Offset specs within the diagram. You are looking for something that starts out with "ET". For example, ET43.

I ran the VMR VB3's on my 530xi and they were great. Here were the specs:

Front
Size and Width: 19x8.5
Offset: ET40
Tire: 245/35/19

Rear
Size and Width:19x9.5
Offset: ET45
Tire: 275/30/19

Here are the wheels that I had. They now come in 4 finishes.

http://www.velocitymotoring.com/links/Vb3_...al_finishes.htm

If I were you, I would do 4 wheels of the same offset for all 4 corners. Look for wheels that have a width of around 19x8.5 and an offset of at least ET35-40.

And here's how they looked on my old car.

 

will someone please just make C's xi tutorial's a sticky already Anything to post pics of your previous e60 huh C ....as always...thank you jedi master...

 

Gene - I actually edited my post above. I realized that this member actually has a wagon and not a sedan. I'm 99% sure that the wagon can't run a staggered set-up. Not because of performance issues, but because of rubbing issues. The wagon doesn't have as much clearance inside the wheel well, as the standard XI sedan.

Take a look at these two links:

535xi SEDAN with 124's (Note how this comes as a staggered set-up for the XI Sedan with 18x8 ET43 and 18x9 ET55).
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...hg=36&fg=15

Now look at this...
535xi Wagon with 124's (Note how all 4 wheels are 18x8 ET43. There is no option for 18x9 ET55!)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?mo...hg=36&fg=15

I also recall a few members a few years ago saying how they couldn't do staggered on their wagons. It was due to less room inside the wheel wells of the wagons in the rear.