Opinions for aftermarket wheels Sapphire Black M4

[Chris N]

As the title suggests, I am looking for opinions...I'm not overly creative so I'm hoping some of the design masters can chime in.

I have a 2015 Sapphire black M4 that I plan to keep for some time. It came with black/silver 437 wheels which I added 12mm spacers to for a better overall appearance. I also added MP adjustable sleeve kip to adjust the fender gap. Tint, reflector delete, color coded side emblem, MP front splitter, MP rear difusser also installed.

Now I'm looking for summer wheels to finish personalizing the car. I have looked at almost every photo on this website. I like some of the outcomes, but others seem to be borderline impracticable and too ostentatious for me. I desire a well balanced appearance and color without sacrificing summertime performance or too much of a ride impact.

Direction I think I'm headed:
- 20" because they seem to have a better overall appearance (9.5 w front / 10.5 w rear)
- Blacked out or drastically toned down color/finish. Considering some of the black chrome, smoked clear brushed, mat black, dual tone finishes.
- Possibly a multi-piece wheel for added color, multi color/finish options with a nice concave look.
- Manufacturers being considered: BBS F1-R (bit expensive), HRE (P101 (still a bit expensive), Forgeline (VX1R, VX3C, DE3C, a lot of people are picking the GA1R)

Concerns:
- How much will the ride be sacrificed with a 20" wheel? This would be a summer only set in Ohio. Car is only driven about 5K miles annually.
- I've read that the black murdered look is "played out". Being a child of the 80s, I grew up on the "Road Warrior" look, so I gravitate in that direction. And, the M4 just looks plain "bad ass" in all black. However, I also don't want to lose the beauty and details of a high quality wheel...I don't want the wheels to take over the look of the car either.
- I think that sometimes brighter silver or some of the middle grey colors make a black M4 look a little like a cheaper consumer's car.
- Are there any drawbacks to running a 3 piece wheel? Can the OEM TPMS sensor be mounted in it?

I'm not sure how to post pictures, but I assume most people here know what my car looks like.

Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.

[THEROK]

My $.23

While the nomenclature "murdered out" is played out, the look is timeless. It's my favorite color combo. Do you.

You're on the right path considering the BBS, Forgeline and HRE brands. FI-Rs are hands down the best made wheels on Earth, but I'm not into the look. Forgeline is a serious, non-instagrammy wheel shop. HRE is pricing themselves out of the market with BBS and Forgeline offering better engineered wheels or better value, respectively.

20s look too good to pass up for 19s, but 19s do work if they're flat faced a la FI-Rs.

I love these new AL203 Forgelines:



But I'm waiting for BBS to release an all black BBS LM 20x9.5, 20x10.5 with F8X friendly offsets. Crossing fingers.

[FatRear08]

I recently put on Signature SV104’s in their brushed black tinted finish. Honestly to me it’s the best of both worlds. In different lighting, the wheels can appear darker or a little lighter depending on the angle. I was back and forth for a while on the finish I wanted, but glad now I decided on them.

[Chris N]

FatRear08,

I've also been eyeing that finish. It seems that it doesn't photograph well. Sometimes it looks too light to me, other times it's about right. Yours looks great.

[FatRear08]

Thank you. Honestly, the pictures don’t do the finish justice.

[HRE_Wheels]

Originally Posted by Chris N

Direction I think I'm headed:
- 20" because they seems to have a better overall appearance (9.5 w front / 10.5 w rear)
I would agree with this, though I would recommend you use an 11" rear, everyone else is, might as well get in on the fun

- Blacked out or drastically toned down color/finish. Considering some of the black chrome, smoked clear brushed, mat black, dual tone finishes.
Aside from the obvious choices of Gloss Black or Satin Black, I think you may be interested in some of our Brushed finishes and even some of our Polished finishes possibly. We have a finish called Brushed Dark Clear, and that 'Dark Clear' clear coat we use can also be applied to a Polished wheel to form Polished Dark Clear. We can also switch it up and not do a gloss clear coat and use instead a satin clear coat to create Frozen Polished Dark clear, or the Satin version of Brushed Dark Clear, Brushed Titanium. We have over 80 finishes available, most certainly there's a choice in here for you. First I want to show you some options though, starting with a P101 in Brushed Dark Clear thanks to dubsesd and his gorgeous Atlantis Blue M3.









Here's an example of Brushed Titanium:






Here's an example of our Polished Dark Clear:


And our Frozen Polished Dark Clear:




- Possibly a multi-piece wheel for added color, multi color/finish options with a nice concave look.
If you're looking for a multi-piece version of the P101, we've got it!
Here's our S101 Wheel:








- Manufacturers being considered: BBS F1-R (bit expensive), HRE (P101 (still a bit expensive), Forgeline (VX1R, VX3C, DE3C, a lot of people are picking the GA1R)

Concerns:
- How much will the ride be sacrificed with a 20" wheel? This would be a summer only set in Ohio. Car is only driven about 5K miles annually.
- I've read that the black murdered look is "played out". Being a child of the 80s, I grew up on the "Road Warrior" look, so I gravitate in that direction. And, the M4 just looks plain "bad ass" in all black. However, I also don't want to lose the beauty and details of a high quality wheel...I don't want the wheels to take over the look of the car either.
- I think that sometimes brighter silver or some of the middle grey colors make a black M4 look a little like a cheaper consumer's car.
- Are there any drawbacks to running a 3 piece wheel? Can the OEM TPMS sensor be mounted in it?

I'm not sure how to post pictures, but I assume most people here know what my car looks like.

Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.

As long as you're sticking with a high quality tire, you should be fine with using 20" wheels. I would recommend using the Michelin tires of your choice, I've always had fantastic experiences with Michelin tires and their level of comfort and performance. My dealer out of Columbus says that HRE wheels should be required in Ohio with the road conditions you have out there, many many wheel sets get bent and cracked if they aren't up to snuff, so I'm glad you're at least looking at high quality wheel options and nothing made cheaply.

Some feel the murdered out look is played out, I would agree that I feel black on black tends to look too monotone and boring, so I would break it up a bit and give the wheels some contrast. If you're going to spend your hard earned bucks on a high quality wheel set, it should be in a finish that pops so that everyone can see. Brushed Dark Clear or a Polished Dark Clear finish easily does that.

Are there any drawbacks to using a 3-piece wheel? Yes, 3-piece wheels are slightly heavier than their 1-piece variants. So the S101 will weigh slightly more than the P101. If you're interested to know the exact weight differences, PM me and I can go over that with you. The benefit of having a 3-piece wheels is the huge variability in the options of sizing and width and offsets which 1-piece wheels can't achieve. Not just that but it's certainly more fun being able to pick a contrasting lip color against the center finish. Yes OEM TPMS can be used, no issues there for any of our wheels.

I'm honored that you would consider HRE Wheels as your potential option, hopefully we can make that a reality for you

[Chris N]

Originally Posted by HRE_Wheels

As long as you're sticking with a high quality tire, you should be fine with using 20" wheels. I would recommend using the Michelin tires of your choice, I've always had fantastic experiences with Michelin tires and their level of comfort and performance. My dealer out of Columbus says that HRE wheels should be required in Ohio with the road conditions you have out there, many many wheel sets get bent and cracked if they aren't up to snuff, so I'm glad you're at least looking at high quality wheel options and nothing made cheaply.

Some feel the murdered out look is played out, I would agree that I feel black on black tends to look too monotone and boring, so I would break it up a bit and give the wheels some contrast. If you're going to spend your hard earned bucks on a high quality wheel set, it should be in a finish that pops so that everyone can see. Brushed Dark Clear or a Polished Dark Clear finish easily does that.

Are there any drawbacks to using a 3-piece wheel? Yes, 3-piece wheels are slightly heavier than their 1-piece variants. So the S101 will weigh slightly more than the P101. If you're interested to know the exact weight differences, PM me and I can go over that with you. The benefit of having a 3-piece wheels is the huge variability in the options of sizing and width and offsets which 1-piece wheels can't achieve. Not just that but it's certainly more fun being able to pick a contrasting lip color against the center finish. Yes OEM TPMS can be used, no issues there for any of our wheels.

I'm definitely okay with 11" rear as long as it is flush with absolutely no rubbing.

Regarding a 3-piece wheel, any opinions on a flat black center with a brushed dark clear rim? The industrial purpose-built track look is pretty enticing.

[HRE_Wheels]

Originally Posted by Chris N

I'm definitely okay with 11" rear as long as it is flush with absolutely no rubbing.

Regarding a 3-piece wheel, any opinions on a flat black center with a brushed dark clear rim? The industrial purpose-built track look is pretty enticing.

No need to worry about rubbing, we don't like that either, and never would suggest a set up that causes rubbing. Do you like dubsesd's fitment by chance? If so then we can certainly replicate the same fitment on any wheel style we have.

Yes absolutely we can certainly accommodate a 3-piece wheel with a Satin Black Center and the rim parts (barrels), being Brushed Dark Clear. Any one of our 80 different finishes can be applied on the inner barrel, outer barrel or the center/face of the wheel. If your wheel has visible hardware like the S101 does, you'll even have the choice of colors to select on that, or just the standard which is stainless steel.

I have a few examples of customers who did something very similar with our HRE S204 Wheel. Satin Black Centers with Brushed Dark Clear Outers:

[THEROK]

Originally Posted by HRE_Wheels

No need to worry about rubbing, we don't like that either, and never would suggest a set up that causes rubbing.

Have you guys actually ever checked the upper section of the inner rear fender liner on a lowered F8X w/ the specs most aftermarket vendors recommend?

For example, the 20s archetype:

Front 20x9.5 et20
Rear 20x11 et40
265/30, 295/30

I have yet to see one that doesn't show wear. It may not make noise, but it doesn't mean it doesn't rub.

[HRE_Wheels]

Originally Posted by THEROK

Have you guys actually ever checked the upper section of the inner rear fender liner on a lowered F8X w/ the specs most aftermarket vendors recommend?

For example, the 20s archetype:

Front 20x9.5 et20
Rear 20x11 et40
265/30, 295/30

I have yet to see one that doesn't show wear. It may not make noise, but it doesn't mean it doesn't rub.

With a 295 rear tire, we actually use a slightly different offset, just slightly more aggressive than ET40 so that may give us more clearance.

I haven't heard any reports of the inside fender liner rubbing though. We're very good with this because every time a new vehicle is released, we gain access to the vehicle and completely 3D-Scan the entire underside of the vehicle and the fender wells to ensure that digitally we can confirm a fitment. This is substantially better than what most the industry does and what we've done in the past which was to take down measurements by hand. 3-D Scanning the car allows us to be millimeter perfect with the fitment.

[THEROK]

Originally Posted by HRE_Wheels

With a 295 rear tire, we actually use a slightly different offset, just slightly more aggressive than ET40 so that may give us more clearance.

I haven't heard any reports of the inside fender liner rubbing though. We're very good with this because every time a new vehicle is released, we gain access to the vehicle and completely 3D-Scan the entire underside of the vehicle and the fender wells to ensure that digitally we can confirm a fitment. This is substantially better than what most the industry does and what we've done in the past which was to take down measurements by hand. 3-D Scanning the car allows us to be millimeter perfect with the fitment.

Do you guys actually account for height and camber variability and visually map this to say the estimated compression range? Thanks.

[HRE_Wheels]

Originally Posted by THEROK

Do you guys actually account for height and camber variability and visually map this to say the estimated compression range? Thanks.

With ride height yes because that directly affects the camber level too since naturally you're going to get some negative camber with a lowered car. There are a few cars in the system that I know we have 2 fitments for, a stock ride height version and a lowered version, with offsets slightly more aggressive for the lowered car version since negative camber will give you some extra room. So yes we can account for this to a certain degree, but not all cases are exactly the same.

[THEROK]

Originally Posted by HRE_Wheels

With ride height yes because that directly affects the camber level too since naturally you're going to get some negative camber with a lowered car. There are a few cars in the system that I know we have 2 fitments for, a stock ride height version and a lowered version, with offsets slightly more aggressive for the lowered car version since negative camber will give you some extra room. So yes we can account for this to a certain degree, but not all cases are exactly the same.

Thanks for sharing info and being a forum sponsor. I still have my doubts about zero rubbing on a lowered F8X on bigger custom/aftermarket wheels & tires, but hey, look good, feel good.

The real test is driving 110S at 80-90mph. 91E has some serious ones as well. Wicked compression!

[HRE_Wheels]

Originally Posted by THEROK

Thanks for sharing info and being a forum sponsor. I still have my doubts about zero rubbing on a lowered F8X on bigger custom/aftermarket wheels & tires, but hey, look good, feel good.

The real test is driving 110S at 80-90mph. 91E has some serious ones as well. Wicked compression!

Sure thing, happy to help

Feel free to ask other HRE customers if they're rubbing with their set up. Honestly I haven't had a single customer tell me they're having rubbing issues with a fitment that HRE recommended.

I know that the 91E is for sure a good test for rubbing, but the most interesting test is for sure this one (On HRE's of course, RS101M's to be exact in Satin Black).

Honestly I could watch that all day, that thing moves like no other

[Signature Wheel BMW]

Hello. We've done close to 200 sets for the M3/4 platform in the past 2yrs. We treat every customer uniquely to understand their suspension setup, brakes, tire brand/size, and desired usage of our wheels. Almost no 2 sets are exactly a canned fitment and color. Let us know if we can help you choose the right fitment, even if you're not planning to join #signaturenation

We're here to help the wheel community, earning your business is a bonus but talking wheels is our passion.

Signature, wheels partners for life.

[Chris N]

Originally Posted by Signature Wheel BMW

Hello. We've done close to 200 sets for the M3/4 platform in the past 2yrs. We treat every customer uniquely to understand their suspension setup, brakes, tire brand/size, and desired usage of our wheels. Almost no 2 sets are exactly a canned fitment and color. Let us know if we can help you choose the right fitment, even if you're not planning to join #signaturenation

We're here to help the wheel community, earning your business is a bonus but talking wheels is our passion.

Signature, wheels partners for life.

Rear wheel dish looks great in this photo.

[Sales@wheelsdc.com]

I prefer grey-ish whel finish with black cars