[roadracer516]

I have a 2014 435i Xdrive. I wanted feedback as I need new tires. I have run Conti DWS06 tires on an F25 X3 35i and on my 2016 750i Xdrive with great luck. I live where it snows and although I use my truck on days where I can catch snow storms, I still need decent all season snow tires (not dedicated) for those times I get stuck having to drive in those conditions.

Current setup:
20x9.5 - 225/35-20 front
20x10.5 - 265/30-20 rear

There is a good 1" clearance front and rear to the any rubbing issues, so I know that the new sizes will clear.

Looking at this setup on the same wheels; 245/35-20 front and 275/30-20 rears on Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires.

I see that there is a slight difference with the new front tire diameter at 679.5mm vs 673mm rear, or a .97% larger difference. I think that is ok for Xdrive?

I qualify myself as pretty good when it comes to wheels and tires but would value any feedback from those that wish to chime in! Thanks in advance

[alohasurftoad]

285/30/20(26.7")
275/30/20(26.5")
245/35/20(26.8")
235/35/20(26.5")

what are the wheel offsets? if your front offset is too low a 26.8" tire will rub the fenderwell liner at full lock if the offsets are reasonable, why not run equal diameters for x-drive?

i've seen people with 26.8" and even 27" on F3/4 series. while i understand your desire for increased sidewall for ride and impact, taller gearing, increased rolling resistance and weight reduces performance. if that doesn't bother you and you're happy, i'm happy.

245/35/20 275/30/20 is 1% difference, it's ok for x-drive but same diameters is better for x-drive if feasable.
.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

285/30/20(26.8")
275/30/20(26.5")
245/35/20(26.8")
235/35/20(26.5")

what are the wheel offsets? if your front offset is too low a 26.8" tire will rub the fenderwell liner at full lock if the offsets are reasonable, why not run equal diameters for x-drive?

i've seen people with 26.8" and even 27" on F3/4 series. while i understand your desire for increased sidewall for ride and impact, taller gearing, increased rolling resistance and weight reduces performance. if that doesn't bother you and you're happy, i'm happy.

245/35/20 275/30/20 is 1% difference, it's ok for x-drive but same diameters is better for x-drive if feasable.

Very sound advice, thank you very much for your professional feedback! I will respond to your comments:

Offsets: I have not had the wheels off the car yet, so I am not aware of what the offsets are front and rear. I measured (rough but pretty confident) the widths of the front and the rear. I will check offsets before I order, from the looks of it, front rubbing should not be an issue, I spot measured with left and right lock to lock to see the clearance and I have finger + clearance.

Performance: While I fully appreciate "performance", this is a street car and I will not track the car either. The minimal performance drop due to gearing, weight, etc. is not something I am concerned with. Should that come up in the future, I would purchase some light weight 18's with performance tires to swap out if needed.

1% difference: The two tires I am looking at do not offer a 235/35 front, or a 265/30 rear option.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

285/30/20(26.8")
275/30/20(26.5")
245/35/20(26.8")
235/35/20(26.5")

what are the wheel offsets? if your front offset is too low a 26.8" tire will rub the fenderwell liner at full lock if the offsets are reasonable, why not run equal diameters for x-drive?

i've seen people with 26.8" and even 27" on F3/4 series. while i understand your desire for increased sidewall for ride and impact, taller gearing, increased rolling resistance and weight reduces performance. if that doesn't bother you and you're happy, i'm happy.

245/35/20 275/30/20 is 1% difference, it's ok for x-drive but same diameters is better for x-drive if feasable.

How about a 245/35-20 and 285/30-20? Conti DWS06 offers this combo.

[alohasurftoad]

Wheel width is measured between the bead seats. if you have a 1 finger clearance with 225/35 at full lock, a 245/35 would graze the liner, imo.

Its better if you get the specs stamped on it before proceeding.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

Wheel width is measured between the bead seats. if you have a 1 finger clearance with 225/35 at full lock, a 245/35 would graze the liner, imo.

Its better if you get the specs stamped on it before proceeding.

Will for sure do that. I will pull the wheels this week to get the full specs and report back. Thanks so much!

[J555]

As mentioned already by alohasurftoad, firstly find and share the exact parameters of your wheels; offsets are crucial, and nobody can tell without this information.

245/35/20 & 275/30/20 is perfectly fine for x-drive. In terms of overall balance, it is the best staggered setup I have tried yet. Due to the small difference in width of your front/rear wheels, the fronts will be a bit more stretched resulting in even a bit less of overall diameter difference than usual.

Originally Posted by roadracer516

Offsets: I have not had the wheels off the car yet, so I am not aware of what the offsets are front and rear. I measured (rough but pretty confident) the widths of the front and the rear. I will check offsets before I order, from the looks of it, front rubbing should not be an issue, I spot measured with left and right lock to lock to see the clearance and I have finger + clearance.

Be sure of exact widths and offsets before ordering the tires. The very slight rubbing at front of the fender liner in the partial lock is almost a sure thing with 245/35/20 fitted on 8.5" wide rims. Nothing to worry about, and if you are really on 9.5" wide rims, most likely no problem due to the stretch. The question you need to answer is the risk of rubbing the top of the fenders/fender liners.

However, the final fitment (and if the tires will rub or not) on the same chassis depends on a combination of two things:
- wheel size: width+offset, see above,
- tire make/model: different tires are physically different in profile, and width, no matter the same specs on paper. Haven't seen these Vredesteins fitted, but typically Vredesteins are pretty narrow (slightly reduces the risk of rubbing the fenders/fender liners)

btw, expect the Vredesteins to be very heavy, with high rolling resistance, especially when compared to Goodyear/Michelin/Continental.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by J555

As mentioned already by alohasurftoad, firstly find and share the exact parameters of your wheels; offsets are crucial, and nobody can tell without this information.

245/35/20 & 275/30/20 is perfectly fine for x-drive. In terms of overall balance, it is the best staggered setup I have tried yet. Due to the small difference in width of your front/rear wheels, the fronts will be a bit more stretched resulting in even a bit less of overall diameter difference than usual.


Be sure of exact widths and offsets before ordering the tires. The very slight rubbing at front of the fender liner in the partial lock is almost a sure thing with 245/35/20 fitted on 8.5" wide rims. Nothing to worry about, and if you are really on 9.5" wide rims, most likely no problem due to the stretch. The question you need to answer is the risk of rubbing the top of the fenders/fender liners.

However, the final fitment (and if the tires will rub or not) on the same chassis depends on a combination of two things:
- wheel size: width+offset, see above,
- tire make/model: different tires are physically different in profile, and width, no matter the same specs on paper. Haven't seen these Vredesteins fitted, but typically Vredesteins are pretty narrow (slightly reduces the risk of rubbing the fenders/fender liners)

btw, expect the Vredesteins to be very heavy, with high rolling resistance, especially when compared to Goodyear/Michelin/Continental.

Thank you as well for your professional feedback! I will get all exact wheel specs and report back so we can all make an informed decision. Here are my comments to your feedback:

Thanks for your input on the sizes (245 / 275)!

I looked up the weights of the tires reported on TireRack for the 245/35-20 and 275/30-20 for three different tires. Can weights on TireRack be considered accurate?

Conti DWS06 Plus: F:24lbs, R:24lbs
Quadtrac Pro: F:24lbs, R:27lbs
Pilot Sport All Season 4: F:24lbs, R:27lbs

Love your details on different tires and their different profiles.....Appreciate that!

You all are extremely helpful....Thanks to all!

[roadracer516]

OK, wheel specs are in:

Front: 20x9 ET35
Rear: 20x10 ET40

[alohasurftoad]

Originally Posted by roadracer516

OK, wheel specs are in:

Front: 20x9 ET35
Rear: 20x10 ET40

you can do 245/35/20-285/30/20(or 275/30/20). 275 will give you better clearance but 285 has negligible reverse rake diameter stagger, closer diameter difference and retainment of that difference for x-drives, since rear tires wear out faster.
.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

you can do 245/35/20-285/30/20(or 275/30/20). 275 will give you better clearance but 285 has negligible reverse rake diameter stagger, closer diameter difference and retainment of that difference for x-drives, since rear tires wear out faster.
.

You rock, good stuff!!! My tire preference would be the 275, second choice would offer the 285 option. SO......is the 285 that much safe a bet to run then the 275 due to Xdrive, transfer case and overall diameter being that much closer?

[alohasurftoad]

J555 is running 245/35 & 275/30 (0.97%) on his xdrive without problems so it's safe.

personally, if i had an xdrive, for 245/35 front, i would do 285/30 rear because i prefer closest to zero diameter difference and don't care for reverse rake diameter stagger. but then again i wouldn't be running that far over OEM anyway and would have done 235/35 & 275/30 at most.

post pics after they're installed.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

J555 is running 245/35 & 275/30 (0.97%) on his xdrive without problems so it's safe.

personally, if i had an xdrive, for 245/35 front, i would do 285/30 rear because i prefer closest to zero diameter difference and don't care for reverse rake diameter stagger. but then again i wouldn't be running that far over OEM anyway and would have done 235/35 & 275/30 at most.

post pics after they're installed.

[J555]

The 245/35+275/30 is perfectly fine, it is also a factory setup for some same and newer generation models. Indeed, I agree with alohasurftoad that getting as close in diameters as possible (235/275 or 245/285) is certainly a good idea for the transfer case protection. I went for 245/275, as I want the widest front tires (for front grip and steering feedback/feel), less difference in width between fronts and rears to reduce the understeer a bit, and reduce the risk of rubbing.

With 20x9 ET35, you'll be fine with 245/35. As mentioned before, depending on the tire and your car, you may have a slight rubbing in front of the fender liner at partial lock. I see that on most cars running similar diameter, usually you cannot even hear it, and disappears completely with wear.

With 20x10 ET40, it ain't that simple - at least not on F31. While I haven't found any such mention before, both 275/30 different tire models fitted to my 20x10 ET40 rubbed a bit the fender (under load when hitting moderate bumps). That was the case both on stock, and lowering springs (with EDC) with full alignment done. After all, it was not a big issue, as the fender just shaved a tiny bit of rubber at the edge, and have no rubbing anymore. I am glad I haven't tried the 285 instead...

While the F32 is a bit different, I can only suggest performing some additional research on the F32 stock (!) suspension fitments of this exact combination.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by J555

The 245/35+275/30 is perfectly fine, it is also a factory setup for some same and newer generation models. Indeed, I agree with alohasurftoad that getting as close in diameters as possible (235/275 or 245/285) is certainly a good idea for the transfer case protection. I went for 245/275, as I want the widest front tires (for front grip and steering feedback/feel), less difference in width between fronts and rears to reduce the understeer a bit, and reduce the risk of rubbing.

With 20x9 ET35, you'll be fine with 245/35. As mentioned before, depending on the tire and your car, you may have a slight rubbing in front of the fender liner at partial lock. I see that on most cars running similar diameter, usually you cannot even hear it, and disappears completely with wear.

With 20x10 ET40, it ain't that simple - at least not on F31. While I haven't found any such mention before, both 275/30 different tire models fitted to my 20x10 ET40 rubbed a bit the fender (under load when hitting moderate bumps). That was the case both on stock, and lowering springs (with EDC) with full alignment done. After all, it was not a big issue, as the fender just shaved a tiny bit of rubber at the edge, and have no rubbing anymore. I am glad I haven't tried the 285 instead...

While the F32 is a bit different, I can only suggest performing some additional research on the F32 stock (!) suspension fitments of this exact combination.

Appreciate your feedback J555! I will take a look at the rear for any clearance issue. Currently running 265/30 in the rear and by the eye, I cannot see a 275 being an issue. That said, thanks so much for that heads up, I will look closer!

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by alohasurftoad

J555 is running 245/35 & 275/30 (0.97%) on his xdrive without problems so it's safe.

personally, if i had an xdrive, for 245/35 front, i would do 285/30 rear because i prefer closest to zero diameter difference and don't care for reverse rake diameter stagger. but then again i wouldn't be running that far over OEM anyway and would have done 235/35 & 275/30 at most.

post pics after they're installed.

OK, here we go, got new shoes installed today. I like the look, no rubbing (front is really close but clears)

Front: 20x9 ET35 / 245/35-20 on Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires.
Rear: 20x10 ET40 / 275/30-20 on Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires.