Do any 17" BMW wheels fit the E39 M5?

[bramley]

I have some 17" winter tyres on the Style 66 'tuning fork' alloys that are currently on my 530, and I'm looking at getting an M5. I read somewhere that these are the only 17" BMW wheel that clears the brakes on an M5 but would like to get that confirmed - does anyone know?

Don't really want to get 18" winters when I've got a barely used set of 17s.

Thanks

[CarbonBlackM5]

I think you will struggle to find any 17" that will clear the discs, even if you do they might not fit. When I was trying to get to the bottom of my brake shudder we tried some Alloys from a 728I and a E46 M3 (to eliminate buckled wheels) and although they cleared the discs they still wouldnt fit.

[MattOz]

Bramley,

I've certainly seen your style of 17's on an M5. Would make sense to pop onto the M5 Board, m5board.com and see if they have any recommendations.

[DVandrews]

CarbonBlackM5 said:

I think you will struggle to find any 17" that will clear the discs, even if you do they might not fit. When I was trying to get to the bottom of my brake shudder we tried some Alloys from a 728I and a E46 M3 (to eliminate buckled wheels) and although they cleared the discs they still wouldnt fit.

Generslly wheels from other models such as the E38 dont fit the E39 as they have a different centre size, but other E39 wheels should fit OK, as for caliper clearances I think that would depend on the wheel, suck it and see on an M5 owned by a friendly PH member.

Dave

[bramley]

Cheers guys. I re-read the comment I mentioned last night after googling it, and it was on the m5board so sounds positive. The only question is that there are 'wide rear' versions of my wheels and perhaps it's those that they were talking about - all mine are same width. That said, I doubt the width would make a difference to clearance.

[gavinbailey]

I did quite a bit of reaearch on this last year prior to getting winter wheels for my e39 M5. Style 66's are the only genuine 17 inch BMW wheel that fit the car without modification. People on the M5 Board use both the matched and staggered sets. I chose the former as that way I can swap them back to front if needs be.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

[rassi]

I just put (for the 4th) season my winter wheels on - style 66 non-staggered with 235/45/17 Dunlop m3 wintersport. So, yes, they will fit and it is an advantage that you have the non-staggered version for traction reasons.

[bramley]

Excellent - cheers chaps

[rassi]

DVandrews said:

CarbonBlackM5 said:

I think you will struggle to find any 17" that will clear the discs, even if you do they might not fit. When I was trying to get to the bottom of my brake shudder we tried some Alloys from a 728I and a E46 M3 (to eliminate buckled wheels) and although they cleared the discs they still wouldnt fit.

Generslly wheels from other models such as the E38 dont fit the E39 as they have a different centre size, but other E39 wheels should fit OK, as for caliper clearances I think that would depend on the wheel, suck it and see on an M5 owned by a friendly PH member.

Dave

This is exactly the point: Other 17" E39 wheels DON'T fit the M5, due to the size of the front calipers. Only the style 66 has a design (no ridges) of the internal "face" that allows it to clear the calipers.

[madras]

Would you be ok putting the 235 45 17 on the larger 9.5in rim?

The handbook doesn't actually state the rim widths to use for winter tyres just 235 45 17 all round.

thanks

[madras]

I guess I answered my own question with what gavin said above as the tyre size is always going to be 235 45 17. I would guess BMW anticipated using a staggered setup then.

[rassi]

No, the 235/45 tyre is NOT meant to be mounted on a 9" wheel. The OE winter setup for the E39 M5 is 8" non staggered wheels all round. The 235 (8" wheel) front and 255 rear (9" wheel) is specific to the E39 Sport versions.

[madras]

technically a 235 tyre can go on a 9" wheel.

I guess it's going to provide less flex in the side wall when mounted on a 9" rather than 8" - is this a big deal for winter driving?