winter wheels?

[mccoj3]

just picked up an M4 and wondering a bit about winter wheel setups. i'm new to BMW ownership [had an audi] so please bear with me if I'm not using the appropriate lingo...

this has the 19 OEM wheels, from what ive read its beneficial to scale down for winter wheel/tire. so without debating the merits of that, i'd like to go to 18in wheels.

so my s4 had some 245/40 alpin PA3 mounted on 18in breyton gts-av wheels that i've kept. i bought them used from a guy with an S5; the offset is not marked on the wheel, nor is the width [they're either 8in or 8.5in]. i spoke with IND performance up here in chicago and he said he thinks this set up is too narrow. local bmw dealer says it should be fine, but with him we were debating tire size, not the wheel which clearly offsets play a factor.

bit confused, clearly dont want to damage or cause warranty issues, mainly want to be safe and maintain relative performance. it's not like im trying to drift this thing in the winter, just need to get A to B safely and not rub suspension parts or look like its wearing spares.

so my question[s] are:

1 does the setup i had on my S4 not fit this application, so just suck it up and sell them? worth noting the summer wheels are both the same at 255 / 35 R19.

2 if i went with these, would i just require a massive spacer?

3 for those of you in chicago area, given our climate what tire do you recommend? been leaning towards some blizzak lm32

4 tirerack mentions 245/45 instead of 255/40 as a tire choice. any opinion if this is a better size? ive read narrower winter tires perform better.

5 if i go with the OEM recommended 18x8.5, can i do those for all 4 with a spacer on the rears so that way i can rotate tires freely each year? [vs the front/rear 8.5 v 9 width on the staggered set up]

lot of moving parts in my question, but i'm sure after reading these posts that someone[s] have the answer. thanks in advance!

[Brennan ///M4]

1. Don't Audis run a 5x112 bolt pattern? If so, you're out of luck without running adapters. If they are 5x120, or you're ok running adapters, then your main concern is whether or not they'll fit over the brake calipers in the front. A lot of 18" wheels will rub, and there's not really any good way to tell without trying them on. The 18" BBS SR rims do fit, and are a pretty popular choice.

2. Assuming they fit, then this really depends on the offest. There are plenty of offset calculators online that can show you how they'll fit compared to stock (http://www.willtheyfit.com/ is a good one, google how to measure offset if you don't know what yours are).

3. I'm not in Chicago, but our winters are probably comparable. I'm running LM-32s this year and so far they've been pretty solid, but they are a still performance winter tire so the grip isn't what it could be in rough weather. I'll be going back to Nokians when these are done.

4. Narrower tires do help cut through snow better, but both tires are close enough that it's unlikely to make a noticeable difference.

5. No problem at all running a square (all 4 corners the same size) setup, plenty of us do. Personally I'm running 255/35R19 on 19x8.5 all around. You won't be able to put the power down off the line as well with the narrower tires in the back, but that really shouldn't be much of a concern in the middle of winter anyway.

You should check out the wheels forum (where I'm sure this post will get moved to shortly), there's plenty of information on all of this there.

[mccoj3]

thanks. i'm pretty new to this with the Audi being my first German car... bolts are the 112s so it's probably just easier for me to sell these and get ones that properly fit.

regarding running a square setup, are those your winter tires and do you not have spacers?

so are wheels like BBS and VMR set up more specifically for BMWs? I'd rather not deal with spacers or adapters [however I have seen some posts about running a 12/12 spacer set up that makes the OEM look flush with fenders] if I'm going to be replacing the package I already have.

[Brennan ///M4]

Yes, winters. Mine have a much more aggressive offset than the stock wheels (they stick out further from the rotor), so they sit pretty flush with the fenders without spacers.

Most wheel manufacturers offer a wide range of sizes, bolt patterns and offsets for each wheel. Finding the look you want without needing spacers shouldn't be too hard (but there are fewer choices in the 18" category simply due to the brake fitment issues I noted above), so decide on the size and offset range you're looking for and shop around. Again, the Wheels | Tires forum on this site is a great place to start ... lots of posts about winter wheel choices in there.

Basically, find something you like with a 5x120 bolt pattern and 72.56 hub size (74.10 with rings works too). Then jump onto http://www.willtheyfit.com/ to see if the offsets available will work for you.

Here's a shot of mine with the winters on (19"x8.5", 15 offset):

[FormulaMMM]

I know these work and look great mounted on the M4... Just up the road from you. For your consideration.

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1202708

[mccoj3]

just curious are these the VMR V710? I've done some searching and run into what you said about brake issues... seems unless i want a real basic looking 6 spoke wheel from tire rack, 18's won't work with the brake size.

i just paid 250$ to have one of my current winter wheels fixed from a dent / repaint, so 250$ for these [if they are the V710] seems like a winner. not worried about performance and if 8.5in wide, the 255 i assume will give plenty protection to the rim. you see any flaws in this logic?

[Ian1973]

BBS makes a decent cheap 18 that fits over the brakes on this thing. SR's. I put them on this year, ok looking with 15mm spacers.