JW-BENZ

I wasn't planning on dropping the car. Just looking for a set of 18 or 19's. The car doesn't look right with 17's in my opinion. I don't want to go far from stock, so was hoping I could get OEM. Ideally I would like the 166's over the 167's. But I see two fellows on this post who are saying they have good reps in the 167s. I read some other posts on here about members not liking the 166 replicas, not having the same depth to them, cracking, denting, and other things..

On my benz all I ran was replicas. I did dent one on a bump a long time ago, but I'm sure the OEM's can still feel the pain of the road. I'm more concerned about the weight of the replicas vs. OEM.

v_therussian

I think you'll change your mind about dropping once those 19s are on, but I'll let you decide on your own. Just remember, if you do decide to drop, you need to remember one word: coilovers.

If drop is completely out of question, BTW, I recommend 18s.

Now back to the rims, have you considered other options? There are some OEM rims you can get from X3 and even some X5, as well as 3 series rims that match Xi offsets very well. It could render a stunning and original look to your car.

There is a member on here who has the X3 128s on his Xi with an aggressive drop - it looks excellent. Maybe if he reads this, he can drop a pic for you

JW-BENZ

That's an idea.. I just need to know what I can and cannot pick with the RIMs before I fall in love with a set. Maybe a talk with the dealer to get the options is in order.

I wouldn't mind a drop, however, car suspension admittedly the least knowledgeable part of the car for me. I am concerned with dropping the car (especially with the AWD) might affect the handling in the negative. BMW knows what they are doing better than me right? What do you think?

v_therussian

To pick the rims you need to keep offsets at about ET38 up front and ET33 in the back (or more conservative, i.e. higher ET number; stock is ET43, but that's waaay too deep inside the wheel well to look good). You also want to be sure that the hub size matches (I believe it is 72.56, but you can easily search that). Of course, the bolt pattern must match - 5x120 on our cars. You ideally want to have lowest possible weighing wheels (rims and tires - research "unsprung weight") for better handling.

As to dropping the 530Xi, unfortunately AFAIK there is only one option that does not negatively affect the car, which is KW V3 coilovers - they have a pretty steep MSRP, but member MacFly has a very serious hook-up (from what I hear ) on these, so ask him if you're thinking about them. Otherwise, it seems that you'll be giving up some handling and most importantly risking durability of other suspension components with any other drop (at least, of those that I know of).
Little known fact (at least to me) about dropping: headlights won't adjust to the drop, so you'll need to mark a spot where your car is parked by an empty wall and then mark where the light is (just mark where the light "end" at the top of the illuminated area). There is a thread on this forum where it shows which bolt adjusts the height of the headlights.

BTW IMHO KWs are a great option if your car would benefit from new shocks (if you have higher miles) - and to boot, KW gives you a lifetime warranty, in case anything goes wrong with them.

E60714

Here's what those 128s look like:

I'd get 'em in a heartbeat if they weren't OEM only which you pay out the wazoo for them. Maybe eBay? I dunno. But I like those better than the M6s.

v_therussian

LOL this is like one of them psycho ESPN things LOL, I just posted a thread about these I found on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-X3-19-F...=item35a4e02bbe

JW-BENZ

Thanks guys,

Russian, great tips on the drop. Maybe I should go 18's to avoid the drop. I remember putting 18's on my Benz which was stock 16's and it looked monster truckish. I moved it down to 17's after that for a smoother ride.

I emailed the eBay auction guy, to ask a question about shipping. I could live with the 128's, they look great! I'm wondering how heavy they are since they are from a X3 though.

bobbyt

I have m3 reps on my car 530xi and have not had any probs ever. Ride is the same and no vibrations.

bobbyt

Another.

JW-BENZ

Thanks for the pics.. What I've seen with the replicas of these rims is that they don't have the same depth as the OEM rims. There was a post about this somewhere on the board as well. I pulled up a pic see the difference in the drop into the middle of the rim with the OEM. That's the best part of the rim.