Need wheel purchase advise - silver 2002 325xi

This is my first BMW and I'm loving it. It was really well maintained by the one (and only) owner before me. All work was done by the dealership, and I was provided a detailed service history. Had 83,000 miles on it when I bought it three months ago. It's a five speed manual, which I love.

The only mod I've done so far is tinting the windows 30% all around. The decision I'm trying to make now is what wheels to go with (squared setup) to replace the stock 16" style 45's, which I don't care for.

Here are the ones I have in mind, but I'm willing to entertain others. Cost is definitely a factory (wife, 2 kids, mortgage, 2 car payments). So is ride comfort (no 19's, this is a daily driver). Part of the reason I'm torn between 17" and 18". Also, not sure if I'm going to mess with the suspension or not. If I did go with a sport kit to lower it a little (probably a year or more in the future before I could consider), I'd rather have 18's. If I don't, I'd rather have 17's...I think. Your opinions are much appreciated...even if you want to tell me I'm way off base.

1) Apex Arc-8 17x9 in Hyper Black ($259 each but there's a group buy going on right now, which is a plus)



2) Rial Como 17x7.5, silver ($149 from TireRack. German made. Low-pressure cast. 5 year warranty on finish)



3) VMR VB3 18x8.5 in Hyper Black ($175 from ModBargains)



4) OE style 162 18x8, four fronts ($300 from TurnerMotorsport. OE quality gives me piece of mind. A little on the heavy side. At the limit of my budget. Originally for the E90 but look sweet on the E46. Offset is 34. Picture is of Kem's 330xi found in this thread. Identical in looks to mine, except it's a 330.)



The other 17" I had my eye on was the two piece style 42 that came on the 5 series. Was bummed to find out that the offset is 20 and the bore size is too big. Still dig the look.

Had also been looking at ASA's on TireRack (AR1 or GT5), but I'm not sure if I can trust the quality.

Ok. That's where I'm at. Any input would be great. Will be purchasing something by the end of October.

I would stick with 17in rims for a daily driver. Tires will be cheaper and ride will be better. Also, the 325xi brakes look tiny inside of an 18in wheel. CSL wheels are overdone.

With that said, I would go (and did go) the OEM route when I bought new wheels for my car. Style 44s look great, as are 71s, and 137s. I use Style 44s in the summer and 137s in the winter on my car. Don't be too worried about doing a non-square set up either, as long as the overal diameter is the same it doesn't matter. I wouldn't recommend going more than an 8in wide front or rear wheel for a daily driver though, just doesn't make sense to go more than that.

Good luck!

The style / brand you choose depends entirely on what you think looks good but I would opt for 17s. I sold my 18s this summer because my car is more about function than looks right now. I actually just put new rubber on my stock 16s. Sure, it doesn't look as cool but the ride is great, the handling is still very good and winter traction will be much better. I think you'll be happier with 17s if you plan on driving your car year round.

Sent from my DROIDX using Bimmer

Apex ARC-8. End thread.

Originally Posted by Kubica

Apex ARC-8. End thread.

+1 this.

BBS RK is a nice choice too.

Thanks for the responses. I do like the Arc-8 a lot. Ant thoughts on how they'll look if I keep it stock height?

These are 18" BBS RCs. ARC-8's are the replica. Stock height in that photo.

nice SUV. lol

I'm about to buy this used set of style 162 wheels with Continental DWS tires. Looks like a good deal. Yes, they are slightly staggered (18x8 and 18x8.5) but the diameter is only .3% difference (225/40/18 and 255/35/18).

Should I be concerned about fitment of that rear tire size on my xi? Will the tire wear on a staggered setup be a lot more expensive since I can't rotate?

This deal looks appealing since I'm getting OE wheels and good tires for the price of a set of tires. Thoughts?

i too was in this situation...i decided to stick with 17" all year round...oem style 137 are gonna be for my winters now...just ordered style 5 Beyern wheels...keeping it at 17" for summers,...ride quality was a big concern for me. I wanted to go 18" for summers but was too worried about the ride, i think 17" is a good size to stick to..as for staggered set up, some say its ok being under .3% others say don't do it.....
as for price of staggered, it could cost more rotation isn't available.....

I'm in the same exact situation as the OP..have it narrowed it down to the Apex arc 8's and the VB3's, but leaning towards the Arc's because they're form flowed, which is superior to gravity cast and the finish is more durable. Mostly looking to fill up the infamous "xi" gap and get a wider stance. I was set on getting 18x8.5"s but now I'm intrigued with the idea of running 17x9 arc's with 255/40/17's.

Which would be better to minimize the wheel gap? I'm already lowered on eibach pro-kit/koni sports, so its probably around the height of an "i".

Originally Posted by jasonbimmer

nice SUV. lol

I wish you could "like" comments in forums.

I vote Apex.

Originally Posted by jasonbimmer

nice SUV. lol

Nice location. lol.

Originally Posted by TopazXi

I wish you could "like" comments in forums.

I vote Apex.

I'll drop in x5 springs and still blow the doors off your punkass. lol.

Get the apex. They are lighter than your factory wheels and your car will be a little quicker. If you go with a heavy VMR, your car will be slower and you will feel it. I am very happy with my apex 18x8.5

Ok, my 2 cents worth. Plus 1 sizing is best to go with if you want to change from stock. Why? Several reasons; Cost is big consideration, to get Plus 2 quality light weight wheels, they will cost a good bit more per wheel that good Plus 1 sizes. Also, the cost of tires is cheaper with Plus 1 sizes. And most of the time, Plus 1 sizing is lighter in weight per tire/wheel assembly than Plus 2 without spending upwards of $600.00 or more per wheel. Also, if you go Plus 2 on a daily driver, be prepared to replace or repair tires and or wheels due to roadway conditions. If you go inexpensive to mid range price Plus 2s, you can actually slow your car down because of the great increase in rotational weight. And I'd stay away from 9 inch wide wheels (depending on the offset) unless you plan on having the fenders rolled and/or want to decrease the life of front end components dues to too much wheel and tire away from the hub/bearing assemblies.

Something else you can consider is finding a set of 16 inch wheels you like and then going Plus 0 for tire size. A true Plus 0 size will be slightly wider, slightly lower sidewall (i.e. 65 to 60), increase handling a bit without great sacrifice in ride quality, look nice (filling the wheel arches) and will be dependable as daily driver wheel and tire set. On most of my E30s I used Plus 0 sized Yokohamas until they became very hard to get, only then did I go Plus 1 to 15 inch wheels with proper tires keeping the overall diameter within 1%. On my 2003 325xi, the stock 16 inch wheels are used for winter snow tires and summer tires are on 17 inch wheels and on my 2003 330xi, 17 inch stock wheels are again used for snow tires, but also aftermarket 17s are used for summer tires (the profile is low enough on the tires without having to worry about damage on the wonderful Pennsylvania roads).

Some people think "bigger" is better and hotter looking, but if the brake caliper and disc don't fill almost all of the space inside the wheel, i.e. 20 inch wheels with 12 inch rotors looks silly. Now, if you are planning on installing a Big Brake Kit like Brembos, go for the 18 inch wheel/tire set as their kit may not fit in 17s (I haven't checked that out, but know their Big Brake Kit will not fit in your or any 16 wheels).

As far as looks go, there are many different styles and quite a few different colors, you don't have to stick with silver painted or chrome (actually, I'd stay away from chrome because it will chip, peel off in time, and painted wheels can more easily be repainted and at a lower cost than re-plating chrome). If you opt for black, black with machined lip, gray, gray with machined lip, gold, green, orange or what ever color, as long as you like the look, to hell with anyone else, its your ride.

Try round ones.

Originally Posted by Rickna

Try round ones.

yeah i would prefer round ones too, most ppl do? sometimes though, i like rectangular ones...or depends, maybe oval ones are faster? wtf...
i think that was the best advice on this so far!
to the OP, i think taking that advice and you should be good!

most rims are round, but not true to 100%....but none of us have the machinery to to completely check how many thousand they are off.....
replicas i would shy away from....no matter how much they say "oe" quality, they'll always say that....just go with you like...after all its a 4 door daily driver right