Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[tWinTuRboz]

After weeks of deciding, I've finally settled for some of the nicest set of wheels I've seen on a 135i. The Alufelgen SF-71s in 19s, 8.5 in front +35 and 9.5 in the back +35. I saw that the wheels just had that right amount of concaveness to it. The design, which is genius, a rim without the lip, allowing for the spoke to reach to the perimeter of the rim to allow for it to appear larger. And through the rule of thumb of 'the less spokes you have, the larger the wheel looks. Though it has 7 twin spokes, the sets of 19s SF-71 from the many pictures I looked through before giving in to them looked to be plenty for the 135i to handle with it's wheelbase. The team at Alufelgen (wheels@alufelgenco.com) really helped me out when I looking around,and helped me pick out the best fitments and sizes for me(car on stock suspension), Their response time was ridiculous...ly good with most of my questions responded to in the matter of minutes, and up to 2 hours at most. Also, I've got to give credit to Mr. Jonas Paeplow who was also extremely helpful when i ordered my tires from TireRack. After a day and a half into ordering my tires through them, I had to make a change to the order and Mr. Paeplow was able to go review and changed my order, after asking me for the wheel sizes I was getting my tires for, and gave me the same great recommendation from Alufelgen. After all that, the tire order still came in two days later. Great shipping.
And btw, I ordered the SF-71s in titanium gunmetal for a black sapphire 135i so I hope the colors will work out well. Will update with more pics of the wheels on the car.




another sneak pic

can't tell me that's not one good looking wheel.

UPDATE w/ wheels on car

and this shot for anyone who wants to see it from the front side shot.

[JDUni1]

Congrats! Im going with these wheels in the spring. What tire brand and sizes are you running?

[1Pirate]

I can't wait to see them on the car. I really like my SF-71s, but I've got the 8" fronts and 9" rears. BTW my wheels are titanium gunmetal too.

[tWinTuRboz]

Originally Posted by JDUni1

Congrats! Im going with these wheels in the spring. What tire brand and sizes are you running?

The tires they recommended were 235/35R19 for the fronts and 265/30R19 for the back. It seems aggressive for the rear tires, however, it does not rub...too badly. On daily commutes and flat roads and interstates, it's fine, however given a slight raise or dip in the road along with a rear seat passenger, the tires rubbing on the fender walls will become quite noticeable. But without rear passengers I have manage to ride on smooth and/or bumpy roads without much rubbing issues.

[tWinTuRboz]

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

I can't wait to see them on the car. I really like my SF-71s, but I've got the 8" fronts and 9" rears. BTW my wheels are titanium gunmetal too.

Sweet! I had to take a step back and really take in how good it looks. The wheel has a nice shine to it that really works to show off its nice design. My only thing about it is I know how much brake dust can accumulate on our wheels, even after only a day of driving. Im looking forward to wipe these clean everyday for a whole week to still give them that new wheel look on the car.

Btw wheels are on. Will post pics up tomorrow.

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by tWinTuRboz

Sweet! I had to take a step back and really take in how good it looks. The wheel has a nice shine to it that really works to show off its nice design. My only thing about it is I know how much brake dust can accumulate on our wheels, even after only a day of driving. Im looking forward to wipe these clean everyday for a whole week to still give them that new wheel look on the car.

Btw wheels are on. Will post pics up tomorrow.

The SF-71s really do have a nice finish on them. The best thing to do for the brake dust issue is to do what I did and change the brake pads. I went with Hawk HPS pads. Much less dusty than the OEM pads.

Here are a couple of pics of my car with the SF-71s on it.

[pdr1269]

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

The SF-71s really do have a nice finish on them. The best thing to do for the brake dust issue is to do what I did and change the brake pads. I went with Hawk HPS pads. Much less dusty than the OEM pads.

Here are a couple of pics of my car with the SF-71s on it.

Is your car lowered at all? Looks good!

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by pdr1269

Is your car lowered at all? Looks good!

Thanks! No my car is not lowered. It is the stock M Sport ride height.

[tWinTuRboz]

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

The SF-71s really do have a nice finish on them. The best thing to do for the brake dust issue is to do what I did and change the brake pads. I went with Hawk HPS pads. Much less dusty than the OEM pads.

Nice, thanks for the advice. Do they initially squeak when using them for the first couple of miles? I couldn't stand that noise for the first hundred miles or so when BMW put in the brake pads I currently have on my car.

[tWinTuRboz]

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

Thanks! No my car is not lowered. It is the stock M Sport ride height.

Yea, with the SF-71's 19 inch size and the right size tires, you can give the car a really aggressive stance sitting on stock suspension..However I am looking to roll the fenders and drop the car another 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by tWinTuRboz

Nice, thanks for the advice. Do they initially squeak when using them for the first couple of miles? I couldn't stand that noise for the first hundred miles or so when BMW put in the brake pads I currently have on my car.

You are welcome. No my Hawk HPS pads don't squeak. If you bed them in properly they shouldn't squeak or squeal.

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by tWinTuRboz

Yea, with the SF-71's 19 inch size and the right size tires, you can give the car a really aggressive stance sitting on stock suspension..However I am looking to roll the fenders and drop the car another 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

Since I've had my rear fenders rolled I haven't had any rubbing issues. The problem is with that the size of the wheels and tires and the movement in the stock springs and shocks it's hard for the tires not to rub. I'm getting ready to replace the stock dampers with Koni Sports which should help. I also picked up a set of 2011 stock M Sport springs (which are linear compared to the 2008-10 progressive shocks). The combination of the two should help reduce with squat and lift that the stock suspension has thus hopefully doing away with any further rubbing.

[ALUFELGEN]

Thanks for the excellent review John. Uploading to our facebook page.

[funseries]

Any plans for an 18" version??

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by funseries

Any plans for an 18" version??

Alufelgen already has an 18" version of the CSL style wheel. It is called the CS7. Check out the Alufelgen website.

[funseries]

They're slightly different in the spokes. SF-71 reach out to the end of the rim and look a little more interesting imo.

[1Pirate]

The CS7s are slightly different, but most people would never pick up on those differences. I like them both. I also like how the CS7 has a place for the M logo which the SF-71s don't. On the other hand the 19" SF-71s like I have fit the car better than 18" wheels do in terms of appearance.

[mtechnik3]

Looks very nice! I would love these for my bsm 135i Coupe...