My OEM M3 wheels were trashed by the previous owner. He must have destroyed the 3-stage finish with harsh cleaners, and had them refinished by what looked like a 2-year old. Needless to say, it came down to spending a fortune to undo the damage (straightening, media blasting, and powder-coating), or just ponying up and replacing them altogether. After weeks of deliberation with my wife, looking for a wheel that we both liked, looked appropriate on the car, and was affordable, we decided to buy a set of Forgestar F14 wheels. We learned that Forgestar was an up and coming company that had great wheels at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, my only choice of vendors was Modbargains.com. More on that later. First, a bit about the wheels: They are manufactured using the flow-forming technique, which is supposedly what companies such as BBS and Enkei use for their non-forged wheels. And these types of wheels are used on race cars including F1 and Indy. The flow-forming process allows for a 1-piece wheel that shares properties with forged wheels such as strength and lightness, with the cost effectiveness of cast wheels. You can find all the gory details at Forgestar's website. I decided to stick with 18" wheels, primarily because the roads in Massachusetts have been known to chew up and spit out nearly anything that drives on them. I figured a little extra rubber between the wheels and potholes would help save my new investment, teeth and spine. I did go 1" wider both front and back (9.5" and 10.5" respectively) to help fill out the wheel wells and add a little to the aggressive look. All Forgestar wheels are made to order, so the bolt pattern, offset, width and size are all pretty flexible. They manufactured mine to fit perfectly. Overall, I've been happy with the wheels. I think they look great, fit well, compliment the car, and didn't break the bank. My cost was approximately $1200 for the set of four. Now the downsides to my experience. I ordered these wheels in June of 2009. Modbargains.com was the only vendor (not sure if that's still the case). When I called, I was told that they only made the F14 in 19", but 18" was being added to the lineup. My order for 18" would be first in line after some wheels for race teams, and I should have them in a couple months. Modbargains took a deposit up front and wanted payment in full within a month or two. What really happened was I made my payment in full and then got the runaround for 7 months! Modbargains told me there were various delays in manufacturing, delays due to SEMA, delays due to a ruined wheel that needed to be remade, and delays due to the color choice I made. Whatever the real reason was, I was steamed that I waited months to get something I had already paid for, and since I store the car in Winter, getting them in January was completely worthless to me. Additionally, Modbargains cut me a "deal" on the wheels since I would be one of the first people to have them, as long as I posted reviews on all the forums I was a regular on. As it turns out, during my excruciatingly long wait, I got several emailed "sales" fliers from them where I could have had the same "deal" or better after having paid for them. After getting irate with them, they sent me a "pre-production" set of angel eyes to have (and write a review on) that didn't work! I'm reviewing the wheels now, on the CCA forums not because of their request, but because I like the wheels and wanted to share my thoughts. I don't even visit the other forums any longer. In the end, I got the wheels, mounted some fresh rubber on them come spring, and installed them on the car. So far I've been happy with them. Bottom line: I think the wheels are great, but I was displeased with the vendor. Hopefully there are other buying options should you want a set of these wheels.
Overall, I like the design, but for some reason, they look out of place to me. They look like they're trying to be CSL's (which look absolutely amazing), but aren't quite pulling it off. Definitely a great price, but probably would look better in the 19" size...
One of the primary reasons my wife and I liked these over other wheels. Yeah, I think the 18" size throws off the look a bit. But like I said, this was a case of function over form for me.
