TozoM8

The previous owner of my CTT did that and I hated it. It might look better, but the circumference was 5mm off Almost like a used tire vs new. I have a long curve 1/2 mile from home. If I pushed just a bit the PSM was kicking in all the time. I ended up buying two tires to make a matching set. I would never consider a staggered setup for AWD.

XR4Tim

If you're going to do it, 275/40/20 and 315/35/20 are very nearly identical in diameter (why BMW uses this combo).

ndx

as Tim said above, correct size would work

where did you purchase your vredsteins ?


thx

mcbit

955 CTTS had 9J 20" front and 10J 20" rear with 275/40/20 F&R, the 957 CTTS had 10J 21 F&R with 295/35/21 tyres. F&R rims had different offsets though so you can't rotate the rims.

Staggered rims on 911s: to produce understeer or...reduce oversteer?

pcst

Not true, 2006 Cayenne Titanium Edition with 20" sports-techno option came out with the stagger setup from the factory.

pcst

I would go with 275/45/20 rather than 275/40/20 (factory spec).

mcbit

Any particular reason you'd want to go with a tyre more than an inch larger in diameter than stock?

pcst

I was forced to use 275/40/20 as my cayenne was still under the factory warranty and the service adviser informed me that I could potentially void the drive train warranty if I use non-porsche recommended tire size.

Anyways, 275/45/20 will give you little more meat and give you a better ride quality.
I think it just looks better with 275/45/20.

mcbit

Don't fancy a Carrera 4S or a turbo then?

pdxjim

On my 09 turbo, it came with factory ordered spacers on the rear. Would this accomplish the same look you are looking for without getting different sized rims?

endless_corners

That is exactly what I was going to ask. Since the rear wheels DO look a bit inset by default. Rear spacers might be the ticket since a staggered setup provides NO performance benefit. Who is going to notice from behind a extra inch of tire width? However, rear spacers will flush the wheel out and look nice.

JFR-

It's closer to one inch exactly, or a 1/2 inch more side wall (which is still a 1/2 inch less than a 255/55/18 set up).

Why? Cosmetics for me. Pure and simple. It helps fill in the wheel well a little. It just looks right.

GVA-SFO

I repeat : after a significant number of miles of experience, the 315x35 (Rear on OEM 20x10 Techno rims) adds a serious level of lateral stability when towing over the 275x40.
I will NOT return to 275 on the rear, no way.

Now, for the "performances", frankly, on more than 100'000 miles of Cayenne S, (after two Grand Cherokee and 5 Range Rover), I never went to any track with any of these. True that one time, on the a night drive, I had to do a "65 miles" emergency identified obstacle avoidance, the car stayed perfectly flat and did it without any "strange reaction", staying extremely clean. (But, it is also true that our Cayenne has Air Susp.)
(I do have significant track time, i.e.: Monza, Spa, Magny Cours, and others, ..even some recent Nürburgring laps, ..BUT NOT with an SUV !!!)

What I think is also important is to choose a type of Rubber that match to the best, the over all conditions of where you will be driving. On the Cayenne, in California, if you do not go syking, the worse is rain, and this, often after long period of dry, so, in these very delicate conditions (first rain after long dry), I felt that the Vredestein were doing extremely good in such conditions. This is why we keep using these.
If I would "touch snow", my choice would probably different.

..And, I agree with Mcbit, for me : Staggered ..do not produces understeer, but reduce oversteer?

For info, I bought the last set of Vredestein (a month ago) at : Group-A Wheels - New York
7 Sidney Ct., N. Lindenhurst, New York 11757-1011, Phone: (631) 957-3901

I like this photo (repost, taken during a track day, end of June 2013) :



And to show the the shape of the wall, 315x35 on 20x10 Techno (repost) :



Finally, the look :

RacerX5

Thanks for all the responses. Clearly a lot of varied opinions on this subject.

>GVA-SFO Any chance you could post a couple of additional photos of your car?

BTW, the prevailing opinion on the BMW X5 web sites is that the Continental Extreme Contact DWS are a great tire that is available in this staggered size, (275/40/20 front, 315/35/20 rear). I have not tried them personally, but they will be the next set for my X5. They are an all season high performance tire, and are supposed to be decent in snow as well. While I have a set of snows on 18" rims for the Cayenne, I live in the Northeast, and sometimes you get caught out without the snows mounted with an early snow or a very late snow.

mcbit

For consistency I've checked the tyres you've mentioned across 1 brand of tyres where all sizes are covered Michelin Latitude HP

255/55/18 OEM Spec 29"
275/40/20 OEM Spec 28.7"
275/40/20 29.8"

20" wheels would generally be used for a sportier setup than 18" wheels, but putting the suggested 45 profile tyres on will raise the COG and allow for more sidewall flex. They're certainly not going to improve the handling over the 40 profiles.