X5 e70 space saver tyres

[Leslie]

I am getting a space saver wheel rim but need a tyre and have found the land rover spec tyre is much cheaper and easier to get as the bmw one is an oddball size and scarce/ expensive .
X5 spec is 155/90/18 which is 1% bigger than 20 inch wheels
Land rover spec is 155/85/18 which is 1 % smaller than 20 inch wheels so neither are a perfect match.
Even on 21 inch rims the front and back are 0.7 % rolling difference going by tyre comparator from the factory.
The land rover one even has a higher load index can anybody see any issues ?
Most of the ones on eBay the tyres are about 13 years old for x5 wheels as they were never standard fit !

[Raj]

I suppose as a get out of a pickle type scenario use it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Just check the front existing and back existing to the space saver compared to OE and see if it's still within that 1% tolerance then they usually say it should be ok. Let's be honest it's something you hope you will never really use and if you do you won't be driving it very hard or fast and only for a limited amount of time while you sort the proper tyre.

[X5Sport]

Same size as OE for Merc (quite probable the same wheel/tyre anyway!). New tyres also avail, but definitely not cheap. I bought a Continental last year for the E46 and that was about £112 fitted and they might have been the only supplier at that size too. Given you’re limited to 80kph/50mph and have naff all tread (3mm?) on these emergency spares the difference is probably not worth worrying about.

[Leslie]

Thanks lads bmw sell the rim for 80 quid new but i think they have discontinued the full kit and see some land rover spec tyres around 50 quid.
Feel the need for one as sooner or later will get stranded and a full size wheel is just massive in the boot.
An e53 jack genuine jack and you are good to go as the saddle is at 90 degrees to a normal scissor jack and once you try to use it you see why lol

[sapphireblack]

I acquired a pukka rim from here but as it turned out with a very wrong tyre, i ended up buying another full set, wheel/tyre/tools to replace it expensive!

Anyway, i had also bought an E53 jack initially which I tested but never needed, i posted on the forum iirc.

Having it is all about hassle mitigation for me, the bonus with an X6 is there's a space under the boot floor to properly store a space saver

[Leslie]

Hi Sapphireblack , I wonder if its even the right rim as the X5 e70 /X6 uses M14 bolts not M12 like other BMW's .did you actually try fitting it ? I had a similar experience myself ,saw one for sale and rang up myself a while back about a local X5 wheel advertised ,of course I couldn't see the tyre markings from the pics but was assured it was right ,well it only had like a 125 tyre on it when I asked for the numbers ,way too small to be x5 ! Of course they had bought it secondhand like yourself as unless you know otherwise most assume any one that fits over the brakes is fine but as we know for 4wd it just won't do !
You can buy a 155.85.18 tyre for £55 on camskill tyres plus a tenner post which is the cheapest so far and its a continental cst17 which i think were oe for Bmw just they use a 155.90.18 which is a rare size and very expensive.

Luckily the 5 seat X5 like mine also has space under the floor for the space saver spare its just the 7 seater doesn't have this.

[sapphireblack]

The original wheel, with incorrect tyre i sold a while ago now but it was the correct rim, part number as below. I replaced it with a full set with jack, tools etc and the moulded tray. Better in every way but very expensive. Given the E70/71s fragile transmission and it being a one off (two off in my case) purchase i just paid up and bought the right rim and tyre.

The '85' tyre is 2264.1mm circumference, the '90' tyre is 2312.8mm. As you say its a question of 4mm down or up in ride height from the regular road wheels. This of course could be made greater by worn, low tread regular tyres arguably making the '85' tyre more favourable. I just went with BMWs edict to be safe.

[sapphireblack]

Another possibility is a 19" alloy space saver from the 4.6/4.8 E53 with 155 80 19 rubber but the offset is ET40 instead of 14, though a spacer would cure that, but then its carrying longer bolts and the spacer and faffing around when you least need the hassle.

I actually have an E53 alloy space saver i keep for my Touareg, its super lightweight. An advantage for total laden weight especially if the vehicle is loaded for holiday trips etc. Accessing it though would be a pita on a cold or wet day, enter tyre strings as a back up to the back up

EDIT

Ignore all of this, centre bore size is wrong of course only 72.6 on the E53. 74.1 all round on an E70 and front of E71

Fits a Touareg tho

[Leslie]

I did notice some e53 had an alloy space saver but most seemed to be 17 I seems he seen listed being alloy I guess it was thicker in the bead area which is why they went to 19 to clear the caliper and as you say the offset is a fait bit off but given the narrow width This might not be an issue as the e70 is around 40 anyway
Centre bore often an issue on these good spot be too late on a cold wet night when it won't bolt up.

[Leslie]

The full kit is I hear now discontinued to maybe won't be long till the rim is too so if anybody is thinking about getting one I wouldn't delay too long. Given the prices in eBay bmw isn't too bad at 80 quid and the range rover tyre is easy got. I believe the e53 jack is even the same part number and all e53 had one ,wrench won't fit though as its 19 not 17mm
Given range rover used the same pcd of 5x 120 when bmw owned them they could be worth a look too

[sapphireblack]

I suppose the majority of owners are happy with runflats, but the fact a space saver rim exists and the car/s have somewhere to fit it is a little confusing?

Maybe its just old geezers like me who prefer a viable spare wheel of some sort

[X5Sport]

I think some countries legally require them so the body shell must accommodate etc. The rest of us have to buy them! I wasn’t even offered a re-inflation kit for free. Not all of the winter tyre options were RFT either. If it is a legal requirement then how the 7-seat X5 was covered could only be a reinflation kit I suppose?

[sapphireblack]

Winter tyres!!!

You may recall as i posted that i created an F16 type set up a while ago now, but have yet to use them

I bought a staggered set of 'easy clean' type 259 rims, had them refurbed in Orbit Grey and treated them to a set of Pirelli winters, BMW* in 285 40 20 all round. These of course are not run-flats so the space saver or gunk kit kicks in if required.



I was looking only today at some charts i saved showing permissible tyre/rim options and permutations which allowed me to be comfortable with my one size tyre staggered rims decision. It makes me wonder whether the same set up for summer use should be considered ? One size tyre all round would make life easier

[Leslie]

Bmw fit a 325 tyre for 21's on an 11.5 rim so by your chart they are out of spec too , I did consider getting 2 front alloys for my set of 20's to make a square setup as I only planned to use these with winter tyres and front tyres tend be to cheaper than rears but the price people were asking for 2 scabby wheels id need to refurb didn't really make it worthwhile plus more wheels to store and get in the way
If runflats were not a silly price id be happy enough with them too I guess but when you can get 2 for the price of a runflat on an older car out of warranty it doesn't add up for me. I have noticed though if you don't raise the front tyre pressure about 5 psi it always looks flat and the outside edge and inside edge will be scrubbed of in no time. You have to adjust for far less rigid sidewalls that will support themselves somehow as the tyre pressure on my old 330d was higher than bmw recommend for an x5 and its a tad heavier

[sapphireblack]

It does seem according to those two independent charts, that BMW push the boundaries with rear tyre sizes.

I read somewhere that the G series use much narrower wheels generally and square set ups too. Not sure if that applies to X5/6 G's tho.