I just ordered an alpine white 2008 335i, 6 speed with the sports and premium package. I, personally, am not a fan of the wheels that come with the car and the dealer said that if I want different wheels, they can not take back the ones that come on the car because they will be considered "used" since they were "on" a car. I tried to order it with different BMW wheels but the dealer said the factory won't do that. I'm not sure if this is a BMW thing but I find that the rims of the wheels are VERY close to the edge of the tire so that if I just touch a curb, I end up scraping the wheel. I currently have a 2004 330i alpine white sedan 6 speed that has the high performance package that includes a suede steering wheel and seats and lots of "M" stuff that came with it. The wheels on it have been a source of many of my complaints because they scratch too easily and they are impossible to clean. They are the stock wheels that came with the car. I can't even get my little pinky between the spokes to clean them. Now that she is going away, I am beginning to love the wheels just because they look so nice compared to the 335i 2008 wheels. Does anyone know the weight of the factory wheels that come with the sports package (style 189) and where I can look for new wheels that won't damage the car?
Never mind. I have decided I want to get BMW wheels because should I need a replacement, there is a better chance that I will be able to get one in a few years. I am going to get the BMW model 196 wheels if I can get them for a reasonable price. I saw them in a 3 series accessory catalog.
I, too, don't care for the wheels that come with the sports package. I have scraped the passenger side front wheel no less than 5 times! Not going to replace anything yet, but when I do it will be for a full set of something that is polished (not chrome, but really don't lke painted wheels). In the current issue of Roundel there's an article on the $22,000 Dinan S2 package that gives a comparison of the 189's vs what they put on (weight, etc.) Enjoy the car...most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Thanks. The most fun I can have with my clothes on... That's funny. The scrapes are one of the things I hate about BMW wheels. They are so close to the edge of the tire and just touching the curb scrapes them.My 330i has the high performance package and the wheels are impossible to clean. I can't even get my pinky between the spokes and they are always filthy. I prefer not to scrape 2 sets which is why I want to change them immediately. I know myself and I will end up getting too cheap and not want to buy the new ones. If I get them when I get the car, mentally I can handle the cost better. You know, $2000 doesn't seem like so much when you are plunking down 50K. Now $2000 alone seems like waaay to much money to give myself a present.
I called a dealer parts department and asked how much the stock Sport package 18" alloys on the 335 weigh. He did not have published specs, but said they were about 26 lbs. For comparison, I just bought some 17 x 8.5 Kosei K1 Racing from Tire Rack that weigh only 16.8 lbs. I saw some 18's that were around 19 or 20 lbs. There are also some Kosei K3 wheels in 18 and 19 sizes.
I purchased 196 rims from the dealer (Braman Palm Beach) when I bought the car. Received no credit for the OE 189s - sold them privately. The 196s are not easy to keep clean but I really like the way they look.
Thanks for the pic. They look as good as I thought they would. I got a call today that my car will be arriving in Oxnard California on the 5th of May. It should be up north here, about a week later. I'm a bit sad to say goodbye to my 330i. We only recently bonded but I think that's because she is going away.
Can you at least get your fingers between the spokes? If so, I can deal with cleaning them. I can't get my fingers between the spokes on my 330i and it drives me a bit batty. I saw a car like your in San Francisco, yesterday. REALLY REALLY nice looking.
tires protect the rims Certain tires have a protective edge where they meet the wheel on the outside. This will keep you from scratching your wheels on a light rub. I have Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's.
I was looking for the weight on the stock wheels the other day (inexplicably the dealer doesn't know...) and found a measurement of "25 lbs" on the Dinan site. It was in the context of selling their outrageously expensive Hartge 19s, so take that for what it's worth. I bought a staggered set of LTW EmPowers (18x8.5; 18x9.5), because I liked the look and the weight (18ish in front; 20ish in back). I wanted something that would equal or improve the performance of the car once installed, otherwise who cares how good they look? I considered the BBS RX, RXII, LM, and LM-R, but they're each crazy expensive (to me), and don't save that much weight. The LTWs are sitting in my garage right now (I just picked up the car from the port three days ago!), but as soon as I get them on, I'll let you know how they feel, and I'll throw some pictures up.
Initially I didn't care much for the looks of the sport package wheels either (I much prefer the 328 sport pkg wheels) but now that I've had the car for a while I have come to appreciate them, and they are very easy to clean. If you really want to save weight, then get rid of those nasty run-flat tires and buy some conventional high performance tires. The car will ride better, handle better, and you'll save a lot of unsprung weight. As for the wheel rash... well, how about some curb feelers? Michael
Wheel Rash Wheel Rash....I've never heard that phrase. I think I love it. I hate that it happens but I love the description. I will admit that the 196 wheels are hard to keep clean and it takes me just as long to clean them as it does to wash the rest of the car. Nothing was harder to clean than the wheels on my 2004 330i with the HP package, I couldn't even get my pinky between the slats.
The problem is that the run-flat tire issue is a result of BMW's "its our way or no way" policy. I never would have bought my 335i, despite how much I enjoy driving it, if I knew everything I know now. Despite what I thought was extensive research on the car, it was not enough. I have been told to never buy a first year model change BMW. They were right.
I have a 2007. The run-flats, no dip-stick (the check oil feature will tell you if you need oil, but not how much), no drain plug for the differential (BMW insists that the differential and gear box fluids are life-time. The dealer had to pump out the differential fluid by hand. An oil change, gear box and differential fluid change cost me $340.) and no limited-slip differential option are bad enough, but the big one is inadequate oil cooling. My car was factory ordered in February 2007. I did not order the sport package since I did not want 18" wheels or the sport seats. BMW literature list the 18" wheels/ performance tires, sport seats and steering wheel paddle shifters ( with the automatic, I have a manual) as the components of the sport package. There is and still is no mention that the only way to get an oil cooler is to order the sport package. When I contacted BMW NA, their response (I have the e-mail saved) was that BMW does not feel it is necessary to describe minor components of a package. Who are they kidding. I have heard that BMW's solution to the problem is to eliminate the oil temperature gauge on cars with the N54 twin-turbo six. It is indeed a great engine, but not if it runs at 250-260 F when ambient temperatures are 60 F or higher. If you push hard enough, you can get one at no cost, but retro-fitting the BMW oil cooler requires engine and wheel well surgery. I'm not sure many dealer service departments can do this. I'm confident that Dinan will do it right, but the oil cooler costs $2300 plus installation. I will keep the car until the warranty expires in 2011 and hope that BMW gets back to having concern for their customer rather than sales numbers. If not, I will look for something else.
