Four 8.5x19 M351 Wheels on a F06 xDrive legal?

[DownNOut]

I called up a parts dealer today to ask for a set of four 8.5x19 M351 wheels for my F06 650i xDrive and they told me that the 8.5 inch width version is only approved for the front axis and not the rear axis.

Knowing that a few of you guys have these rims, do you reckon that this model should be used that way or is it acceptable to use the smaller width version for the front and rear axis?

Also, what (winter) tires are you using with your 351 wheels (dimensions)?

Even better: BMW is not recommending the 351 for winter tires. They only recommend 18 inch wheels for winter tires.

If I still want to use the 351 wheels for my winter and summer tires, can I use both in the same dimensions or would you recommend playing around with the width/height of the winter tires so that there's a bit more rubber in the end?

The offiicial dimension are 245/40/19 front and 275/35/19 rear.

[Walt White Coupe]

351, 8.5x19 wheels can be use front and back. That is called a "square" setup and is probably the best setup if you have Xdrive because all the wheels/tires are exactly the same in rolling circumference. That was also one of the "factory" options for your car, so your parts dealer is a moron.

Also, they will work fine with whatever "winter" tires you want to buy and I'd say stay with the square setup since it allows you to rotate the tires front to rear and side to side.

[Qsilver7]

Ditto…and BMW offered 351 wheel style with two options from the factory (not sure how the parts people didn’t see that info in the database):

• S2NBA…came with 4 wheels that are 8.5”x19” w/33mm offset.
• S2NDA…came with 2 front wheels that are 8.5”x19” w/33mm offset + 2 rear wheels that are 9”x19” w/44mm offset

You can use 18”, 19”, or even 20” winter tires if that’s what you want. The 18” tires are recommended probably due to the higher sidewall and cheaper cost. But if you want to stay with the same wheel style that you use in the summer…or these are the wheels that are available to you…I say use them.

If you want to use a different tire size than recommended in the owners manual for 19” tires…then use a calculator to determine which other sizes have the same overall diameter/circumference or is at least within spec so that you don’t screw up your transfer case or rub your suspension parts etc.

[DownNOut]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

351, 8.5x19 wheels can be use front and back. That is called a "square" setup and is probably the best setup if you have Xdrive because all the wheels/tires are exactly the same in rolling circumference. That was also one of the "factory" options for your car, so your parts dealer is a moron.

Also, they will work fine with whatever "winter" tires you want to buy and I'd say stay with the square setup since it allows you to rotate the tires front to rear and side to side.

Hey Walt, thanks for your answer!

Just so that I'm absolutely sure: There's no 2 versions of the front axis 351 with different offsets or Einpresstiefen(ET) as the Germans call it?

I can just buy 4 of these and be done with it (8.5x19 ET33)?

https://www.leebmann24.de/bmw-alufel...117842652.html

About the tires: Would you say that 255/40/19 are good tire dimensions for this square setup? Would you keep both summer and winter tires equal in dimensions?

Yeah, it wasn't just one dealer who claimed that I had to go for the staggered setup 8.5x19 front and 9x19 back, and that made me suspicious. It's a 2013 F06 650i xDrive with the m-sport package and I just can't imagine that there wasn't an option to choose the same wheels in all four spots, especially since it is an xDrive model. They explicitly claimed that BMW hasn't certified that sqaure setup. Not sure if the square setup is only viable for the lower kW models. But then again, it could very well be that these dealers aren't the sharpest tools in the shed...

[DownNOut]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Ditto…and BMW offered 351 wheel style with two options from the factory (not sure how the parts people didn’t see that info in the database):

• S2NBA…came with 4 wheels that are 8.5”x19” w/33mm offset.
• S2NDA…came with 2 front wheels that are 8.5”x19” w/33mm offset + 2 rear wheels that are 9”x19” w/44mm offset

You can use 18”, 19”, or even 20” winter tires if that’s what you want. The 18” tires are recommended probably due to the higher sidewall and cheaper cost. But if you want to stay with the same wheel style that you use in the summer…or these are the wheels that are available to you…I say use them.

If you want to use a different tire size than recommended in the owners manual for 19” tires…then use a calculator to determine which other sizes have the same overall diameter/circumference or is at least within spec so that you don’t screw up your transfer case or rub your suspension parts etc.

Was option S2NBA viable for all F06 models or were there any exceptions, i.e. kW too high etc.?

I assume that the ideal tire dimesions for the 8.5x19 ET33 wheels are 245/40/19, at least that's the front wheel specs that the dealer gave me for the staggered setup. Don't know if they would choose something else for the square setup.

Here's what the tire calculator gives me:

https://www.calculator.net/tire-size...9&y=12#compare

The 255/40/19 has a diameter that is 1.17% bigger than the 245/40/19 diameter.

Would you say that this is acceptable or is this already enough to put unnecessary stress on the wheel bearings etc.?

[Qsilver7]

You can go to one of the online part databases sites, enter the last 7 digits of your VIN, then go to the WHEEL diagrams and see the information for yourself. I input my VIN which is a 2015 650iX GC (has M sport pkg) that came with 20” Style 373 wheels…and the wheel diagram lists both the square & staggered style 351 wheels when I click on that diagram:

Here’s two popular sites:

• www.bimmercat.com
• www.realoem.com

For winter tires…I would go for the thinner width tire if I had to choose since a thinner wheel cuts through snow better which allows the tread to reach the road surface better.

[Walt White Coupe]

Originally Posted by DownNOut

Hey Walt, thanks for your answer!

I can just buy 4 of these and be done with it (8.5x19 ET33)?

Yes

About the tires: Would you say that 255/40/19 are good tire dimensions for this square setup? Would you keep both summer and winter tires equal in dimensions?

Personally, I'd go with one set of all season tires. Swapping summer/winter tires each year would be more that I would do. Also, I would not go with the taller 255 tire because of clearance issues with the front suspension member above the front tires. And that small change isn't going to improve the performance enough to do it.

But then again, it could very well be that these dealers aren't the sharpest tools in the shed...

That would be my conclusion.

[Opie55]

I echo Walt's suggestion on using all-season tires year round unless you live somewhere where the extra bite of winter tires is an absolute must. Walt lives in Philadelphia and I live in Denver, so neither of us is a stranger to snow. I have never had dedicated winter tires on any car in the 50 years I have been driving. I just use Michelin Piot Sport AS4+ year-round.

[DownNOut]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

You can go to one of the online part databases sites, enter the last 7 digits of your VIN, then go to the WHEEL diagrams and see the information for yourself. I input my VIN which is a 2015 650iX GC (has M sport pkg) that came with 20” Style 373 wheels…and the wheel diagram lists both the square & staggered style 351 wheels when I click on that diagram:

Here’s two popular sites:

• www.bimmercat.com
• www.realoem.com

For winter tires…I would go for the thinner width tire if I had to choose since a thinner wheel cuts through snow better which allows the tread to reach the road surface better.

Thanks for the site recommendations!

Here are the results I got after entering my own VIN:

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=36_1655

https://bimmercat.com/bmw/en/search/...E4/ECE/36_1655

It's still a bit of confusing for me... Both sites tell me that I should I use two 9x19 for the rear and two 8.5x19 for the front axis, or am I interpreting it wrongly?

My last seven digits are D148820 just in case I mistyped something in the queries above.

Is that conclusive evidence against or for the square 8.5x19 setup?

About the 255/40/19 tires: Since I live in Switzerland, winter tires are a must, so there's no way around it here. I found a great deal on 4 almost brand new 255/40/19 tires so if they are compatible with the 8.5x19 rims and my F06, I'd go that route even if the smalle tires might be a bit better for winter conditions as you mentioned. They're probably not 500$+ different...

Also, I noticed a "pro" seller selling the square set of the 351 wheels here:

https://www.werksraeder24.com/bmw-mi...0001198-2.html

Upon contacting them with my VIN, they declined and told me that these wheel's aren't compatible my my car. As you can see, they list F10, F11, F12,F13, but somehow, the F06 is a step too much for these... weird...

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by DownNOut

It's still a bit of confusing for me... Both sites tell me that I should I use two 9x19 for the rear and two 8.5x19 for the front axis, or am I interpreting it wrongly?

The database )see screen capture below) is saying you can use the style 351 wheels….in either the square set up or the staggered setup. The database is showing that these wheels could be ordered two ways by listing both of the option codes….option code S2NBA or option code S2NDA. If these were the wheels that were ordered for your car…you’d have one of these codes on your build sheet.

But the fact that their data appears…means that even if they weren’t ordered for your car originally…they still are a selection you can opt for after the fact. If they didn’t fit or work for your car, the database (when using your VIN) would have either grayed the item out in the diagram and the part nbrs would NOT be listed in the part nbr database below the diagram.

Originally Posted by DownNOut

About the 255/40/19 tires: Since I live in Switzerland, winter tires are a must, so there's no way around it here. I found a great deal on 4 almost brand new 255/40/19 tires so if they are compatible with the 8.5x19 rims and my F06, I'd go that route even if the smalle tires might be a bit better for winter conditions as you mentioned.

The biggest difference between the 245/40/19 & 255/40/19 tire is approx 4mm height difference. If adding 4mm to the overall height will not contact that knuckle you see above the wheel when you look into the wheel well…then you should be okay with 255/40/19 tires in a square setup.

Originally Posted by DownNOut

Also, I noticed a "pro" seller selling the square set of the 351 wheels here…Upon contacting them with my VIN, they declined and told me that these wheel's aren't compatible my my car. As you can see, they list F10, F11, F12,F13, but somehow, the F06 is a step too much for these... weird...

Again, you can use the part database sites given above (realoem & bimmercat) to see what other BMWs use the part nbr you are looking up. On both sites you can click on the 11 digit BMW part nbr and the sites will give you the “part nbr cross reference (realoem) or “application fitment” (bimmercat). As you can see when you entered your VIN into the database…the style 351 wheels came up as an option. There is no difference between the f06/f12/f13 coupes/‘verts/grand coupes. The only difference is the M6 versions…their wheels have a different offset…and I believe its the REAR wheels that will rub the suspension on the rest of the lineup. I think you can only use the FRONT M6 wheels and they have to be mounted on all 4 corners due to th offset difference. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong on this one).

[Walt White Coupe]

Qsilver7,

Thanks for that update. You said:

The biggest difference between the 245/40/19 & 255/40/19 tire is approx 4mm height difference.

That difference is probably for "regular" tires. I suspect that truly "snow" tires may have an even greater height difference.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Walt White Coupe

Qsilver7,

Thanks for that update. You said:

The biggest difference between the 245/40/19 & 255/40/19 tire is approx 4mm height difference.

That difference is probably for "regular" tires. I suspect that truly "snow" tires may have an even greater height difference.

Walt & everyone…just to verify where I got the 4mm height difference…I got that figure from running the 245/40 vs the 255/40 through the www.willtheyfit.com calculator. That calculator had just about every spec the same for this 10mm tire width difference….the spec that stood out the most was the overall circumference which it calculated at 4mm.

I will caution…you do take chances when you go outside the recommendations made by BMW. Sometimes you may win…sometimes you may lose. Be prepared.

[TON-III]

If there's a real winter I'd go with 225/50/18 size, the more narrow tire the better it run's on the snow.

And if playing with staggered 19" wheels 225/45/19" front/255/40/19" rear work's nicely! Here is mine with staggered 19" summer set.