# Style 37 wheels finally on!



## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

After seeing the new 2003 540i 6-Speed with the gorgeous Style 37 18" forged wheels, I fell out of love with my "old" Style 66M wheels. One of my customers showed up a couple months ago with a 2003 540i/6 for a CDV delete, so I took advantage of his generosity and did a test fit of his Style 37 wheel over my Brembo brakes. They cleared the front brakes no problem and I checked his front wheel over my rear brake and that also cleared. I didn't bother to pull off my customer's rear wheel to check the fit, since I was sure it would also clear easily.

Last Tuesday, my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 front tires (245/40-18) arrived from Deleware and a couple days later, my rear tires (265/35-18) arrived from Indiana. I'm told I got the last pair and now Tire Rack is out of stock for a couple weeks! Then my wheels arrived on Friday. So Saturday I took them to my favorite tire place and had them carefully mounted and balanced. I drove to the tire place in my Impala SS, since the 540i with non-folding seats won't hold four boxed wheels and four tires!

When I got home, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my wife so I could install the new wheels. She finally came home and I put the fronts on with no drama. Then I tried to install a rear wheel. Oh nuts! It clamped firmly against the rear Brembo caliper. 


After pondering my options for a few minutes, I grabbed a 3mm spacer and tried again. Perfect! Phew. I thought I was screwed. That will teach me not to take shortcuts again, such as testing out a front wheel in the rear of the car. Live and learn!

All ended up well and the car is so much more responsive with the Goodyear Eagles. Surprisingly, moving from 17" to 18" wheels did not degrade the ride. The 18" Goodyear tires are much smoother and quieter than the 17" Dunlops SP Sport 2000Es.

But no more talk! Here are the photos I took just a few minutes ago:


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## jwalther (Oct 7, 2003)

Excellent! :thumbup: I wanted some 37s for my car, but could not find any used ones. I bought a set of Breyton Visions last week (which arrived today), and then saw some 37s on ebay the next day. Oh well. . . 

Jeff


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

M Parallels are niceeee!


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## Ågent99 (Jan 7, 2002)

DZeckhausen said:


> After seeing the new 2003 540i 6-Speed with the gorgeous Style 37 18" forged wheels, I fell out of love with my "old" Style 66M wheels. One of my customers showed up a couple months ago with a 2003 540i/6 for a CDV delete, so I took advantage of his generosity and did a test fit of his Style 37 wheel over my Brembo brakes. They cleared the front brakes no problem and I checked his front wheel over my rear brake and that also cleared. I didn't bother to pull off my customer's rear wheel to check the fit, since I was sure it would also clear easily.
> 
> Last Tuesday, my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 front tires (245/40-18) arrived from Del*A*ware and a couple days later, my rear tires (265/35-18) arrived from Indiana. I'm told I got the last pair and now Tire Rack is out of stock for a couple weeks! Then my wheels arrived on Friday. So Saturday I took them to my favorite tire place and had them carefully mounted and balanced. I drove to the tire place in my Impala SS, since the 540i with non-folding seats won't hold four boxed wheels and four tires!
> 
> ...


Very nice, Dave. :thumbup: Will you stick with the spacer or are you going to delve further and look into having the wheels machined?

You can then use the spacer to keep a door propped open or something! :lmao:

Chris


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Those are the very best wheels I have ever seen from BMW. :thumbup:

My Dad had a set on his old 740i SP, and they were just plain GORGEOUS.


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## Lawaia (Oct 9, 2003)

Awesome looking wheels Dave. :thumbup: I soon will have my day when I can post pics of my new wheels...but until then...


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## dchen (Jul 2, 2002)

Very nice, Dave. :thumbup: I used to like my Style 42 when I had my 01 530i but after trading in for a 03 540i sport, I too fell in love with the Style 37. Much easier to wash.

One question, are you getting any shimmies at all with the 3mm spacers (is it custom made?) ? I use to run 5 mm spacers on my old e36 with 16in BBS RZ (original) to clear my brakes and it gave me a whole lot of shaking on the steering wheel at 45 mph.


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## dchen (Jul 2, 2002)

here is mine


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## jun (Oct 10, 2002)

*I love these wheels!*

I too have a 2003 540a sport and love these wheels. All my cars in the past have had aftermarket wheels. I think I am going to stick with these style 37 though. I like the looks and the size is just perfect for me.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

jun said:


> I too have a 2003 540a sport and love these wheels. All my cars in the past have had aftermarket wheels. I think I am going to stick with these style 37 though. I like the looks and the size is just perfect for me.


Those wheels are sharp. If I ever end up owning a 5er wagon, I will likely get those as summer wheels and use whatever wheels it came with in the winter.

Is the ride harsh at all? I ask because it would be a family wagon and I don't want all my cars to have a harsh ride.


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## jun (Oct 10, 2002)

mbr129 said:


> Those wheels are sharp. If I ever end up owning a 5er wagon, I will likely get those as summer wheels and use whatever wheels it came with in the winter.
> 
> Is the ride harsh at all? I ask because it would be a family wagon and I don't want all my cars to have a harsh ride.


The ride is not harsh at all. Well, my previous car was a 2001 330ci with HR springs and Koni shocks with 18x8.5 rims and 235/40/18 tires. My 540 rides cushier than my 330ci even though I have the sports package.


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## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

mbr129 said:


> Those wheels are sharp. If I ever end up owning a 5er wagon, I will likely get those as summer wheels and use whatever wheels it came with in the winter.
> 
> Is the ride harsh at all? I ask because it would be a family wagon and I don't want all my cars to have a harsh ride.


I went from 17" wheels with the factory-supplied Dunlop SP 2000E tires to these 18" Style 37 with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3 tires. The ride actually became softer! So, to answer your question, it is possible to have 18" tires and still have a ride that's not harsh. But it will very much depend on which tires you choose.


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## mbr129 (Aug 23, 2002)

Cool. Thanks guys. My wife will need a wagon in 2-3 years. It will likely come down to her choice, but the runners up are a slightly used 540iAT and a slightly used E320 4-Matic wagon (new body style).


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## smooth6 (Oct 4, 2003)

Looking Good Dave!! :thumbup:


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## Ohmess (May 29, 2003)

DZeckhausen said:


> I went from 17" wheels with the factory-supplied Dunlop SP 2000E tires to these 18" Style 37 with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3 tires. The ride actually became softer! So, to answer your question, it is possible to have 18" tires and still have a ride that's not harsh. But it will very much depend on which tires you choose.


The new wheels look great Dave. :beerchug: I've been considering precisely the same switch and am interested in your tire choice. Did you consider the Bridgestone S03s and/or the Michelin Pilot Sports?


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## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

Ohmess said:


> The new wheels look great Dave. :beerchug: I've been considering precisely the same switch and am interested in your tire choice. Did you consider the Bridgestone S03s and/or the Michelin Pilot Sports?


Those were my other tire choices. I pored over tire comparison tests and I read the latest survey results on Tire Rack. It seems that the Goodyear tires have sqeaked by the S03 as the new favorite among their customers. Just after I order the Goodyears, someone posted the results of a Consumer Reports test of high performance tires and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3 topped their list.

Having driven on both of the other tires, however, I can tell you that you won't be going wrong by getting any of the three. The factor that finally tilted me toward the Goodyear was the very good wet weather performance. If I lived in Las Vegas or Southern California, I would have probably picked the Michelin Pilot Sport.


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## DanB (Feb 20, 2002)

:rofl:

Seriously, they look great Dave!

-DanB


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## humanoid (Mar 31, 2002)

Very nice :thumbup: 

Do you happen to know how much the style 37 wheel weighs. Do they weigh more than the M5 wheels?


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## DZeckhausen (Mar 11, 2003)

humanoid said:


> Very nice :thumbup:
> 
> Do you happen to know how much the style 37 wheel weighs. Do they weigh more than the M5 wheels?


The Style 37 is lighter than the factory M5 wheels, but not by much.

M5: 23.6 lb. front, 25.6 lb. rear
Style 37: 22.6 lb front, 23.2 lb. rear


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## Ohmess (May 29, 2003)

DZeckhausen said:


> The Style 37 is lighter than the factory M5 wheels, but not by much.
> 
> M5: 23.6 lb. front, 25.6 lb. rear
> Style 37: 22.6 lb front, 23.2 lb. rear


Dave -- do you happen to know how much the Style 66Ms you replaced (and that I'm running) weigh?


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