Tire recommendations for 2015 BMW X5

Joined
Sep 23, 2019
Messages
301
Location
SC, USA
I have a family member who just recently purchased a 2015 BMW X5 with 54k miles, the previous owners was the original owner and my family member is the second owner. The X5 has always been dealer maintained, and my family member just went into the dealer for an oil change and the tech stated that the car would be due for tires by the end of the year, maybe the beginning of 2021. The dealership also stated that this X5 has already have 2-3 other sets of tires on it, so by the time the car is ~60-70k miles it will have had roughly 4 sets of tires. Apparently you 'cannot rotate the tires', and my family member does not drive the car hard by any means and the car does not need to be aligned. With all of that in mind, would you still recommend top tier tires knowing that the car eats tires for breakfast? or just go for middle of the road tires and save a couple hundred bucks? TIA!
 
Most important question: is the driver comfortable with non-runflat tires?
The driver doesn't know the difference to be honest. I believe the tires on it now are not runflats since they just got a patch in them at the dealership. I believe they are pirellis on the car right now.
 
What is the tire size? :)
The fronts are 275/40 R20 XL
The rears are 315/35 R20 XL

I told my family member they could go with a square setup to help save a few dollars, and the BMW tech agreed. I was thinking if they had a square setup, they might could at least rotate the tires to see if that helps with tread life.
 
The driver doesn't know the difference to be honest. I believe the tires on it now are not runflats since they just got a patch in them at the dealership. I believe they are pirellis on the car right now.
Run flats can sometimes be patched as well. The difference is important. These vehicles do not have a spare.
The fronts are 275/40 R20 XL
The rears are 315/35 R20 XL

I told my family member they could go with a square setup to help save a few dollars, and the BMW tech agreed. I was thinking if they had a square setup, they might could at least rotate the tires to see if that helps with tread life.
That may not be possible. The rear wheels are often wider.
 
RFT's can be patched.
What X5 is that? Some with wider rear tires could be switched to square set up, some not, depending on suspension set up (M package cannot).
What tires are now on the vehicle?
There are some tires if square set up is not possible that might last longer, but really with that set up, you are stuck with short lifespan.
 
The fronts are 275/40 R20 XL
The rears are 315/35 R20 XL

I told my family member they could go with a square setup to help save a few dollars, and the BMW tech agreed. I was thinking if they had a square setup, they might could at least rotate the tires to see if that helps with tread life.

Those are pretty wide low profile tires on giant 20" wheels mounted to a heavy powerful SUV. Square setup or not they won't last very long. Many of those X5's have wider rear wheels as previously stated, so you can't rotate them. I would just find a suitable mid-range tire and use that for every day driving. There isn't really much you can do about a performance vehicle like that eating tires.
 
Owning a car is more than just being able to buy it. One needs to be able to afford maintenance and replacement of wear out items.

Rear wheels may be wider than fronts and that may cause fit issues with square setup.
Subpar tires stretched on wide wheels may be receipe for disaster.

What is exact model and package of X5 (it probably has different front and rear wheels)?
Where will it be driven? Snow, ice anywhere? Two sets of wheels?

Details, please.

Krzyś
 
The fronts are 275/40 R20 XL
The rears are 315/35 R20 XL

I told my family member they could go with a square setup to help save a few dollars, and the BMW tech agreed. I was thinking if they had a square setup, they might could at least rotate the tires to see if that helps with tread life.

Great!

Unfortunately, everything is expensive in those sizes. The Vredestein Ultrac Vorti looks like a good option. Is he in SC too? Does it get cold where he is? Can he use summer tires?

There's always cheap Chinese tires for $100 at Walmart and other sites.

You'd be better off downsizing for a smaller, square setup. Tire Rack only has cheese Sport Edition wheels in the 18" size that will fit your X5. There are more options in 19" but they cost more.
 
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RFT's can be patched.
What X5 is that? Some with wider rear tires could be switched to square set up, some not, depending on suspension set up (M package cannot).
What tires are now on the vehicle?
There are some tires if square set up is not possible that might last longer, but really with that set up, you are stuck with short lifespan.
'15 X5 iDrive35I. I stated above that Pirelli's are on the car as we speak.
 
Those are pretty wide low profile tires on giant 20" wheels mounted to a heavy powerful SUV. Square setup or not they won't last very long. Many of those X5's have wider rear wheels as previously stated, so you can't rotate them. I would just find a suitable mid-range tire and use that for every day driving. There isn't really much you can do about a performance vehicle like that eating tires.
Thank you for actually giving an answer to my post. I honestly appreciate that.
 
Owning a car is more than just being able to buy it. One needs to be able to afford maintenance and replacement of wear out items.

Rear wheels may be wider than fronts and that may cause fit issues with square setup.
Subpar tires stretched on wide wheels may be receipe for disaster.

What is exact model and package of X5 (it probably has different front and rear wheels)?
Where will it be driven? Snow, ice anywhere? Two sets of wheels?

Details, please.

Krzyś
I do not appreciate the snide remarks about being able to 'afford the car'. No one stated that someone couldn't afford them, I was trying to help them and give them some advice on how to maintain the car the best way without spending an arm and a leg every 12-18 months on tires. They did not ask for help, they were just asking my opinion. That aside, the actual wheels might be larger, but I doubt that since the BMW tech stated that my family member could run a square setup on the vehicle if they preferred. The BMW is a 2015 BMW X5 iDrive35I , I have already stated that the car has a staggered setup, and the specs are above. The car will be driven in the sunny south: no ice, snow, sleet. Just rain and sunshine.
 
I just picked up a set of MICHELIN PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ at tire rack for my Jetta. They were on closeout $120/ea for 225/50/-17. All season high perf. About as good as a tire you can get. They still may have some in your size.
 
I have been using Falken Azenis FK510 for the last 3-4 years on my Bmw 530Dat and my Bmw 750ix. I believe they are a good deal for summertires. Remember when you have staggered you must use the correct sizes or you can damage the transfer case. The dimensions you are using are almost a perfect fit. https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.p...2=40&wheel_size=20&wheel_width=9-5&offset2=20
I am thinking more of an all-season tire since the car will be in the south and we experience a pretty mild winter. Would you still recommend a Falken brand tire? and when you state that I must use the correct size are you speaking about tire width or rim size? My thought was to run 275 tires on all four corners and allow for rotation at OCI and hope that gets them some better life out of them.
 
Great!

Unfortunately, everything is expensive in those sizes. The Vredestein Ultrac Vorti looks like a good option. Is he in SC too? Does it get cold where he is? Can he use summer tires?

There's always cheap Chinese tires for $100 at Walmart and other sites.

You'd be better off downsizing for a smaller, square setup. Tire Rack only has cheese Sport Edition wheels in the 18" size that will fit your X5. There are more options in 19" but they cost more.
Since this is not my personal car and my family member isn't much up to par with changing a lot of stuff. I think the best option for them is to just find decent tires, and I would prefer not to run cheap Chinese tires and would think if they wanted to step down a tier and not run Michelin/Pirelli that is fine, but the lowest quality I would recommend its a mid-tier Hankook, General Tire, or Falken like that was stated above. But yes, the car is located on the SC/NC border, so no inclement weather that has to be worried about.
 
Since this is not my personal car and my family member isn't much up to par with changing a lot of stuff. I think the best option for them is to just find decent tires, and I would prefer not to run cheap Chinese tires and would think if they wanted to step down a tier and not run Michelin/Pirelli that is fine, but the lowest quality I would recommend its a mid-tier Hankook, General Tire, or Falken like that was stated above. But yes, the car is located on the SC/NC border, so no inclement weather that has to be worried about.

Vredestein should be at least as good as Hankook, General, and Falken
 
Oh, my apologies. I have never heard of the brand before, I will look into them. Do you have experience with these tires?

I don't have firsthand experience with Vredestein, but I was strongly considering them when shopping for tires. I ended up getting another car instead.
 
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