X3 wheel choices: 18's, 19's or 20's?

[titanium330]

I'm wondering what size wheels to put on my X3 as a summer set. Does anyone have experience with the different sizes? (ie 235/50/18 vs 255/45/18, 235/45/19 vs 255/40/19 vs 255/35/20) I don't want ride quality to suffer too much and for tires, I will just put on the most reasonably priced set (don't care if they are all season or summer, its not a race car). I would like 19's, but the tires are so expensive compared to 20's or 18's. Any opinions on running staggerd fitment? Will a 255/35/20 fit in the front wheel wells without rubbing? Any info/comments would be great.
Cheers.

[ldsbeaker]

To be totally honest, the biggest I would go is 18", and I would keep them the same all the way around. But this is so that I could get max life out of my tires. (rotation and all)
I can't remember what size wheels I have on my x3, but I'm pretty sure they are 17's. Good enough for me. It's already jiggly enough with 17s! I can't imagine if I had shorter, stiffer sidewalls...

[titanium330]

I think I am going to go 19" and staggard. 18's are nice, but I want something a little more aggressive. I wish someone had one with 19's or 20's in my city.

[Brett7585]

Hello,

I have had experience with different wheel sizes on the x3. I have a 2008 that came with 18's that i use during the winter. My first set of wheels i put on were 20's with 245/40zr 20 tires. It looked great, I wanted larger wheels and like you was confused about my goals... well practice makes perfect and i liked what i had for a short time but there still was a lot of gap between the top of the tire and the fender.. I thought about lowering the car but thats not always good for it... so i now have 22's with 265/35/zr22 and it is exactly the look i wanted.. aggressive sporty wheels, minimal wheel well gap and an awesome looking ride. Despite what the other guy said about the ride quality, i would disagree and prefer it this way.. a little rubber means less flimsy sidewalls and a strong stance. I can send you pics of both if you send your email.. let me know what you think.

Brett

[denyo77]

how about attaching the pics to your post or uploading them to photobucket?

[Brett7585]

Here are some pics: 1st on is with 20s 245/40/20
2nd is 22s 265/35/22

NO RUB, NO PROBLEMS!

[sir]

Brett7585,

What is your 22's rim width and offset?

How harsher is the ride on 22's?

Thanks!

[esyegs]

Don't forget the bigger the wheel the worse it's for suspension. If you are ready to pay for it extra - wish you all the best