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[fly135]

Hi Guys,

Im new to this forum and have a jet black 135i coupe on order which i should be recieving in about 2 months from now and i absolutely cant wait. Before it arrives i want to order a new set of wheels and have been racking my brain trying to decide between 18" or 19". The wheels are called Autoart VYC in matte black.

http://www.autoartwheels.com/pages/vyc/vyc1.html

My concern is that if i opt for 19's i'll have to drop a profile size in tyres (40 down to 35 in the front and 35 down to 30 in the rear).

Many people on this forum have commented that changing from 18" runflats to 19" non runflats does not detrimentally effect the ride quality in anyway but i find this hard to believe, or rather, i quess i just need reassurance of this. I will also be lowered about 1.25 inches on KW coilovers as well.

Can anyone give me advice on whether running 19" wheels with 35 & 30 series profile tyres respectively will lead to a harsh ride as this seriously concerns me and i dont want everything in my car rattling after about a year or so of driving on bumpy roads.

[infinitekidM2C]

Depends on how stiff the sidewall is. I had 18 stockers with nitto 555's..better ride than the runflats but still a bit stiff. Now i have 19's with Nitto Invo's which are pretty comfortable (more so than the 18's with 555s)..if you hit a decent bump yes its not fun but you should be ok...

[1013mm]

its not as rough as stock. let me just say that

[SV Concepts III]

I found that my 19's on non-RFT were just a tad softer than the OE 18's with RFTs. The OE RFTs are pretty rough out of the box so just swapping to non-RFT will make a dramatic difference.

[jojo135]

Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW

I found that my 19's on non-RFT were just a tad softer than the OE 18's with RFTs. The OE RFTs are pretty rough out of the box so just swapping to non-RFT will make a dramatic difference.

Doesn't the weight of the rim play in to this also? I put some rims on my mustang 10 years ago and it rode like crap because they were heavy.

[Eyeman]

Ride quality is largely based on what you are accustomed to. My car with 19s and a stiffer suspension rides fine to me. I'm actually more concerned about tire/rim damage on potholes, etc.

Based on the wheels you've chosen I assume you are largely going for cosmetics so I'd go with the 19s in these wheels. Some wheel types naturally look big or small, these will probably look a little small due to the lip etc., so 19 should look best IMO.

[fly135]

Thanks for the advice guys, all your points are very valid and helpful and make a lot of sense. However im still indecisive. I'll just have to bite the bullet and make a decision and stick to it.

[infinitekidM2C]

Originally Posted by fly135

Thanks for the advice guys, all your points are very valid and helpful and make a lot of sense. However im still indecisive. I'll just have to bite the bullet and make a decision and stick to it.

i feel used and spit out..

[SV Concepts III]

Originally Posted by jojo135

Doesn't the weight of the rim play in to this also? I put some rims on my mustang 10 years ago and it rode like crap because they were heavy.

Weight will effect performance (acceleration and handling) but not ride quality. You can go with a forged wheel if you are concerned about weight however.

[babyboss]

spk 2 - a friend who had 19" - said ride was bad .. but car looks good ..
- dealer advises 2 stick 2 18" r/flats cos that what whole car is set up for >>

[fly135]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

i feel used and spit out..

Lol, your advice was very reassuring but i guess im just worried about other factors as well like limited tyre choices, extra cost of tyres, potential rim damage. Im just indecisive by nature...

[twin fed]

I run 19's and Conti Contact 3's, looks great and the ride is fine. Much better than the stock with runflats. 18's tend to look small. The tire you choose also makes a difference visually. I saw a set of DPE 19's that I thought were 18's, we had the same size tires but different brands. The sidewall was very different.

[1013mm]

lets just say with with 19s depending on the weights youll accelerate slower (but not much) but on turns youre much more stable. At least thats how i felt.

[M II]

Originally Posted by fly135

Hi Guys,

Im new to this forum and have a jet black 135i coupe on order which i should be recieving in about 2 months from now and i absolutely cant wait. Before it arrives i want to order a new set of wheels and have been racking my brain trying to decide between 18" or 19". The wheels are called Autoart VYC in matte black.

http://www.autoartwheels.com/pages/vyc/vyc1.html

My concern is that if i opt for 19's i'll have to drop a profile size in tyres (40 down to 35 in the front and 35 down to 30 in the rear).

Many people on this forum have commented that changing from 18" runflats to 19" non runflats does not detrimentally effect the ride quality in anyway but i find this hard to believe, or rather, i quess i just need reassurance of this. I will also be lowered about 1.25 inches on KW coilovers as well.

Can anyone give me advice on whether running 19" wheels with 35 & 30 series profile tyres respectively will lead to a harsh ride as this seriously concerns me and i dont want everything in my car rattling after about a year or so of driving on bumpy roads.

Just by changing from your RFTs to regular high performance tires, your ride quality will immensely better!

Everyone whose done this can vouch!

[GaryS]

Well I think every 135i should have the Performance Suspension, and BMW says "For optimum ride quality, BMW Performance Suspension should be used in combination with 18" tires."

[ptack]

In the end it's a personal decision since there's no clear cut answer. I went with 18s because I had already got a bubble in one tire thanks to some RR tracks and I was too worried about damaging 19s on crappy roads. If I lived somewhere without frost heave I probably would have done 19s.

[fly135]

Gee, i think im sold on on 19's now.

My test drive in the 135 at the dealership on 18 inch runflats didn't seem too bumpy so if ride quality on 19's with non-runflats is equal to or slightly better, then that's more than acceptable for me.

I think that both 18 inch and 19 inch wheels look great on the 1 series, but IMO i think 19's look slightly better and have that little extra wow factor. To me 20's look too big and 17's look too small.

I think that the small acceleration deficit will be hardly noticeable.