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[mastamike911]

Hey guys,

I recently got burned by buying Renn RS-51 wheels. I thought since I saw they were "flow-forged" that meant they were going to be tougher and less susceptible to cracks/bends. Boy was I wrong! I don't track my car. Only really use it to go to/from work for the most part. I've only had them a little over a year and just learned both of my rear wheels have multiple cracks and need replacing. I've decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and spend more money to get something that'll last.

So anyway, I'm obviously looking at BBS or HRE, but I was wondering if there are any other brands I should be looking at?

[Delta0311]

I got a set of forged wheels from Beyern (Spartans), I think they have a few styles now that are rotary forged.

A lot of the "cracked wheel" issue also has to do with tire choice. Running a thicker than usual sidewall has given my 18" gravity cast wheels absolutely no issues when it comes to crappy roads or potholes.

Running 19s with rubber band sidewalls is a completely other story...even the almighty BBS OEM factory wheels can't seem to handle that.

[mastamike911]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

A lot of the "cracked wheel" issue also has to do with tire choice. Running a thicker than usual sidewall has given my 18" gravity cast wheels absolutely no issues when it comes to crappy roads or potholes.

Running 19s with rubber band sidewalls is a completely other story...even the almighty BBS OEM factory wheels can't seem to handle that.

Very true. In addition to getting higher quality wheels, I am planning on getting some thicker tires. I'm hoping to stay with 19s as I like the look, but instead of 255/30/19 going with 265/35/19 and switching from runflats to a non-runflat like PSS.

[shadow191]

Flow/Rotary Forged are the same process but at the end of the day it's still a cast wheel. The face is cast and they put the barrel through rollers to "forge" it. So the barrel is better made but most companies use this process to make a lighter wheel, not necessarily stronger.

FWIW, you can destroy a forged multipiece wheel as well but it's just easier to replace parts. I was lucky with my 3 piece forged wheels. I ran 20"s so had 25 and 30 series tires - fortunately never bent/cracked a wheel in 4 years of city driving. But plenty of stories of cracked faces, cracked barrels, bends, etc. no matter how expensive the wheel.

Be careful in upsizing the tires. It may cause rubbing due to the larger diameter depending on if you're dropped and the offset.

[techwhiz]

Originally Posted by mastamike911

Hey guys,

I recently got burned by buying Renn RS-51 wheels. I thought since I saw they were "flow-forged" that meant they were going to be tougher and less susceptible to cracks/bends. Boy was I wrong! I don't track my car. Only really use it to go to/from work for the most part. I've only had them a little over a year and just learned both of my rear wheels have multiple cracks and need replacing. I've decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and spend more money to get something that'll last.

So anyway, I'm obviously looking at BBS or HRE, but I was wondering if there are any other brands I should be looking at?

APEX if you track the car.
APEX is by far one of the best wheels that you can buy.

I had a set of Forgestar where I bent or cracked 3 of the 4 wheels in daily driving.
Same roads, same length of time, same size wheels, APEX are still completely straight. They also stock most fitments, colors and you can buy a single wheel at a discount if you damage a wheel and return it.

APEX.

I'm running 19x9-ET35 and 19x9.5-ET33 (5mm Spacers) with 245/35 in the front an 275/30 in the rear.
My car is an E90 Pre-LCI and I have no rubbing and the fenders are not rolled.
I'm on sport suspension with Bilstein B8 shocks.

[mastamike911]

EDIT: Well damn. Looks like Apex is sold out of the 8.5 size. Don't know what to do now...

Thanks for the help everyone. I decided to go with Apex wheels, and am in the process of ordering now. Here's what I'm going for:

Apex EC-7, Satin Black
19x8.5-ET35 front
19x9.5-ET40 back

And then I'm order new tires:

Michelin Pilot Super Sport
245/35/19 front
265/35/19 back

Hopefully this will be the solution to my woes, as spending multi-thousand on wheels/tires every couple years has been pretty painful

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by mastamike911

EDIT: Well damn. Looks like Apex is sold out of the 8.5 size. Don't know what to do now...

Thanks for the help everyone. I decided to go with Apex wheels, and am in the process of ordering now. Here's what I'm going for:

Apex EC-7, Satin Black
19x8.5-ET35 front
19x9.5-ET40 back

And then I'm order new tires:

Michelin Pilot Super Sport
245/35/19 front
265/35/19 back


Hopefully this will be the solution to my woes, as spending multi-thousand on wheels/tires every couple years has been pretty painful

Appreciate the interest. We consolidated some of our 19" fitment options recently to follow the trends of historic sales figures, and therefore do not consistently stock the 19" EC-7 in the sizes you mentioned. We do stock them in M3 fitments.

Alternately the ARC-8 design has been a bit more popular, therefore we offer a full range of 19" fitments in that design, including the 19x8.5" ET35 front / 19x9.5" ET33 rear that is popular for the E9X chassis.

Keep in mind the stock 19" tire sizes for the E9X are 225/35-19 and 255/30-19, therefore the correct rear tire size in this scenario would be the 265/30-19 that you were running. There are implications for running too tall of a tire, and we would not recommend running a 265/35-19.

Stock rear 255/30-19 tire:

25.02" tall

- - - - - -

Correct "upgraded" 265/30-19 tire:

25.26" tall

compared to stock rear tire: 0.23" / 0.93% taller

- - - - - -

Proposed 265/35-19 tire in question:

26.3" tall

compared to stock rear tire: 1.28" / 4.86% taller

With that said, if you live in an area with rough roads, I would strongly encourage you to run 18" wheels. Not only will that give you more comfort and protection by running a taller sidewall, tires are cheaper and more plentiful. To top things off, by decreasing rotational mass you have also improved the way the car performs.

- Ryan

[mastamike911]

Ryan ApexRaceParts,

Thanks a ton for your response! I figured the tires with a larger diameter in the rear would give me more protection, and I had heard some people were using that size fine. What are the implications of doing so?

You are probably right though that I should just go down to an 18". ARC-8 or the new FL-5 would probably be my choice. What would your recommended sizes be for wheels and tires at an 18" size?

[Riceball777]

I would go with VOLKS or maybe SSR or ADVANS

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by mastamike911

Ryan ApexRaceParts,

Thanks a ton for your response! I figured the tires with a larger diameter in the rear would give me more protection, and I had heard some people were using that size fine. What are the implications of doing so?

You are probably right though that I should just go down to an 18". ARC-8 or the new FL-5 would probably be my choice. What would your recommended sizes be for wheels and tires at an 18" size?

The industry standard is to stay within 3% of the stock overall rolling diameter. Small variance within that range is totally fine, however the chassis was engineered with a particular rolling diameter in mind so the idea is to stay as close as you can. Tires that are too tall can have negative implications in the form of gearing, rubbing inner fender liners, damaging outer fenders, and potentially messing with the cars systems (AWD models are more sensitive).

245/35-19 front and 275/30-19 would be a better choice, as that would get you about 1/2 inch of extra sidewall in the rear (over the stock rear 255/30-19) and you would still be within 1.8%. Many run 275's out back, and unless you are very low or run a tire that runs very wide you typically do not have to roll the fenders.

- Ryan

[mastamike911]

Ryan ApexRaceParts

I think I've been convinced to go with 18" wheels, especially after seeing the new ones y'all got (I'm thinking of hitting the trigger on the SM-10 in anthracite). I still have some questions if you wouldn't mind answering.

I don't want to deal with camber, rolling fenders, or buying spacers. So I was thinking...
18x8.5 ET35 front, 18x9.5 ET35 back
235/40-18 front, 265/35-18 back

Does that sound right? Would this be relatively flush?

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by mastamike911

Ryan ApexRaceParts

I think I've been convinced to go with 18" wheels, especially after seeing the new ones y'all got (I'm thinking of hitting the trigger on the SM-10 in anthracite). I still have some questions if you wouldn't mind answering.

I don't want to deal with camber, rolling fenders, or buying spacers. So I was thinking...
18x8.5 ET35 front, 18x9.5 ET35 back
235/40-18 front, 265/35-18 back

Does that sound right? Would this be relatively flush?

I think that you will be very pleased with the driving experience on 18's, and I think the spoke design of the SM-10 lends itself to looking "larger" than the other 18" designs due to the spokes running to the edge of the wheel. You hit tthe nail on the head in terms of a staggered fitment which performs well and does not require any modifications to fit:

Staggered Fitment:
F: 18x8.5" ET35 - 235/40-18
R: 18x9.5" ET35 - 265/35-18

Tire heights match up very well from front to rear, and there are many choices when it comes to tires.

- Ryan

[Fundguy1]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

A lot of the "cracked wheel" issue also has to do with tire choice. Running a thicker than usual sidewall has given my 18" gravity cast wheels absolutely no issues when it comes to crappy roads or potholes.

Running 19s with rubber band sidewalls is a completely other story...even the almighty BBS OEM factory wheels can't seem to handle that.

You mean 20s. 19s are fine on all but ridiculous NYC style potholes at speed. That said you may also have a manufacturing issue. I'd contact the maker. Been on 19s for 9 years and yet to crack one. I have bent one but the hit was so hard it also bent my front control arm too.

[mastamike911]

Woohoo! Ordered my wheels today, and will hopefully have them on the car by the end of next week! Thanks everyone for your input, and especially Ryan at Apex for all the great info.

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by mastamike911

Woohoo! Ordered my wheels today, and will hopefully have them on the car by the end of next week! Thanks everyone for your input, and especially Ryan at Apex for all the great info.

We greatly appreciate your support. Be sure to post some photo's once things are dialed in

- Ryan

[techwhiz]

I saw you ordered the 18".
Apex is the best wheel I had on this or any other car to date.
I've had 5 series and a couple of M3s and now the 335.