X6 wheels on an X5

[AndrewO]

I bought some nice secondhand 19" X6 wheels for the E70 X5 thinking they would be fine as the X6 is just a squashed version of the X5. I was wrong the fronts are fine but the X6 rear uses a 72.5mm bore instead of a 74mm.

Tempted to file it out to 74mm, am I mad in attempting this ? I'd use a set of machanical dividers and assorted files.

The other option is, take the tyre off, drive to an engineering shop who will put them on a lathe. Hang around and test it on the car for fitment and then get the tyre back on. Basically this option is a load of hassle and there is a risk of scratching the wheels along the way.

The plan is to have a set of 18" winters and 19" summer and get rid of the 20s the car came with.

[richterswil]

Sounds like a lot of pissing about to me - if it was me I would sell the X6 wheels and start again looking for X5 wheels (but I'm feeling pretty lazy this afternoon which might be affecting my thinking!)

[AC Schnitzer]

we had this done for a customer, I would not attempt it yourself as you could end up with a wheel that won't centre proerly and it will feel like it is out of balance. It didn't cost much, less than £100 IIRC.

[hoppo4.2]

get it done right. but if thats different are you sure the offset etc is going to be alright

[AndrewO]

I thought about sticking them back on ebay but I'd only be able to sell them to someone with an X6 and that would be a limited market. So I'm stuck with them really, as long as I can get the rears sorted they would look really nice on an X5. They are the 5spoke design with a raised centre on each spoke. unlikely to see another X5 with them on.

There is a small ridge on the rears that needs filing off to make it flush like the fronts. Its the chamfer that I wouldn't attempt, if that needs re-profiling it'll be a trip to the engineering shop.

I'll have to take the wheel off again and have another look.

[AndrewO]

They all look okay. Had the fronts on and lined the rears up the best I could.

I've read about someone doing this with X6 20s. Unfortunately this was after I bought mine.

[mr.man]

Also check that the bolt hole PCD is identical.( you can check this easily by using a pair of inside calipers to compare any difference in hole centres)

[eliot]

AndrewO said:

Tempted to file it out to 74mm, am I mad in attempting this ?

Do you really need to ask or are you kidding ?
Its the centre bore that locates the wheel onto the hub - not the bolts & nuts. Get it done properly on a lathe. A wheel refurb specialist should know what they are doing too (assuming they still use big lathes for this sort of work, my local place pristine does)

[Beardy10]

I was going to bid on some X6 wheels on eBay then I read about this on a US forum.....wanted them as winter wheels for my X5. Did you buy them about a month ago ?

IIRC the wheels I saw the seller specified that they would fit an X5.....

Get it done professionally.

[AndrewO]

Engineering shop it is then. Thanks for the comments.

Bought them this week from a dealer in the UK. £750

Ad:---
19'' 2010 BMW X6 X5 X3 M SPORT ALLOYS WHEELS
GENUINE X6 SPORT WHEELS + 4 EXCELLENT BRIDGESTONE TYRES
• These wheels fit most BMW 5 stud 4x4 fitments, please check they fit your car before bidding (as I will not accept returns)
• The Wheels come with 4 Excellent Bridgestone Potenza RE050 Run Flat tyres (2 tyres are 7mm+ tread & 2 tyres are 6mm+ tread)
• Tyre Sizes: Front tyres are: 255/50 R19 Rear tyres are: 285/45 R19

[Beardy10]

AndrewO said:

Engineering shop it is then. Thanks for the comments.

Bought them this week from a dealer in the UK. £750

Ad:---
19'' 2010 BMW X6 X5 X3 M SPORT ALLOYS WHEELS
GENUINE X6 SPORT WHEELS + 4 EXCELLENT BRIDGESTONE TYRES
• These wheels fit most BMW 5 stud 4x4 fitments, please check they fit your car before bidding (as I will not accept returns)
• The Wheels come with 4 Excellent Bridgestone Potenza RE050 Run Flat tyres (2 tyres are 7mm+ tread & 2 tyres are 6mm+ tread)
• Tyre Sizes: Front tyres are: 255/50 R19 Rear tyres are: 285/45 R19

Those aren't the ones I was looking at....this guy seemed to know they wouldn't fit by his carefully worded advert! Mentions X5 and then says they may not fit.....

Good luck with the engineering shop.....I didn't actually get to find anyone to do it but was told initially guess would be £50 a wheel. Sounds expensive but then you need someone with the right kit. There was a bloke on a US forum who did it himself with a drill and some kind of sanding/filing disc....nutter!

[AndrewO]

I'll stick a picture up once I get them done. £100odd I can live with, to replace the tyres alone would be over a £1k on the 19s or 20s.

[8Tech]

They would fit an E53 X5 because that has a 72.6 hub and that is why you need hubcentric rings when fitting 74.1 E70 wheels to an E53.