Tire recommendations for 2015 BMW X5

'15 X5 iDrive35I. I stated above that Pirelli's are on the car as we speak.
The BMW spec Pirelli’s in that size are run flats.

If you replace with non runflats, what is the driver’s plan when there is a flat tire?
 

Attachments

  • 8AC9C80E-EA4F-4D0E-8139-BDE30D3EA64F.png
    8AC9C80E-EA4F-4D0E-8139-BDE30D3EA64F.png
    283.4 KB · Views: 13
Hers's what I found at Tire Rack.
PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ (W- OR Y-SPEED RATED)

They did have 275/40-20 for $260/ea

The 315/35-20 they don't have but the overall diameter of that size and the 275/40's are identical. You may want to consider 275/40-20 all the way around. You could at least do a 4 wheel rotation.

I also lean towards the square setup. Thanks for the link!
 
The BMW spec Pirelli’s in that size are run flats.

If you replace with non runflats, what is the driver’s plan when there is a flat tire?
That is a personal question for the owner and I cannot answer that, but that is a decsion the owner will have to make.
 
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.
I mean the devation in Circumference on the tires must be as small as possible, well below 1%, that is something to have in mind when the rear tires got another dimension then front, if you have 4 equal tires its not a problem but i would switch front/rear when they are half-worn to be safe.

I havent tried other Falken tires then the FK510
 
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.

iDrive35I sounds like Apple product and it is not listed as a trim for this model on TireRack.
Is it sDrive or xDrive?

Then there are 4 models:
Base
Luxury Line
M Sport
xLine

Each may have a little different wheel requirements.

When "BMW tech" stated that square setup may be run did he mean that car accepts such setup but one needs to replace wheels or it can be done with current wheels? The rears may be 1-2 inches wider than fronts.

The cheapest set on TR in original staggered sizes is 870 USD. The most expensive is 2000 USD.
None are cheap.

I think the biggest question is: all out performance (summer performance tires), longer treadwear (that may be hard, depends more on driver and roads - all season, choice between grand touring and performance or comfort - grand touring.

After picking what kind of performance is wanted/expected then start looking for tires. If RFTs are a must that will limit what is available.

Good luck to family member,

Krzyś

PS And why is it "snide remark" to mention that owning a car is more than just buying it? I refused to buy 19" optional wheels and looked for basic 18" (sounds strange already) just to save on expense while loosing comfort.

Staggered 20" price range on TR as mentioned is 870-2000, Squared 19" is 500-1670.

PS2 Wheels

According to

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/bmw/x5/2015/

The car has:
F 10Jx20 ET40
R 11Jx20 ET37

And 275/40R20 tires have rim range 9-11 so you can go square with front sized tires.
 
iDrive35I sounds like Apple product and it is not listed as a trim for this model on TireRack.
Is it sDrive or xDrive?

Then there are 4 models:
Base
Luxury Line
M Sport
xLine

Each may have a little different wheel requirements.

When "BMW tech" stated that square setup may be run did he mean that car accepts such setup but one needs to replace wheels or it can be done with current wheels? The rears may be 1-2 inches wider than fronts.

The cheapest set on TR in original staggered sizes is 870 USD. The most expensive is 2000 USD.
None are cheap.

I think the biggest question is: all out performance (summer performance tires), longer treadwear (that may be hard, depends more on driver and roads - all season, choice between grand touring and performance or comfort - grand touring.

After picking what kind of performance is wanted/expected then start looking for tires. If RFTs are a must that will limit what is available.

Good luck to family member,

Krzyś

PS And why is it "snide remark" to mention that owning a car is more than just buying it? I refused to buy 19" optional wheels and looked for basic 18" (sounds strange already) just to save on expense while loosing comfort.

Staggered 20" price range on TR as mentioned is 870-2000, Squared 19" is 500-1670.

PS2 Wheels

According to

https://www.wheel-size.com/size/bmw/x5/2015/

The car has:
F 10Jx20 ET40
R 11Jx20 ET37

And 275/40R20 tires have rim range 9-11 so you can go square with front sized tires.
My apologies, it is an xDrive35I, NOT an iDrive35I. The tech did not elaborate much on it, just stated that they could run a square setup. I don't believe there was much discussion on it since the current tires still had life on them, it was something that was mentioned as an option. The car itself isn't cheap and no one expects the tire to be, that was understood when the car was purchased. The question at hand is, are their other options that what is already on the car. I have already stated the driver is looking more towards ALL SEASON tires. While to you it may not seem like a snide remark, but when reading it across a screen it is interpreted by me as the reader as 'you bought more than you could handle', which is simply not the case. It is simply a case of weighing your options and see what else can be done. Thank you for your input.
 
I mean the devation in Circumference on the tires must be as small as possible, well below 1%, that is something to have in mind when the rear tires got another dimension then front, if you have 4 equal tires its not a problem but i would switch front/rear when they are half-worn to be safe.

I havent tried other Falken tires then the FK510
I agree. I don't think changing wheel (rim) size is going to be an option for my family member, the main thing being discussed changing is the tire brand and tire width.
 
The car has:
F 10Jx20 ET40
R 11Jx20 ET37

And 275/40R20 tires have rim range 9-11 so you can go square with front sized tires.
Ahh... Different rim sizes.

This may be a consideration if you were to rotate the fronts to the rears. I'd ask a BMW tech what they advise on running the 11" wheels on the front. If it was ok you'd at least have to keep the same width wheels on the same axel.

Here is a great wheel and tire resource.

 
Sorry, I missed that part! :oops:

...

I missed it too.

"The car will be driven in the sunny south: no ice, snow, sleet. Just rain and sunshine." - usually means summer tires.

Back to square setup.
It seems front sized tires can be mounted on front and rear wheels but you may still not be able to do rotatation as:
one should keep the same sized wheels on the same axle, it means front/rear rotation and side to side (if tires are not directional) are possible; no cross;
wider rear wheels may still interfere with front suspension so it may not be possible to put them there (good point sohccammer427_1);


Krzyś
 
I missed it too.

"The car will be driven in the sunny south: no ice, snow, sleet. Just rain and sunshine." - usually means summer tires.

Back to square setup.
It seems front sized tires can be mounted on front and rear wheels but you may still not be able to do rotatation as:
one should keep the same sized wheels on the same axle, it means front/rear rotation and side to side (if tires are not directional) are possible; no cross;
wider rear wheels may still interfere with front suspension so it may not be possible to put them there (good point sohccammer427_1);


Krzyś
I have lived in the south my entire life, and the only people I know who run summer tires are people who drive sports cars. 90% of drivers run an all-season year around. We don't typically get snow, but it does get cold and you don't want to run summer tires in January/February.

and I am confused about your comments on the square setup? A square setup means all the tires are the same size. So why would you run into fitments issues switching the back to the front..? They are the same size tire... if we left the traditional staggered setup on there, then yes that would make sense, that we would run into fitment issues due to the rear tires being too wide.
 
I have lived in the south my entire life, and the only people I know who run summer tires are people who drive sports cars. 90% of drivers run an all-season year around. We don't typically get snow, but it does get cold and you don't want to run summer tires in January/February.

and I am confused about your comments on the square setup? A square setup means all the tires are the same size. So why would you run into fitments issues switching the back to the front..? They are the same size tire... if we left the traditional staggered setup on there, then yes that would make sense, that we would run into fitment issues due to the rear tires being too wide.
All season is the way to go. Summer tires just don't have the tread life.

Your X5 has 11" wide wheels in the rear, 10" wide in the front. The 275mm wide front tire will fits either rim within tire specs. You'd need to ask your BMW guy if there is any issue using the wheel that normally is on the rear axel on the front. Be interesting to hear what he has to say on the placement.
 
All season is the way to go. Summer tires just don't have the tread life.

Your X5 has 11" wide wheels in the rear, 10" wide in the front. The 275mm wide front tire will fits either rim within tire specs. You'd need to ask your BMW guy if there is any issue using the wheel that normally is on the rear axel on the front. Be interesting to hear what he has to say on the placement.
That sounds like what is going to be the most reasonable route. If that doesn't work, then they will just have to stay the course.
 
OK, so your family friend wants convenience of square set up. I cans ee why they would want that. X5 does look great in staggered set up, but it is just that, looks.
I would go if possible route of purchasing 19" wheels and 255/50 R19 tires. When I was on the market for X5 (previous model E70) I was making sure to avoid staggered set up precisely bcs. except better steering, and some added handling capabilities, it is nightmare to live with.
So, I had on E70 19" wheels (F15, X5 you talking about, is based on modified E70 platform) and they were wearing actually really good, much better than tires on my minivan now. With 19" set up your family member is looking at $1200 for top notch set of 4 tires, Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental and with regular rotation can easily squeeze 30,000 miles at least.
Family member has to check is it possible to run that, and I am not sure are fenders wider on that X5. If the are, it might look funny in that case.
I guess going 275 in the back is an option too. But i would do some research online to see if 19" are possible. Your relative will have more options, they will wear out slower, and in the mid run it will be cheaper.
 
I have a friend with one of these (2017 model ready to go back now that his lease is close to being over). Great car but it absolutely annihilates tires, he opted for sort of warranty deal when he got the optional staggered tires wheel package. Has paid back massively as the big German rips through a set of $1300 Pirellis every 15000 miles and he doesn’t pay a dime. Car isn’t tracked or driven that hard I-10 from Fulshear, TX-Energy corridor and back a few days a week it’s just that bad on rubber.
 
OK, so your family friend wants convenience of square set up. I cans ee why they would want that. X5 does look great in staggered set up, but it is just that, looks.
I would go if possible route of purchasing 19" wheels and 255/50 R19 tires. When I was on the market for X5 (previous model E70) I was making sure to avoid staggered set up precisely bcs. except better steering, and some added handling capabilities, it is nightmare to live with.
So, I had on E70 19" wheels (F15, X5 you talking about, is based on modified E70 platform) and they were wearing actually really good, much better than tires on my minivan now. With 19" set up your family member is looking at $1200 for top notch set of 4 tires, Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental and with regular rotation can easily squeeze 30,000 miles at least.
Family member has to check is it possible to run that, and I am not sure are fenders wider on that X5. If the are, it might look funny in that case.
I guess going 275 in the back is an option too. But i would do some research online to see if 19" are possible. Your relative will have more options, they will wear out slower, and in the mid run it will be cheaper.
I will let them know of this option. Do you know where a set of 19" wheels could be purchased that look OEM? Also, the fenders are wide plus they have the extra plastic lip (much like the new mustangs and corvettes) if you know what I am talking about?
 
Back
Top