[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by jacbo

Oh dear... no surprise though i suppose. Seems far too common for BMW wheels.

Hopefully you got some decent tyres now as well

Aye, no surprise at all. 18s just don't seem to last that well on E9x cars, with run-flats, badly damped M Sport suspension, and "variable quality" road surfaces adding to the mix. As you no doubt know, living in the UK too!

I went pretty much all out on the tyres after that line up: MPS4s Much better!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Happens when you run run flats. Tires and wheels get heavy and hitting a pot hole the shock gets transferred to the and cracks.

Days of cars be light and nimble on their wheels have gone by with all of our sensor and nannies protecting us.

Sad seeing your wheels like that.

Agreed, on all counts.

Adding to that, standard M Sport suspension is so horrifically under-damped that it just doesn't work well here in the UK. I used to live in a city called Sheffield and the roads there were that bad the UK government had to intervene...

...spending £1BN resurfacing the whole city, with an additional £1BN set aside for the future maintenance. Billion with a B. Yikes!

[xlr88r]

I try to maintain and mod my cars sensibly.

Spending decent money on critical parts is a given, especially when those parts are responsible for the safety or mechanical reliability of the car.

If it's solely cosmetic I'm happy to go down the "good used" or refurbished route - see the interior swap as proof there.

Wheels and tyres are firmly in the former category and to me, scrimping on them makes no sense at all. As such those knackered MV3s came off, and after a month's wait, these freshly refurbished beauties were ready for collection. These look a bit better eh? No cracks, no welds, no flat-spots, no buckles; just a couple of weights here and there... par for the course stuff.

Joining them are new hardware:

- New Michelin Pilot Sport 4s.
- New spacers with correctly matched extended bolts and locks
- New genuine BMW center caps. Yep, really!

Camskill had a promotion on Michelins which saved me a chunk on the Pilot Sport 4s. As such, and with their being no ///M logos on the new wheels to worry about (there's a clue) that saving went on new, genuine center caps. That's the first time I've gone for genuine caps and will likely be the last as well!

[M-technik-3]

What size spacers did you choose? I am debating a 5 mm just for the rear as the fronts are fine. Love the PS4's they ride so much nicer than my Conti's.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by xlr88r

I try to maintain and mod my cars sensibly.

Spending decent money on critical parts is a given, especially when those parts are responsible for the safety or mechanical reliability of the car.

If it's solely cosmetic I'm happy to go down the "good used" or refurbished route - see the interior swap as proof there.

Wheels and tyres are firmly in the former category and to me, scrimping on them makes no sense at all. As such those knackered MV3s came off, and after a month's wait, these freshly refurbished beauties were ready for collection. These look a bit better eh? No cracks, no welds, no flat-spots, no buckles; just a couple of weights here and there... par for the course stuff.

Joining them are new hardware:

- New Michelin Pilot Sport 4s.
- New spacers with correctly matched extended bolts and locks
- New genuine BMW center caps. Yep, really!

Camskill had a promotion on Michelins which saved me a chunk on the Pilot Sport 4s. As such, and with their being no ///M logos on the new wheels to worry about (there's a clue) that saving went on new, genuine center caps. That's the first time I've gone for genuine caps and will likely be the last as well!

Nice. Really can't beat PS4 for the balance of performance/longevity/wet grip/comfort...shame they're a bit pricey, but at least they're cheaper than the factory tyres!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

What size spacers did you choose? I am debating a 5 mm just for the rear as the fronts are fine. Love the PS4's they ride so much nicer than my Conti's.

They're great tyres aren't they? Completely understand why they get the good reviews they do.

Spacer wise, I went for 10mm front and 15mm rear. The new wheels are the same spec as MV3s, so the fronts are 8" ET24 (with spacers) on 225/40 and the rears are 8.5" ET22 (with spacers) on 255/35.

Before they were fitted some complimentary braking and suspension work was done first. More pics to follow

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Nice. Really can't beat PS4 for the balance of performance/longevity/wet grip/comfort...shame they're a bit pricey, but at least they're cheaper than the factory tyres!

Cheers! I'm a fan as well. Have PS4s on my old E90 and even with heavy ish 19s the ride is fairly decent. On 18s it's even better.

[xlr88r]

"I'd sooner own a car that doesn't start, than one that doesn't stop".

My dad has a few sayings. While most of them are just silly little things from when my sister and I were young, he does occasionally come out with something that sticks for life. In 2002 or so I bought my 3rd car, from an auction, which I wasn't able to drive beforehand. While it was generally decent the brakes were absolutely, totally, shot. It was at that time he came out with this line, and it's something I've kept in mind ever since.

A while back I lucked out and found a set of genuine BMW M Performance brakes (34110444769) in the original 'Meridian Gold', made specifically for the 325i/d and 330i/d E9x cars. These were brand new and direct from BMW. This was a big spend in proportion to the value of the car and I did think for a while before pulling the trigger, but I'm glad I did. At the time when BMW actually had an online shop on their site, 4x regular calipers listed at over £1200 alone, and this set wasn't massively more. That sure helped swing the decision! After this and the second set they had for sale went, I've not seen a 4-corner set since... good timing.

It came with the works: 4x calipers, 4x discs, 4x pad sets, wear sensors, dust shields, new lines, and the related mounting hardware. They've served me and my E90 well and had to make their way onto the E91...

[Tambohamilton]

That's a bit fancy!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

That's a bit fancy!

They're alight eh? Can't beat a shiny parts delivery day.

[xlr88r]

Time for some more under the arch goodness

One of the very first things I noticed when driving my old E90 was just how poor the ride was on standard M Sport shocks and springs. A couple of years back I treated it to some Koni Special Actives, which immediately proved to be a great purchase. They knocked off every single rough edge from the ride and brought a load more compliance into the mix as well. There's noticeably less squat under acceleration and dive under braking, and cornering control is great with them...

...so good, that these just had to make their way onto the new E91. As well as the Koni's, I added some Eibach Pro's and one of the Powerflex rear ride height shims to the parts list as well. Things are about to get a fair bit better under arches!

[xlr88r]

There was a bit of a wait at my trusted local indie - as they needed both ramps for both cars! - but the wait was well worth it.

The new E91 did ride a little better than my old E90 did, even when that was on 18s and non-runflats as well, but the Koni and Eibach combo has really kicked this into touch. I'm not saying it's E32 on 16s when it comes to comfort, but it's leagues ahead of standard stuff.

The same day this was all fitted the car went a whole 1/4 of a mile for a Hunter alignment session. The results were great, with lots of good numbers and lots of arrows in the centre of green boxes all round.

Without further ado, here are some pics from the transplant day:

Goodbye to these:



Hello to these:

[xlr88r]

Here we go!

After about 6 weeks, 400 miles of driving buying sets of wheels, various Ubers moving the cars around, and a frustrating couple of hours spent packing up the spare 216s for couriering, the new ones are on. Woop!

I haven't kept an exact track of costs, but if everything under the arches has come in at less than about £1500 I'd be amazed. The wheels were £275, the refurb was £380 and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s about the same, the spacers, extended bolts and locks were all but £100, and the labour for the suspension and brake swap and alignment was, erm, a fair deal too. There were 7 hours labour for that, so think of your favourite BMW indie and times their rate by 7.

All told though I'm really, really pleased with the result. The OEM/OEM+ look is what I'm aiming for: it's subtly lower, the arches are fuller looking without any rubbing, rolling or daft camber needed, and there are nice, optional but factory brakes peeping out between the spokes. Holding it up are a lovely for a daily shock and spring combo.

Prattle aside, here are the not-very-glamourous pics. I really should seek out some scenery and take some better ones sometime soon.

[xlr88r]

Bonus points to anyone who spotted the little bit of extra care my local indie took when fitting the wheels.


Take a look at the pics again.


Go on, I'll wait...


Yep, that's right. The tyre valves, centre caps, and locking bolts are all in perfect alignment, on all 4 wheels. That would've only taken them a few seconds longer to do, and at a glance you'd likely never notice. The fact they have done this is a testament to the TLC they show every car which passes their way.

Do you live in Leicester, drive a BMW, and want it looking after? MSC BMW on Frog Island are the guys for you.

[bkwld]

216 Motorsport is very fitting for this car. Period correct. You have very good taste. Love it!
Micheline tire looks chunky too which is a bonus in my opinion.

[jacbo]

looks great! Don't see many 216s and those front callipers look huge ahah. love it

yeh leicester isn't exactly the prettiest place for car shots... i should know

[Tambohamilton]

Too high at the back! (Or too low at the front)

Great work. I wish I had enough cash to to anything other than fighting fire on mine

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by bkwld

216 Motorsport is very fitting for this car. Period correct. You have very good taste. Love it!
Micheline tire looks chunky too which is a bonus in my opinion.

Thanks very much! They're certainly a step up in appearance from the original wheels and tyres which came with it.

I've just clicked your profile and I'm full of jealousy - the Style 219 and 260s are a great looking wheel! If budget allows one day, I'd love them on mine as well.

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by jacbo

looks great! Don't see many 216s and those front callipers look huge ahah. love it

yeh leicester isn't exactly the prettiest place for car shots... i should know

Cheers mate! How strange to find someone local to me on here as well.

Aye, I've been wracking my mind about places for photos and have done nothing but draw blanks so far. A few people have parked up near Leicester cathedral, on one of the old cobbled streets nearby, and the pics there look pretty decent. I'd feel a bit daft taking photos of an old estate somewhere so public though!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Too high at the back! (Or too low at the front)

Great work. I wish I had enough cash to to anything other than fighting fire on mine

Hehe! That was a 'hehe' to the ride height comments mate, not the fire fighting bit. What's happening with yours? Hope it's nothing too serious.

I had a 535d a while back and that was one of those cars... it seemed to swallow a good £500 every 3 months or so on fault fixes, on top of normal maintenance. It was a horrible, horrible car for reliability, and one of the big reasons I went for an N52 this time.

[Tambohamilton]

Mine is fine. No errors anywhere. But... I've got a rattle in the NSR suspension somewhere that I just can't pin down. It's almost all new too. The engine taps/rattles and I'm not sure why. Been doing it for years though, through 2 used oil analyses and no ill effects. Plus various creaks and rattles and minor water leaks, and I'd like sports seats, and the exhaust is squint...... Oh and a few rust spots starting to rear their heads underneath. It's neverending!

[jacbo]

Originally Posted by xlr88r

Cheers mate! How strange to find someone local to me on here as well.

Aye, I've been wracking my mind about places for photos and have done nothing but draw blanks so far. A few people have parked up near Leicester cathedral, on one of the old cobbled streets nearby, and the pics there look pretty decent. I'd feel a bit daft taking photos of an old estate somewhere so public though!

Hahahh agreed. Not my style that. Rather be in a natural setting like peak district or something