Winter Wheels/rims

[Stoky]

Hi guys, I know there are plenty of threads about winter tires, so I am not asking for help on that.

However, I am going to be getting winter tires. I am assuming I should just buy a second set of wheels/rims for the winter set of tires.

I am kind of low on funds at the moment, but want a fairly basic wheel package. I prefer a 5 spoke type wheel. Any suggestions? I am in the 30sDrive.

And no, I can't just store the car for the winter unfortunately.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

I got lucky and found a set of new wheels (m3 replicas) for a cool $575- Canadian. Then ordered my tires from Tire Rack, great service from them btw. Finally I had BMW mount and balance the wheels for me. Details and pictures in my garage last album named "Winter Set Up"

I love the NOn-Run-Flat winter tires btw, had Michelin mostly on my cars in the past.

Hope you find what you need, father winter came to town here last night with a bang you must have got it too I am just 400 miles east of you.

Good luck

PS. Do try the internet, people mostly sell the winter set separate from the car when they do sell it, you may just get lucky. My winter wheel is a M3 wheel 18x8 and fits my Z perfectly.

[Memphis1]

hi Stocky, to be honest with you, in the course of three winters or even four (assuming you keep the car) getting a tire and wheel package versus just getting tires and paying a shop to swap them on your only pair of rims is really the same.

i'll give you an example...

if you buy conti's and rims (cheap) the package will run you $1000 shipped, but if you only buy the conti's and pay a tire shop to swap the tires for you on the original set of rims, the tires will run you $500 and rounding up to $100 to swap them will run you another $400 for the four winters, so at the end of the life of the tires, you will have paid roughly the same, give or take a few bucks... so you gotta decide whether the hassle is worth the up front cost or if you don't mind the annoyance of taking it to a tireshop and asking them to swap them twice a year.

[rmorin49]

Originally Posted by Memphis1

hi Stocky, to be honest with you, in the course of three winters or even four (assuming you keep the car) getting a tire and wheel package versus just getting tires and paying a shop to swap them on your only pair of rims is really the same.

i'll give you an example...

if you buy conti's and rims (cheap) the package will run you $1000 shipped, but if you only buy the conti's and pay a tire shop to swap the tires for you on the original set of rims, the tires will run you $500 and rounding up to $100 to swap them will run you another $400 for the four winters, so at the end of the life of the tires, you will have paid roughly the same, give or take a few bucks... so you gotta decide whether the hassle is worth the up front cost or if you don't mind the annoyance of taking it to a tireshop and asking them to swap them twice a year.

The other disadvantag of not having a separate set of wheels and tires for real winter weather is the wear and tear on the wheels. Personally, if I was going to drive my Z in real winter weather I would spring for a set of winter wheels and tires. Check out Tire Rack, here is an example:

2010 BMW Z4 sDrive30i Save This Vehicle | Select New Vehicle Other Products for this Vehicle Tires Winter Wheels Suspension Brakes New Products



Road Hazard must be purchased for all matching tires in your cart.
Please change the Road hazard Program quantity to match the
number of tires purchased or to "0" (zero) to remove from cart.


Item DescriptionAvailability Qty.Price EachItem Total
REMOVING ITEM(S) FROM YOUR CART
Remove Save to Wish List 17x7.5 Sport Edition F5 Silver Painted
for 2010 BMW Z4 sDrive30i Base Model
In Stock 012345678 $125.00$500.00
See specific installation hardware included at no charge.
Important TPMS Information:
Tire Pressure Monitoring System sensors available for $196.00.

Also available for Sport Edition F5 Silver Painted:
See optional wheel locks and center caps.

Item DescriptionAvailability Qty.Price EachItem Total
REMOVING ITEM(S) FROM YOUR CART
Remove Save to Wish List 205/50R17 XL Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D Blackwall
for 2010 BMW Z4 sDrive30i Base Model
In Stock 012345678 $134.00$536.00
Note: Installation of TPMS sensors in your new wheels is required for your vehicle's tire pressure monitoring system to function properly.
Would you like the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D tires in your cart mounted and Hunter Road Force® balanced on the Sport Edition F5 wheels at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE? Add TPMS sensors for $196.00 and mount and balance the tires on the wheels.
Mount and balance the tires on the wheels without sensors.
Mount and balance not required.



Total:$1,036.00(before tax and shipping)

[Stoky]

Thanks guys for the input. I am looking on ebay too for some wheels.

Quick question, if I were to by those Spot Edition f5 silver painted wheels noted above. could I change out the wheel cap to a BMW one?

[Memphis1]

Yeah, just pop it out of your rims and pop back in to the new ones

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by Stoky

Thanks guys for the input. I am looking on ebay too for some wheels.

Quick question, if I were to by those Spot Edition f5 silver painted wheels noted above. could I change out the wheel cap to a BMW one?

Smart choice

What some people did not tell you is that A) If you have a winter wheel set there be no chance of wheel damage during tire change 2 times a year (spring and fall). and B) When you do sell your car you also can sell your winter set on e-bay or locally.

I speak from experience and here are the facts;

1) I just paid (3 weeks ago) for our family car $160.51 to make this swap from summer to winter tires. The work was done at Canadian Tires. That is not a over the top place. When I asked why is the price so much more then last spring? The answer was "you have low profile tires on your Jag X-type". I do remember last spring I had to wait until they had the special tire machine to handle the work. I guess I have to help pay for that $30K new tire machine LOL. Yes you guessed right I am going to purchase a set of Summer Wheels for the Jag.

2) When I sold my M3 I sold my winter tire set separately I got $1,200- for the set of 4 wheels with still good Michelin tires (if I would have known that the wheels would have fitted my Z4 okay I would not have sold it). The M3 winter set I sold was an original BMW winter M3 set, original cost I paid in 2005 with tax for that set was $3,450.00

I know somehow I got screwed by Canadian Tire, and will not return to them in future. I say this since BMW only charged me $81.00 to mount my winter wheels to my winter rims including new valves and balancing.

So having a winter tire/wheel set will keep you safe and you will have piece of mind when you do take your car for a spin.

Good hunting and I hope you find a set.

[Pecty]

Originally Posted by Stoky

Thanks guys for the input. I am looking on ebay too for some wheels.

Quick question, if I were to by those Spot Edition f5 silver painted wheels noted above. could I change out the wheel cap to a BMW one?

Not sure if the clearance would be any different on the 30i vs the 35i, but the 17x7.5 Sport Editions were rubbing on my 35i. The inside of the wheel was rubbing against the outside of the caliper housing, the tech dept. at Tire Rack said those shouldn't be listed as compatible, that 17x8 should fit properly.

[Stoky]

Originally Posted by Pecty

Not sure if the clearance would be any different on the 30i vs the 35i, but the 17x7.5 Sport Editions were rubbing on my 35i. The inside of the wheel was rubbing against the outside of the caliper housing, the tech dept. at Tire Rack said those shouldn't be listed as compatible, that 17x8 should fit properly.

One last question guys... so the correct wheel size for the standard 30sDrive is 17x8, right?

[Stoky]

Guys I am planning on buying my winter wheels this weekend.
I have a 30sdrive, NO sport package.

I am ordering online, so is the only thing I need to worry about is that the wheels are 17x8 with a 5 bolt center mounting?

I saw some replacement replica 3 series wheels that are basic and I like, so is there anything else I should know before purchase.

Second question if price is about the same would you go with used bmw factory 3 series wheels off ebay with some minor cosmetic scratches or brand new oem standard replica wheels, not made by BMW but has BMW center caps.

[Memphis1]

make sure the bolt patter is 5X120
if you have the 30i then you can get 17 x 7.5's
and make sure the offset for the rims matches our cars Front 29 and rear 40. you can get a way with maximum of 40 in the front

[Stoky]

Originally Posted by Memphis1

make sure the bolt patter is 5X120
if you have the 30i then you can get 17 x 7.5's
and make sure the offset for the rims matches our cars Front 29 and rear 40. you can get a way with maximum of 40 in the front

Thanks so much for the reply!

I know you said I "can" get 17x7.5, but will 17x8 be okay?

If the offsets are not stated on a site, should I then ask the seller. If the offset is not in that range will the wheels not work?

Thank you again for the help.

[Memphis1]

yeah, 17x8 works.

make sure you double check the offsets

[cdeslandes]

Originally Posted by Memphis1

hi Stocky, to be honest with you, in the course of three winters or even four (assuming you keep the car) getting a tire and wheel package versus just getting tires and paying a shop to swap them on your only pair of rims is really the same.

i'll give you an example...

if you buy conti's and rims (cheap) the package will run you $1000 shipped, but if you only buy the conti's and pay a tire shop to swap the tires for you on the original set of rims, the tires will run you $500 and rounding up to $100 to swap them will run you another $400 for the four winters, so at the end of the life of the tires, you will have paid roughly the same, give or take a few bucks... so you gotta decide whether the hassle is worth the up front cost or if you don't mind the annoyance of taking it to a tireshop and asking them to swap them twice a year.

Memphis is right, it comes to about the same over 3 or 4 years. Count on about $75 to $100 to get the winter tires mounted in the fall then maybe $150 in the spring with a wheel alignment (a good idea after winter!)

So over 4 years it's about the same as buying a set of rims. I've done the tire-swapping thing, not doing it again.

One factor is the run-flat tires. Tire shops HATE those. They take forever to mount because the sidewalls are so rigid. So less aggravation and cost not having to swap.

Another good reason to buy a dedicated set of wheels is that it allows you to have smaller, narrower wheels in the winter; narrower tires with taller sidewalls are better for snow and ice.

Having a dedicated set of winter wheels will afford you more flexibility and a better fit, keep your summer rims cleaner and cost about hte same in the long run.

[cdeslandes]

Originally Posted by Memphis1

make sure the bolt patter is 5X120
if you have the 30i then you can get 17 x 7.5's
and make sure the offset for the rims matches our cars Front 29 and rear 40. you can get a way with maximum of 40 in the front

Get some BMW 292 wheels (17" OEM?) I bet you can find some slightly used ones.

[alan64]

This will be my last winter where we presently live as we are moving out to the west coast. I purchased the winter wheel and tire package from BMW here and I will not need them anymore after three more months here. If you would like to purchase the set, I have and will have only driven approx 2500 miles on them. I can send pictures if you would like to see what they look like. By the way, they are excellent. Email me to abernste1@shaw.ca if you are interested.. thanks, Alan

[mstevens]

I picked up an Atacama Yellow 35is 2 days ago and attempted to drive it around the block after a light snow this evening. This was literally 1/4" or so of fairly dry snow and ended up being one of the most terrifying drives of my 35 years of driving.

My old Z4 is in the barn wearing almost-new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R's on 17" moda wheels that the service director at my dealership says will NOT fit this car. They want to sell me a $2,800 set of 17" style 276 wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak LM25's, which are far inferior to the Hakka's. The size they quoted, 225/45R17, is what I currently own. I suppose the offset or some other aspect of my winter wheels is wrong, or perhaps they don't know what they're talking about since they didn't sell me the wheels in the first place.

Once TireRack gets the proper fitment figured out I'll either swap out my current winter wheels onto the new car or buy a new wheel set and have my current winter tires swapped onto them. Either way I'll have to get TPS installed in whatever wheels I end up with.

I'm hoping to get this figured out soon, since the summer tires are very squirrely on cold roads without much snow on them.

[mstevens]

Originally Posted by mstevens

35is

Originally Posted by mstevens

My old Z4 is in the barn wearing almost-new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R's on 17" moda wheels that the service director at my dealership says will NOT fit this car. They want to sell me a $2,800 set of 17" style 276 wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak LM25's, which are far inferior to the Hakka's. The size they quoted, 225/45R17, is what I currently own. I suppose the offset or some other aspect of my winter wheels is wrong, or perhaps they don't know what they're talking about since they didn't sell me the wheels in the first place.

My 7 year-old 17" moda R1 wheels fit well. Front brake rotor clearance is very close, but it does clear.

Originally Posted by mstevens

Either way I'll have to get TPS installed in whatever wheels I end up with.

Perhaps not. The wheels have been on for 2 days now and there hasn't been a peep from the TPMS to indicate it's unhappy. I even checked the Vehicle Status in iDrive and it insists TPMS is working fine, even though I'm sure it's not.

[shashi27]

I have the 19s from BMW which I swapped out for the wiinter with 18" Breyton Race GTS in black. Not only did I get a winter set of tires but the look of the car is completly transformed.