Wheel Refurb Ideas
Discussion
Howdy all. The 125i is coming up for 7 years and 100k in my ownership, and I have decided to mark the occasion by spending a little bit of cash on it. A combination of an irritating slow puncture that means I have to put 7 - 8 PSI in the front left tyre every Sunday, and the frankly sorry state of the rest of the wheels is making me look into wheel refurbs. Planning on getting them done later in the month when it goes in for an oil service, but now I'm at the fun bit, which is choosing what finish to go for 
Car is a 2008 M-Sport in Titan Silver, and looks mostly like this:
Current wheels have obviously been badly refurbished in the past, as they look like this - this picture is a couple of years old and they haven't got any better:
The offending wheel with the leak in it looks like this:
So what colour do we think would work best - I'm not keen on Silver again (too dull) or Black (so two thousand and late), but was thinking of one of the BMW gunmetal finishes? So either Ferric Grey or - ideally - Shadow Chrome.
Anyone tried any of these finishes on an E82 and got any tips / ideas?
Car is a 2008 M-Sport in Titan Silver, and looks mostly like this:
Current wheels have obviously been badly refurbished in the past, as they look like this - this picture is a couple of years old and they haven't got any better:
The offending wheel with the leak in it looks like this:
So what colour do we think would work best - I'm not keen on Silver again (too dull) or Black (so two thousand and late), but was thinking of one of the BMW gunmetal finishes? So either Ferric Grey or - ideally - Shadow Chrome.
Anyone tried any of these finishes on an E82 and got any tips / ideas?
g3org3y said:
Boom boom pow! 
Is Shadow Chrome the OE finish on the E39 M5 alloys?
Couldn't resist a South Park reference Is Shadow Chrome the OE finish on the E39 M5 alloys?
Yes they are, and it was ogling my friends "new" Titan Silver E39 M5 that kicked this whole conversation off
Thanks for all your suggestions though folks, much food for thought, I think so far I've decided:
Orbit Grey - Looks stunning on the Shadow Editions M140i's, not 100% sure if they won't look too dark without the Shadow Edition "Highlights"? I have the BMW Performance Grille fitted, but the rest is as standard. Possible on this one.
Shadow Chrome - still my favourite BMW finish, however a bit of digging suggests they may be a pain to keep looking good and I'm not 100% sure who they'd work on the E8x generation, probable second choice I'd say so far.
Ferric Grey / Gunmetal - I'd say this is in pole position so far, that E39 Dan posted earlier in the thread looks stunning, and just the finish I am looking for. Will hide break dust well as mentioned, and look similar to the finish on the E82 Sport Plus runout models.
Going to call my guy later on as the TPS has just triggered again so the leak is getting worse, will hopefully get it in early next week, so I just have a couple of quick questions:
1) What finish came on the standard M140i (pre Shadow Edition)? As I've found this on babybmw, which looks about perfect:
https://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=74&a...
2) I get this questions is "how long is a piece of string", but is it worth budgeting for the fact the leak may be unfixeable and I'll need a new alloy?
Court_S said:
Pretty sure the none Shadow Edition cars were supplied with Ferric Grey II wheels; that was the colour for my wing mirror and canards. The 35i cars had Ferric Grey which is a different paint code.
Perfect, thank you for that Car is booked in for the 14th for a service and the wheel refurb. Just need to tell the chap what colour I want, he will pick the car up, drop off a courtesy car, then go get the work done and bring it back. Ferric Grey is currently leading based on what I've seen, but still lots of pics out there to look at
TheGinger1 said:
Have you checked whether it is a slow puncture or a crack before going too far down this route? The only reason I ask is I had a very slow puncture on (I think) the same style rim on my E91 330i and it turned out to be a cracked rim rather than a puncture.
Must admit that possibility is in the back of my mind. That particular wheel has never been great at keeping air in no matter what tyre is on it, so I am half expecting a call to say I need a new wheel. Luckily the guy I use is pretty flexible, so if there is one in a local scrappy with a decent rim on it I expect he'll fit that for a decent price. Needs fixed one way or the other, I'm just taking the refurb and new look as a bonus. And Dan, your sales job is complete. I am going for Ferric Grey II
Just thought I'd give up a little update, the car was picked up this morning to get taken for a service and sort the wheels out. Service was done with nothing additional to report (incredible considering the 156k on the clock), then it was taken to get the wheels tackled. Initial impressions suggest that two were quite badly buckled, and another was on it's way, so they are getting straightened out before refinishing. No cracks or anything else to worry about, just the toll of a lot of miles on badly potholed roads.
Wheels are now being dipped, then I have sent pictures of a Ferric Grey II wheel from an M240i, and the paint code (B55) which will be applied afterwards. Probably won't get the car back until the end of the week, but in the meantime I have a rather pleasant SLK 200 to smoke around in. I'm still trying to figure out where the golf clubs go, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Wheels are now being dipped, then I have sent pictures of a Ferric Grey II wheel from an M240i, and the paint code (B55) which will be applied afterwards. Probably won't get the car back until the end of the week, but in the meantime I have a rather pleasant SLK 200 to smoke around in. I'm still trying to figure out where the golf clubs go, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Had the car dropped off on Friday night just before the football, thought I'd share the result, as in all honesty I am over the moon with it. It is proving quite challenging to get decent pictures of the finish given the number of different shades it goes through depending on the light. I went with Ferric Grey II, which looks to have brought the car bang up to date and goes well with the M-Performance grille.
With mild sunlight hitting them:
Other side in the shade:
Close up in the sun:
And the finish itself - still cannot believe they are the same wheels considering the state they went in:
Price was a little more than I was expecting (closer to £150 a wheel), however considering the work they had to do (strip the old ones, straighten them out then refinish, new centre caps and M badges), the level to which it's been done (both sides refinished, not just the bit you can see), and how unstressful the entire process was (no removing wheels or sorting out a spare set, just a courtesy car for the duration) I still feel like it was totally worth it.
I've had more than a few positive comments - even from non-Petrolheads - and even the wife is happy, so all good.
Just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions and advice over the thread, it's made an occasionally bewildering process far easier
With mild sunlight hitting them:
Other side in the shade:
Close up in the sun:
And the finish itself - still cannot believe they are the same wheels considering the state they went in:
Price was a little more than I was expecting (closer to £150 a wheel), however considering the work they had to do (strip the old ones, straighten them out then refinish, new centre caps and M badges), the level to which it's been done (both sides refinished, not just the bit you can see), and how unstressful the entire process was (no removing wheels or sorting out a spare set, just a courtesy car for the duration) I still feel like it was totally worth it.
I've had more than a few positive comments - even from non-Petrolheads - and even the wife is happy, so all good.
Just wanted to thank you all for the suggestions and advice over the thread, it's made an occasionally bewildering process far easier
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