[Rich807]

Looking to go from OEM 225/50 R18 set to a wider 255/45 R18 tire on the stock factory 18 in wheels.

Each tire is about 1" wider than the stock ones. In my head there's all kinds of room to move up but wondering if any of you are running tires this wide on your X2s

[sirch]

Let us know how it goes. I would suggest getting a spacer in case needed.

[rice_rocket88]

I just replied on another thread above.. I ran 255's for winter but those were aftermarket wheels which I think the offset was like 30's instead of the stock 42. I agree it would be nice to have some spacers onhand in case.. but it will make the car look nicer anyways

[rice_rocket88]

Probably for better gas mileage My car looks so much more aggressive with the wide winter tires, I'm going to be a little sad next week when I flip back to the summer "all season" tires. I guess I'll just have to try harder to burn them up before I can put some nice fat regular tires on it. It handles and drives so nice on the winter tires...

[Rich807]

I think you're right but BMW normally doesn't play that with their cars.

I came into the X2 from an X5 with the sport package. That vehicle had staggered stuff on it from the factory with the rear being 315 wides. Talk about going from something with tires that looked bad ass to something with tires that looked like they came off a 10-speed bike...

Thank goodness for x-drive in M version of the X2 because I routinely spin the fronts with my regular ole X2 in S-drive configuration by just rolling on the throttle. My wife's Audi Q3 makes the X2 look bad when they're sitting next to each other (hers came with 255s on it from factory). Like I said, I plan to have that situation rectified this week.

[Rich807]

Got the new go-flat 255 sneakers put on today. My wheel spacers were on the car before these wider 255s were mounted so the new tires went on the car with the spacers still in play. ZERO problem with clearance on front or back with my spacers.

As an experiment or a public service to the 18" OEM wheel community: When I got home from tire shop I pulled the LF wheel off, pulled the spacer off the hub, & then mounted the wheel back on the car sans spacer. Did the new 255 wide tire clear everything up front without a spacer, yes. Would I recommend running them without some sort of spacers in play, I don't think I would. The sidewall of the 255 tire is very close to the strut body using the stock OEM 18" wheel.... at least IMO. I have to image the tire would rub the strut at certain times the tire flexes (that's just a guess though).

The car looks infinitely better with 225 rubber on it, at least to my eyeball. It gains a mean stance, like a sporty German car usually has.

I would say in a perfect world I'd have 255s on an 8-8.5" wide wheel instead of the S-Drive 18" diameter 7.5" wide wheels. But, I've had many sets of wider tires than these on narrower than perfect wheels. If I had a do-over after having seen the results here, I'd do it again as I like the OEM wheel design well enough. If I didn't like the OEM wheel design I'd be ok with spending another $1k USD or so on aftermarket wheels, but since I like them I was able to save that $1k.

1st pic: Left side is LF strut clearance with my wheel spacer in play. Right side pic is LF strut clearance without a wheel spacer installed. I didn't get the shot without wheel spacer installed with same pic aspect angle as I did for the one with the spacer in. The 'without spacer' pic makes it look like there's more gap than there actually was.

[chowser51]

wow, that does look good!
I'm on 19s with the Pilot AS4S in stock size, when these wear, I'm switching to the CrossClimate2s in 245 width.

[Rich807]

The difference in drive feel is massive. The car feels attached to the road now. Steering is heavier, which is a good thing to me. On the 225 run-flats the car felt like it was rolling over the road on ball bearings.

Feeling a slight difference in how the power delivery is as well. Everything is more linear coming off the bottom end now vs more light-switchy. Unanticipated, but I'll take it.

When I had my X5 I went to RF tires to go-flats... big difference for better. This move on the X2 going wider & to go-flats is an exponentially better bang-for-buck. I'm kicking myself for not tossing the narrow run-flats at the time I bought the car. Looks better & drives a hell of a lot better.

[kulfon48]

Originally Posted by Rich807

Got the new go-flat 255 sneakers put on today. My wheel spacers were on the car before these wider 255s were mounted so the new tires went on the car with the spacers still in play. ZERO problem with clearance on front or back with my spacers.

Are you running 255 tires on 7,5 wide wheels? Aren't the tires too wide for such a narrow wheel??

[Rich807]

Yes I am running them on the 7.5" wheels. As to them being too wide, that depends on who you ask or perhaps there in the EU, the strict (assuming strict anyway) laws you're bound by.

Myself & many other people over here in North America run tires wider than these on wheels this size. For example I ran a wider tire-to-wheel ratio than these are on a Scion xD for years. Some places around the world you can't get away with putting this size tire on this size wheel, I get that. We have the luxury here on this side of the pond to go this route with our setups.

They don't visually (to me anyway) look like they're on a wrong wheel & I prefer to have a bit of bulge off the rim vs the stretched out look the 225s have. I also saved about $1k USD by not having to buy new wheels, so there's that.

[kulfon48]

I understand your reasoning behind such move and I'm doing similiar with my wheels (legal requirements in certain countries are another subject).
I've asked because from online calculations and forums I've assumed that 255 for 7,5 is way too wide for safety reasons. 235 would be max apparently
If 255 works for you and is safe then it's all good

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by kulfon48

I understand your reasoning behind such move and I'm doing similiar with my wheels (legal requirements in certain countries are another subject).
I've asked because from online calculations and forums I've assumed that 255 for 7,5 is way too wide for safety reasons. 235 would be max apparently
If 255 works for you and is safe then it's all good

No I totally hear you & understand where you're coming from & how you came to the question(s) you have. I'm not recommending anything to anyone, but more just saying what I've done & am doing now.

IMO, & my opinion only, there's zero safety issue. Like I said, I've been running oversize tires on trucks & cars since the late 80s. Never had a blowout / tire failure or anything of that nature on any of those vehicles. I've lived in the desert SW of the U.S. for nearly 30 years & that means driving in super hot temps much of year & at fairly high sustained speeds out here due to straight roads & fairly high speed limits in much of the Western U.S. (70-80mph speed limits not uncommon).

I have to surmise that wheel width recommendations are ultra ultra conservative & on steroids. Not sure how anyone can look at a 255 tire on a 7.5" wheel & think something's wrong (at least visually).

My current tire setup has taken a car I've really come to like/enjoy over a year of ownership to immediately having me be totally in love with it. Personally I wouldn't go anything less than 245s on it but that's just me.

Good luck / happy motoring!!

[Rich807]

Double-tap.

[Carlman3]

Looks great. I love those BFG tires. I've had the g-force's on 2 vehicles and enjoyed the intense grip, while being quiet and compliant-ish too.. kind of have a 'heft' to them.
BTW... Are you using a 10mm spacer all around?

[Rich807]

To be honest w/you I wanted some G2 Nitto's as I had on my X5 (they were awesome) but no sales were on them & Discount Tire had a crazy sale going on the BFGs so I popped on them instead. So far really happy with them but the proof will be how long they stay sticky as many a tire goes to hockey puck hardness here where I live long before the tread is toast.

I'm running a square spacer setup. 13mm spacers on all 4 corners.

[mrpingu]

Originally Posted by Rich807

Got the new go-flat 255 sneakers put on today. My wheel spacers were on the car before these wider 255s were mounted so the new tires went on the car with the spacers still in play. ZERO problem with clearance on front or back with my spacers.

As an experiment or a public service to the 18" OEM wheel community: When I got home from tire shop I pulled the LF wheel off, pulled the spacer off the hub, & then mounted the wheel back on the car sans spacer. Did the new 255 wide tire clear everything up front without a spacer, yes. Would I recommend running them without some sort of spacers in play, I don't think I would. The sidewall of the 255 tire is very close to the strut body using the stock OEM 18" wheel.... at least IMO. I have to image the tire would rub the strut at certain times the tire flexes (that's just a guess though).

The car looks infinitely better with 225 rubber on it, at least to my eyeball. It gains a mean stance, like a sporty German car usually has.

I would say in a perfect world I'd have 255s on an 8-8.5" wide wheel instead of the S-Drive 18" diameter 7.5" wide wheels. But, I've had many sets of wider tires than these on narrower than perfect wheels. If I had a do-over after having seen the results here, I'd do it again as I like the OEM wheel design well enough. If I didn't like the OEM wheel design I'd be ok with spending another $1k USD or so on aftermarket wheels, but since I like them I was able to save that $1k.

1st pic: Left side is LF strut clearance with my wheel spacer in play. Right side pic is LF strut clearance without a wheel spacer installed. I didn't get the shot without wheel spacer installed with same pic aspect angle as I did for the one with the spacer in. The 'without spacer' pic makes it look like there's more gap than there actually was.

OT but where did you get that grill?

[Rich807]

https://ind-distribution.com/

[Carlman3]

Installed 10 mm spacers all the way around last night (on my X1), and noticed a little heavier steering feel. If the bigger tires add a little more, it'll feel like a real BMW! Ha.

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by Carlman3

Installed 10 mm spacers all the way around last night (on my X1), and noticed a little heavier steering feel. If the bigger tires add a little more, it'll feel like a real BMW! Ha.

The bigger tires added way more than spacers did.... my subjective experience on my X2 anyway.

After having driven for a month on my current setup I will say the biggest 'pro' is how the larger rubber allows the turbo to spool up way better than before. No more 'light switch' power delivery.

[rice_rocket88]

Not to be a jerk.. but I don't understand how a larger tire patch will help the power delivery? I don't notice a difference switching between my winter and summer setup.

I agree the extra wide tires do feel "tighter" vs the spacers I didn't really notice a difference. I enjoy my winter setup a lot because of this and can't wait to burn through my factory runflats and swap over to some fat regular tires..

[Rich807]

No offense taken. Forums are places to discuss things & It’s certainly your prerogative to doubt or disbelieve my account of my experience. All I can say is what my experience is & that’s coming from about 40 years of driving & having owned nearly a dozen turbo vehicles over that time (6 of them being German cars).

Here’s why I think I’m seeing/feeling what I am:

1. My particular car is an S-Drive. I suspect the tune from the factory is the same for an X-drive vs S-drive in the 28i variety. A lot of the x-drive 28i’s come with 19in wheels vs the 18s my S-drive have. There’s considerably less drivetrain drag with a FWD-only vs AWD platform…. especially on med-hard launches, where I was a getting a very light-switchy ‘hit’ from the turbo when it finally spooled up. This was causing the non-sticky & narrow RF tires to routinely brake loose from wheel spin. I no longer get that. It’s my .02 that an X-drive definitely loads the engine heavier right off initial throttle due to more drag in the driveline, & thus help the turbo to spool up sooner (& in a more linear fashion) than an S-Drive like I had in it’s OEM config.

+

2. The 255s I swapped to are larger in diameter & weigh a combined 20lbs more than the Pirelli 225s they replaced. That’s 20lbs more of larger, unsprung mass, that the engine has to get rolling. That extra engine load helps spool the turbo much sooner than it did before.

+

3. There’s almost an inch more contact patch on each corner of the car now & the tires on the car at this time are far more sticky (my subjective analysis). More rolling resistance (even if small), still is more than before, which is another item in the equation here helping the turbo spool up sooner.

= The above things all together yield more load on the engine right from off idle which helps spool the turbo sooner vs how I it was when I took delivery of the car. The driving dynamics of my little FWD S-drive 28i benefitted greatly from taller, wider, & more sticky rubber.

If I went to bigger rubber & it made no difference or was worse in any way I’d 100% speak up & say as much (as a warning to others they may not want to go this route). That’s not the case. I firmly believe my S-drive in bone stock configuration was on the wrong side of where turbo spool should be, but likely is GTG on the X-drive variants.

M X2s are an entire different animal & not really relevant in this particular discussion. WAY more power & obviously AWD.

Have a good one!