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[Adonislike]

Originally Posted by sayemthree

sedan for your wife? get the 16 inch wheel option!

!!!

[pittsy]

I got the 18s and love them, i dont really like the look of the 19s

[rcornelius]

Ok after running the 19s for almost 1000 miles I've formed an opinion that the original 18s are by far the better all around tire. The only thing that the 19s bring are looks, and a rougher than hell ride. If BMW were smart they would build the 19 rim in an 18 as to where we could use the 40 tires vs the lower profile 35s. I know that I will hear a lot of crap from those that think looks is more important, oh well. The 18s handle better and ride much smoother. Now I've got a bunch of money tied up in the 19s. Removed them from my car today and reinstalled my 18s. The 19s are now at the dealer for sale. First $4800 takes them with the tires, low pressure sensor etc... These tires/rims only have 1300 miles on them. New set will set you back for almost 6k.

[footie]

rcornelius,

Your opinion shouldn't get a back lash from the site members, it's a fact which I happen to agree with, as does BMW themselves. Lets face it, if the BMW had been a better performer overall on the 19" BMW would have fitted them as standard but they didn't, also almost all of the testing conducted on the ring involved the use of 18" alloys.

I actually don't agree on the looks either, I think the 18" give the car a more aggressive image that better suits the performance and the car. The 19" are bling and the M3 is about performance, not posing.

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by footie

rcornelius,

Your opinion shouldn't get a back lash from the site members, it's a fact which I happen to agree with, as does BMW themselves. Lets face it, if the BMW had been a better performer overall on the 19" BMW would have fitted them as standard but they didn't, also almost all of the testing conducted on the ring involved the use of 18" alloys.

I think the main reason 18s are standard, is like on most cars, upsized wheels are profit items, plus they would raise the base price if standard as they cost more to produce. Why did BMW fit the CSL, their higest performing E46 with 19s if 18s worked better?

I actually don't agree on the looks either, I think the 18" give the car a more aggressive image that better suits the performance and the car. The 19" are bling and the M3 is about performance, not posing.

On some colors I think the 18s look okay. Too bad they don't have a more silver version. The looks part is personal, with no right or wrong--I happen to like the 19s.

[footie]

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

I think the main reason 18s are standard, is like on most cars, upsized wheels are profit items, plus they would raise the base price if standard as they cost more to produce. Why did BMW fit the CSL, their higest performing E46 with 19s if 18s worked better?

I would normally agree with this on any other brand but not BMW and especially not with the M-Division, look at all the other performance options they provide, the EDC suspension, it's not necessarily better at handling over the stock setup, it does improve the ride comfort but that is something different. M-DCT, again it makes life easier but it's debatable whether it really improves the performance on the length of a lap.

Almost all of the testing seen on the ring was done with 18", it looks to me that they concentrated on getting the stock setup right and most of the magazine tests conducted were done with 18" alloys, clearly BMW chose the model they wanted to be used and if the 19" was the best setup then surely that would have been the one chosen.

Originally Posted by GregW / Oregon

On some colors I think the 18s look okay. Too bad they don't have a more silver version. The looks part is personal, with no right or wrong--I happen to like the 19s

I agree the colour is a personal thing, me I like the LeMans racer look that the 18" give the M3, I personally find the 19" suit the darker colours but still bring a certain bling to it's overall appearance. More show than go, where as the 18" look more go than show.