VENDORS: Why Not Make OEM Rims Wider

[/// M sa]

I see that vendors are making all kinds of rims for our M3/M4s... How come they are not making the same exact oem rims in wider widths and more aggressive offsets? I really like the OEM rims and so far haven't really seen any wheels that l like better.

[DBV]

Originally Posted by /// M sa

How come they are not making the same exact oem rims in wider widths and more aggressive offsets?

Probably because the car hasn't been out long enough to have the replica wheel market catch up. That said, most replica wheels will usually be cast, and thus significantly heavier than the stock 19s.

That said, I love the OEM design as well, and might look into getting the barrels widened if I really felt I HAD to stick with OEM looking wheels.

I don't know how important wheel weight is to you, but on a performance car like the M3, throwing heavy wheels on is as close to sin as you can get in my opinion...

[jwilliams]

I am sure Copyright comes into it.

[HamsF80]

If you're fine with ruining a set of OEM's you could always have them widened. It's not cheap to do it right, but it is an option. I've had it done on another car that I wanted to run a 315 but retain the OEM wheel. I want to say it was around $300 a wheel to do it. I sent them to a place in Michigan that specialized in it. Wheels came back with neutral balance and no issues.

What you could do is run a set of the rear wheels up front with a 15mm spacer, pick up another set of rear's and have those widened to 11" or 11.5". Let's say you widened the rear wheels to an 11" - you'd have to run a 15mm spacer out back to.

Honestly, I think that would look pretty nice to have the OEM wheels in a 10" and 11" configuration. You'd be able run a 305 out back and it would look right, and retain the OEM look. hmmmm.....

Just a thought.

- Chris

[tom @ eas]

Very common on the domestic side (corvettes), may want to peek over there to see who's doing it in your area.

[HOUSE Motorsports]

I'd trust spacers over a replica OEM wheel any day of the week...that's probably your best bet -- and most cost effective.

[carlos@velosdesignwerks]

Making an OEM wheel wider sounds like a great idea. The car would become more aggressive while maintaining a factory look.