[zuluZero]

I was at my bmw indy shop, that also repairs rims - and he had a small assortment of 19's waiting for work with cracks and bends...but no 18s. Coincidence, sure, but may tell you something. My e92 came with pretty 225m 19s, but I'm happier with fatter PSS 18s. Plus, you don't see the difference with black rims.

[liang]

Originally Posted by zuluZero

I was at my bmw indy shop, that also repairs rims - and he had a small assortment of 19's waiting for work with cracks and bends...

Definitely do not get replicas if your going with 19s. I've hit some monstrous potholes with my 19 BBS and they are fine. PHEW!

[Thussy]

Really enjoyed my forged 19s - they were rock solid and I felt I had better control over the car/great road feel. Went back to 18" 189s recently and everything feels a bit more squishy and less responsive.

[Kalidian]

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

well for starters he asked e92...not e90. Secondly im pretty sure the dimensions for wheel wells on both cars are slightly different from each other thus making 18s look different on e90s and e92s hence most e92s(if not all?) come with 18s standard, also maybe im wrong but i think the xi models have different suspension components and dimensions that only allow certain wheels with certain offsets and certain wheel/tire combinations to be ran properly.

Bottom line, guys with 18s agree that 19s are likely to look better and guys with 19s will say that 18s look better but with the proper set of tires a 19'' wheel will feel just as comfortable as an 18, vs the only way to get rid of that horrible sense of regret every time you see your buddies e92 with his sick set of 19 inch wheels will ultimately be to upgrade the size. More expensive? sure, but i rather spend the few extra bucks live wondering why the hell didnt i just get 19s

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

the only thing accurate about this statement is cost, some 19'' wheels perform better then 18s and paired with the right tire they give the car better traction and comfort. My 19s oem style 95s also weight less then my old 18 189s, SPECIALLY if you factor in the rfts vs non rfts

18's only come factory with the sport package. This is regardless of the chassis type. The offset range between xi cars and non-xi are the same, as are the wheel options and sizes - the only difference really is the xi sits a little higher, and tire diameter must be kept consistent front to rear. But this doesn't affect wheel options at all, and there are no limitations to tire options either. And I realize he asked for e92, but the reasons for 18's over 19's stand regardless of the number of doors one has, because wheel and tire choice extends beyond looks.

And your claim about performance is just untrue. 19's won't weigh less than 18's, unless there's significant quality differences. But assuming oem for fair comparison, 18's will generally be lighter simply because there's less mass. And this affects performance. Bigger wheel = more 'travel distance' = worse mpg and also being heavier means being slower to accelerate. Comparing traction between 18's and 19's just comes down to the wheel/tire width and quality of the rubber, and has nothing to do with that extra inch in diameter.

Lol I was debating about 18's vs 19's for the longest time when I was sitting there throwing up all over my stock 16's. I considered all this shit plus the reasons I posted in my initial reply. Chose 18's, absolutely no "horrible sense of regret".. car looks great imo, rides great, couldn't be happier. I do appreciate the look of 19's especially when tastefully lowered (on any vehicle) but I think with 19's it really is just all about the look. I love running 18's and will probably never size up.

[Ali-E90]

I chose 19's on my e90, stock suspension. Love it. Haven't tried 18, but 19 are smoother than expected (Falken 452). I occasionally do hit a pot hole, and the bump isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Really, it's all up to preferences. If you want best perf, cost, go with 18. If you want best look, 19.

Cheers.

[cc_25]

Originally Posted by SCSRe92

the only thing accurate about this statement is cost, some 19'' wheels perform better then 18s and paired with the right tire they give the car better traction and comfort. My 19s oem style 95s also weight less then my old 18 189s, SPECIALLY if you factor in the rfts vs non rfts

What you're saying really makes no sense. Of course SOME really lightweight 19's will weigh less SOME heavy 18's, especially if the former has regular rubber and latter has RFT.

If you're going to make performance comparisons, you have to look at the same wheel in both 18 and 19 inch sizes, and the same rubber, in which case the 18 will obviously be lighter.

Car and Driver did a comparison a few years back, and tested out the same car with the same wheel and tire compound in a big range of sizes, from maybe 15 or 16 to 20 or 21 (I forget exactly). Increasing size adds wheel contact patch, which increases performance, but also adds weight, which decreases performance. It's a trade-off. IIRC, they found the sweet spot for performance to be 17-18 in size; smaller than that didn't make enough contact, heavier than that added too much weight to be worth it.

Now, if you're not regularly tracking your car, you might not care about a few 10ths of a second in lap times, so it comes down to what just looks right to each individual person. Personally, I think 19s look a tiny bit too large, but that's just me. 19 is certainly as large as anyone should go on a car of this size, anything above that looks cartoonish in appearance.

[Boltords]

Im running 20s with no problems. Definitely 18s on the track though!