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[Koroush]

The BMW site says that the M3 becomes more susceptible to road hazards when you put 19 inch OEM wheels on. Like ice and snow.. Owners that have the 19 inch wheels currently: have you ever hit anything on the road that you normally wouldn't with 18 inch wheels? For example: curbs, ice, rocks, big speed bumps?


Thanks

[RealSanaii]

Even with 18's, u will suffer in icy situations anyways. However, there are many 18' winter tires available out there compare to 19's so you could just swap tires instead of buying a whole new set of crappy looking winter wheels. With 19's, I drove around town through icy situations last winter and didn't really have any problems.

Many feel that the 19's are better in 'crappy' roads since they are forged. I didn't have any problem driving around northern VA last summer and now I've been driving in St.Louis for a year where there are many potholes and whatnot but didn't have any problems.

[Koroush]

Originally Posted by RealSanaii

Even with 18's, u will suffer in icy situations anyways. However, there are many 18' winter tires available out there compare to 19's so you could just swap tires instead of buying a whole new set of crappy looking winter wheels. With 19's, I drove around town through icy situations last winter and didn't really have any problems.

Many feel that the 19's are better in 'crappy' roads since they are forged. I didn't have any problem driving around northern VA last summer and now I've been driving in St.Louis for a year where there are many potholes and whatnot but didn't have any problems.

Thank you. So only potholes and ice will hurt.

It doesn't really snow that much in maryland so it won't be a big problem.

[foosh]

It's just a simple FYI warning that you have less rubber sidewall to absorb impacts with a 19 on OEM tires.

I commute every day to DC. There are plenty of potholes and bad roads in DC. As long as you don't hit a very deep pothole or tall bump at speed, it is NOT a problem. Moreover, the difference in sidewall between 18 and 19 offers minimal extra protection with the 18.

[Koroush]

Originally Posted by foosh

It's just a simple FYI warning that you have less rubber sidewall to absorb impacts with a 19 on OEM tires.

I commute every day to DC. There are plenty of potholes and bad roads in DC. As long as you don't hit a very deep pothole or tall bump at speed, it is NOT a problem. Moreover, the difference in sidewall between 18 and 19 offers minimal extra protection with the 18.

Thanks, that helped me alot.


The BMW warning made me uneasy.

[foosh]

No problem. The warning is not BMW-specific and true of all low-profile tires. The lower the profile, the greater the risk to wheel damage. The risk is about the same as on a Mini Cooper S on 205/45-17s. In both cases, the sidewalls are approximately 90mm (BMW front, 85.75mm; rear, 92.75mm, Mini both, 92.25mm).

You can easily calculate the risk on any tire by multiplying the aspect ratio (side wall height expressed as a percentage of width). For example on the BMW OEM wheels you see the following:

19" front: 245 x .35 = 85.75mm
19" rear: 265 x .35 = 92.75mm
18" front: 245 x .40 = 98mm
18" rear: 265 x .40 = 106mm

It will take a pretty high-speed impact to bend the wheel, and curb rash is a greater risk. The OEM 19s are forged, which means they are up there with the strongest wheels available. As you can see from above you're only getting a few millimeters of extra protection with the 18s.

[gr8000]

Originally Posted by foosh

It will take pretty high-speed impact to bend the wheel, and curb rash is a greater risk. The OEM 19s are forged, which means they are up there with the strongest wheels available.

I am on 19's. Coincidentaly, yesterday I hit what sounded to be a nasty pothole at speed & during slight cornering. The road surface, my speed and the surrounding cars made me choose to go over it instead of doing an dengerous detour to avoid it...

It was a bit of a schoking experience for me as I am very careful in avoiding pothols and other nasty stuff, or at least going through them at very very slow speed. That wasn't the case yesterday - actually the impact scared the shit out of me and I was almost certain that at the wheel would be curbed and the tyre would lose some / all its pressure. I didn't stop, I went home for a thorough inspection. I was relatively "happy" to only get away with a 5cm / 2in mark on the circumference of the front passenger wheel - no loss of tyre pressure.

From personal experience it seems that the OEM 19" forged wheels are quite tough. Nonetheless, before drawing any concrete conclusions I will first check the wheel with an expert to ensure that indeed there is no damage on it (other than the mark, which hopefully is nothing more than a cosmetic issue).

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by foosh

It's just a simple FYI warning that you have less rubber sidewall to absorb impacts with a 19 on OEM tires.

I commute every day to DC. There are plenty of potholes and bad roads in DC. As long as you don't hit a very deep pothole or tall bump at speed, it is NOT a problem. Moreover, the difference in sidewall between 18 and 19 offers minimal extra protection with the 18.

+1

[MJC///M3]

had my car two weeks....3 inch nail...

had to replace whole tire....$458 bucks!!!!

thank god I made the play to buy the tire/rim insurance...practically paid for itself already.

[JCtx]

Neither wheel is higher than a curb, nor is it going to be a match against one, so that's not a point to consider. Good day.

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Neither wheel is higher than a curb, nor is it going to be a match against one, so that's not a point to consider. Good day.

But there will probably be less damage on the 18's since the sidewall of the tire is bigger on them, right?

Sorry, not trying to be biased about the 18's.

[foosh]

The difference in sidewall height between 18s and 19s is about 1/2 inch. I doubt that offers much additional protection, statistically speaking.

[Nawaaz]

^ hmmmm......Maybe if I get fatter tires....?...

[gemini330zhp]

Just get 16in steelies.....

[ScheerSpeed]

ive gotten a few flats... but thats about it

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Nawaaz

But there will probably be less damage on the 18's since the sidewall of the tire is bigger on them, right?

Tires are not going to protect your wheels squat on this car man. Nice try . Just ask all the owners with wheel rash .

[Nawaaz]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Tires are not going to protect your wheels squat on this car man. Nice try . Just ask all the owners with wheel rash .

No, but the thicker sidewalls of the tires may cause the force of the impact to focus more on the tire if that's the location of the hit.

There's no doubt in the fact that tires will not protect your wheels.

[leemik]

April is pothole month here in MA..

I hit a pretty bad one in April..

Ended up with a lightly curbed rim but no bend and a huge bubble in the tire..