[charpour]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy new wheels along with winter tyres for an F30 330d and have a few questions.

Would it be better to get 18' or 19' wheels? My understanding is that with the 18', the traction is better and perhaps the tyre less likely to get damaged due to potholes.

Then, I'm not quite sure what type of tyres to get.. non-RF or RF? I don't even know if there are RF winter tyres. I've read several threads in this forum where people claim improved handling and better ride with the non-RF. Recommendations for specific tyres would be more than welcome.

Finally, I'm not quite sure where to get the new wheels from (I live in Europe). The dealer hasn't replied yet after querying them for the third time, thus I'm wondering what my alternatives are (initially I thought it'd be better to get them from BMW).

Any suggestions/recommendations would be very welcome.

Thank you!

[.BMW.]

If you like 18" OEM winter wheels or complete winter wheel and tire sets, check this page for great prices: leebmann24.de

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by charpour

Any suggestions/recommendations would be very welcome.

Thank you!

For the size, it never costs to go "one down" as you will get better results with "less tire" surface.
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...sp?techid=126&

You will never get an agreement on run flats vs. non run flats, matter of personal preference for each owner. I myself prefer ride and handling of non run flats, to me, no contest. But for my winter tire, I decided to stick with run flats simply due to extreme cold where I live. Not having an option to safely get to the service center didn't look appealing in that scenario.

As for brands, there's lots of great tires out there. From personal experience, I find these all great, with Nokian being by far my favorite.

1. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. (non run flat)
- by far the best grip on ice and snow, longest lasting, a bit loud on dry and wet.

2. Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D (run flat)
- great grip on snow and ice, great wet and dry performance, quietest of the 3 and hands down best "performance tire" if that's what you need, but also wears fastest.

3. Michelin X-ice (non run flat)
- Just solid performer all around.

Whatever you do, do not be one of "I will be just fine with all season tire" if you live in are where it snows a lot, the difference is staggering.

[NightWriter]

I went through this last year; 19"s might look slightly better, but 18"s will perform better and be more cost-effective. I got Sparco Trofeo wheels (silver finish) with Michelin X-Ice 3's, and am very happy with the package. Fully mounted and shipped via TireRack for around $1650.

They were amazingly sure-footed in the snow. They are also reasonably performant on dry pavement (which dedicated ice tires like Nokians tend to be not as good on).

[cfm56d7b]

Adding another winter tire with excellent performance to the list of recommended tires: Pirelli Sottozero. Worth considering if you are looking for RFT tires. I agree with the earlier suggestion to select RFT winter tires.

[BHK]

I put 18" non-rf Blizzaks on my E93 M3 last winter and found the performance to be excellent. I look forward to trying them on my 435i xdrive this winter.

[Blubaron79]

There are Run Flat winter tires. Pirelli Sottozeros are a great high performance winter tire. It's good at high speeds, and amazing in the snow.

[Eriphill]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

There are Run Flat winter tires. Pirelli Sottozeros are a great high performance winter tire. It's good at high speeds, and amazing in the snow.

I was just going to post and see if anyone had any experience with these tires so thanks! I don't want winter wheels and just want to swap tires and the only winter tire option for my stock setup (225/40/19 & 255/35/19) on Tirerack was the Pirelli Sottozero run flat and non run flats.

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by Eriphill

I was just going to post and see if anyone had any experience with these tires so thanks! I don't want winter wheels and just want to swap tires and the only winter tire option for my stock setup (225/40/19 & 255/35/19) on Tirerack was the Pirelli Sottozero run flat and non run flats.

They are an amazing tire.

Also: I used to do what you did with not having dedicated rims, and now that I do it's the best thing I ever did. Saves the summer wheels from winter grime, and also saves you money in the long run. I gotta set of 4 397 rims on eBay for $1,200.

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

For the size, it never costs to go "one down" as you will get better results with "less tire" surface.
http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...sp?techid=126&

You will never get an agreement on run flats vs. non run flats, matter of personal preference for each owner. I myself prefer ride and handling of non run flats, to me, no contest. But for my winter tire, I decided to stick with run flats simply due to extreme cold where I live. Not having an option to safely get to the service center didn't look appealing in that scenario.

As for brands, there's lots of great tires out there. From personal experience, I find these all great, with Nokian being by far my favorite.

1. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. (non run flat)
- by far the best grip on ice and snow, longest lasting, a bit loud on dry and wet.

2. Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D (run flat)
- great grip on snow and ice, great wet and dry performance, quietest of the 3 and hands down best "performance tire" if that's what you need, but also wears fastest.

3. Michelin X-ice (non run flat)
- Just solid performer all around.

Whatever you do, do not be one of "I will be just fine with all season tire" if you live in are where it snows a lot, the difference is staggering.

Hakkapeliitta R2 is available in a Runflat 225/50/17

[Eriphill]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

They are an amazing tire.

Also: I used to do what you did with not having dedicated rims, and now that I do it's the best thing I ever did. Saves the summer wheels from winter grime, and also saves you money in the long run. I gotta set of 4 397 rims on eBay for $1,200.

Did you have the Pirelli Sottozero`s in 19`s? Just checked with my local BMW dealer and then Tirerack and they`re equally pricey from both. Debating on getting a smaller sized wheel as a dedicated snow rim like you said.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by AlpineX

Hakkapeliitta R2 is available in a Runflat 225/50/17

Recently some sizes became available in run flat, yes, I was told that last winter, but didn't check which sizes exactly, thanks. Haven't made the call on my next set yet, but Nokian makes some crazy good winter tires.

[Blubaron79]

Originally Posted by Eriphill

Did you have the Pirelli Sottozero`s in 19`s? Just checked with my local BMW dealer and then Tirerack and they`re equally pricey from both. Debating on getting a smaller sized wheel as a dedicated snow rim like you said.

18s

[charpour]

Thank you all for your replies with suggestions on tyres, they've been very helpful.

However, I'm still unsure which 18' wheels to choose..
There's a local shop around with aftermarket wheels, among the brands are the following:

• MMS
• ANTERA
• SPARCO
• OZ
• OXIGIN
• TOORA
• MAK
• KORMETAL
• MILLE MIGLIA
• BSW
• TSW
• ARCASTING
• CARLSSON
• XTK
• ATOM RACE
• TEKNO
• XTREME
• RC RACING
• MSW
• CARMANI

As I'm totally unfamiliar with the quality of the different brands, I'd greatly appreciate it if someone has some familarity with any of the above and can share some experiences.

Thanks in advance

[cfm56d7b]

There are so many wheels to choose from. It's a personal choice. My suggestion would be to get BMW 18" 400M Style wheels for the winter.