# Style 37 wheels



## TXE39 (Oct 2, 2003)

I have a '00 528i w/ a sport package and need some new tires. I really like the look of the M Parallel wheels and figured I'd buy some of the replica ones (Factory ones don't fit my budget). I've seen them both offered in 18x8 all around and 18x9.5 in the back. What are your opinions about what I should do? I plan to keep the stock sport suspension and this is a daily driver and a 528...so not a track car. I don't want to deal with rubbing and like the idea of all of the tires being the same but don't want to make the car look funny. Are the wheels that it came with 17x8 all around? I know it has all 235s on it now. Thanks in advance and please some advice on where to purchase them. Here's an ebay auction for some I found,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2464093609&category=43958

TIA,

Kevin


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

TXE39 said:


> I have a '00 528i w/ a sport package and need some new tires. I really like the look of the M Parallel wheels and figured I'd buy some of the replica ones (Factory ones don't fit my budget). I've seen them both offered in 18x8 all around and 18x9.5 in the back. What are your opinions about what I should do? I plan to keep the stock sport suspension and this is a daily driver and a 528...so not a track car. I don't want to deal with rubbing and like the idea of all of the tires being the same but don't want to make the car look funny. Are the wheels that it came with 17x8 all around? I know it has all 235s on it now. Thanks in advance and please some advice on where to purchase them. Here's an ebay auction for some I found,
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2464093609&category=43958
> 
> ...


I bought my Hamman HM2's at The Wheel Exchange. Great service! I went with 18x8 on all 4 corners - gives you the option to rotate. The general guideline has been that if your car came with staggered, get staggered, if not, stick with the same size all around. I like the option to rotate.

As far as replica wheels are concerned, I think they are a good value. The difference in price is that these replicas are cast, the BMW originals are forged. Personally I don't see an issue with using replicas.

If these wheels are the exact same dimensions and offset as the factory original, you should not have any rubbing issues. I run 245/40-18 and have slight rubbing in the rear, but my wheels have a slightly different offset than the originals. Once the tires wear in a bit, it goes away.

I can't say enough about the 18" upgrade, and I have stock suspension except for an M5 rear anti-roll bar. The look is more fitting to the car IMO and the handling is improved. You'll experiment with tire pressure to get the right setting for comfort and handling. This is also highly dependent on the tire you select. The S-03's I use (for now) have a stiff sidewall. Next time around I may try a tire with a higher treadwear rating - mountain driving ate up my rear pair in just 7k miles. My wallet is still whimpering from the beating it took.

The pic below is of my car with Rondell R72's, a Hamann look-alike. Sadly, 3/4 of them were killed in a pothole incident and by the time I got to replacing them, Rondell discontinued the R72. The pothole was severe and I think that any wheel would have died on it. Hamman changed the 18" offering to have a stainless replacable lip and I don't like it as much as the polished lip of the originals. But after a day of brake dust, they aren't as shiny.


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## mrogers (Mar 2, 2004)

I'm thinking about the exact same thing for my new (to me) 1997 540i. I'm looking at 18" BMW parallel replicas for about $600-$700, and then tires on top of that. I was wondering about the width as well...JVR, you said that if the car comes with staggered, get staggered. I'm wondering, will it hurt it not to? If my car has staggered wheels, what would be the disadvantage of getting four 18x8's?

Also, can anyone recommend any decent tires that get good treadlife and aren't too expensive? Thanks!


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## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

mrogers said:


> I'm thinking about the exact same thing for my new (to me) 1997 540i. I'm looking at 18" BMW parallel replicas for about $600-$700, and then tires on top of that. I was wondering about the width as well...JVR, you said that if the car comes with staggered, get staggered. I'm wondering, will it hurt it not to? If my car has staggered wheels, what would be the disadvantage of getting four 18x8's?


There's no reason you can't go with 245/45-17 tires at all four corners. (Or 245/40-18) In fact, it will help reduce the understeer on your car.


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## mrogers (Mar 2, 2004)

OK, thanks DZeckhausen. I've never done rims on a car before, so I'm a little new at all these numbers...another question: When you increase wheel diameter (eg, I want to go from 16" to 18"), how do you know what the right size tire is to keep the speedo and everything else working properly? I mean, I see that you noted the size for me (245/40-18), but how did you know that?


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## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

mrogers said:


> OK, thanks DZeckhausen. I've never done rims on a car before, so I'm a little new at all these numbers...another question: When you increase wheel diameter (eg, I want to go from 16" to 18"), how do you know what the right size tire is to keep the speedo and everything else working properly? I mean, I see that you noted the size for me (245/40-18), but how did you know that?


The tire sizes I gave you came from memory. But there are on-line tools to help you make selections. For example, here's a tire calculator that allows you to enter several tire sizes and it will compare them in terms of diameter, circumference, and number of revolutions per mile. It normalizes all the percentages to the first tire size you enter. http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi As you increase your rim diamter, you need to pick tires with lower aspect ratios in order to maintain close to the original overall diameter. There's nothing wrong with being above or below original factory specifications by a couple of percent.

Another trick is to go to Tire Rack's web site and put in a different year and model of the E39 in order to get back thge proper tire size information. For example, in 2003 the 540i 6-Speed came with 18" wheels. So you can get the stock tire sizes from Tire Rack. Or, you can enter your own make and model and do a wheel search. Tire Rack's site will allow you to pick any wheel size they have available for your car and it will then make tire size recommendations.


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## Tahoe (Jan 9, 2004)

Re: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...&category=43958
I would buy the same wheels for the same price from http://www.thewheelexchange.com/ 
Maybe it's just me but I would prefer to deal with an known entity.


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## mrogers (Mar 2, 2004)

I can't find any prices at thewheelexchange.com... how do you know how much they cost?


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## fixdaserver (Oct 19, 2003)

mrogers said:


> I can't find any prices at thewheelexchange.com... how do you know how much they cost?


You can find wheel exchange prices here at http://www.stores.ebay.com/store=18883438


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## Tahoe (Jan 9, 2004)

That is a great resourse but I know how much they cost because I emailed them and John, the President of Wheelexchange, emailed the price back to me along with the weights of the wheels which are 1 lb more per wheel than the OE wheels. 
"The 18" Parallel wheels weigh 24 pounds 18x8 front & 25 pounds 18x9.5 rear. $800 a set."
This will take you right there. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43958&item=2464093609


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