[Pleaseenterpassword]

So, i bought a 328i GT and it came with the 397 wheels (which i like) with summer tires on them and now i've got the problem, that i don't know, which other wheels i should buy. 17"-wheels look silly on this car, so i'd prefer 18"-wheels for the winter. BMW doesn't supply a lot of possibilities:

- 396: easy to clean and they protect the brakes quite well from salt and water during the wintertime, but they're not looking good on the F34. especially on a car with shadowline.
- 397: good looking, but sensitive, expensive to repair and not protecting the brakes very well.
- 400: not looking good, not protecting the brakes and not easy to clean. in my opinion the worst choice for the winter
- 405M: probably the best looking winter wheels for a F34 with shadowline, but not protecting the brakes at all. braking might be effected heavily in snowy conditions. cleaning will also be difficult and i don't know about their sensitivity.

So, what should i do? Buy wheels from a third party supplier? but which ones? haven't seen good ones, which are legal for the f34 so far. Does anyone have a recommendation?
If not, should i go for the 405M? Or should i use my existing 397 for winter tires and buy 19"-wheels for summer (598m)?
Thank you for your opinions. Was much easier to choose wheels for my E91.

[Billfitz]

Unless you have no pothole issues where you live stay with 17 inch rims and 225-55 winter tires. Larger rims with lower profile tires are much more prone to pothole damage. In the US you can find reconditioned used OE rims at reasonable prices.

[lmcq784]

Yes, I would go with the smallest rim you can fit over your brakes for winter tires...

That said, I made my stock 18" 400M (staggered) rims my winter wheels. Put some Blizzaks on them, and they're rockin'. My only regret is that they are STAGGERED.... that means no front-back rotation, and getting 255 wide winter tires are EXPENSIVE... But I'm glad you're not going to have that problem.

I do think 18" seems to be the minimum to look good on the GT... so if I were to do it all over again, I'd swap my stock staggered set with summer tires, with someone who wants to upgrade their wheels, and get their squared setup. Or have sold the whole set out right, and just put some 18" BBS SR wheels with Blizzaks on. BBS designed these for winter wheels, relatively inexpensive, and they're good looking.

[ska///235i]

There are tons of aftermarket options, I personally like oem quality but look for aftermarkets that are on closeout...$100 per wheel

[Pleaseenterpassword]

Potholes shouldn't be too much of an issue here. On my E91, i've had 17"-wheels in winter and i never had problems with them. As the F34 has larger tires on the wheels compared to the F30 or the E91, 18" on the F34 should be comparable to 17" on the F30/E91 regarding ride quality, safety, risk, ... And 18" is looking much better on this rather large car. That's why i want to go for 18" in winter.



@ lmcq784 and others with "open" winter wheels
Didn't you have problems with your brakes in snow or when there was a lot of salt on the streets? The BBS ones are looking nice, but they're as bad at protecting the brakes as the OEM 397 or 405m.
And you're right, staggered wheels are not really suitable for winter tires.

@ska
i haven't found that many aftermarket options for the f34, as it uses other wheel or tire dimensions as the F30. But this is maybe also due to different safety regulations here in europe.

[lmcq784]

I've never had problems with my brakes in the winter... Even after my friends and I went crazy did fonts in a snowy and icy parking lot, and my rims were caked with snow. Drives and brakes perfectly fine (I do have MSport brakes).

I wouldn't worry about it.

P.S. If you're concerned about brakes, I would seriously consider MSport brakes... I found the standard brakes on the 328i GT underwhelming and spongy... Not a good feeling.

[Pleaseenterpassword]

Yeah, compared to the brakes on my E91, the standard brakes on the F34 feel less "grippy" and safe, especially in wet conditions. The M-Sport brakes are not available here as an aftersale upgrade, only the M-Performance brakes, but those cost a lot of money and they're only available in red, orange and yellow. I'm not really sure, whether any of these colours would look good on my kalahari beige car. Too bad they're not available in black.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Pleaseenterpassword

Yeah, compared to the brakes on my E91, the standard brakes on the F34 feel less "grippy" and safe, especially in wet conditions.

Perhaps. I do notice that they take a bit more pedal pressure than I might like, but that's a matter of how much boost is dialed in, not stopping power. That's in keeping with the GT as a family more than a performance oriented car. But the stopping power is there.
An interesting exercise is when you're in cruise control instead of using the brake pedal to slow down hit the speed button on the steering wheel, dialing it down in 5 mph increments. When you do the brakes really grab. I don't suggest dialing it down quickly, 5 mph steps are sufficient. If you hit the button and dial it down from 70 to 50 with four quick clicks, for instance, you'll be reminded what the seat belts are there for.