Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Lucky1]

Took my 128i to the local tire shop and had them swap my 18" summer wheels with my 17" winter wheels. First time since upgrading to the BMW Performance Brake Kit. Turns out the aftermarket rims I had bought previously just *barely* clear the brakes. The guys at the shop didn't mention anything but I started hearing a "kssshhh" sound as I was driving home which must be the caliper rubbing against the wheel. Had to leave my car back at the shop because they had no time today to put the 18" wheels back on.

This is so frustrating. Does this mean my 17" rims aren't the proper BMW spec size? Will I be able to get BMW factory 17" rims that will fit over these brakes comfortably without rubbing?

[GeeRam]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Does this mean my 17" rims aren't the proper BMW spec size? Will I be able to get BMW factory 17" rims that will fit over these brakes comfortably without rubbing?

A lot of aftermarket 17" rims won't fit over the BMWP/135i brakes, but a lot of genuine BMW 17" ones will do.

Certainley the style 141, 178 and 256 fit as these are BMW offical winter wheel options for the 135i.
I think the style 207 fit as well.

[tracer bullet]

What part of the wheel doesn't clear? The ID of the rim portion itself or the spokes? If it's the spokes then a very thin spacer should be enough. This may be obvious but you didn't mention what touched so... just in case.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

What part of the wheel doesn't clear? The ID of the rim portion itself or the spokes? If it's the spokes then a very thin spacer should be enough. This may be obvious but you didn't mention what touched so... just in case.

Thanks for catching that. I think the caliper itself was rubbing against the surface of the rim and not the spokes. Just looking at it visually while the rim was mounted I don't even think I could fit a dime between the two but somehow the "technician" was able to mount it and didn't notice a problem (or thought nothing of it). Are the PBK or the 135i stock brake calipers this tight over the factory BMW wheels?

I don't remember noticing any rubbing against the spokes. What is a spacer?

[DriveHard]

It could be the placement of the wheel weight also, as it rotated it hits.. the wheel weight can be moved if the tire rebalanced using different inboard position.

FYI.. I have the Performance Brakes on my 128.. i use 17" winter / track tires and wheels

The Elbrus wheels from Tire rack fit... when looking for wheels just look for a fittment on a 135 in 17" that way you know it will clear you brakes on the 128

[1Fasst1]

Sorry to hear that. The performance brake kit can cost more than some of the wheels.Hope you didnt rub to much coating off the calipiers. Check the FS section as many 135 wheels can be bought for a bargin price. Or as mentioned above,if spokes are rubbing a 3-5 mm spacer should take care of that. If it is the wheel weights I think you already figured that solution. Good luck

[Lucky1]

Thank you very much guys for your responses. This has frustrated me to no end. There is a marking "17x7.5JJ" is there meaning to this? Is this the offset?

I've taken some pictures of one of my 17" wheels that was mounted on the front of the car to illustrate what has happened:







You can see here the scoring that was left on the inside of the wheel. This is not present on two of my wheels (which leads me to believe only the two fronts which were too close to the bigger calipers were rubbing). Apologize for the lighting as I had to take these pictures in my garage after nightfall.



I did some measurement and found that the diameter of the inner part of the wheel is about 15.5" (blue line) which is too close, it left far too little space for the caliper. I think there needs to be 16.5" diamater in this area, 17" to be safe. Measured the actual clearance on my 18" wheel from the caliper and it is about 1.5" which I think is safe.

Can anyone confirm what the diameter of some of their 17" wheels are from this perspective? I'm assuming the fact that it is a 17" wheel means they measure the diameter with different starting points than my measurements.

[Lubo]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Thank you very much guys for your responses. This has frustrated me to no end. There is a marking "17x7.5JJ" is there meaning to this? Is this the offset?

I've taken some pictures of one of my 17" wheels that was mounted on the front of the car to illustrate what has happened:

You can see here the scoring that was left on the inside of the wheel. This is not present on two of my wheels (which leads me to believe only the two fronts which were too close to the bigger calipers were rubbing). Apologize for the lighting as I had to take these pictures in my garage after nightfall.

I did some measurement and found that the diameter of the inner part of the wheel is about 15.5" (blue line) which is too close, it left far too little space for the caliper. I think there needs to be 16.5" diamater in this area, 17" to be safe. Measured the actual clearance on my 18" wheel from the caliper and it is about 1.5" which I think is safe.

Can anyone confirm what the diameter of some of their 17" wheels are from this perspective? I'm assuming the fact that it is a 17" wheel means they measure the diameter with different starting points than my measurements.

Just by looking at those picture and the damaged caused, I would not go back to the same garage for anything else. It is obvious that the person who mounted your wheels is an idiot and should be fired.

I am running 17" wheels as my track/summer wheels I do not have an issue.



plenty of space as you can see. Must be the design of your wheel barrel.

[Lucky1]

Hope the calipers aren't damaged. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet but I imagine they are scored too. Wonder if there any risk for rust or structural damage to them at this point? Are they still safe?

Guess I'll find out if I finally find the right set of wheels.

Yes I'm mad at the guy who mounted my wheels but just as mad at myself for not giving him a heads up that I hadn't put these on since changing my brakes...no excuse for him not to have checked the clearance but still. Also mad at the guy who sold me the wheels (doing my own homework from now on) but technically they worked fine on my car before I changed the brakes.

[thez99]

Originally Posted by Lubo

Just by looking at those picture and the damaged caused, I would not go back to the same garage for anything else. It is obvious that the person who mounted your wheels is an idiot and should be fired.

I am running 17" wheels as my track/summer wheels I do not have an issue.



plenty of space as you can see. Must be the design of your wheel barrel.

Dude did you take a look at his wheels?? I can tell right away that the inside portion of the wheels is very thick compared to most 17s ive seen on this car. I myself have 17x7.5 aftermarkets that fit my 135 brakes just fine. Its not the "17" size that is the problem, its how thick the inside of the barrel is. Your shop is not made up of idiots, however it probably wouldve been a good idea for them to mention to you how goddamn close they were to the caliper. Def get rid of those shit wheels and get some wheels that FIT, preferably from Tirerack and you can shop for 17 size wheels depending on the car model.

[thez99]

Another thing to realize, the part that is hitting the caliper is likely the weights on the inside of the barrel. Check those to see if any of the paint rubbed off on them. Mainly cuz of how thick the inside barrel is, those weights stick out even farther in so, thats probably the issue

[stevenc]

Clearly based on the score line on the wheel, it is NOT the wheel weights hitting, the inside diameter for the wheel is simply too small. Poor design. You will have no choice but to change the wheels.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by stevenc

Clearly based on the score line on the wheel, it is NOT the wheel weights hitting, the inside diameter for the wheel is simply too small. Poor design. You will have no choice but to change the wheels.

Thanks stevenc and thez99 for your previous comments.

I guess what I'm picking up from the responses in this thread is there are 17" wheels out there that should fit over the BMW Performance Brake calipers on a 128i but mine are simply not one of those wheels. Also getting the impression it is safe to assume the 135i calipers are roughly the same or identical to the calipers I have that came with the performance brake package thus safe to assume a wheel that fits the 135i will fit my car and brakes?

I'm nervous about shopping online at Tire Rack for 135i wheels; keep thinking I'll end up in the same boat and be unable to return the new wheels. I wish I could just drive in somewhere, have them size the right wheel before purchase, purchase them and have them move the rubber over and mount. Just want a turnkey solution.

Going to try and reach out to some contacts in the tire/wheel distribution business to see if they can find me a solution. Other options are to go with GeeRam or Drivehard's wheel suggestions.

[stevenc]

^ The performance brakes are identical to the 135 brakes.

You should simply contact Gill @ tirerack. They will find a wheel that fits, they are professionals and know the 1 series backwards!

[ptack]

What I woud do is take a pair of straight edges. Hold one against the inner part of the wheel. Hold the other one next to it, but against the wheel at the point where it got scratched. See if the 2 straight edges are parallel or if it looks like the barrel of the wheel is getting wider at that point that was scratched. If the straight edges are not parallel then you can use the angle between the 2 straight edges to gauge whether and what size spacer would let you mount the wheels clear of the brakes. If they are parallel you be screwed (sorry), but as stevenc said, Gill is the man and can help you out.

[Lubo]

Originally Posted by thez99

Another thing to realize, the part that is hitting the caliper is likely the weights on the inside of the barrel. Check those to see if any of the paint rubbed off on them. Mainly cuz of how thick the inside barrel is, those weights stick out even farther in so, thats probably the issue

Yes the guy that put on the wheel is an idiot if he thought that would fit. He should notify the owner of the problem at the least. The scoring of the wheel is not affected by wheel weights it is a poor wheel barrel design. Whoever installed that had to fight or manipulate the wheel very carefully to get it to mount. I know my wheels have some space yet I still somehow always bump into the dust shield or caliper as there isn't as much space as with 18" wheel.

[Alow]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

I'm nervous about shopping online at Tire Rack for 135i wheels; keep thinking I'll end up in the same boat and be unable to return the new wheels. I wish I could just drive in somewhere, have them size the right wheel before purchase, purchase them and have them move the rubber over and mount. Just want a turnkey solution.

I understand what you mean. You want the hassle to be over and just be assured that you will get something that will fit.

I really think the tirerack is your best bet. Especially Gill, since he knows the 1 series well. The only thing to be aware of is that the 135i came with different sized tires, so you need to make sure the wheels you purchase match your existing tires.

Really, I'd call Gill @ Tirerack and say: I have a 128i with performance brakes (same brakes as a 135i) and I need 17" wheels for my winter tires, which are size XXX/XX/17. What do you have?

That will be the closest you are going to get to turn key solution and decent price.

[tracer bullet]

Agreed it's not the weights and that the shop should never have considered the job completed and let you drive away like that.

The spacer idea makes sense in concept but looking at the pics I'd guesstimate at least an inch would be needed and that's a little extreme.

I'd go w/ Tire Rack as mentioned if you can get a fitment guarantee. Or just go to a local shop that sells wheels and make sure in person that they fit. Nothing against Tire rack at all, i have bought there many times, but there are occasions where a local shop can be even better especially for these kinds of concerns.

[BrokenVert]

another upvote for 17"s ordered through Gill

[DriveHard]

My 17's from Tire rack.. ordered thru gill with all the specs...

128 w/ perf brake package he told me what choices... i picked...i paid... i got.... off to the track i went.. NO problems what so ever from tire rack...

[Focusedintntions]

Yep I run 17's for my winter wheels. Just follow what everybody else said..call gill...he'll hook it up!

[Gary@TireRack]

We talked, and found some solutions to the problem.