Just bought an M6 Gran Coupe
Discussion
monthefish said:
Finally got my winter wheels and tyres on the car!
What an epic task it was!! (apologies for the long winded post, but thought it might help others considering doing similar)
I’m in the position where I now have to do some regular big journeys in the M6GC, and these journeys are essential (and not journeys that could be put off/postponed if the weather was inclement), so winter tyres are essential here in the West Highlands of Scotland.
I considered downsizing to 19”s but I wasn’t entirely sure whether they’d fit over the M brakes and didn’t want to take the risk, so I stuck with 20”s in the factory-issue 265/35/20 and 295/30/20 sizes.
The first struggle was finding decent winter tyres (with good reviews) in the appropriate sizes – not easy. Especially hard to find matching tyres in the different (front to rear) sizes.
Finally found Continental Conti Winter Contact TS 860 S on Camskill (£618.60 for 2x rears, £470.50 for the 2xfronts).
The next bit was buying the wheels (as I’ll be swapping back onto summers in spring, and then back again next winter, so a second set of wheels made sense.)
I initially ordered Vossen VFS-1 from https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/ for £2,744 but shortly after placing the order (which said they were in stock) I got an email saying they were out of stock and would take months to come in
).
So I opted for ISPIRI FFR1 instead, again from Wheelbase for £1,494 (quite a bit cheaper than the Vossen and equally as nice IMHO)
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Wheelbase alloys were very good to deal with, and their orders have a fitment guarantee….but if you read the small print, you have to test fit them to your vehicle BEFORE putting the tyres on. Not ideal, as you’ll only properly be able to check wheel/tyre fitment (1) with tyres in place and (2) the ability to turn the steering to check lock-to-lock.
Next hurdle – TMPS valves. Each wheel on the M6GC has its individual TMPS valve with its own code that send pressure and temperature information to the car’s computer. Without this functionality, the vehicle would fail an MOT. I also really like the ability to know your tyre temperatures on a vehicle as powerful as the M6 GC.
As I’d be swapping wheels on and off, it would be a nightmare having to reconfigure the computer every 6 months, so I needed to get my existing valves ‘cloned’. Fortunately, Kwik Fit offer such a service (https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tpms), but charge heftily for the privilege at £271.84.
As is the norm these days, very few tyre garages will fit customers own supplied tyres (even brand new with labels on), and this included the Kwik Fit branch who were supplying the valves, but wouldn’t fit the tyres for me.
I was happy to pay whatever the cost was for their time and resources, but most garages flat refuse these days (even though this particular job is technically easier than a normal tyre change job, as there was no stripping or disposal of any old tyres). Anyway, managed to find a local indy that was up for doing it.
So after getting the tyres, wheels & valves assembled and fitted to the car, on getting home I noticed things didn’t look quite right, and upon further examination I spotted they’d fitted the two wider rear wheels on one side of the car (and the two narrower fronts on the other side).
Weirdly, despite this they’d somehow managed to get the tyres correct (265 on the front, 295 on the rear).
So had to go back to the tyre place, and the guy’s response was that ‘no-one told him the fronts and rears wheels were different sizes’ (the boxes had the sizes on them, and even the boxes themselves were slightly different sizes). I asked him how he’d managed to get the tyres in the right places, and he said it was luck!!
I think his reaction was more out of embarrassment, as he’s a good guy otherwise, and he sorted it fairly quickly (although not an easy task, as the position-specific valves also had to be swapped over. What a ball-ache).
Anyway, all's well that ends well, and there was another bonus still to come:
Interestingly, the new wheels are actually quite a bit lighter than the standard wheels, saving an impressive 11.8Kg in total.
The full wheel/tyre assembly of the standard (433M wheels) as weighed is:
Front 27.3Kg
Rear 28.5Kg
The new wheels/tyres are:
Front 23.9Kg
Rear 26Kg
So, in summary, it was an epic journey but well worth it, as the day after they were fitted, this happened - actual snow!!
Good lord that's a mission and a half but hopefully just in time as you say. The new wheels look OK, I'm not a big fan of black or grey wheels but for winter months it makes sense. I managed to get a set of BMW 19's last year for mine (they fit fine) with winter tyres for an absolute bargain price but they do make it look like a 640dWhat an epic task it was!! (apologies for the long winded post, but thought it might help others considering doing similar)
I’m in the position where I now have to do some regular big journeys in the M6GC, and these journeys are essential (and not journeys that could be put off/postponed if the weather was inclement), so winter tyres are essential here in the West Highlands of Scotland.
I considered downsizing to 19”s but I wasn’t entirely sure whether they’d fit over the M brakes and didn’t want to take the risk, so I stuck with 20”s in the factory-issue 265/35/20 and 295/30/20 sizes.
The first struggle was finding decent winter tyres (with good reviews) in the appropriate sizes – not easy. Especially hard to find matching tyres in the different (front to rear) sizes.
Finally found Continental Conti Winter Contact TS 860 S on Camskill (£618.60 for 2x rears, £470.50 for the 2xfronts).
The next bit was buying the wheels (as I’ll be swapping back onto summers in spring, and then back again next winter, so a second set of wheels made sense.)
I initially ordered Vossen VFS-1 from https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/ for £2,744 but shortly after placing the order (which said they were in stock) I got an email saying they were out of stock and would take months to come in
).So I opted for ISPIRI FFR1 instead, again from Wheelbase for £1,494 (quite a bit cheaper than the Vossen and equally as nice IMHO)
Wheelbase alloys were very good to deal with, and their orders have a fitment guarantee….but if you read the small print, you have to test fit them to your vehicle BEFORE putting the tyres on. Not ideal, as you’ll only properly be able to check wheel/tyre fitment (1) with tyres in place and (2) the ability to turn the steering to check lock-to-lock.
Next hurdle – TMPS valves. Each wheel on the M6GC has its individual TMPS valve with its own code that send pressure and temperature information to the car’s computer. Without this functionality, the vehicle would fail an MOT. I also really like the ability to know your tyre temperatures on a vehicle as powerful as the M6 GC.
As I’d be swapping wheels on and off, it would be a nightmare having to reconfigure the computer every 6 months, so I needed to get my existing valves ‘cloned’. Fortunately, Kwik Fit offer such a service (https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tpms), but charge heftily for the privilege at £271.84.
As is the norm these days, very few tyre garages will fit customers own supplied tyres (even brand new with labels on), and this included the Kwik Fit branch who were supplying the valves, but wouldn’t fit the tyres for me.
I was happy to pay whatever the cost was for their time and resources, but most garages flat refuse these days (even though this particular job is technically easier than a normal tyre change job, as there was no stripping or disposal of any old tyres). Anyway, managed to find a local indy that was up for doing it.
So after getting the tyres, wheels & valves assembled and fitted to the car, on getting home I noticed things didn’t look quite right, and upon further examination I spotted they’d fitted the two wider rear wheels on one side of the car (and the two narrower fronts on the other side).
Weirdly, despite this they’d somehow managed to get the tyres correct (265 on the front, 295 on the rear).
So had to go back to the tyre place, and the guy’s response was that ‘no-one told him the fronts and rears wheels were different sizes’
(the boxes had the sizes on them, and even the boxes themselves were slightly different sizes). I asked him how he’d managed to get the tyres in the right places, and he said it was luck!!I think his reaction was more out of embarrassment, as he’s a good guy otherwise, and he sorted it fairly quickly (although not an easy task, as the position-specific valves also had to be swapped over. What a ball-ache).
Anyway, all's well that ends well, and there was another bonus still to come:
Interestingly, the new wheels are actually quite a bit lighter than the standard wheels, saving an impressive 11.8Kg in total.
The full wheel/tyre assembly of the standard (433M wheels) as weighed is:
Front 27.3Kg
Rear 28.5Kg
The new wheels/tyres are:
Front 23.9Kg
Rear 26Kg
So, in summary, it was an epic journey but well worth it, as the day after they were fitted, this happened - actual snow!!
Very useful write up tho thanks for sharing
Stever said:
Good lord that's a mission and a half but hopefully just in time as you say. The new wheels look OK, I'm not a big fan of black or grey wheels but for winter months it makes sense. I managed to get a set of BMW 19's last year for mine (they fit fine) with winter tyres for an absolute bargain price but they do make it look like a 640d
Very useful write up tho thanks for sharing
Thanks Stever.Very useful write up tho thanks for sharing
Yes I had no idea it would be so tricky but it was worth it in the end - this was a screenshot from the traffic camera on my route the day after I had them fitted:
(this is a main arterial A road )
and this happened a bit further up the same road...
(Now I've no idea what happened here, but I'd put good money on the conditions playing a big part, and I'd personally further wager that if they'd been on winter tyres the accident may not have happened)
RichardM5 said:
Even with a full OEM winter setup and a load of extra weight in the boot, I found the M6 GC pretty lively in the snow. Almost impossible to reverse on any sort of incline as there is no TC.
F10 M5 I had with winters was fine in the snow, could get anywhere. But then, I would never drive with TC on in the snow.Right you f
kers, annoyingly I've found this thread and I'm really going to need to stop seeing your damn stunning cars as you're not helping matters.
I'm going to need to decide soon-ish whether to extend my time with my existing 840i GC (which, if we're honest, should have really been called the new 6 GC as that's what it is....) or whether I have something a little more fun before we're all finally forced into electric cars. An M6 GC seems like the perfect move...
kers, annoyingly I've found this thread and I'm really going to need to stop seeing your damn stunning cars as you're not helping matters.I'm going to need to decide soon-ish whether to extend my time with my existing 840i GC (which, if we're honest, should have really been called the new 6 GC as that's what it is....) or whether I have something a little more fun before we're all finally forced into electric cars. An M6 GC seems like the perfect move...
Funk said:
Right you fkers, annoyingly I've found this thread and I'm really going to need to stop seeing your damn stunning cars as you're not helping matters.
I'm going to need to decide soon-ish whether to extend my time with my existing 840i GC (which, if we're honest, should have really been called the new 6 GC as that's what it is....) or whether I have something a little more fun before we're all finally forced into electric cars. An M6 GC seems like the perfect move...
I'm a year into ownership of an M6 GC and it's the best car I've ever had.kers, annoyingly I've found this thread and I'm really going to need to stop seeing your damn stunning cars as you're not helping matters.I'm going to need to decide soon-ish whether to extend my time with my existing 840i GC (which, if we're honest, should have really been called the new 6 GC as that's what it is....) or whether I have something a little more fun before we're all finally forced into electric cars. An M6 GC seems like the perfect move...
(sorry, that's not really helping!!
)The only thing is, if you're coming from a more recent 8 series, maybe the older (relatively speaking) tech might feel like a backward step?
(personally, I'm not a fan of newer tech, and the backward rev counter of the 8er would drive me up the wall!)
monthefish said:
I'm a year into ownership of an M6 GC and it's the best car I've ever had.
(sorry, that's not really helping!! )
The only thing is, if you're coming from a more recent 8 series, maybe the older (relatively speaking) tech might feel like a backward step?
(personally, I'm not a fan of newer tech, and the backward rev counter of the 8er would drive me up the wall!)
There are a couple of things I've really come to like in the 8 - Android Auto being one of them and that's not available (easily) on the M6... Other than that my list is pretty short; I want heated seats, bluetooth at the very least and possibly heated wheel. Other than that, I'm pretty easy-going.(sorry, that's not really helping!!
)The only thing is, if you're coming from a more recent 8 series, maybe the older (relatively speaking) tech might feel like a backward step?
(personally, I'm not a fan of newer tech, and the backward rev counter of the 8er would drive me up the wall!)
Fwiw, I rather like the backwards rev-counter - it's quirky and a bit different although to be honest I usually have the display showing economy (that would probably be another sacrifice I'd have to make with the M6 too though!).
I am nearly a year into my ownership too, it is an absolutely fantastic car! It has all the gadgets(Carplay, heated everything etc) and goes like stink, what more could you ask for. OK, it doesn't sound the greatest but I can live with it, I unplugged the gadget that pumps fake sound into the cabin and all is well.
I would go for it.
I would go for it.
There is only one M6 non trade sales on PH at the moment and background doesn't look correct.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
Taita said:
There is only one M6 non trade sales on PH at the moment and background doesn't look correct.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
Not to mention it's an E63 not an F06!https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
RichardM5 said:
Taita said:
There is only one M6 non trade sales on PH at the moment and background doesn't look correct.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
Not to mention it's an E63 not an F06!https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12758764
Down with that sort of thing!
bmwmike said:
Thats lovely. GLWS! Can you post a link here, or no?
Glad you asked because the advert was automatically put in the 6 series section and not M6. https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12780848
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