E46 Alloy Wheels Ideas & Suggestions please?

[Corsica86]

Hey all,

I've been looking into getting some new wheels for my E46 325 M Sport 55 plate BMW.

I've seen a lot of cars with the deep dish look which is nice and I do like but at times can seem a little loud (boy racey).

I'm looking for a really nice set of wheels that aren't too flashy but will transform the car and make it look/feel really nice whilst keeping it subtle and classy, I'm trying not to spend too much if I can avoid it but if I want quality and durability I will probably have to budge

A few wheels I like at the moment are the BBS CH-R either in 18s or 19s and the BBS LMs are pretty nice too, another question I have is do I go for 18s or 19s, I'm not entirely sure?

Here are some pics of my car currently to help give you guys ideas...

Feel free to post ideas, links and pics

[mb15]

I have these for sale if your interested, not deep dish but original bm wheels so good quality.

http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/51705-18-oem-bmw-style-396-good-tyres/

[Gravy]

if your going for a decent dish i think 19's.

If your going for what of a word more 'normal' wheels CSL's for example you can get away with 18's IMO.

I had 18" LM's on my old car and wished I had got 19's.

[Corsica86]

I know these are on an M3 but I love this style - not sure if I can get away with it on a 325 M Sport:

[mit]

No set of bigger wheels will make it feel nice. You have to choose between look or feel!

[dannyb78]

Mine is on 18" csl reps and think the car sits great in them, 19's imo are overkill and yes in the past I have been as bug as 20" on previous cars.

Search "Dan's touring project" for my pics.

[sive s]

Like what Mit has said. It depends if you want the look or the feel. I have had both 18s and 19s. But me being biased prefer the 19s as it fills the arches(personal opinion).

Also are you gonna end up lowering the car or keeping it with its current set up.

If you want something different, i would go for a set of these. Calibre gtr found on ebay staggered fitment.

Really like them, if i had the bigger brake kit like the 330ci. Then i would have bought these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-BMW-3-Series-E46-98-to-06-Calibre-GTR-Alloy-Wheels-Only-84965-/380850693890?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Trims_Car_Rims_ET&hash=item58ac786702

[James B]

18" BBS CH's or 19" MV4's if you want to go OEM

[JimmyJames]

Like what Mit has said. It depends if you want the look or the feel. I have had both 18s and 19s. But me being biased prefer the 19s as it fills the arches(personal opinion).

Also are you gonna end up lowering the car or keeping it with its current set up.

If you want something different, i would go for a set of these. Calibre gtr found on ebay staggered fitment.

Really like them, if i had the bigger brake kit like the 330ci. Then i would have bought these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-BMW-3-Series-E46-98-to-06-Calibre-GTR-Alloy-Wheels-Only-84965-/380850693890?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Trims_Car_Rims_ET&hash=item58ac786702

I had these wheels on my first supra and they're well made with nice dish.

Edited February 25, 2014 by JimmyJames

[DEVIL 666]

http://www.e46zone.com/forum/topic/540-members-wheels/

[mit]

I have an idea! Compare the price of tyres for 18" wheels and 19" wheels and decide based on that

[marc l]

Cade's tyrus? They have plenty of dish.

18s look ok but 19s better in my opinion!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Seb]

Like you I am looking for some new alloys but cant decide what I want, I think I have narrowed it down to 18" CSL's Silver or gunmetal or BBS CH 18". Don't really want to go 19" after waying up all the the positives against the negatives. Must say that for looks you cant beat a 19" alloys in a number of styles but to get that look you need to change the suspension (springs and damper or decent coil over kit) which is going to cost you a pretty penny. I've previously put a complete eibach suspension set up on my old Audi A4, which cost a reduced £500 at the time plus labour costs £220 (fitting+laser realign) so by the time you factor wheels+suspension+fitting/setup costs you could have spent around £2000 for all that.

Go for the 18" BBs CH-R, get OEM for the weight saving and feel or check out VMR wheels they are really good quality alloys at a reasonable price.

[CJGREEN]

18X8 + 9 BBS LM REPS

320CD 006 by CJGREEN., on Flickr

Edited February 27, 2014 by CJGREEN

[Corsica86]

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of reply - had a mental week at work!

Thanks for all the great responses I've had.

Seb thanks a lot for your suggestions, I'm really loving the VMR wheels, particularly the V710s in Gun Metal - I think these are the wheels I'm set on. I really like the BBS CH-Rs too but they're about £500 more and a bit over my budget unfortunately.

I'm looking to to go for 19s as I went them to fill the arch as much as possible to avoid having to go down the route of lowering etc. I don't want to modify the car too much if I can avoid it.

Another question I have, is I've noticed some people have slightly wider on the rear - is this more for the look or does it make a difference on the drive? Also I'll be looking to go for the thickest tyres possible as there are so many pot holes where I am (Surrey), I want a tyre to protect the rim of the alloy as well - what can you guys suggest?

Appreciate all the feedback so far and keep it coming please, the more info I can get the better

Thanks all.

[Corsica86]

This is the style I'm going for:

http://flickeflu.com/set/72157631994932518

[Seb]

Yeah, if you put 19" wheels on you may find that the ride height will be raised and the car stance wont look right, that's where you will need lowering springs and the appropriate dampers rated for them springs. Them VMR 710's look sweet on that tricked out coupe, go for them.

[Corsica86]

Yeah, if you put 19" wheels on you may find that the ride height will be raised and the car stance wont look right, that's where you will need lowering springs and the appropriate dampers rated for them springs. Them VMR 710's look sweet on that tricked out coupe, go for them.

Hi Seb,

Thanks again for your constructive feedback, can you explain and suggest exactly what I'll need to get this all set up correctly? Is it going to be costly?

Many thanks,

[Blair]

If you use the correct ratio tyres ride hight will be the same (to within a mm or so)

[rickzsingh]

I have 19" Cades tyrus with standard m sport suspension and the ride height looks fine to me!

If your car is doing a lot of miles and you can't always keep on top of the cleaning then I wouldn't recommend cades tyrus due to the massive diamond cut dishes and they corrode!!

Go for 19s though

[CJGREEN]

Just coat them in wheel sealant and you'll breet.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[RickyZ]

19s will ruin the ride and driving experience of the car but will look better if you ask most on here

I've had about 6/7 sets of wheels now and it drives best on the OEM 18s it came out of the factory with

Depends what you want I guess

[Corsica86]

Hey guys,

Excuse the lack of reply.

The end of the month is approaching and I'm about to order my wheels - going for the VMR V710s 19" in Gun Metal - will post pics once ordered and arrived.

I'm going to sacrifice the ride for the sake of fitting 19s - my question is, with the standard M Sport suspension that I currently have, what can I get away with in terms of width?

I had planned to get 9.5" wide on the rears with 8.5" on the fronts - will I need to do any extra work to get away with this or can I fit them straight on.

Please feel free to recommend appropriate tyres also to make this work.

Thanks chaps,

[sive s]

Hi mate, depends on the offsets of the alloys(depending where you get it from too). I mean the et. If it is in the region of 40-45 it will be direct fit.

They should fit. The m sport springs should be alright for the 19s.

I had 19s with se springs, it looked like a boat. lol.

Once you get it, upload pics. I like the gunmetal csl rather than the silver ones.

Good luck

[330cian]

CH-R's is a great shout, or CSL's.

Really not a fan of MV2's, they look like after-market wheels IMO.

I love Style 32's, but only on older E46's. I saw a 55 plate MSport with them on, and it didn't look right.