afterstock rims on a 2001 bmw 530i?

Question

Can I put some 20" rims on my 2001 bmw 530i or should I go with 18" what are the problems that may arise if any?

Answer 1

As you increase the size of your rims, you will need to decrease the height of your tires. The tires you use will also have harder side walls to support the weight of the car and stresses of the driving conditions.

This has 2 effects:
- You can corner a lot sharper due to decreased sidewall flex.
- You will have a much bumpier ride because your tires now cannot absorb as much shock as before due to the hard sidewalls (kiss the nice refined 5-series ride goodbye). For the same reason, you can also bend your rims a lot easier if you hit a pothole.

Lower profile tires also have straighter sidewalls as opposed to slightly bulging sidewalls, this reduces the protection your rim will have should you accidentally brush against the curb.

In the end of the day, you are upgrading your rims most likely for looks, but you will have to drive really carefully (while having a really harsh ride) to maintain that looks... for your 530i, the most I would go for would be 17" or 18".

Answer 2

According to tirerack.com you can put 20" rims on your car. Tirerack tells you rims that you can put on your car without modification. In other words, you could put 21's, but it would require something like a fender roll in order for the wheel to fit without scraping.

So yes, 20's will fit perfectly fine, you just need to be sure you get the offset correct.

Answer 3

Whatever you do replace the stock wheels with another set of BMW wheels. They have so many different wheels to choose from. Besides, you will look like a total douchebag driving your BMW with aftermarket wheels...more than likely not as good of quality.