Calling all BMW aficionados

[visionist]

I need to spec some wheels for the car I'm interested in, and I'm having trouble. There's a lot of BMW knowledge on this board, so this is probably the best place to ask right now...

 

I'm looking for a set of staggered-width wheels, as lightweight as possible; preferably less than 10KG apiece), 17" (I've got a pretty good feeling they'll fit over the E89 35i European brake discs- this video of a car on 17"s gives me hope:

 

 

Now I've found many 17" wheels which fit the E89, but few of them have wider rears: I need educating on what tyre widths one can fit on what width wheel: wheel widths are in inches & half inches, tyre widths are in mm. Why this has to be the case is anybody's guess. Anyway, I want at the very least 235 front tyres and 265 rears, 10mm up from standard. I've been told these fit no problem, but I'm wanting 245 fronts and 275 rears to skim over potholes if I can make them fit without rubbing on full suspension compression/full steering lock (pretty sure I can- just need the right offset).

 

What width wheels do I need for 245/275 tyres (I don't even know what tyre stretching looks like but I know it's to be avoided at all costs) and which 17" wheels do BMW manufacture which accommodate -pun not intended- my needs? What about aftermarket wheels in this classic BMW style?:

 

 

I'm dead keen on this look. Does this design have an official name? These are one of the few designs that looks just as good with a smaller wheel/higher profile tyre package as the more popular larger wheel/lower profile tyre look én vogue since the nineties. If I can get 17" a set of these which will accomodate 245/50 fronts and 275/45 rears and which weigh ten kilograms or less apiece, with the offset I need (my mother knows more about offsets than I do seriously, please help me out) I'm buying whoever points me in the right direction a whole night's worth of beers

 

If I can get ones with a deeper dish at the back, even better...

 

Cheers chaps

 

[sivispacem]

8.5" front and 9.5" rear would suit 245/275, but I'd probably run 265s rear. I'd argue that a 17" wheel is probably going to be a bit of an issue though. I'd go 18" personally.

 

You might have a problem finding three piece lightweight wheels that don't weight as much as the moon or cost the earth. I'd look at the OEM BMW Style 260s (standard E90 M3 wheels). There are the usual lightweight suspects like Volks/Rays, Compomotives, SSRs, Enkei, OEM M3 CSL forged BBS wheels, but they're all super expensive. You could try Gram Lights?

 

 

Personally I really like the 89 on CSLs

 

[visionist]

Cheers Sivis. Indeed the large CSL look suits the car with aggressive fitment. I've found a set of BMW's own 17" E31 wheels which maybe might work, will have to ask on the owner's clubs and see if they'll fit...

 

 

They're pricey but I'd consider them worth it. They're 8 inches front and 9 inches rear; would I at least get away with 235/265 tyres?

 

Here's the car I'm looking at. The wheels look like 19s but the owner assures me they're 18s- he also has a set of 19s which I won't be needing. They're not part of the standard Z4 lineup, but suit the car well enough I'd say. Who knows, maybe I'll find them comfortable enough once I fit decent non-runflat rubber (thinking Ultrak Sessantas for their cool tread pattern)- currently they're wrapped in winter tyres, again unneccesary here. The owner will email me his VIN and I'll run it through the search engine to check for all the toys I want (I'm a toy junkie, want it even if I don't use it, I HATE blank switches) and crucially, for the adaptive dampers, which will seal or break the deal. I'm still tempted by the idea of 17s with as much tyre sidewall as possible though. The state of the roads here has to be seen and felt to be believed...

 

http://www.autoscout24.it/Details.aspx?id=259569546&asrc=st%7Cas

 

The owner tells me this is running 35is power, despite stating life as a 35i. If it has the 35is louder exhaust and torque overboost function, I'll be extremely happy. I'll be heartbroken if it sells before I'm in a position to view it...

 

Edit: Now this could be more like it. Although I doubt they'd fit the car's lugs somehow and they'd need respraying silver, they're 9 inches wide by 10 inches wide,

 

Edited October 2, 2014 by visionist

[sivispacem]

The offset is likely to be all kinds of wrong for E31 wheels unfortunately.

You can get BBS LMs in a correct fitment and 9"/10" would probably physically fit with 245/275 tyres (you'd have to ask the owner's club) but they're not particularly light (they're flow-form cast rather than forged) and about £600 a wheel.

[Lurch]

Weaves are heavy. Even forged RS stuff is heavy for a forged wheel. Cast Style 5's are even heavier. Also, E31 stuff is pretty low offset. Great for the old school BMW's like what I have. Not good for newer ones. Looked at RPF1's any? 5x120 18x8.5 +40 RPF1's are only 18.85 lbs and cost about the same new (maybe a little less) as used E31 wheels. They do a 19x10 +25 as well but staggered stuff really kind of sucks unless you have buku power or you're the kind of person that just loves understeer.

[visionist]

The look is ultimately worth the trade-off in weight I feel. As long as the tyre profile is high they'll still be comfortable won't they?

 

Pending a reply to my owner's club queries about the BBS LM's I've asked the seller how much they weigh. He's replied with 8.5 kilogrammes for the fronts and 9 for the rears. Whilst I could get much lighter wheels, these are still lighter than the OEM BMW 17" wheels which are pushing 11.5 I believe. They aren't brand new but I'll search around for another set. They're reassuringly expensive rims these.

 

Edit: They won't fit. I'm after 5 x 120. Haven't found another set of BBS LMs with wider rears yet. Are Dare RS wheels any good? These are 8.5 wide front and 10 rear.

 

 

They seem a bit cheap to me.

Edited October 4, 2014 by visionist

[epoxi]

I am a fan of BBS RSs, they are one of those wheels you can stick on pretty much any car and they look great.

 

Purely coming from a looks angle (I don't know the first thing about the handling merits of different wheels), I wouldn't judge someone for putting Dare RSs on their car as opposed to BBSs. They are exist in the market so V-Dub fans (who tend to be young and not have a lot of money) can achieve the look they want.

 

However, putting them on an expensive new BMW seems like too much of a compromise to me: you are already losing so much in depreciation so why not go the whole hog?

 

I guess wheel theft is another a factor, but if you live/work in areas where that is prevalent having a modified luxury car in the first place is something to reconsider.

Edited October 4, 2014 by epoxi

[visionist]

I've been advised that the offset I need varies 'tween 25 & 40. I've finally found a set that seems to fulfill all the necessary criteria, except, as ever, low weight and respectable price...

 

 

http://www.lkperformance.co.uk/wheels/calibre/113-vintage-silver-with-polished-rim?vehicle=143&rim_size=17

 

Offset is 35, width is 8" front and 9" rear, so I'll get away with 245 fronts and 265 rears, which works out almost perfect for my tastes. Weight isn't listed...

 

Where can I find a huge selection of BBS LM (what's the difference between LM & RS? Is it the lack of a centre cap covering the lugs on the LM?) that will almost certainly feature what I'm after? Ebay seems a bit threadbare...

 

Cheers

 

Edit: found a photoshop of the colour I'm looking at with the LMs, albeit much bigger and with lowered bouncy bits. Not my thing really. Gives an idea of the look though.

 

Edited October 4, 2014 by visionist

[sivispacem]

There are loads of UK specialists dealing in BBS wheels. I'll warn you again, they're f*cking expensive new. You could also try Wheel Whores for ideas.

 

Still think the 89 better suits Japanese monoblock wheels:

 

[visionist]

Whilst it certainly looks cool, and they doubtless weigh less than a packet of crisps, I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to Jap/Euro distinctions. I'm one to talk though; I fitted Italian wheels to my first, Jap, car... Jap tyres though

 

If the wheel's offset is lower than ideal, I can use spacers to compensate? Or am I back to front...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-BBS-E31-850CSI-17x8-17x9-Style-5-OEM-Wheels-E39-E38-E34-E28-M5-E30-M3-M5-/171465053278?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item27ec1d145e&vxp=mtr

 

Cheers for the ongoing advice. I know a lot more about all those numbers on wheels now.

[sivispacem]

There's only so far spacers will go. I'd advise against using them unless entirely necessary.

If you want to keep the Euro distinction, how about forged Rotiform SJC's? They'll basically do them in whatever size and offset you want and at $700 a wheel they're cheaper than BBS.

 

 

[visionist]

Hmmm... these are promising.

 

 

Style 42. 17". 8" wide front, 9" wide rear, offset is 26 at the rear or within guidelines by 1, whereas it's 20 at the front so 5 off... maybe they can be made to fit. Not ultra light but the rears are 10.5kg and the fronts 9.4...

[Lurch]

Any practical way to get CCW's in Europe? Still my top pick of custom forged wheels. Light, strong, decently priced and there's a lot of older school styles there.

Various stuff in 3 piece, 2 piece, and monoblock as well.

[sivispacem]

Yeah I know of a few UK cars running CCWs.

Also Image are a possibility, they're basically the UK version of CCW.

[Lurch]

I looked up Images last time you mentioned them. Quite a few people didn't seem all that satisfied with them. Basically, sh*tty customer service, and bad finishes at times.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Lurch

[visionist]

Holy thread resurrection!

 

I'll be checking out the car's winter 18"s on the full variety of surfaces we "enjoy" round these parts (pics below tell the story; the alley around my house), determining whether it's worth fitting a set of Super Sports (best tyres for the car, owners say) or getting these IMO very cool 17"s and fitting Ultrac Sessanta XLs (no Super Sports available in 17" 255 sadly) and enjoying greater kerb and pothole-protection, if not an acceptable increased comfort/decreased cornering trade-off. Owners say the car looks daft on 17"s; I disagree; they look well suited to the car and the brakes fill them nicely.

 

 

These 17"s are also surely lighter than the 18" replicas the car currently wears. I'll see next week when I pick it up at-last.

 

[Lurch]

Super Sports are the best tires for your car? For what? If it was me, I would ditch the stupid, heavy (and generally narrow) OEM wheels and throw something like a 17x10 ARC-8's (if you can fit them. 17x9.5's if you can't) with a 255/40 Federal RS-R. Square of course.


http://www.apexraceparts.com/apex-products/ARC-8-Wheels/17x10-ET25-APEX-ARC-8-Wheel.html#.VMF2cEfF83A

https://www.onlinetires.com/products/vehicle/tires/federal/255%252F40-17+federal+595+rs-r+racing+94w+bsw.html


If you say, "Oh I couldn't daily my car on something like that," then you know what? Have 2 sets of wheels You've got a sports car after all. No need to compromise.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Lurch