aftermarket rim for 2003 325ci coupe

just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with

17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,

what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready tires, in a low profile tire

thanks.

Reply to
sportrider90
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Search eBay for BMW E46 OEM 16" (or INCH) WHEELS.

This will give hits of rims that specifically fit your car, and are OEM. The

16s will fit your car, and give room for added sidewall. If your drop the OEM from the search string, then you will also get hits for aftermarket rims.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Jeff

thanks...saw that advice earlier in some other posts that you responded to (and made my searches easier)....so if I wanted the all season tires to use in the winter I have to go down to 16 inch rim? I cant keep the 17 inch on there (i.e. no 17 inch all season tires avaiable?)

thanks again

Reply to
sportrider90

Yes, I think so. I live in Sunny Southern Cal;ifornia, so I do not have this issue to deal with.

Logic says that tall thin tires work better in snow that squatty wide tires. The '03 models use the 16 as standard fitment, and 17s are the upgrade tire. The brakes (including rotors) are designed with 16s in mind, and 17s fit very well. If the brake system was designed for 17s, then 16s would not fit, and you'd have to select winter tires that are the same profile as the performance tires you already have.

There is more to winter tires than tread design, and one of the differences is added sidewall along with a narrower tread. You have all summer to work out the details, but I'm pretty sure that winter tires are better if they are tall and skinny. You haven't much room in the fender wells for more sidewall on a 17" rim, so you create more room by getting a smaller inside diameter and the same outside diamerer.

Your 225/45x17 is equivelent to the 215/50x16. You need to shop for equivelent tire sizes, and Discount Tire (tires.com) and Tire Rack (tirerack.com) have good calculators that give comparative tire sizes.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about driving on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the wheels and tires you have for summer use and get winter tires & wheels? All-seasons are OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK and not really the solution. A dedicated set of winter shoes and wheels is the ideal solution.

Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites as are the Michelin X-Ice.

I see on TireRack where you can get a set of 4 Blizzaks in 205/50-17 and 4 Sport Edition F6, 17"x7.5" wheels for $910 - mounted, balanced, and delivered to your door. That's hard to beat.

Reply to
joe_tide

"Jeff Strickland"

I think 205/55/16 would be the proper substitute. Most non-sport e46 cars actually came from the factory with such tires.

Pete

Reply to
Pete

"joe_tide"

I agree wholeheartedly. When I used to live out there (NOVA), despite having an AWD car, I still had two dedicated sets of wheels - summer and winter. You can't just hope to "get by". There are some crazies on the roads up there who think their big SUVs are invincible in ice and snow. You need to be able to get out of their way quickly, and proper tires will help.

I had the Pilot Alpins (in size 205/55/16) back in 2002. I wasn't impressed with their snow/ice performance. They seemed to behave more like an all-season tire in that respect. Maybe the more recent versions of Pilot Alpins are better, not sure. On the other hand, I really liked Nokian WR and can sincerely recommend them.

Cheers, Pete

Reply to
Pete

I've used the X-Ice the last 2 winters. I can't praise them enough.

Reply to
joe_tide

the Michelin Alpina PA2 seems to be highly rated in reviews on tirerack.com....

Reply to
sportrider90

A good choice also - relying on the reviews. I have never used them. That would get you under $900 mounted, balanced & delivered. One thing if you decide to go this route - if you buy a wheel that is a "closeout", you might want to consider buying an extra wheel. You won't be able to get one later if one gets screwed up. Ask me how I know!

You might also want to wait until next winter arrives.

Reply to
joe_tide

That's exactly right. Your suggestion works out better than mine does for overall diameter. Sorry for my mistake.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

I was thinking now would be a good time to buy them since the retail outlets (tirerack.com and other online stores) want to move their old winter inventory to make room for their summer tires and rims and new winter inventory....no?

Reply to
sportrider90

I like that plan. Will it work out? I don't know because that sort of thing doesn't happen around here.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

went to tirerack.com to price out some new summer rims....was thinking to put winter tires on my BMW OEM rims and buy new summer performance rims and tires (17 inch)....their tire/wheel calculator suggests 225's for the front and 245's for the rear...isn't this a "staggered" set- up? looking back on some old posts here, it seems staggered wheels, most notably from a M3, will not work on a 3 series (unless you cut out some of the back bumper fenders and do other mods).

am looking for some sort of website that can speed me up on tire/wheel sizes (offset and other stuff like that) and which will work and wont work for a '03 325ci coupe sport package....

Reply to
sportrider90

wrote

If you go to check out rims on TireRack, they will only suggest those that they've tested and that means that they will definitely fit your car. You do not have to get the staggered setup, but you can, and TireRack lists the exact setups that will fit. FYI, some e46 coupe cars (with the sport pkg) came with a staggered setup from the factory: 17x7.5 front and 17x8.5 rear.

Pete

Reply to
Pete

Assuming you don't have staggered tire sizes now, I can think of two arguments against staggered wheels for your car:

  1. Increased understeer due to larger rear tires.
  2. Inability to rotate wheels for more even tire wear. Since you'll be changing out twice a year for winter tires, rotation is a simple matter, as long as you keep track of which wheels go where.

Tom K.

Reply to
Tom K.

  1. the extra width of the rear tires will mean you will have faster wear on the inside edges of those tires due to the (normal) camber of the rear wheels.
  2. The wider rar rubber and rims costs more.
  3. Anyone knowledgeable in cars will know that you only got the staggered set-up because you like the bling factor.
Reply to
Fred W

so what aftermarket rim brand is a good brand to get? any brand that is good or to stay away from? going on ebay and trying to score OEM BMW rims is proving to be a challenge.

Reply to
sportrider90

If you want the best quality (and they won't be cheap) go with BBS. There are many less expensive brands that are moe reasonably priced.

What is your budget?

Reply to
Fred W

I would say around the $1000 mark or so for tire and wheel package,...just want a rim that is well made and strong but within my price range...I want to keep my current size 225 45ZR 17

I don't know if any of those tire/wheel packages on tirerack.com or other online stores that are within my price range are well made or are they cheap rims that will fail after a couple of years...

Reply to
sportrider90

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