BMW has a wheel design problem

[T.R.S.]

Originally Posted by NickyC

GOAT wheels. Everything else is a downgrade.

I can at least unerstand the "why" for those. But some of these newer designs I'm like "Why??"

If somebody likes a style or design then I'm not going to judge, as I'm pretty damn sure my tastes aren't for everybody else either. But then just about anything offered now is not especially aesthetically appealing to me and find myself settling for acceptable. Their designs still raise my emotions, just not especially ones I want to be experiencing. I want to keep opening the garage door just to take another peek. I want to look back to admire as I walk away across the parking lot. I want to be willing to take a bit more roundabout way back to it, just so I can view from a few different angles as I approach.

It's always been as much about physical attraction as performance for me.

[High Desert]

RE: Steering wheel. I attended the BMW (MINI COOPER) driving school at the Thermal track in CA some 5 years ago. They spent an hour discussing (before tack time) hand position on the steering wheel. It is now 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock not the the 10-2 I was taught in driver's ed class decades ago. It was pointed out that one can turn the wheels lock to lock without removing one hand as in the "hand over" method as still taught today in police training. Further, many controls (and more are being added) are within reach of the thumb at this position on the steering wheel. The inwards bulges on the wheel are to support the thumb during turning, not a "fat" grip. I've adapted the 3/9 hand position and it works well as experienced a crash avoidance maneuver, at 75 mph, entrance ramp, on an interstate.

My BMW and MINI both have aftermarket wheels. Enough said about BMW wheel design.

[JABCAT]

You could buy a Corvette and have this monstrosity of a steering wheel.

Re: hard to clean wheels, the wheels on my wife's X3MC are the worst of any of the 43 vehicles we've owned.

The worst thing about current BMW interiors is the one continuous screen. It looks so stupid. I shake my head every time I get into my M2.

[F32Fleet]

At least they're not black.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by GeorgeA

Honestly, most of their new wheels don't look great. Back during the E chassis days, most looked amazing with low offset. Now, they're fairly high offset and just don't have the same deep dish athletic look.

Edit: I'll add in that almost all new cars are suffering with this problem.

Thats because deep dish wheels are generally bad for performance for several reasons:

More weight
Less room for big brake calipers
Scrub radius issues that lead to more bump steer and inconsistent grip
Weaker structural geometry which requires additional weight to make up for it
Poor aerodynamics

Personally, while I’ll always love deep dish wheels for how they look, especially on the classic bimmers we love, some new wheels look really great. Yes, they look different, but different isn’t always worse.

It is possible to appreciate both the old and the new without being trapped in the past. The inability to broaden tastes and appreciate new designs is not something to aspire to or be proud of. We are limiting ourselves.

You can love what came before and appreciate where things are going. One does not take away from the other.

Frankly, I think it’s really a shame that this community is so against change.

[dizz81]

Originally Posted by jmg

Thats because deep dish wheels are generally bad for performance for several reasons:

More weight
Less room for big brake calipers
Scrub radius issues that lead to more bump steer and inconsistent grip
Weaker structural geometry which requires additional weight to make up for it
Poor aerodynamics

Personally, while I’ll always love deep dish wheels for how they look, especially on the classic bimmers we love, some new wheels look really great. Yes, they look different, but different isn’t always worse.

It is possible to appreciate both the old and the new without being trapped in the past. The inability to broaden tastes and appreciate new designs is not something to aspire to or be proud of. We are limiting ourselves.

You can love what came before and appreciate where things are going. One does not take away from the other.

Frankly, I think it’s really a shame that this community is so against change.

Maybe it's not a "community" problem.

There is a big difference between good changes and bad changes.

I'm willing to bet across the board, BMW isn't on the trend of making "good" changes.

[MetzgerMeister]

It always amazed me how BMW put both a very easy to clean wheel and a nightmare to clean wheel on the F8*. I'm talking of course about the 437M and 666M respectively.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

People just loooove to bitch

I just bitch with my pocket book.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

At least they're not black.

Well...you wouldn't have to look at it or clean it if it was black!

[Sand]

Originally Posted by XMetal

Well...you wouldn't have to look at it or clean it if it was black!

actually, that's not entirely true... both of my current BMWs came with mostly black wheels.

the brake dust can be easily seen, even if I had just washed my cars and wheels.

it got me thinking... what if I get wheels that are 100% identical in color(preferably a matte color) to the brake dust? no more washing the wheels forever?

[egparson202]

Originally Posted by Sand

actually, that's not entirely true... both of my current BMWs came with mostly black wheels.

the brake dust can be easily seen, even if I had just washed my cars and wheels.

it got me thinking... what if I get wheels that are 100% identical in color(preferably a matte color) to the brake dust? no more washing the wheels forever?

As near as I can tell, a fair percentage of drivers have already adopted that approach without respect to the original wheel finish.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by Sand

actually, that's not entirely true... both of my current BMWs came with mostly black wheels.

the brake dust can be easily seen, even if I had just washed my cars and wheels.

it got me thinking... what if I get wheels that are 100% identical in color(preferably a matte color) to the brake dust? no more washing the wheels forever?

Why bother getting new wheels? Just let the brake dust cake on and you'll have a new color

[JABCAT]

Simple solution is to change the pads. No more rusty dust build up.

[T.R.S.]

This thread took turn to "BMW has a brake pad design problem" lol.

[chupain]

Originally Posted by SpaceSilverX1.

BMW must be monitoring this forum. Almost immediately after this thread started yesterday, their official YouTube channel released a video on how to wash BMW wheels. (almost like one of those infomercials)

This Video about how to clean the clean wheels I guess.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by T.R.S.

This thread took turn to "BMW has a brake pad design problem" lol.

All well to clean your front wheels spotlessly only to have them shrouded in black dust after only 50 miles, I found that with powdery textar.

[MetzgerMeister]

Originally Posted by Sand

actually, that's not entirely true... both of my current BMWs came with mostly black wheels.

the brake dust can be easily seen, even if I had just washed my cars and wheels.

it got me thinking... what if I get wheels that are 100% identical in color(preferably a matte color) to the brake dust? no more washing the wheels forever?

In my experience brake dust is black on silver wheels and brown on black wheels

[M5Rick]

If you don't want expensive 'carbon' front pads (or rear ones) I recommend TRW ones.
They are low dust and on my M car the alloy suspension arms are made by TRW also so a perfect match.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by dizz81

Maybe it's not a "community" problem.

There is a big difference between good changes and bad changes.

I'm willing to bet across the board, BMW isn't on the trend of making "good" changes.

I just listed a whole bunch of ways the new style of wheels are better than the old. Is this not included within “across the board”?

[MetzgerMeister]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Simple solution is to change the pads. No more rusty dust build up.

The rust is from the discs, not the pads

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by MetzgerMeister

The rust is from the discs, not the pads

This is brake dust from the oem pads. Change the brake pads no more rust colored brake dust.

[Cpatel]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Probably someone does, but I bet those folks don't wash their cars.
Still, not as bad as last decades trend of "spinners" on wheels...

IMHO,
a

666m’s (in my opinion) are the most beautiful rim ever made. If they came in the bolt pattern for the g20, they would be on my car by now.

Versus the rim OP posted which is just ugly and hard to clean.