I have a nearly new set of Bridgestone Blizzaks from a previous car. 205/50/17...

I believe under specs for the tire it says max rim width is 7.5"

Can this be stretched to fit on 17x8 stock E39 5er rims by a skilled tire shop?

I really don't know how I would go about finding narrower stock rims for my E39. Theyre all 8 or 9.5" wide.

i wouldnt do it, its possible but would be way to extreme. i run 235s on my style 5s and that is a light stretch, 205 would be overkill

205 will be fine. It might have a light stretch but it depends on the tires lip gaurd and the placement on the lipgaurd. I say do it.

It will fit with some stretching.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/bridgestone/bs_blizzak_LM25_4x4_1000.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic.jsp%3Fsidewall%3DBlackwall%26tireMake%3DBri dgestone%26tireModel%3DBlizzak%2BLM-25%2B4X4%26autoModClar%3D&h=1203&w=970&sz=174&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=ZuOJy97VlECmvM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbridgestone%2Bblizzak%26svnum%3D10%26 um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official
Thats a photo of the tire lip (if it helps any)

Will there be any problem riding on a stretched tire like that? I'm really not familiar with the practice.

If you want to be in the safe side, you should check the specifications of the manufacturer, they tell you the recommended wheel sizes for each tire.

I ran 205/40/17 kumho 712's on a 17x8 and they looked fat but not even too stetched, just magically wider than most 205's :)

205/40/16 RT-615's look more stretched on my 16x8's but they should be a wider tire than the 712....eh who knows.

Anyhow you'll be fine but you probably won't have any protection from curbage from your tires.

I ran 205/40/17 kumho 712's on a 17x8 and they looked fat but not even too stetched, just magically wider than most 205's :)

205/40/16 RT-615's look more stretched on my 16x8's but they should be a wider tire than the 712....eh who knows.

Anyhow you'll be fine but you probably won't have any protection from curbage from your tires.
Do you have any photos of the 205/40/17 on the 8" rim? I realize this is a smaller sidewall than mine but it'd help me get an idea.

I took one of the 205/50/17 Blizzaks and stood it next to the 235/45/17s mounted on the car. Per my calculations the Blizzaks should be a perfect fit for my E39, but they stood much shorter than the Pilot Sports I've got on it now.

I'm not about to run the wrong size am I?

i wouldnt do it, its possible but would be way to extreme. i run 235s on my style 5s and that is a light stretch, 205 would be overkill

A 235 is square on an 8.

any updates? did you get the 205's on your 17x8's??? A friend of mine has 205/50/17's off of his srt-4 that have almost no miles on them and hes willing to give them to me to put on my style 5's... i was wondering if they would fit without being too stretched? and if any tire shop would install them??