wheel advice on E39 540
Discussion
afternoon all.
finally ive bought an E39 540, been looking for ages and im really pleased with my new toy.
the car is currently wearing some very plain, boring wheels. something i want rectify a bit lively, although with a limited budget. ive seen a set of these wheels... however the seller doesnt actually say they are BMW wheels, just BMW 'style' wheels
im assuming they are not actually BMW wheels, just copies. is this a bad thing? would replicas have a negative effect on the handling at all? they are £600, i imagine the real BMW ones would be very much more.
also are 18' wheels the size to go for? i want to optimise the cars looks by 'filling' the wheel arches a bit more, but wouldnt want to compromise handling in any way.
cheers nerf
finally ive bought an E39 540, been looking for ages and im really pleased with my new toy.
the car is currently wearing some very plain, boring wheels. something i want rectify a bit lively, although with a limited budget. ive seen a set of these wheels... however the seller doesnt actually say they are BMW wheels, just BMW 'style' wheels
im assuming they are not actually BMW wheels, just copies. is this a bad thing? would replicas have a negative effect on the handling at all? they are £600, i imagine the real BMW ones would be very much more.
also are 18' wheels the size to go for? i want to optimise the cars looks by 'filling' the wheel arches a bit more, but wouldnt want to compromise handling in any way.
cheers nerf
Nice wheels those, possibly the best looking wheels for that generation of BMW's. Most likely fake wheels if they are being sold as new for that money. Original BMW wheels will have a part number,size,offset and the makers name cast into the center hub, under the center cap. Ask the seller to check.
Copy wheels are not always that bad, problem is you never know which are good , and which are not.Some can be soft as dog poo,others can weigh a LOT more than OEM wheels.If they do weigh more than the OEM wheel, this isn't good news for the handling due to increased unsprung weight. That said, unless they were really heavy and you were on a track, I doubt you'd notice much difference.
Personally I prefer the multispoke wheels that would have been an option on your car,like these on eBay just now. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Copy wheels are not always that bad, problem is you never know which are good , and which are not.Some can be soft as dog poo,others can weigh a LOT more than OEM wheels.If they do weigh more than the OEM wheel, this isn't good news for the handling due to increased unsprung weight. That said, unless they were really heavy and you were on a track, I doubt you'd notice much difference.
Personally I prefer the multispoke wheels that would have been an option on your car,like these on eBay just now. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl
Edited by bmgm3 on Saturday 9th December 15:43
I was looking at doing the same to mine, but currently decided not to. But, for £600 they will be replicas - not that this is a bad thing, but they are supposed to be not as strong. But since they are around £200 each its not a problem. I did find a place (and I cannot remember the name) that specialised in BMW wheels and they do a full set of replicas with new tyres for £725. Its a touch more but they are brand new and have the wider rears which are better.....
But they are direct swaps and should offer no problems. If you get the wheels with the wider rears then traction is improved, but they are generally wider than the standard "turbines" that you find on E39's. So handling will be improved and ride will not be that much worse. Do note though, that having a 540i you will already have the M-tech suspension which is a touch lower than all of the other models in the range - this makes it look better with the 18"'s anyway - otherwise you would really need to drop the car a little to make it work. But for any model with this already fitted its a no-brainer...
Go for it - next it will be the sport body kit and angel eye lights ?
But they are direct swaps and should offer no problems. If you get the wheels with the wider rears then traction is improved, but they are generally wider than the standard "turbines" that you find on E39's. So handling will be improved and ride will not be that much worse. Do note though, that having a 540i you will already have the M-tech suspension which is a touch lower than all of the other models in the range - this makes it look better with the 18"'s anyway - otherwise you would really need to drop the car a little to make it work. But for any model with this already fitted its a no-brainer...
Go for it - next it will be the sport body kit and angel eye lights ?
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