RIMS help!

[SupremePower3335]

Hi guys!

I am trying to decide what RIMS to get for my 1er. I usually find that out the door BMW does pretty good RIMS. Some have said keep the Stock 264M for winter and get a nice set of 19's - I guess I can search but any pics would be nice I can't really find any 19's (except VMR's 701's) that I like.

OR

get a winter set of rims and tires and keep the stock set for summer..I do want to lower it though to get rid of the fender gap. Would this look better with 19's?


thx
SP3335

[M3Newbie88]

I got 19" for the summer and used the stocks for winter.

[Elsabor67]

I used my 264 wheels for winter last year and will never do that again. I also made the mistake of going with A/S tires and I spent more times sliding than driving. I went ahead and got 17x7 with 205-55 17 winter wheels.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by Elsabor67

I used my 264 wheels for winter last year and will never do that again. I also made the mistake of going with A/S tires and I spent more times sliding than driving. I went ahead and got 17x7 with 205-55 17 winter wheels.

you have any pics of that winter setup? i'm debating here whether to go for 205 tires or 225. i'm afraid 205 will just look way too skinny funny.. and i don't get thaaat much snow here in Harrisburg PA that i think it would make a difference...

SupremePower3335, I was having the same debate and now i think i'm going to go with cheaper 17" rims and performance winter tires for the winter. then in the summer i'll either put my stock 264s back or depending on their value and how much money i have in hand i'll sell them then (guessing demand will be higher at that time) and buy VMRs

[ctc425]

use stock for winter

[SupremePower3335]

Originally Posted by brunobm

SupremePower3335, I was having the same debate and now i think i'm going to go with cheaper 17" rims and performance winter tires for the winter. then in the summer i'll either put my stock 264s back or depending on their value and how much money i have in hand i'll sell them then (guessing demand will be higher at that time) and buy VMRs

thx for your opinion guys..

Bruno, any reason you are going 17's for winter??

on my E34 if you put bigger rims on the car then what were stock you develop a "shimmy" as the bushings would wear? Is anyone else with 19's having this issue? I am pretty sure though 19's with regular rubber will be lighter than the stock RFT's, any experiance with this?

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by SupremePower3335

thx for your opinion guys..

Bruno, any reason you are going 17's for winter??

on my E34 if you put bigger rims on the car then what were stock you develop a "shimmy" as the bushings would wear? Is anyone else with 19's having this issue? I am pretty sure though 19's with regular rubber will be lighter than the stock RFT's, any experiance with this?

well if you take into consideration all the mounting, balancing, etc etc, it's easier, faster, and cheaper to just get an extra set of wheels already mounted for you, and just play around with those. plus if i don't damage my stock 264s (which i really like actually), i can use it in the summer with really nice tires or even sell them to get VMRs. having the salt and road chemicals damage them would drop their value significantly and screw me over when raising money for the VMRs if that's what I decide to do..

do a search on the forum for my name or look at the posts i've subscribed to talking about this, there are MANY of them. you'll see what many people have told me, leading me to this

[escobar929]

cant remember whose car it was, but their winter set up was 17in steelies. looked so bad ass

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by brunobm

well if you take into consideration all the mounting, balancing, etc etc, it's easier, faster, and cheaper to just get an extra set of wheels already mounted for you, and just play around with those. plus if i don't damage my stock 264s (which i really like actually), i can use it in the summer with really nice tires or even sell them to get VMRs. having the salt and road chemicals damage them would drop their value significantly and screw me over when raising money for the VMRs if that's what I decide to do..

do a search on the forum for my name or look at the posts i've subscribed to talking about this, there are MANY of them. you'll see what many people have told me, leading me to this

well i just ran a little superficial financial analysis here and to summarize things a bit, from a financial standpoint it makes absolutely no difference if I buy 17" wheels and tires for the winter or if I mount winter tires on my 18" stocks. the more expensive 18" tires and the labor to mount, balance, etc actually make the costs become quite close... now if I keep the same set of stock wheels and have to switch tires twice a week, over the course of an entire year and then doing this long term would definitely make it more expensive.

i guess it's all a matter of whether you want to drive 18" rims and wider tires or 17" with thinner tires with a higher wall on snow. and be what I've heard the latter option does a better job protecting you and your bumpers.

over the long run, it also becomes a matter of having to take the car into a shop twice a year every year, which IMO is a huge pain in the ass...

lastly, it's also a matter of whether you'd be willing to risk the integrity of your stock rims driving on snow.. i think i'd rather not..

now if you have your mind set in buying new wheels and tires for the summer, then the prices do just equal out and i found there's very little difference between buying a new set of 17s for the winter or buying winter tires for the stock and just use those for winters....

oh well, something to think about.. i'll run a more in-depth analysis when i can and will post my results..

[KingOfJericho]

I've done things both ways - swapping tires each season and swapping whole wheels. I used to cringe every time I would bring the car in for the tire swap because they would undoubtedly scratch one wheel each time and still charge close to $100 each time. With the winter wheel setup I have now I just jack up the car and swap the wheels whenever I feel like doing it and it's free. It's soooo much easier and eliminates the need to deal with a tire place and you can do it on your schedule. Win-win.

[mineo77]

use stock for winter with dedicated winter tires, NOT all season.

[N55_BBM]

ok ran different scenarios taking into consideration mounting, balancing, and salvage value of any extra wheels and/or tires. By "winter tires" i mean performance winter tires and by "summer tires" i mean performance summer tires, not the crap RFTs

Scenario 1: 17" wheels+tires for winter, stock 264 wheels + summer tires for summer
Scenario 2: 17" wheels+tires for winter, VMR wheels + summer tires for summer
Scenario 3: 18" winter tires on stock wheels for winter, VMR wheels + summer tires for summer
Scenario 4: 18" tires for winter and 18" tires for summer, all on stock wheels, considering 3 years of usage.

turns out Scenarios 1 and 4 have an insignificant price difference (both around $1950) and Scenarios 2 and 3 have an insignificant price difference (both around $2650).

conclusion... correct me if i'm wrong but i guess it's just a matter of whether you want to drive with 17" or 18" wheels in the winter..

suggestions anyone?

[david @ eas]

Originally Posted by brunobm

Scenario 3: 18" winter tires on stock wheels for winter, VMR wheels + summer tires for summer

I say this. It's going to be most convenient for you so you don't have to be switching tires constantly between your stock wheels and your winter wheels.

I've also encountered issues where lets you did choose scenario 4, where you switch tires from your stock wheels. The problem w/ that is, lets say you think all the snow is gone and winter is away, things start warming up. If it all of a sudden snows after you put on the summer tires, then that could be an issue.

Regardless I think this one is the best set up.

[KingOfJericho]

It's also a matter of whether or not you want to deal with tire shops. Scenario 1 eliminates that.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by jurrian @ eas

I say this. It's going to be most convenient for you so you don't have to be switching tires constantly between your stock wheels and your winter wheels.

I've also encountered issues where lets you did choose scenario 4, where you switch tires from your stock wheels. The problem w/ that is, lets say you think all the snow is gone and winter is away, things start warming up. If it all of a sudden snows after you put on the summer tires, then that could be an issue.

Regardless I think this one is the best set up.

It's pretty safe to assume that if you put your snows on by Dec 1 and take them off on April 1 you will not likely have that issue. I live in the northeast and most of my friends swap winters and summers and we've never had an issue. You can more than likely find alternate transportation IF something like you mentioned should occur.

[SupremePower3335]

Originally Posted by brunobm

well if you take into consideration all the mounting, balancing, etc etc, it's easier, faster, and cheaper to just get an extra set of wheels already mounted for you, and just play around with those. plus if i don't damage my stock 264s (which i really like actually), i can use it in the summer with really nice tires or even sell them to get VMRs. having the salt and road chemicals damage them would drop their value significantly and screw me over when raising money for the VMRs if that's what I decide to do..

I feel the same way..I am concerned about damaging the 264's b/c I do like them (well most of the time...) and as you said - trade them up for VMR's.

Originally Posted by brunobm

i guess it's all a matter of whether you want to drive 18" rims and wider tires or 17" with thinner tires with a higher wall on snow. and be what I've heard the latter option does a better job protecting you and your bumpers.
over the long run, it also becomes a matter of having to take the car into a shop twice a year every year, which IMO is a huge pain in the ass...
lastly, it's also a matter of whether you'd be willing to risk the integrity of your stock rims driving on snow.. i think i'd rather not..

Agreed again..I have a set of snows for my X3 and had them for 2006 330...I was only going to do the swap of tires this year b/c someone gave me some winter tires..if I have enough money and I do not have to drive far I will purchase a beater. Failing that if I get a set of snows I think I will get a set of 17's or 18's (depending on price) with snows already mounted b/c the tires I was given is only good for one year..

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I used to cringe every time I would bring the car in for the tire swap because they would undoubtedly scratch one wheel each time and still charge close to $100 each time.

This is exactly what I am afraid of..

Originally Posted by mineo77

use stock for winter with dedicated winter tires, NOT all season.

I have a set of winters. I would NEVER use the stock RFT low profile summers..

[david @ eas]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

It's pretty safe to assume that if you put your snows on by Dec 1 and take them off on April 1 you will not likely have that issue. I live in the northeast and most of my friends swap winters and summers and we've never had an issue. You can more than likely find alternate transportation IF something like you mentioned should occur.

Never lived on the east coast so I wasn't sure if that was even a possibility... I just know of a couple customers of mine who were considering that, then called me to say that they put the summer tires back on and it wasn't the right time for it etc...

Regardless I know you guys are smart to know when to put the summer tires back on, it's just I never experienced it, so I didn't know how it worked out... Thanks for the info though, that's good to know.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by jurrian @ eas

I say this. It's going to be most convenient for you so you don't have to be switching tires constantly between your stock wheels and your winter wheels.

I've also encountered issues where lets you did choose scenario 4, where you switch tires from your stock wheels. The problem w/ that is, lets say you think all the snow is gone and winter is away, things start warming up. If it all of a sudden snows after you put on the summer tires, then that could be an issue.

Regardless I think this one is the best set up.

why do you say that rather than Scenario 2? just for looks?

For Scenario 3 (winters on stock wheels) due to available sizes of the tires I can either run:
Dunlop 3D: 225/50 front 245/40 rear
or
Blizzak LM60: 215/45 front 245/40 rear

or I guess I could run 215 or 225 all around, but I don't know if there's any harm to that or if you can either fit those on the rear wheel...

wouldn't it suck to drive 245s during the winter? i wouldn't know, never driven a similar car on snow...

[KingOfJericho]

The wider the tire the more you will drive on top of the snow as opposed to cutting through it.

[HPFREAK]

19's are too heavy unless you do Forged. I am not one for hurting performance for the sake of looks.

[N55_BBM]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

The wider the tire the more you will drive on top of the snow as opposed to cutting through it.

well yea thats what i thought, that's why thinner tires with higher walls are recommended right?

with that in mind, wouldn't the right thing to do be to get the smaller, thinner 17" ASA GT1's and sell the stock 264s? how thin of a tire can i put on the stock 264s, and do i need to go staggered because the wheels are staggered or can i put the same size tire on all 4 wheels?

i was just trying to figure out jurrian's rationale between preferring scenario 3 over 4... that would give me looks but screw me over with handling right?

but then again, i don't get THAT much snow here....

god I need more to do here at work haha

[KingOfJericho]

People have gone square on the 264s so that shouldn't be an issue but I like a 17" wheel for winter as you get more sidewall for the winter pot holes (don't forget, they're not RFT for the most part). I don't get very much snow in CT either but that's not the only reason for winter tires. The summer tires turn to bricks in the cold and are pretty dangerous as they don't heat up to optimal driving temperature. Snow tires are very soft. An out of season tire will also wear much faster.

You're putting FAR too much thought into this. If I do end up getting a winter beater I will let you know about my setup.