Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[William Turner]

I am new, having just purchased a 2011 128i convertible. It has the factory 16x7 wheels with some older non run flat tires. I am 80 years old and just interested in doing some pleasant touring, top down weather permitting.

Therefore I want to replace the existing tires with run flats. I know the OEM tire size is 16 205 55. I have pretty diligently searched to find out about running a somewhat wider tire but have failed to find any information. I assume 16 215's should fit. If so should I stick with the 55 profile which will be a bit greater diameter or go to 50's which would a bit smaller diameter than stock ? On 7'' wide wheels the recommended max width is 225 mm which I believe would need to be 16 225 50's.

Anyone know of any physical reason why running either wider tire would be an issue or have an opinion about why, if they work , it would be a bad idea?

Thank you for your time, patience and expertise.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

225/50R16 are exactly the same diameter as 205/55R16. 215 would be a little too big in 215/55R16 by 1.6%. No tires in 215/50R16.
But if you're only looking for run-flats, neither 225/50R16 nor 215/55R16 are offered as run-flats (based on TireRack), so you'd have to stick with the stock 205/55R16 that have a few options.

If you're not pushing the car there's no real point in wider tires, you'll have plenty of grip with the 205s for regular driving.

[William Turner]

Ohio, thank you for taking the time to reply and share the information and your thoughts. As you say, I am sure the 205 55 16 's will just fine for my purposes.