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[bimmercrown]

Long story short, ran on 19" replicas for 3 years. Won't name names but the strength of the rim was so bad that it caused two of my tires to leak air, wear unevenly and eventually blowout. Traveling on bad roads probably didn't help either.

Now I'm gonna err on the safe side and go with 18s for a bit more cushion. What's a good-looking set of rims for this price? It's the price I got quoted for a BMW oem set. I'm looking for somewhat of a sweet spot between looks and strength. I dunno how strong oem rims are but that'll be my benchmark.

I had a lot of trouble finding good choices on this forum because it seems like most rims start at 19". My preferred look is rims with lips.

Thanks for the help.

[AoS810]

VMR makes some 18" wheels, V701, V710, and VB3; VMR wheels are actually very affordable. Another option are Forgestar F14's, highly contemplating these wheels cause they're fairly lightweight in 18" sizes, and lighter equals vroom vroom but they're around $1300 I think. Personally, I'm waiting for Alufelgen to release their SF-71 in 18" size, its only available in 19" right now but that wheel should be a good compromise between price, weight and durability.

-James

[ModBargains.com]

If you're looking for an 18" light weight wheel I would recommend that you check out the Forgestar F14 flow form wheel. Forgestar's lineup utilizes a combination of the best methods of forging and casting methods both in the same wheel. This is called Flow Form Casting, and is used by companies such as BBS and Enkei. These wheels are made to order and can be made to fit your BMW with a large range of offsets.

Flow Form Casting is a production procedure that turns the wheel (or rim section) over a special mandrel and three hydraulic rollers using tremendous pressure. The pressure and turning then force the rim area to form against the mandrel, creating the shape and width of the rim. During Flow Forming, the rim actually "flows" down to create the full rim width. During Flow Forming, pressure applied to the cast rim actually changes its mechanical properties, so its strength and impact values become similar to those of a forged rim. That translates to up to 15% less weight when compared to a standard cast wheel.

Forgestar wheels are also much lighter than cast wheels. The 18x8.5 F14 wheel weighs an amazingly light 17.6 lbs, where a cast wheel of this same size would weigh anywhere from 23-27 lbs. This saving of roughly 6-10 pounds per wheel makes a BIG difference in regards to handling and drivability. Reducing unsprung weight (weight that is not supported by the car's suspension, i.e wheels, tires, brake rotors, and brake calipers) is one of the easiest ways to improve your car's handling, braking, and acceleration. As a general estimate 1 pound of unsprung weight is equal to 10 pounds of static weight. (weight that is supported by the vehicle's suspension). By using this ratio if you were to replace your stock wheels that weighed 25 lbs with Forgestar wheels you would be saving 320 lbs. in static weight!

I'll shoot you over a PM with more details. In the meantime, you can check out the Official Forgestar F14 Wheel Gallery here on E90post!

- Alan

[tldoxmf87]

Originally Posted by **********s.com

If you're looking for an 18" light weight wheel I would recommend that you check out the Forgestar F14 flow form wheel. Forgestar's lineup utilizes a combination of the best methods of forging and casting methods both in the same wheel. This is called Flow Form Casting, and is used by companies such as BBS and Enkei. These wheels are made to order and can be made to fit your BMW with a large range of offsets.

Flow Form Casting is a production procedure that turns the wheel (or rim section) over a special mandrel and three hydraulic rollers using tremendous pressure. The pressure and turning then force the rim area to form against the mandrel, creating the shape and width of the rim. During Flow Forming, the rim actually "flows" down to create the full rim width. During Flow Forming, pressure applied to the cast rim actually changes its mechanical properties, so its strength and impact values become similar to those of a forged rim. That translates to up to 15% less weight when compared to a standard cast wheel.

Forgestar wheels are also much lighter than cast wheels. The 18x8.5 F14 wheel weighs an amazingly light 17.6 lbs, where a cast wheel of this same size would weigh anywhere from 23-27 lbs. This saving of roughly 6-10 pounds per wheel makes a BIG difference in regards to handling and drivability. Reducing unsprung weight (weight that is not supported by the car's suspension, i.e wheels, tires, brake rotors, and brake calipers) is one of the easiest ways to improve your car's handling, braking, and acceleration. As a general estimate 1 pound of unsprung weight is equal to 10 pounds of static weight. (weight that is supported by the vehicle's suspension). By using this ratio if you were to replace your stock wheels that weighed 25 lbs with Forgestar wheels you would be saving 320 lbs. in static weight!

I'll shoot you over a PM with more details. In the meantime, you can check out the Official Forgestar F14 Wheel Gallery here on E90post!

- Alan

+1 for Forgestar!!

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by bimmercrown

Long story short, ran on 19" replicas for 3 years. Won't name names

Can you PM the name at least of the rep, if you don't want to publicly call them out?

[mm347]

Checkout LTW EmPower

You can find them @ Turner ->http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...POWER-WHEEL-18
Vorshlag -> http://www.vorshlag.com/index.php?cPath=1_79_90
BavAuto -> http://www.bavauto.com/fland.asp?par...e=EMP188540AML
And other places.

[cb4]

If you are concerned about durability/strength i'd suggest going OEM. The OEM 18" style 313 should run you about 1600 shipped.