I have stock 19" wheels and there are no winter tires for these wheels.

My original thought was to get some 18" CSL replicas. Overall I would have probably stuck with the 225/255 setup with those but in winter tires. Cost would be approximately $1,800 or so.

Talked to Damon at the tire rack yesterday and it turns out they have some 17" rims for like $75 each. All in all, if I did those I would be out less than a $1,000.

Now here are the questions:

1. In your experience, is it worth going down to 17" or should I stick with 18". Again this is for winter application in chicago and these wheels will ONLY see winter tires on them.
2. If 17", then should I do 225's or should I go with 235's all around? or staggered? My understanding is that narrower tires are better for the snow but I dont want to hate my car for 3 months either.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

P.S. decision time is 10/5. i got a little excited in the title

 

what do the $75 wheels look like. i have a winter set of 17" mille miglia spyders on pirelli winter sports (225 all around), but im giving them to my sister for her 330ci performance pack coupe and i was thinking of getting 18" csl reps with 225 and 255 f and r respiectively as my next winter set up.

if you do 17s, do non staggered and i never had a problem with my 17s, they were good, but 18s will look better and prob not perform worse anyway.

 

here is what the 17" looks like. it is not too bad. and they are also offset differently so theoretically the back is not going to be sitting like a 1960's cadillac...

 

not too bad. the 18" csl reps you KNOW will have the right offset and still look good. up to you tho. tires alone are like 1K.

 

i know. i will most likely be spending about $2,000 on wheels/tires i will only use 3 months out of the year.

these are half and look decent.

i am heavily leaning towards the 17's. if i go that route, should i do 235 or 225 all the way around.


here is one more shot:

 

i know what you mean. i just got bbs lms for my m3, and my winter wheel and tire pack that i own now was over 2K so spending 1500 on 18 csl reps and tries isnt stoo bad to me.

if you go 17s, go 225 all around, thats what my 17s are. make sure the offsets are correct tho.

 

why not 235?

offset is supposed to be correct.

 

if they fit, i guess you could do it...but usually its said that the thinner tire is better for snow. that said my 18" csl reps will be 225/255 staggered set up.

 

well, unless i get some more opinions by tomorrow, around let's say 2 pm or so, i am gonna get these wheels on 235's.

 

I have 17" ASA AR1 wheels on my m3 with Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 225s all around. I got some bmw center caps too. The car looks decent with the wheels. From a performance driving aspect they're not that great, but man when it snows they really pull their weight. I got through a 5 inch snowstorm last year and I was damn glad I had them on, otherwise I was going nowhere fast.

They look like this.

 

cool thanks. those are the tires that i am looking at as well. was thinking about the M3 (tires) since i have heard good things about them but Damon recommends the LM25. any experiences? additional thoughts?

 

heres what my mille miglia spyder winter wheels look like on the car

 

so i called tire rack too late, therefore i will probably wait till monday to order. so here are my choice of tires:

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25; Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D; Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW3; Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2; Michelin X-Ice; Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 ZP

I am thinking either the LM-25 or the 3D. The cool thing is i can get those in 245's and it should fit a 7.5" rim.

more thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I think Damon is heading you in the right direction with the LM-25 tires. The only knock i've heard about these tires is the 99mph speed rating, but I rarely even get the car over these speeds with ZR summer tires. On warm winter days when it's about 40 or so degrees you can definitely feel the performance you're giving up as the rubber is very soft on the tires. This is made up for during last winter when it got to below 0 fahrenheight and then I felt entirely confident in driving the car as the soft rubber doesn't harden in the cold. Additionally with the LM-25 tires the grooves are so deep that the tires work to pack snow to build grip in a snowstorm. The tires transform a performance car like the M to an all season beast. I was in a snowstorm where a jeep grand chereokee spun out in front of me and I kept trucking along.

The only real limitation that I've encountered is due to the car being rwd, and the dsc cutting power when you're driving. This only happened to me once and it was during a heavy snowstorm in february in Indiana. W/O the tires i was going nowhere fast. If you truly treat your car like all rounder i can't think of a better tire for the price.

 

Those are JH3's, but one of our most popular BMW winter wheels. VERY strong and take the BMW centercap.