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Big wheels with skinny tires
Something tells me that very few people who spend $100,000+ on an SUV actually test the off-road abilities of them.
On the BMW X5 I drove, the rubber it comes with is Pirelli 275/40R20's on the front and 315/35R20's on the back. These tires are speed rated as a "W" category tire, which means the manufacturer has tested that tire to run at 168mph (or 272 km/h). This is the only tire the factory offers for this truck, you have your choice of 2 different rim styles though.
In the brochure they did point out however that the vehicle is electronically limited to a maximum speed of only 145 mph (235 km/h).
So I suppose sand dunes and snow banks weren't high on their list of anticipated driving conditions.
Best of luck.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
I work in Washington DC and the SUV craze is ridiculous. We are getting a dusting of snow as I write this now. The forecast is for 1 to 2 inches and listening to the radio, there have been so many wrecks all ready. You can have the best vehicle in the world, but if you have an idiot behind the wheel it doesn't do much good. The 4 wheel drive and all wheel drive get you going better but don't do a thing for slowing you down which most people in the city don't realize and when you get a bunch of people in a hurry to go stopping is a premium!!!!! I'm watching from the window as cars slide through the intersections.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
I live less than 2 hours west of DC and I never go there unless Im just passing through to get to I95 or something. The traffic anywhere east of Frederick is idiotic. I know that people go to DC and Baltimore to work for the money but you couldnt pay me enough to get near that area, and I LIKE driving,
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Big wheels with skinny tires
DennisCTB; Another reason pickups got so popular several years ago was the no matter the cost of the pickup the plates were $35., I think they're $65 now in Iowa. I just wondered if an SUV is licensed as a pickup or an auto. I also wasn't aware you could spend 100,000. on an SUV. Seems like betwen the plates and the insurance in a large metro aeria like D.C. that the cost of those items would be immense. Again, just wondering. Frank.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
At least the trend for the masses seems to be toward smaller stationwagon like SUVs and away from the escalade type truck framed SUV. Most never get off the concrete so why drive a relatively slow, huge vehicle that's difficult to park? And the well documented rollover problems are finally a concern. I notice the younger adults are more interested in 0-60 times and such. So smaller/lighter is what they're looking for.
If I'm correct and the big SUV is soon to be a dinosaur, I can't say I'm sorry to see them go.
Dave
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Big wheels with skinny tires
I did get some first hand offroad experience in an X5, the model with tires that belong on a corvette or such. I have seen, just yesterday, 2 X5's with normal looking tires. Not sure of the difference in model. The owner was driving me around his 800+ acre estate/Hunting preserve through mud, over rocks through brush and up steep slopes, and at times, I was following in my truck. I was impressed keeping in mind his tires. With all the traction controls and do-dads, it performed only stightly worse than my 93 toyota 4x4 with 31x10.5x15 mud terrains. I unfortunatly only have open diff's. At one point he lost all control and slid down a snow covered hill off the trail, ONLY to be followed by me in slow motion out of control and feeling very nervous heading for his expensive ride. I did stop just in time. It was one of his last straws and he traded it in on a Land rover freelander?, which he lifted and modified for his adventures. I rode in that too and was impressed with the mud we plowed through.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
In poor road conditions, the best safety factor usually costs nothing regardless of your tires and other bells and whistles - REDUCE SPEED. I can't begin to count the number of times I have seen vehicles loose control in snow etc just because the driver was going too fast.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
I agree with Ann. I drive an F250 4x4 diesel long box. I don't know how many people pass me during poor road conditions. It's amazing to me about how many people think 4x4 is a magic bullet for ice. You can't stop any faster. So I let them pass. I get home safely and therefore my insurance stays down.
We moved my wife to a big SUV in December from the Mustang. Needed it for the cargo capacity and the 4x4 system since we live out in the boonies. The big thing was carago capacity. Criteria was: haul two dogs (65 & 75 lbs), a baby seat and associated crap, and enough of our crap for 4-6 days stay. Not many on the market can do that. No one makes a big station wagon anymore.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
For those of you who have made the leap to a newer sporty vehicle with the 40-series tires, watch out. If the pressure gets a little low, say 20psi, the tire is easily ruined by overheating the inner sidewalls. And you can not tell by sight that the pressure is low. That is one of the reasons why some of the newest vehicles have the tire pressure transmitters in the wheels.
As for my M3, I wish the car did NOT come with such low profile tires.
Oh, as for handling, Consumer Reports recently did tests that showed that you gain handling advantage with lower profile tires only to a point. Absurdly large wheels (18-22" actually decreased the ride quality and handling due to excessively high unsprung weight.
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Big wheels with skinny tires
Ive got a funny story about an X5. I wont go into it totally except to say that he showed up to one of our off-road events to run the trails. He saw everyone airing down their tires and was asking people how much air he should take out of his 40 series tires. No one would touch that one considering that one of his wheels was worth more than most of our vehicles.
On the subject of driving a 4X4 on ice/snow. Here is how I explained it to my wife when we got our Jeeps. The benefit of 4X4 in slick conditions isnt that you can go faster, it allows you to go slower and still keep moving. You need less momentum to keep moving if youve got more traction. As for all those idiots flying down the icy interstate, dont bother trying to flag my Jeep down 10 minutes later to pull you out of a ditch, youre wasting your time. I dont mind helping people but at some point you need to let Darwin take over.
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01-19-2005, 10:17 
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