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Fitment guide

BMW E60 E61 5 Series Wheel & Tire Fitment Guide

Originally published | 03/09/2021
Updated | 09/21/2023

Available Wheel Designs

Flow Formed Designs

Forged Designs

Bolt Pattern

5x120mm

Centerbore

72.56mm

Lug Seat

60° Conical

Lug Thread Pitch

M12x1.5mm

Vehicles Covered in this Guide:

2003-2010 5 series sedans (E60) and wagons (E61).

Chassis Introduction:

The E60 5 series was a step into new territory for BMW after the much-loved and more conservatively styled E39 generation. Available with a variety of powertrains, the E60 has become a more popular platform for enthusiasts as it has aged but its lower offsets and AWD hub differences make the E60 a unique challenge when it comes to wheel fitment.

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Performance Street and Track Wheel Fitment

Wider fitments for enhanced performance

  • Grey BMW 5 Series - SM-10 in Race Silver

RWD

Rear-wheel drive E60s have lower offsets than their AWD counterparts which makes these cars more suited to staggered wheel fitments and concave wheel profiles. All of these fitments will require spacers to reduce effective wheel offset for optimal fitment.

Staggered Setups Maintains stock-like handling characteristics, tires can only be rotated left to right. Maximizes both front and rear tire width. Staggered setups are recommended for highly tuned cars that need extra rear tire width in order to control their increased power output.

  • Front: 18x8.5" ET35, ET38 (ARC-8), or ET40 (VS-5RS) with 245/40-18 tires and 18mm spacers // Rear: 18x9.5" ET22 with 275/35-18 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, FL-5, SM-10, VS-5RS
    • 20mm front spacers recommended with ARC-8 and VS-5RS
    • Rear fender rolling or negative camber may be required for cars that are lowered or tire models that run wide.
    • 265/35-18 rear tires may also be used for an easier fit.
    • Thicker front spacers (22-24mm) and additional negative camber may be required with certain aftermarket suspensions, see below.

Square Setups Allows proper front-to-rear tire rotation to extend tire life & improve handling balance.

  • Front & Rear: 18x8.5" ET35, ET38 (ARC-8), or ET40 (VS-5RS) with 245/40-18 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, FL-5, SM-10, VS-5RS
    • 18mm front spacers required
    • 20mm rear spacers required.
    • ARC-8/VS-5RS requires 20mm front and 22mm rear spacers.
    • Recommended winter fitment

AWD

AWD (xi) E60s have much higher offset requirements than their RWD counterparts. Square setups are the standard here with less aggressive wheel profiles and no spacers required with APEX wheels.

Square Setups Allows proper front-to-rear tire rotation to extend tire life & improve handling balance.

  • Front & Rear: 18x8.5" ET35, ET38 (ARC-8), or ET40 (VS-5RS) with 245/40-18 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, FL-5, SM-10, VS-5RS
    • Direct fit
    • Recommended winter fitment

Aggressive Street Wheel Fitment

Aggressive fitments focused on appearance and concavity

RWD

Rear-wheel drive E60s have lower offsets than their AWD counterparts which makes these cars more suited to staggered wheel fitments and concave wheel profiles. All of these fitments will require spacers to reduce effective wheel offset for optimal fitment.

  • Front: 19x8.5" ET35 with 245/35-19 tires and 18mm spacers // Rear: 19x9.5" ET22 with 275/30-19 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, SM-10
    • Popular fitment.
    • Rear fender rolling or negative camber may be required for cars that are lowered or tire models that run wide.
    • 265/30-19 rear tires may also be used for an easier fit.
    • Thicker front spacers (22-24mm) and additional front negative camber may be required with certain aftermarket suspensions, see below.

Square Setups Allows proper front-to-rear tire rotation to extend tire life & improve handling balance.

  • Front & Rear: 19x8.5" ET35 with 245/35-19 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, SM-10
    • Popular fitment.
    • 18mm front spacers required
    • 20mm rear spacers required.

AWD

AWD (xi) E60s have much higher offset requirements than their RWD counterparts. Square setups are the standard here with less aggressive wheel profiles and no spacers required with APEX wheels.

  • Front & Rear: 19x8.5" ET35 with 245/35-19 tires
    • Available in: ARC-8, EC-7, SM-10
    • Popular fitment.
    • Direct Fit

Additional Resources

Concavity & Face Profiles

Each of our wheel designs is available in two or three different levels of concavity, which we call Profiles. The Profile is dictated by the width and offset, meaning wide lower-offset wheels will have more concavity, while narrow higher-offset wheels will have less concavity.

Identifying Suspension Types

If you’re using coilovers, see the image below to identify which type of coilover spring you have, as it may effect your wheel fitment.

Identifying Suspension Types

Aftermarket E6X 5 Series Suspensions Known To Reduce Inner Clearance (includes but not limited to):

  • Bilstein PSS9 & PSS10
  • KW Height-Adjustable Spring (HAS) kit
  • KW Variants
  • KW Clubsports
  • Öhlins Road & Track

Big Brake Kit Clearances

We have tested many brake kits with the wheels listed in this guide. Please email us with any questions related to brake clearance, we’ll be happy to help.

Still have questions?

Fill out our Fitment Recommendation form Call us: 925-245-0773 Email us: support@apexraceparts.com