Discussion
I don't see why everyone opts for a smaller rim for the winters, I know they might work slightly better being more narrow but they look terrible for around a quarter of the year.
I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
gangzoom said:
Love how your tidying the car up...had my 335i now for coming up to 3 years, by far the best car I've owned (despite the reliability concerns). Throw on a few mods and it's like a mini M car...but without the unwanted attention or running costs 
That looks awesome - what wheels are they if you don't mind me asking?a 335i is definately on the cards over the next few years.
Leather came up brilliant there OP going to look into this myself
ImDesigner said:
philmots said:
I don't see why everyone opts for a smaller rim for the winters
Cheaper tyres.The only time you'd start to benefit from cheaper tyres us when you get the second set, and after one winter my rears are still like new!
rb5er said:
philmots said:
I don't see why everyone opts for a smaller rim for the winters
When you wake up in the morning with 10 inches of snow all around you can just swap the rims over yourself in about 15 minutes. That way you are not wearing winter tyres if it ends up not snowing.I would say the cost of tyres, I opted for 18" winter wheels and the tyres were expensive and hard to find (the 18" do look good however)
philmots said:
I don't see why everyone opts for a smaller rim for the winters, I know they might work slightly better being more narrow but they look terrible for around a quarter of the year.
I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
Because genuine 19" BMW wheels are £500 each, and you don't want to ruin expensive aftermarket ones either, especially in the salt (split rim/nuts/etc), and can you easily see all the kerbs when there's lots of snow around? If you have 17's on you have no fear of kerbing or damaging them really, plus much more forgiving sidewall.I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
My summer sidewall is not ideal
stuart-b said:
philmots said:
I don't see why everyone opts for a smaller rim for the winters, I know they might work slightly better being more narrow but they look terrible for around a quarter of the year.
I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
Because genuine 19" BMW wheels are £500 each, and you don't want to ruin expensive aftermarket ones either, especially in the salt (split rim/nuts/etc), and can you easily see all the kerbs when there's lots of snow around? If you have 17's on you have no fear of kerbing or damaging them really, plus much more forgiving sidewall.I bought winter tyres for my 335d in the proper size to fit the standard rim, the car didn't look any different and probably still worked out cheaper than buying new and smaller wheels and tyres.
My summer sidewall is not ideal
cerb4.5lee said:
Great work on the car again & a fantastic result with the side bolster I am enjoying following your thread.
Thankyou, I'm starting to get things ticked off the list now. That colour was a pain to get right though, had to add a fair bit of toner to get a good match. Hows the 330 treating you?gangzoom said:
Love how your tidying the car up...had my 335i now for coming up to 3 years, by far the best car I've owned (despite the reliability concerns). Throw on a few mods and it's like a mini M car...but without the unwanted attention or running costs
Nice colour and wheels, I know what you mean. Although these can have their issues, I think they're still much cheaper to run than an M cardunny83 said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Great work on the car again & a fantastic result with the side bolster I am enjoying following your thread.
Thankyou, I'm starting to get things ticked off the list now. That colour was a pain to get right though, had to add a fair bit of toner to get a good match. Hows the 330 treating you?
it not exactly a flying machine but it does go well if you keep the revs up & I am very impressed with the engines smoothness & I think its a cracking allrounder.Cheers
Hello everyone, small update. Nothing too drastic, just been trying to keep her in top condition.
When I bought the car it was a nice bonus that it came with two brand new rear alloys. The danger of this was that it may make the front's look a bit tired. Well someone made sure that would be the case by doing a half arsed cheap refurb on the outer face at some point and leaving the insides to corrode
Just how cheap and lazy was this "refurb"???
Overspray on the badges and valves
Hard to capture but lots of drips in the paint...
And the insides left to rot!
I promised myself when I changed to my winters that I would sort the MV's before they went back on. So the search for a decent wheel refurbisher was on. Initially one name seemed to keep coming up as the place to go, however the good posts were quite dated and more recent work has been getting slated over on Cutters. This gave me doubts, then another place much closer was getting good reviews on here. So I dropped them off to Platinum Alloy Wheel Solutions in Swindon.
They came back better than new, perfect finish, fast turn around and cheaper than a few I tried
After a polish and four coats of FK1000p they're tucked away ready to go when the weather improves. I went with genuine badges from BMW to finish them off.
Something else that has been bugging me lately. The side repeaters are looking dull with a yellow tinge to them. Although that could be polished out I'm sure, the seals had perished and were falling away also.
So a quick call to BMW Ridgeway.....I love new parts
That orange bulb had to go so I ordered some Silvatech repeater bulbs. Cost a little more but they are road leagal as they still flash a bright amber.
Old ones were a bit mankey
There, OCD soothed slightly for today
Cheers guys
When I bought the car it was a nice bonus that it came with two brand new rear alloys. The danger of this was that it may make the front's look a bit tired. Well someone made sure that would be the case by doing a half arsed cheap refurb on the outer face at some point and leaving the insides to corrode
Just how cheap and lazy was this "refurb"???
Overspray on the badges and valves
Hard to capture but lots of drips in the paint...
And the insides left to rot!
I promised myself when I changed to my winters that I would sort the MV's before they went back on. So the search for a decent wheel refurbisher was on. Initially one name seemed to keep coming up as the place to go, however the good posts were quite dated and more recent work has been getting slated over on Cutters. This gave me doubts, then another place much closer was getting good reviews on here. So I dropped them off to Platinum Alloy Wheel Solutions in Swindon.
They came back better than new, perfect finish, fast turn around and cheaper than a few I tried
After a polish and four coats of FK1000p they're tucked away ready to go when the weather improves. I went with genuine badges from BMW to finish them off.
Something else that has been bugging me lately. The side repeaters are looking dull with a yellow tinge to them. Although that could be polished out I'm sure, the seals had perished and were falling away also.
So a quick call to BMW Ridgeway.....I love new parts
That orange bulb had to go so I ordered some Silvatech repeater bulbs. Cost a little more but they are road leagal as they still flash a bright amber.
Old ones were a bit mankey
There, OCD soothed slightly for today
Cheers guys
gangzoom said:
Love how your tidying the car up...had my 335i now for coming up to 3 years, by far the best car I've owned (despite the reliability concerns). Throw on a few mods and it's like a mini M car...but without the unwanted attention or running costs
Is it just me or are the front tyres the wrong way round?Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff