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[pumper206]

Originally Posted by Brosef

wouldn't be a bad choice

BUT, there's more that's lost through 20's than just acceleration. for LM's or LM-R's though, I'd say it's worth the tradeoff.

I know, I was just kidding..
You have some really interesting points there, Brosef. You're totally right about the size of wheels these days. I remember back in '99, I was rockin' 18" Hamanns with a deep dish on my E34 5er and that was considered a large wheel compared to all the 16" and 17" wheels that were being thrown on the ricers . 20" wheels on a performance vehicle was unheard of back then. 20" wheels, by todays standards, are not all that huge anymore. I also remember the first time I saw 20s....

In short, 20s for show and 18s/19s for go. And, BMW, please don't put aesthetics over functionality. EVER.

[BMRLVR]

Well, where do I start after all of that nonsense?

I am gonna agree with a lot of the other members that posted and say that the ride difference between my OEM 19's and my BBS LM's 20"ers is not much. I do find the 19's ride slightly better but the difference is definitely not huge.

Please take into account that I did about 12,000 Miles on my BBS LM's when I drove across Canada and the US last summer with the car loaded with two months worth of luggage and car cleaning supplies. When I got to my destination on many occasions I had 4 or 5 people in the car and it still did not ride bad or rub or do anything that would be out of character for a car that was factory equipped with the wheel and tire set-up that I was running.

I went with 255/30/20 and 275/30/20 and the speedo is hardly off at all since the overall diameter of these tire sizes 20's is within 1% +/- of OEM.

Please forgive Joe, since he don't care about aesthetics and is out for pure performance he is better than all of us posers on DUBS. I never bought my 20's for performance or to run all of the time, I bought them purely because I like the look, I intend to run factory wheels 90% of the time.

If you want to get 20's do it and enjoy them, with the right sizing and offsets the M3 feels at home on them.

[Templar]

It was stated that the point of having the 20"ers was for aesthetics only. No where did anyone say that they were better performance wise, because they obviously are not. I'm pretty sure the whole point of the post was because the OP is looking for tips on buying 20's for driving around town or whatever. At no point did anyone claim they were going to track with 20's.

Joe is just being a troll, plain and simple. He's right that the performance of the 20's is nothing compared to the 18's, but his whole argument is off topic. The OP was looking for people who have 20's and could share their experiences, not which was better 18's or 20's...

The funny thing is, you can have multiple sets of wheels! Some for the track, and some for looks/driving around town. Personally I'm not too worried about "performance" when I'm driving to work in the morning...

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Templar

It was stated that the point of having the 20"ers was for aesthetics only. No where did anyone say that they were better performance wise, because they obviously are not. I'm pretty sure the whole point of the post was because the OP is looking for tips on buying 20's for driving around town or whatever. At no point did anyone claim they were going to track with 20's.

Joe is just being a troll, plain and simple. He's right that the performance of the 20's is nothing compared to the 18's, but his whole argument is off topic. The OP was looking for people who have 20's and could share their experiences, not which was better 18's or 20's...

The funny thing is, you can have multiple sets of wheels! Some for the track, and some for looks/driving around town. Personally I'm not too worried about "performance" when I'm driving to work in the morning...

I'm most worried about ride quality when I'm driving to work in the morning

I don't wanna beat up my suspension either. The less compliant the tire the more you're wearing out the bushings and other suspension components. not to mention inducing rattles.

So there are very valid points Joe brings up even if the way he does it is abrasive..

[Crazy Bimmer]

Originally Posted by Brosef

agreed. my post wasn't trying to debate the practical implications of the members on this board who are running 20's nor was it meant to condemn those people. I was simply making the philosophical argument that where you spend your money can have an effect on the development of the automotive industry.

however, without getting into a debate over the practical implications, I would point out that there's no denying that the general public's taste for larger wheels on every car (SUV's, commuter cars, etc.) has had an effect on the size of wheels that cars have these days - not all these cars need big wheels as a result of larger brakes. think of how few people had 20's on their car 10 years ago - you would have made the same argument back then, but then take a look at how many cars roll off the factory line with 20"+ wheels. so while I don't disagree with your point, you shouldn't dismiss the effect that a few can have on the masses. and for the record, I'm not saying it's a bad thing - I think bigger wheels do look better and are worth some sacrifice in certain cases.

Times have changed and people arent buying 20s today just so they can brag about having 20s. Perhaps they did that 10-15 years ago when it was cool. Now its more because they fit these larger car while keeping a decent side profile size. Same goes for these OEMs who are putting 20s on factory cars. They can put a good size profile tire on a car and still keeping it comfortable yet trendy.

Our cars use a 30 or 35 side profile with 20s. Many years ago when people would throw 20s on a car like this they would have to go with a 20 0r 25 side profile. Thats really tiny and almost guaranteed damage for daily use. It also looked silly. IMO

If you really want to stay ghetto, then 20s arent gangsta anymore. Its all about the 22s. 24s on SUVs. Holla.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

I'm most worried about ride quality when I'm driving to work in the morning

You are the majority and BMW has been listening. Its why the E9x is more comfortable than the E46. Also the reason as the M3 progresses its becomes softer to accommodate a larger audience.

Not saying its a bad thing but others might disagree with me.

[Cptn Mo 703]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

I'm most worried about ride quality when I'm driving to work in the morning

I don't wanna beat up my suspension either. The less compliant the tire the more you're wearing out the bushings and other suspension components. not to mention inducing rattles.

So there are very valid points Joe brings up even if the way he does it is abrasive..

Dude either grow a pair and drive it the way it's supposed to be driven or just buy your self a grandpa caddy since your so anal about ride quality on a sportscar.

By the time the suspension on this car is going to start showing any signs of wear no matter how big of wheels or how low the car maybe, it'll prob be when the next generation m3 after the new f30 comes out is when you might see some signs...

What part of this aren't you and Joe getting, yes if your going to the track you are out of your mind to be on 20's, but since we all don't live on a track and want our cars to look as good as possible we'll throw some dubs on it. You two just keep on saying the sane shit over and over again but just in a different way.

To make it clear for you:

18's=track
20's=show

[Crazy Bimmer]

Theres really nothing wrong with tracking with 20s. Lets face it, the guys who are really hardcore about tracking have dedicated track cars or the very least a track wheel setup.

So the weekend warrior who does 2-4 track days a year can easily do them with 20s and still have a great experience. Not like their tires will fall off the wheel because of the profile being low. You surely wont bend a wheel as the track is very smooth. Only major downside is that tires arent cheap to keep replacing on 20s. More cost efficient to buy a set of 18s for that reason.

Of course im assuming you tracking with 20s that dont weigh ungodly amount more compared to stock 18s or 19s wheels.

[Cptn Mo 703]

Yea you can def. go to the track with 20's (I'm guilty of going auto-x with my dubs) but any owner of a set of dubs will tell you it's not cheap to keep them maintained, tires cost more and it cost me $200.00 just to install my tires on my 20's. So I made sure to throw on my stocks for anything as far as tracking the car in any sort.

[Crazy Bimmer]

$200 to mount and balance tires?!?!

[Cptn Mo 703]

Originally Posted by Crazy Bimmer

$200 to mount and balance tires?!?!

yup a lot of places i went to said they wouldn't even try, and then a few sketchy places were like "we'll do it for 20 bucks total" thats when i got in my car and drove away as fast as i could. It took the place about 4 hours or so to mount and balance them.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Wow, I guess i need to give the guys at IND a hug for being local and cheap.

[Cptn Mo 703]

I know IND always does great work how much they charge for a set of 4?

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Crazy Bimmer

You are the majority and BMW has been listening. Its why the E9x is more comfortable than the E46. Also the reason as the M3 progresses its becomes softer to accommodate a larger audience.

Not saying its a bad thing but others might disagree with me.

The E9x is more comfortable AND performs better than the E46. Way better ride and handling. I have both.

Originally Posted by Cptn Mo 703

Dude either grow a pair and drive it the way it's supposed to be driven or just buy your self a grandpa caddy since your so anal about ride quality on a sportscar.

By the time the suspension on this car is going to start showing any signs of wear no matter how big of wheels or how low the car maybe, it'll prob be when the next generation m3 after the new f30 comes out is when you might see some signs...

What part of this aren't you and Joe getting, yes if your going to the track you are out of your mind to be on 20's, but since we all don't live on a track and want our cars to look as good as possible we'll throw some dubs on it. You two just keep on saying the sane shit over and over again but just in a different way.

To make it clear for you:

18's=track
20's=show

To make it clear for you
18's=acceleration, braking, cornering, strength, ride
20's=show ONLY at the sacrifice of everything else

And this is not a sportscar, it's a 3700lb GT.

I have track specific vehicles. The M3 is an awesome street car and I don't want to ruin it with a crappy ride. But if you don't think the sacrifice is that bad go for it. I tried 19's and made an educated choice to go the way I did. I have plenty of fun with my car don't you worry

You are making the connection that harshness = performance and that is absolutely false. Some of the best race suspensions ride better than stock due to the quality of the spring/shock tuning (Ohlins, Motons, etc.).

I love my 18" RG63's on Michelin SS. Super lightweight and hyper black looks awesome. I'm sure you love your 20's too. Not my cup of tea. cheers.

[Reedomn]

Anyone running 21's???....

[Brosef]

Originally Posted by Crazy Bimmer

Times have changed and people arent buying 20s today just so they can brag about having 20s. Perhaps they did that 10-15 years ago when it was cool. Now its more because they fit these larger car while keeping a decent side profile size. Same goes for these OEMs who are putting 20s on factory cars. They can put a good size profile tire on a car and still keeping it comfortable yet trendy.

Our cars use a 30 or 35 side profile with 20s. Many years ago when people would throw 20s on a car like this they would have to go with a 20 0r 25 side profile. Thats really tiny and almost guaranteed damage for daily use. It also looked silly. IMO

If you really want to stay ghetto, then 20s arent gangsta anymore. Its all about the 22s. 24s on SUVs. Holla.

right, but that was exactly my point. before you said that people buying larger wheels don't affect what comes out on new cars, now you're admitting that auto manufacturer's try to keep their products trendy at the expense of comfort. as I said in my original post, I'm not arguing that 19's vs. 20's is that big of a difference in most cases. I was just trying to say that people's tastes affect how auto makers design cars.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Gonna kick you in the nads, you totally missed what i was trying to say.

[Brosef]

[Templar]

I understand the valid points that Joe brought up about the 20's, and I agree with them, but either way they were all off topic, because the OP was looking for opinions from people who own 20's on their cars.

And I guess my post is off topic too... lol :P

[pumper206]

Originally Posted by Cptn Mo 703

Dude either grow a pair and drive it the way it's supposed to be driven or just buy your self a grandpa caddy since your so anal about ride quality on a sportscar.

By the time the suspension on this car is going to start showing any signs of wear no matter how big of wheels or how low the car maybe, it'll prob be when the next generation m3 after the new f30 comes out is when you might see some signs...

What part of this aren't you and Joe getting, yes if your going to the track you are out of your mind to be on 20's, but since we all don't live on a track and want our cars to look as good as possible we'll throw some dubs on it. You two just keep on saying the sane shit over and over again but just in a different way.

To make it clear for you:

18's=track
20's=show

Dude, I think he's just trying to say what Joe said but in a more respectful manner. You can't say what they're saying isn't true. This all comes down to preference and what each individuals concerns are. You and Joe are now doing the same thing . They like 18s for a variety of reasons and we like 20s for our reasons. Thats it. Nobody needs to force another person to share the same view on 18s or 20s. Also, I think they're pretty clear on 18s=Track and 20s=Show .

[Cptn Mo 703]

Originally Posted by smmmurf

The E9x is more comfortable AND performs better than the E46. Way better ride and handling. I have both.



To make it clear for you
18's=acceleration, braking, cornering, strength, ride
20's=show ONLY at the sacrifice of everything else

And this is not a sportscar, it's a 3700lb GT.

I have track specific vehicles. The M3 is an awesome street car and I don't want to ruin it with a crappy ride. But if you don't think the sacrifice is that bad go for it. I tried 19's and made an educated choice to go the way I did. I have plenty of fun with my car don't you worry

You are making the connection that harshness = performance and that is absolutely false. Some of the best race suspensions ride better than stock due to the quality of the spring/shock tuning (Ohlins, Motons, etc.).

I love my 18" RG63's on Michelin SS. Super lightweight and hyper black looks awesome. I'm sure you love your 20's too. Not my cup of tea. cheers.

Ok first of all who do you think you are the track police or something to say 20's or show ONLY, if someone wants to rock dubs on the track more power to him.

2nd of all, i can guarantee you 100% that if me and you lined up even if i were on my 20's that your car with your 18's would have no chance to beat me.

3rd this thread was made for people who have 20's not people who have 18's who come in and for no reason start bashing 20's. I can go on and on and on why I will never have 18's on my car unless its on a track.

4th if you like you car looking like a monster truck more power to you!!

[tha_good_life]

cant we all get along? share the world... make it a happy place...