[neubee323]

sup fellas! quick question before i make my decision...

i'm about to order wheels from wheelmax.com and i want your opinion...

basically, i'm just looking for an inexpensive set of wheels for my car and i came across a BBS style wheel by Exel (wheelmax wheel-line). it's about $700 rims and tires 18"...

i know it sux to throw on non-specialized bmw rims, but i can't afford ACS, Hartge, Hamann, etc. at the moment. I'm just tired of riding on 15"s and having a BMW.

i want to know if there's anything i should know before purchasing them.

drop a line asap.

thanks,
neubee

 

[teamdfl]

Are you interested in any factory wheels? You can easily find used factory 17s for $100 to $200 per wheel depending on condition. Cheap aftermarket wheels weigh a friggin ton and will noticeably slow down your car. In addition, the cheapo wheels tend to weaker and more prone to bending.


Ed

 

[MrMotorwerk]

you can check the classifieds here for other people's stock wheels. or you can call your dealers to see if they have factory take off wheels. These are the wheels that came with the BMW but the customers opted to have them replaced, hence the dealer got stuck with these brand new BMW wheels.

 

[neubee323]

true! that's not a bad idea...but my wife is against buying used wheels and she only likes the mesh style...it's her car, but i drive it most of the time...i do plan on lowering the car in the future, but wanted to upgrade the appearance in the meantime...i heard that if i did purchase 5x120 wheels, but not by a bmw specialized company, it may not fit perfect on the hub...is that true or a myth??

 

[notE46]

true! that's not a bad idea...but my wife is against buying used wheels and she only likes the mesh style...it's her car, but i drive it most of the time...i do plan on lowering the car in the future, but wanted to upgrade the appearance in the meantime...i heard that if i did purchase 5x120 wheels, but not by a bmw specialized company, it may not fit perfect on the hub...is that true or a myth??

it's true. my friend has the rondell and two of the four is hard to remove because the tolerance of the hub is too tight.

also you want to make sure you get the right offset.

 

[neubee323]

how do i figure out the correct offset??

 

[325seeeye]

IMO you are throwing $700 away on cheap wheels. I have had nothing but problems from aftermarket wheels. Unless you are willing to shell out for BBS, Hamann, ACS or the other high dollar (but high strength) wheels, you are going to end up with 4 bent aluminum piles of doo.

Buy some used factory 17's and tell the wife to get you a beer. you will be much happier than driving on bent vibrating wheels.

PS, my wheels are $1500 piles of doo.

 

[E28Fiend]

i can hook you up with a number of different style used bmw factory wheels...I work in a body shop and we have about 100 rims we are looking to sell...some have curb rash, and some are a little damaged...some are almost like new....pm me.....

 

[neubee323]

damn bro, i wish u told me sooner...i would've checked it out, but i ended up purchasing the wheels already...thanks anyway...

question? since i did purchase the non-bmw specialized wheels, will o-rings prevent it's common problem with the hub fitment...

 

[D_Ultim8]

neubee323,

You should have checked out www.victoriatire.com ..I believe their prices are more competitive than wheelmax.com!

BTW,
Which wheels did you get from wheelmax.com for $700 18"wheel/tire combo?

 

[neubee323]

damn, i tried surveying and for the budget, i thought i was getting a good deal shipped to the door ready to throw on...i picked up their house wheels (exel) 970 --> replica bbs rc...
i just hope they don 't bend from the first pot hole

 

[hamann 330Ci]

for replica wheels or cheap wheels in general make sure they have the right offset and that they are hubcentric for BMW ..........
i bought a set of wheels on ebay ealier and they weren;t hubcentric and when i drive the steering wheel vibrates .........

 

[neubee323]

damn that sux...how can u tell if they're hubcentric or can u trust their word? do u know if o-rings would cure that problem?

 

[dbtheo]

O rings would help, but too hard to fine, you'd need one thinner than most anybody makes. I went through that issue, with some knock-off BMW wheels from Dicount tire.