aftermarket rim for 2003 325ci coupe

just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with
17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the
Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain
and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about
keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on
them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of
wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a
good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,

what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile
performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm
curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same
thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be
favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for
long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready
tires, in a low profile tire

thanks.

Search eBay for BMW E46 OEM 16" (or INCH) WHEELS.

This will give hits of rims that specifically fit your car, and are OEM. The
16s will fit your car, and give room for added sidewall. If your drop the
OEM from the search string, then you will also get hits for aftermarket
rims.



> wrote in message
ups.com...
> just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with
> 17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the
> Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain
> and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about
> keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on
> them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of
> wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a
> good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,
>
> what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile
> performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm
> curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same
> thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be
> favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for
> long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready
> tires, in a low profile tire
>
> thanks.
>

Jeff

thanks...saw that advice earlier in some other posts that you
responded to (and made my searches easier)....so if I wanted the all
season tires to use in the winter I have to go down to 16 inch rim? I
cant keep the 17 inch on there (i.e. no 17 inch all season tires
avaiable?)

thanks again


On Apr 14, 7:46 pm, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:
> Search eBay for BMW E46 OEM 16" (or INCH) WHEELS.
>
> This will give hits of rims that specifically fit your car, and are OEM. The
> 16s will fit your car, and give room for added sidewall. If your drop the
> OEM from the search string, then you will also get hits for aftermarket
> rims.
>
> > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> > just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with
> > 17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the
> > Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain
> > and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about
> > keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on
> > them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of
> > wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a
> > good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,
>
> > what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile
> > performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm
> > curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same
> > thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be
> > favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for
> > long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready
> > tires, in a low profile tire
>
> > thanks.

Yes, I think so. I live in Sunny Southern Cal;ifornia, so I do not have this
issue to deal with.

Logic says that tall thin tires work better in snow that squatty wide tires.
The '03 models use the 16 as standard fitment, and 17s are the upgrade tire.
The brakes (including rotors) are designed with 16s in mind, and 17s fit
very well. If the brake system was designed for 17s, then 16s would not fit,
and you'd have to select winter tires that are the same profile as the
performance tires you already have.

There is more to winter tires than tread design, and one of the differences
is added sidewall along with a narrower tread. You have all summer to work
out the details, but I'm pretty sure that winter tires are better if they
are tall and skinny. You haven't much room in the fender wells for more
sidewall on a 17" rim, so you create more room by getting a smaller inside
diameter and the same outside diamerer.

Your 225/45x17 is equivelent to the 215/50x16. You need to shop for
equivelent tire sizes, and Discount Tire (tires.com) and Tire Rack
(tirerack.com) have good calculators that give comparative tire sizes.





> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Jeff
>
> thanks...saw that advice earlier in some other posts that you
> responded to (and made my searches easier)....so if I wanted the all
> season tires to use in the winter I have to go down to 16 inch rim? I
> cant keep the 17 inch on there (i.e. no 17 inch all season tires
> avaiable?)
>
> thanks again
>
>
> On Apr 14, 7:46 pm, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:
>> Search eBay for BMW E46 OEM 16" (or INCH) WHEELS.
>>
>> This will give hits of rims that specifically fit your car, and are OEM.
>> The
>> 16s will fit your car, and give room for added sidewall. If your drop the
>> OEM from the search string, then you will also get hits for aftermarket
>> rims.
>>
>> > wrote in message
>>
>> ups.com...
>>
>> > just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with
>> > 17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the
>> > Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain
>> > and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about
>> > keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on
>> > them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of
>> > wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a
>> > good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,
>>
>> > what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile
>> > performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm
>> > curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same
>> > thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be
>> > favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for
>> > long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready
>> > tires, in a low profile tire
>>
>> > thanks.
>
>

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> just bought a '03 2003 325ci coupe....it has the sport package, with
> 17" wheels and low profile tires (225 45ZR17). I live in the
> Washington DC area and we usually get a nice dose of freezing rain
> and perhaps a snowfall or two during the winter. I'm thinking about
> keeping my stock OEM rims (5 spoke) and putting all season tires on
> them for the winter, so that leads me to hunt down another pair of
> wheels(currently cruising ebay for another pair). If I can't score a
> good pair of OEM wheels from ebay,
>
> what aftermarket brand would you suggest to mount my low profile
> performance tires on? I did the whole tirerack.com thing but I'm
> curious as to what brand name is good and which ones to avoid. Same
> thing with tires? any recommendations? Pirelli and Conti seem to be
> favorites from the archived posts...what about Kuhmo? I'm looking for
> long lasting tire life as opposed to top of the line track ready
> tires, in a low profile tire
>
> thanks.
>
You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about driving
on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the wheels and
tires you have for summer use and get winter tires & wheels? All-seasons are
OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK and not really the solution. A
dedicated set of winter shoes and wheels is the ideal solution.

Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites as are
the Michelin X-Ice.

I see on TireRack where you can get a set of 4 Blizzaks in 205/50-17 and 4
Sport Edition F6, 17"x7.5" wheels for $910 - mounted, balanced, and
delivered to your door. That's hard to beat.

"Jeff Strickland"
> Your 225/45x17 is equivelent to the 215/50x16.

I think 205/55/16 would be the proper substitute. Most non-sport e46
cars actually came from the factory with such tires.

Pete

"joe_tide"
> You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about
> driving on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the
> wheels and tires you have for summer use and get winter tires &
> wheels? All-seasons are OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK
> and not really the solution. A dedicated set of winter shoes and
> wheels is the ideal solution.

I agree wholeheartedly. When I used to live out there (NOVA), despite
having an AWD car, I still had two dedicated sets of wheels - summer and
winter. You can't just hope to "get by". There are some crazies on the
roads up there who think their big SUVs are invincible in ice and snow.
You need to be able to get out of their way quickly, and proper tires
will help.


> Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites
> as are the Michelin X-Ice.

I had the Pilot Alpins (in size 205/55/16) back in 2002. I wasn't
impressed with their snow/ice performance. They seemed to behave more
like an all-season tire in that respect. Maybe the more recent versions
of Pilot Alpins are better, not sure. On the other hand, I really liked
Nokian WR and can sincerely recommend them.

Cheers,
Pete

"Pete" > wrote in message
...
>
> "joe_tide"
>> You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about
>> driving on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the
>> wheels and tires you have for summer use and get winter tires & wheels?
>> All-seasons are OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK and not
>> really the solution. A dedicated set of winter shoes and wheels is the
>> ideal solution.
>
> I agree wholeheartedly. When I used to live out there (NOVA), despite
> having an AWD car, I still had two dedicated sets of wheels - summer and
> winter. You can't just hope to "get by". There are some crazies on the
> roads up there who think their big SUVs are invincible in ice and snow.
> You need to be able to get out of their way quickly, and proper tires will
> help.
>
>
>> Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites as
>> are the Michelin X-Ice.
>
> I had the Pilot Alpins (in size 205/55/16) back in 2002. I wasn't
> impressed with their snow/ice performance. They seemed to behave more
> like an all-season tire in that respect. Maybe the more recent versions
> of Pilot Alpins are better, not sure. On the other hand, I really liked
> Nokian WR and can sincerely recommend them.
>
> Cheers,
> Pete
>

I've used the X-Ice the last 2 winters. I can't praise them enough.

On Apr 14, 10:42 pm, "joe_tide" > wrote:
> "Pete" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > "joe_tide"
> >> You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about
> >> driving on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the
> >> wheels and tires you have for summer use and get winter tires & wheels?
> >> All-seasons are OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK and not
> >> really the solution. A dedicated set of winter shoes and wheels is the
> >> ideal solution.
>
> > I agree wholeheartedly. When I used to live out there (NOVA), despite
> > having an AWD car, I still had two dedicated sets of wheels - summer and
> > winter. You can't just hope to "get by". There are some crazies on the
> > roads up there who think their big SUVs are invincible in ice and snow.
> > You need to be able to get out of their way quickly, and proper tires will
> > help.
>
> >> Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites as
> >> are the Michelin X-Ice.
>
> > I had the Pilot Alpins (in size 205/55/16) back in 2002. I wasn't
> > impressed with their snow/ice performance. They seemed to behave more
> > like an all-season tire in that respect. Maybe the more recent versions
> > of Pilot Alpins are better, not sure. On the other hand, I really liked
> > Nokian WR and can sincerely recommend them.
>
> > Cheers,
> > Pete
>
> I've used the X-Ice the last 2 winters. I can't praise them enough.

the Michelin Alpina PA2 seems to be highly rated in reviews on
tirerack.com....

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> On Apr 14, 10:42 pm, "joe_tide" > wrote:
>> "Pete" > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > "joe_tide"
>> >> You might want to re-think your strategy. If you are concerned about
>> >> driving on ice and snow (which you should be), why not just keep the
>> >> wheels and tires you have for summer use and get winter tires &
>> >> wheels?
>> >> All-seasons are OK for summer and OK for winter, but just OK and not
>> >> really the solution. A dedicated set of winter shoes and wheels is the
>> >> ideal solution.
>>
>> > I agree wholeheartedly. When I used to live out there (NOVA), despite
>> > having an AWD car, I still had two dedicated sets of wheels - summer
>> > and
>> > winter. You can't just hope to "get by". There are some crazies on
>> > the
>> > roads up there who think their big SUVs are invincible in ice and snow.
>> > You need to be able to get out of their way quickly, and proper tires
>> > will
>> > help.
>>
>> >> Bridgestone Blizzaks and Michelin Pilot Alpin are perennial favorites
>> >> as
>> >> are the Michelin X-Ice.
>>
>> > I had the Pilot Alpins (in size 205/55/16) back in 2002. I wasn't
>> > impressed with their snow/ice performance. They seemed to behave more
>> > like an all-season tire in that respect. Maybe the more recent
>> > versions
>> > of Pilot Alpins are better, not sure. On the other hand, I really
>> > liked
>> > Nokian WR and can sincerely recommend them.
>>
>> > Cheers,
>> > Pete
>>
>> I've used the X-Ice the last 2 winters. I can't praise them enough.
>
> the Michelin Alpina PA2 seems to be highly rated in reviews on
> tirerack.com....
>
>
A good choice also - relying on the reviews. I have never used them. That
would get you under $900 mounted, balanced & delivered.
One thing if you decide to go this route - if you buy a wheel that is a
"closeout", you might want to consider buying an extra wheel. You won't be
able to get one later if one gets screwed up. Ask me how I know!

You might also want to wait until next winter arrives.