BMW X6 - reduce tyre size?

[nikapur]

hi my cousin drives a may'11 X6 and is extremely unhappy with the ride of the car. he is currently using 255 50 R19 wheels. he has been told by the dealership that reducing the size to 18inch will improve the ride considerably. however, the person at bmw is not able to give him the size that he should opt for.

can someone give me the size that my cousin should buy.....

also, i check a number of international websites and found that the x6 always comes with 19in and above. is it that the wheels of some cars can't be downgraded?

[Rehaan]

1) I assume the X6 comes with "RunFlat" tyres. This is in part responsible for the harsh ride (due to the stiffer side-walls of the RFTs). Read more :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...d-go-flat.html (Run Flats could go Flat)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-new-ones.html (Need advice on selling bmw x5 run flat tires (then getting new ones))

2) Scroll down to A Tyre Size Calculator at this tyre bible link
- Enter the current and new tyre sizes, and you can see how similar they are. A difference of 3-5% is okay. Naturally, the closer the match the better. A lot will depend on what tyres are available in 18" in the size range you want.

3) Going from 19" to 18" (even if no X6s come with 18") shouldn't be a problem, in my opinion.

cya
R

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

3) Going from 19" to 18" (even if no X6s come with 18") shouldn't be a problem, in my opinion.

cya
R

Maybe not. I'm not sure about the X6 but sometimes cars cannot accommodate smaller rims due to the size of the brakes.

Either way, if the car isn't driven on bad roads, the best bet is to switch to normal tubeless tyres, and buy a space saver spare, or a full size. The ride comfort should improve a fair amount.

[Sahil]

People usually upsize on such cars not downsize! Tell you cousin to shift to tubeless tyres, he'll be amazed at the comfort!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Maybe not. I'm not sure about the X6 but sometimes cars cannot accommodate smaller rims due to the size of the brakes.

True point, but in this case of a sada X6, 18" rims should still leave plenty of space for the brakes.

cya
R