Renewing Member

[disccooker]

Hi all! third year of BMWCCA starting for me, and I've replaced my E36 M3/4/A with an E91 328xi wagon.

Not sure I'll ever not miss my M3, but civilized features like bluetooth and nav win out

So, anyone got any wheels and tires that will make my (Arctic) wagon stand out?

Anything i should prepare for w/r/t E90 ownership?

[pseto]

what year e91?

I assume you have the standard 17" run-flats now?

[John in VA]

Something like this?!

[JamesAustin]

Hi all! third year of BMWCCA starting for me, and I've replaced my E36 M3/4/A with an E91 328xi wagon.

Anything i should prepare for w/r/t E90 ownership?

I imagine the consensus will be that if you already know your way around an E36 M3 then an E91 xDrive should hardly make you sweat.

I'm sure you already know about getting a thorough inspection from someone specifically familiar with BMWs.

Only major difference I can think of is the transfer case, which is controlled by a mechanism with plastic gears that can break down over time. But that part is relatively straightforward to rebuild, and aftermarket suppliers offer much stronger gears.

So, anyone got any wheels and tires that will make my (Arctic) wagon stand out?

In a GOOD way or a BAD way?

[JamesAustin]

Teddy Bear wheels? Maybe, but to really show off the Arctic White paint, how about or maybe ...

[John in VA]

Kidding aside, check out http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/ and scroll to "3er E90 ff." in the top box. You will see what wheels were available for the E90.

I like the open look of the Style 32s, or a simple 5-spoke variant that is easy to clean. Once you see a favorite, and depending on your budget, check the forums for a decent used set, but realize they may have a scuff or two & have a chance to be bent. Not a deal-breaker, but an extra cost to you once you receive them.

Wheel Collision Center in PA restores/refinishes wheels. You can have yours redone there or buy them outright. http://www.wheelcollision.com/store/BMW-3Series.htm

[JamesAustin]

Kidding aside, check out http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/ and scroll to "3er E90 ff." in the top box. You will see what wheels were available for the E90.

If you google "best aftermarket wheels" you'll get a lot of hits, but most of them are just someone's "top 10 cool-looking wheelz" list. I did like this article because he actually discusses which wheels bend the least (and the most).

[John in VA]

While the "cool kids" will choose based on looks & price, with the many styles that BMW offers you have plenty of choices for a quality product. Not to say that BBS & Ronal aren't great products - I have them, too.

[JamesAustin]

So, anyone got any wheels and tires that will make my (Arctic) wagon stand out?

All kidding aside, do you have any sort of theme in mind for the car? BMW has offered everything from 17" to staggered 20" wheels for the E9x so even sticking with original factory wheels gives you a lot of choices. And there are many good aftermarket wheels out there if you look carefully.

The only thing to really watch out for is that while you can vary front & rear WIDTH, whatever you do, you MUST keep the front and rear wheel/tire DIAMETER the same. Most people keep the wheel diameters the same just to be safe; you could probably combine a higher-diameter wheel with a lower-aspect-ratio tire such that the diameter worked out to be the same, but you'd need to research that very carefully, because I don't think there's very much margin for error and the results of mismatched diameters are very bad (and expensive).

[JamesAustin]

While the "cool kids" will choose based on looks & price, with the many styles that BMW offers you have plenty of choices for a quality product. Not to say that BBS & Ronal aren't great products - I have them, too.

To be honest, the whole custom wheel scene is a pet peeve of mine, because it's all about bling, and the closest anyone ever comes to thinking about functionality is weight. There are other ways to make a better wheel that nobody even tries.

Example: The C4 (1984–1996) Corvette wheels had directional turbine blades around the outside designed to work like fan blades and pull air out from under the car at speed. This made a measurable difference in handling, drag, and efficiency. But most people hated them because the design only worked in one direction, and when combined with the rears being much larger than the fronts, meant each corner had a unique wheel to keep track of (and keep in inventory). Chevrolet abandoned the idea almost immediately, and today even many C4 owners don't know about this. The only other time I've seen this idea in use was on a Ferrari show car from decades ago; they took the standard Ferrari 5-blade wheel and simply angled the blades. But Ferrari never put that in production...

Another example: Some of the new generation of carbon-fibre wheels (that each cost more than most cars) have hollow spokes & centers. This is more of an effect of building them from carbon than a deliberate design goal, but the result is that when inflated, there's a higher air volume than with a conventional wheel, which means that tire pressure holds up longer.

I wish more designers would spend more time thinking about things like this and less time just playing with the visuals...