Well, another beautiful day brought another opportunity for a comprehensive car wash--and another photo shoot! Just wanted everyone to see my new Ronal LS's finally mounted. Use some of the images to gauge how they might look on your ride, if you're interested in finding some of them! I recommend 205/55R-15 Michelin Pilot Exalto tires--they're really fantastic. Tons of grip in dry and wet (so far, after about 500 mi), and they have great minor shock (i.e. highway expansion joint) absorption properties. Yeah, and I'm STILL waiting for the BMW roundel emblem caps for them to come...SHEESH! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ In other news, the 14" Bottlecaps and tires that were replaced by these are now up for sale--check out the marketplace for the official listing. Quick Specs: -5 14"x6" alloy wheels -4 195/65R-14 Bridgestone Potenza RE92 tires -1 195/65R-14 Pirelli P6 on matching spare -no curb rash -minor paint chipping on a few ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I'm about to cry. Literally. I've searched high and low for rims like that. 15" Baskets in 4x100 are pretty much non-existant in this country (very, very rare to even find an ix set, nevermind the original Euro ET24 version) and it would cost well over 250 Euros to ship a set of the original baskets 15" from Germany, that's not including the price of the wheels, which are about 200 Euros. So ticked that Ronal closed up shop here. How much did you pay for the set of 4? You think there is any place that they can still be had from in this country? I looked online but couldn't find any place that sells them... Gosh those are beautiful. The more I stare the more heartbroken I am. Did you use any spacers or was that a direct fit? Offset?
OMG I'm so sorry to hear that! Yeah, I had been saving up to pay cash for them sometime in the fall, after the summer job and all. But when I came home from school one weekend in the spring and heard that Ronal was closing their U.S. franchise, I whipped out the trusty credit card--lol--perfect timing. I actually have five, including the matching spare...should've popped the trunk for a quick snapshot on that one. That's got a BFGoodrich tire on it, because the Exaltos are directional. Regarding your questions, everything was a direct bolt-on...no spacers, nice and smooth. They really fill the wheel wells, and with the 25% increase in width (6" to 7.5"), there's a noticeable improvement in handling (if it were even possible on a BMW ). Offset is et25. When all was said and done, I paid a grand total of $1018 for five wheels (around $170/rim), BMW emblem center caps ($12 apiece), and shipping. That doesn't include about $570 for the rubber. Like I said in a previous post, when I checked with BavAuto, they only had three left...but that was in May...and what good will three do for you?! I know that they do sell 14" factory baskets for e30's but they're like, $220 apiece, plus another $45 or so for the center caps!!! Sheesh! And they're not as deep or as highly polished as the Ronals = less visually striking. I know many suggest looking into BBS RX's. IMHO, they look better on newer models. I honestly don't know where you could find the LS's without trying to ship from overseas... I truly hope you find a way to get them, though. Rumors of some in Canada? Best wishes, truly.
That is pretty much exactly what my MSW wheels look like. I wonder if Ronal bought that company. Mine were white with polished spoke faces, but now they are black with polished faces (that was a pain in the butt.) They have the same special little bolt holding the cap on, too. I took a pic the other day. I'll post it when I get a chance.
gr8 pic, gr8 car, gr8 lookin' whls - very nice! AZ, these guys are on ebay... might be worth calling them see what they have for your car that's not listed for auction at the moment - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-...006QQitemZ160264284511QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW I wonder which model these were on... not enuf info in the auction to figure direct fit (yes, there appears to be only two) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car...rkparms=39:1|65:1&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245.l1318 did you rule out stock 'is' rims? If that look is that high a priority, you'd get an oem basketweave that way.... 14x6.5 - 14" tires are cheaper, you could use the bottlecaps for snow tires, and u already have kosei's for track use (when you decide to use them), and I would think you could find some E30 'is' rims for not all that much moola?
I could get a set of 14" basketweaves in good condition for $350 locally. But that's not what I want. I'm after the 15" set, the one they never brought to this country in 4x100 with ET24 offset. The Ronal LS would be the only other one that looks almost exactly like it, if not a bit better. The first thing you linked to: I checked out their store and nothing that's worth putting on for me. The second link: those are ix wheels with the much higher offset, which to my knowledge isn't directly compatible. I already looked at those and even spoke to the seller (he was surprised I knew about the ix models ) If I get these, then I will only have two. These are hard to come by as it is, so I'm gonna have a hell of a time finding two of these suckers. I'm not going to further hijack his thread. If you want to reply, please PM me. I've got to admit; those are stunning, but over a grand is a bit steep in my opinion... Please do post some pics with the center stickers on.
Thanks for the compliments, MGarrison! And az, don't worry about hijacking the thread--this is the kind of conversation I wanted to get started! Agreed, my brain also said that a grand is a tad overboard, but my heart just jumped at the convenience and the chance at something that is now so rare. So I think that sort of vague exclusivity alone justifies it.
It is absolutely scary how alike we think. This is exactly why I want to get the 15" OEM basketweaves. I love the styling, they're one of a kind, and it's an investment. If something happens to the car that doesn't damage the rims, I could sell the rims for more than what the car's worth because it's so rare. I'm so in love with them that I am seriously considering bidding on the German auction for a set of them in immaculate condition and have them shipped to me at a cost of 250 Euros for 4 of them. I think this love comes with certain E30's hidden somewhere in the trunk... once you open it and the love just jumps and attacks you and you can't think of anything you'd rather do than to perfect that ferocious rectangular body... [sigh] I searched some more today and there are no Ronal LS' to be found ANYWHERE. Not eBay (barely even a mention - found one, but was completely the wrong size). I'll be honest with you. I'm starting to think this just isn't going to work out. I mean, who pays twice the amount of the cost of rims to ship them from Germany? If I was to win the auction at, say, (if I get lucky) 150 Euros, add another 250 and I'm in the ballpark of nearly $600. Most people think "oh but that's nothing!" but to me, someone who barely makes minimum wage, that's just over half a month's salary.
I hear ya. Breaking the bank for a set of rims is something really difficult and reluctance-inducing to do. No rush, though--take your time with it, and find a set that you really feel will be a worthwhile investment in your ride. And I'm right there with you with the "boxy love," man. Quite profound, if I do say so myself. We've gotta be like, long-lost Bimmer brothers or something...
Well we've both got E30's are our first cars... hmm. Just maybe. My rush is because the ones I'm (wanting to) bid on are in immaculate condition. One set has been refinished inside and out (inside of rim is SPOTLESS) and the other is just plain immaculate without any reconditioning. I don't know when I'll have another shot at this with such immaculate rims, and if I'm going to go through the hassle of importing from Germany, it had better be a spotless set. I will take nothing less than perfect for the headaches I have to go through.
Perplexing or not, I'm about to find out. I pulled the trigger today and bid on the set I wanted. I won the auction. These are the rims I will soon have: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170246018942&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=007 I just hope the seller is willing to work with me with the shipping. I can't afford to ship all of them at once so I asked if he's willing to ship one or two this week and the rest next week. I'm still trying to pay for it as it's a bank transfer, so I'm waiting for him to respond. That'll be tomorrow because it's past 22:30 there now.
Whoa baby--they're gonna look great! Congrats on the auction win! I hope everything works out according to plan...and you should know that we'll all be expecting pictures... And thanks, desertVert!
Well you won't have pictures for quiiiiiiiiite a while. First, I have to sort this bank transfer thing because he's in another country. Then, I have to ship two wheels at a time (hopefully he'll go for that) and then I have to buy tires for them. It's gonna be at least another month before I could get these puppies on.
Those 15s on ebay look great. If possible though, use inside weights when having them balanced so not to ruin the look or damage the finish of the outer part of the wheel
Definitely agree. The guys at Costco did so without me having to tell them...kudos to Costco for awesome training...
Costco of all places. Why can't tire places get it right? lol Gonna call the seller's friend tomorrow (he translates for him) so we can discuss payment. They stated bank transfer in the auction but I'm not willing to do that because of safety issues (can take money and run but they don't seem to be like that based on our discussions) so we will talk about it tomorrow when the 6 hour difference isn't an issue. I'm not too concerned about where the weights are, to be honest.
So, last I heard the guy went to the post office and couldn't ship with the tires, so he went back home to take them off. This was on Monday - hopefully he took care of it yesterday! Can't wait.
