westsidebalto

I've been thinking about picking up a set of Style 138 17"s for my 545i this winter. I live atop a steep hill and want to get winter tires. Tirerack has already stated they've sold out of winters that would fit on my sport package 124s.

I ran the Rims n Tires calculator and it appears the 138s will fit, though 5mm thicker in the rear wheelwell. Is this a reasonable setup? I know they wont look as good, but it's for practical purposes only.

I don't trust my own judgement enough to go out and buy the set without running this by at least one other person.

Thanks,

WSB

Hyper_545i

I'm assuming you have sport package? If so, I may be wrong, but I thought we needed 18" Wheels to clear the larger brakes. Can anyone confirm?

westsidebalto

Yes, it is the sport package. If thats true, then glad I asked. I have the mud and snow Pilot sports, so if I cant find appropriately sized wheels in time, i may just wing it and throw some sand bags in the trunk.

westsidebalto

I did a little research. According to the official BMW 5-series sales brochure from 2004, the front/back brakes on the 545 are bigger (and the 530 had bigger fronts than the 525).

However, there was a 17x7.5 wheel available on non-sport package automatic 545s, Style 116. It wasn't available on manual transmissions, but I doubt there were many gearheads looking for smaller wheels (except in my case for winter ).

Sounds like I need to find some Style 116s if I want 17" OEM wheels that fit a 545? Anybody care to comment or suggest other wheels?

Jim

Hyper_545i

I am by no means a wheel expert. I understand the 116's were available for the 545i in that model year. Again, that would have been a non-sport setup. You mentioned you have sport, I'm thinking 17" wheels will not clear the larger brakes on a 545i. Can anyone else confirm?

luigi524td

YUP - You're wise to do the research!

According to RealOem RealOEM.com * Diagram Selection there were several 17" wheel styles used for the 545 e60's. Unless the sport package used larger brakes I can't see why a 17" and snow tire package wouldn't work. In fact, for really snowy conditions, the more narrow tire "patch" of the correct size 17" combination actually works better than a lower profile tire size.

BTW, check out the additional rebates from Tirerack (and other on-line stores) at the link in my signature.

Now enough talk about this winter weather stuff - I don't want the summer/fall to slip away just yet

westsidebalto

In addition to the 138s, I found a set of 116s too. The bmwusa.com website seems to suggest that either of these will work with a 2005 545i. I can't imagine (though not out of the realm of possibility) that they would suggest wheels for their own vehicles that wouldn't fit. Pretty sure I'm going to go with the 138s and pick up some Blizzaks.

westsidebalto

Dealership confirmed 116s will fit but 138s will NOT. Wants 2200$ for a complete winter package on new 116s. Seems quasi reasonable for a dealership, unless i can get used rims elsewhere.

Sparks

I have four Dunlop Winter Sport 3D tires that I recently have taken off my 18" style 124 wheels. They have less then 10K miles on them and are in great condition. If you are interested I can send you some pics. Additionally, I travel to Baltimore for business quite a bit and would be willing to meet up and drop them off. I will be posting them on this site early next week.

westsidebalto

Ah, unfortunately I'll have to turn those down. Just picked up some 116 wheels last week that I'm going to put winters on. Thanks for the offer though.