Rims/Tires Question

[528i owner]

Hello All

I have a 1997 528i E39 with tire size 225 X 60 X15.

I'm looking at purchasing used winter tires on steel rims...the winter tires are the same size as my current tires 225 X 60 15.

Question: There are 2 sets of winter tires/rims that I'm considering (both sets have 225 X 60 X 15 ties) but came off 2 different vehicles. One set came off a 1994 BMW 540 and the other set came off a 2003 BMW 525. Does anyone know if either one of these set of rims will fit my 1997 9 528i.

Thanks in advance to all who reply.

[zmuff]

No, unfortunately they won't fit. Due to a slightly larger hub size on your car, none of the other 5, 6, 7, or 8 series wheels are a direct fit. But your wheels will fit all of these cars with hubcentric rings. So you are kind of limited on your choices.

[528i owner]

I contacted a BMW dealer and spoke with someone in the parts department who told me that the steel rims off the 2003-525 should fit with no problems but he could not say for sure about the rims from the 1994-540...something about the "offsets".

Does anyone out there know for sure?

[zmuff]

Really and truly, the hub size on your e39 is 74.1mm. All other 5 series, and 6, 7, and 8 series have a hub size of 72.4mm. The center hole is too small to fit onto your car. Any e39 wheel from 1997 to 2003 will fit your car. Although there are minor offset differences among all of these wheels, it is not the determining factor of whether they will fit your car or not.