[Night Train]

a few weeks ago, I got a "tire defect" message. the right rear tire was very low; I filled it back up, and it seemed OK for a couple of days. for a while, I thought I had a slow leak, but then, I took it somewhere, and they showed me that I had a cracked rim.

great, I thought, there goes 600 bucks. so, I got an OEM rim (this was before I knew about m5board.com's cheaper options), and took it to a specialist to have the rim swapped out onto the old tire, and get things rotated and balanced. at this point, I had noticed that the OEM rim was much darker than the wheels on my car, but I figured that the former owner had them re-finished a brighter chrome. if anything, I thought it would just be a minor aesthetic problem.

I should have said first-- I'm a total noob. anyway, before they did anything, the mechanic called me out to the garage floor, and showed me that the OEM rim I bought wouldn't work. it turns out that the former owner was running on 19" M3 competition package knock-offs, not OEM, and not even M5 wheels.

now, I am between a rock and a hard place.

this is the option I am leaning towards now, because it's the most cost effective: just keep filling it with air every 5 days or so and riding on the cracked rim, until I can find out from the previous owner where he got the knock-offs. then, buy one, swap it out onto the old, still-good tire, and run on the fakes until the tires wear out. after that, get 3 OEM wheels and new tires at the same time.

I know there are other options, too, and I'd like some advice. also, if anyone is selling front or rear OEM wheels, I guess it can't hurt to start shopping a few months ahead of time. thanks in advance.

 

[Beemer Guy]

If you've got a cracked rim, that's a safety issue, and I would suggest that you stop driving on it.

Secondly, if these rims are not OE rims but "knock offs" as you say, then they are very likely substandard wheels (hence the cracks) and could be dangerous. You don't want to be taking chances with cheap crap. And you shouldn't be buying more of them.

If you want OE M5 wheels, then I'm sure you can find some, check the classifieds on this forum. There are lots of nice after-market wheels of high quality (BBS, Fiske, HRE, etc.) but you will pay for quality.

Wheels and tires are not an area that you want to be cheap about. You can have the most horsepower and best suspension and the world's finest brakes, but it's the tires (and wheels) that communicate all of that to the ground and they are the most important link.

Do it once and do it right.

BTW, if you chose to sell your new M5 wheel (say if you went with the high quality after-market option) you shouldn't have any trouble selling it here (albeit not for what you paid).

Best of luck.

Michael

 

[E55AMG2]

Get the wheel welded? There are wheel repair places that can fix this sort of stuff.

 

[Night Train]

I am aghast at what the previous owner did, and plan to put on a full set of OEM chrome shadow wheels, when these tires go. I think they're better-looking than a lot of the after-market stuff, although some of the BBS wheels look nice. until then, I'm willing to roll the dice on a Band-Aid solution. I would consider welding, if the rim wasn't a cheap POS in the 1st place. I'm afraid welding might do more harm than good.

 

[isxm]

oem in second hand , it can be good, that depend your model if they are classic or not , good luck

 

[Sailor24]

Get the wheel welded? There are wheel repair places that can fix this sort of stuff.

+1 very good advise. It is amazing what a good guy can fix.

 

[intrepid one]

+1 very good advise. It is amazing what a good guy can fix.

The key is a proper post weld inspection. Just about anything can be welded by the right welder. Understanding the alloy used in making the rim is absolutely the key to the repair..Good Luck

 

[jgfabs]

Get the wheel welded? There are wheel repair places that can fix this sort of stuff.

Shame im not in the states as I could do this.

 

[magisnyc]

Which wheel do you need - front or back? If you just need to replace one other wheel I have one of each available. You can at least run a matched pair of 18" until you decide what to do.

 

[Night Train]

magis- that's a good idea. how much are you asking per wheel?

 

[magisnyc]

PM sent.

 

[magisnyc]

snow rims

This is another affordable option: BMW 18 inch wheel and snow tire package

 

[Night Train]

magis, I'll get back to you soon. I need to increase my posts so that I can PM.

 

[Night Train]

PM returned.

 

[E55AMG2]

Shame im not in the states as I could do this.

There are no alloy wheel repair shops in the UK?

 

[jgfabs]

There are no alloy wheel repair shops in the UK?

Yes there are.

 

[jgfabs]

Yes there are.

www.caterhamwelders.com

 

[jgfabs]

Yes there are.

www.caterhamwelders.com

 

[crds]

...Wheels and tires are not an area that you want to be cheap about. You can have the most horsepower and best suspension and the world's finest brakes, but it's the tires (and wheels) that communicate all of that to the ground and they are the most important link.

As was said to me at a driving school

Instructor: What stops the car?

Student 1: The brakes?
Instructor: "No."

Eventual student X: The friction between the tire patch that is touching the road and the road itself.
Instructor: "Yes! Your breaks can't help you if your tires are not capable of producing proper friction against the road, such as when they are either not in contact with it, when something has reduced either the patch or the friction, or when you have a wheel or tire malfunction." :dunno:
​

Important lessons!

-crds

 

[Sales Geek]

As was said to me at a driving school

Instructor: What stops the car?

Student 1: The brakes?
Instructor: "No."

Eventual student X: The friction between the tire patch that is touching the road and the road itself.
Instructor: "Yes! Your breaks can't help you if your tires are not capable of producing proper friction against the road, such as when they are either not in contact with it, when something has reduced either the patch or the friction, or when you have a wheel or tire malfunction." :dunno:
​

Important lessons!

-crds

Absolutely. I lost my all time favorite car -- a 1995 Maxima SE that I bought new and ran for 155,000 trouble-free miles -- because I saved $100 on a set of tires. I totaled it in broad daylight on a clear stretch of road. If you can see the picture attached to this post, the black rectangle below the passenger's side headlight is the class III trailer hitch cover from a Yukon that I rear-ended....:crying2: