# Misc new snow tire/wheel questions



## fgrogan (Jan 20, 2003)

Placed order via Tirerack for winter tires and wheels for my 330 ZHP (here the order info):
4 17x8 Mille Miglia MM-S Bright Sil In Stock $199.00 
20 Required lugbolt for vehicle In Stock N/C 
4 Mm polished cap- black letters In Stock N/C 
4 225/45VR-17 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 Special Order $137.00 
4 Mount and balance - no charge $.00 

Questions are:

1) I have a 1/2 drive Craftsman torque wrench I plan to use to tighten lugs nuts. What size/type of socket should I buy to use?

2) I assume the center caps that come with the Millie Miglia wheels have their logos. Will BMW center caps fit?? if so, any suggestions on a good place to buy? Dealer?

I am thinking of "waxing" the new wheels before putting them on (and my OEM type 135's when I remove them and clean them). What about using Zanio? or anything special I should use?

4) Any other tools or equipment that other recommend to have for regular fall and spring tire changes? i. e. Jacks, lifts, whatever? I was planning on just using the factory jack, but curious on others opinions and experiences.

TIA!


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Buy a cheap floor jack at Sears. I've had the OEM jack collapse on me TWICE. It's very finicky, and has VERY poor traction. The mechanism itself is perfectly fine, but it has a penchant for sliding sideways, and it doesn't take much before your car is sitting on the frame (or brake rotor).

You'll need a 17mm socket for the torque wrench.

If the BMW center caps fit, I suggest popping the ones you already have out of the 135s.


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## PhilH (Jun 7, 2002)

BMP Design is a good place to get aftermaeket roundels for your wheels. They sell them in various sizes.

http://www.bmpd.com/index.shtml


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

Just grab the front bumper and lift. That's what I do when I've got my autox wheels on. (No shit!)

As for the lug bolts, they just send a set.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

rumatt said:


> Hmmm. I didn't think of that. It might actually work..


 You can get about an inch of clearance without much trouble. Any more than that, and you need help. I just lift, and then push the jack in with my foot.


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

Fgrogan, 

Thanks for the order! Just wanted to make sure you saw that these tires are 'special order'. We're expecting more in about 4/6 weeks. If you need to make any changes or have any questions, please let me know via email or phone.


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## ccha (Dec 30, 2002)

[email protected] said:


> Fgrogan,
> 
> Thanks for the order! Just wanted to make sure you saw that these tires are 'special order'. We're expecting more in about 4/6 weeks. If you need to make any changes or have any questions, please let me know via email or phone.


Hi Gary,

I'm looking at the Dunlop Winter Sports also for use as winter tires. What is the difference between the Dunlop M2 and the Dunlop M3 besides the speed rating ?? There's not too much feedback on the M3 so I would assume that they are a newer model? I will be driving around the New York city area, which tires (M2 or M3) would you recommend?


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

Very few differences between the two, slight tread pattern change... just an update rather than a whole new tire. They're so similar that you'll often see me refering to them together. There are very few survey results in yet, so the numbers will be misleading on the survey results page.

http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/winter/index.jsp


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## milski (Aug 25, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> Just wanted to make sure you saw that these tires are 'special order'. We're expecting more in about 4/6 weeks. If you need to make any changes or have any questions, please let me know via email or phone.


Does this mean that if I want to get 4 of them (225/45/17) by end of December, I better order them now?


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## [email protected] (Jun 10, 2003)

Probably not a bad idea, but its not the end of the world if you have to end up getting the M2, as we have not found much difference between the two from our experience with the tires last season.

http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/tires/index.jsp


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## BikeGuy1 (Feb 20, 2003)

*TireRack Rocks!*

I ordered a winter tire/wheel combo last week online on Monday evening, (link through Bimmerfest, and Tire Rack throws some money back to support the site!) and they arrived Wed aft! My wheels are the AT Italia type 5 (16x7.5) with the Dunlop M2 205/55HR-16. I went with the 16's to get a slightly narrower tire to for less "plowing" through the snow...and these are some of the only 16s to fit a 330. The lug nuts are included in in case the wheel thicknesses differ. 
Good Luck!



fgrogan said:


> Placed order via Tirerack for winter tires and wheels for my 330 ZHP (here the order info):
> 4 17x8 Mille Miglia MM-S Bright Sil In Stock $199.00
> 20 Required lugbolt for vehicle In Stock N/C
> 4 Mm polished cap- black letters In Stock N/C
> ...


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## milski (Aug 25, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> Probably not a bad idea, but its not the end of the world if you have to end up getting the M2, as we have not found much difference between the two from our experience with the tires last season.
> 
> http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AB2&url=/tires/index.jsp


And they will both (M2 & M3) fit on 17x7 rims, right?


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## fgrogan (Jan 20, 2003)

Thanks to all for the great feedback. Due to illness (me, wife , daughter...wow, it spreads fast), work and travel...its taken me too long to respond.

Here's what I have done so far:

1) Gary called and let me know the M3 tires are not being shipped so I switched to the M2's in the same size. Strange thing was, while at my BMW dealer on saturday to pick up some other things, I noticed a "pile" of 4 snow tires on rims on their showroom floor. Walked over and there were 4 18" M3 tires mounted on BMW rims with a sign that said "winter is coming"...They must have received an early batch.

Btw, Gary told me that the center hubs on the MM-S wheels only seems to fit the MM logo caps. Has anyone found a way to get a BMW cap to fit? Gary, do you know the diameter of the center hub hole?

2) Picked up a 17mm deep 1/2" drive socket at sears for the torque wrench.

3) Picked up some BMW locking wheel lugs while swapping my "summer" floor mats that I got for free from the dealer for some winter rubber mats. Since I ED'd, I already have the summer mats.

4) Did a lot of reseach on the floorjack issue and decided that the new 4 ton Sears "racing/low profile" floorjack (Craftsman 4000 lb. Capacity Aluminum Jack, Sears item #00950239000, $179.00 online, 
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00950239000 see attachment too) was the way to go.

I measured the gap between my floor and the bottom of the jack point on the ZHP and it was about 5 1/4"..just a little too low for most jacks I saw at Sears and local auto stores. Also picked up some 3 ton jack stands and some folding wheel chocks. Let me know if you want more details.

Update: a few hours after posting this, the mail came and there is a special for this months Craftsman Club. The price is $161 for the same jack.

5) I also purchased some Klasse all in one to "wax" the wheels. The type 135's on my ZHP can be a real PITA if you want to get them real clean so I hope the Klasse will be easier than multiple steps with Zanio (which I love for the rest of the car). So off with the 135's soon, clean, wax and store...and wax and mount the new winter tires/wheels

6) Also, a few hours after my initial posting yeasterday the Fedex guy knocks on the door and is dropping off my new MM-s's with the M2 snow tires. They look great. And very detailed users guide/book from TR. I need to review it.

Question: Do I have to use the new wheel studs/bolts included from TR or are they just a nice to have?


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## fgrogan (Jan 20, 2003)

If you want to see some pics...they are here http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44819


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