arcticT

I need some help with this....I've searched and I can't find a definitive answer. I obviously like all the performance I can get from my 535i, but 20" wheels just look better than 19's. What I can't figure out is how much 20" wheels will take off of my straight line performance over 19" wheels. I know the car isn't built for the straight line and I don't "live my life 10 seconds at a time" or anything, but winning the occasional drag race is mighty fun! Anyway, a good set of 19's with the right suspension and offset look good also, and I can live with that if the jump to 20's would slow me down significantly. Ride quality is another issue all together. Someone please make their point as to which direction I should go....am I gonna notice a difference in acceleration if I go to 20's???

Bad Bimr

I was in the same position you are in. I decided on the 19's because of a few reasons (not in any particular order).

1: As much as I wanted the 20's I knew that the roads in my area (PA) are not smooth. With pot holes everywhere, I could see bending rims all the time.
2: Although the price of the wheels is similar the price of tires for 20's can be as much as double. Over time this will eat at your wallet fast.
3: From talking to a few forum members rubbing can be an issue with 20's.
3: The extra rubber on the sidewalls of the 19's will help ride comfort.

The 20's will look better but I think I will be happy with the 19's plus I got a super killer deal on the wheels. My wheels and tires arrive tomorrow

BP

FRANK970

What wheels did you end up with Bad Bimr?

FRANK970

I have spent a huge amount of time trying to determine wheel weights to answer your initial question. It seems that the aftermarket wheel manufacturers do not feel that weight should be something a consumer considers in wheel purchases. I find this approach frustrating. To me it is a critical factor. There seems to be an illusion that more expensive wheels are lighter. I have not found evidence of this. There are heavy expensive and heavy cheap wheels; however, the lightest at a given size are usually the most expensive.

Re: 19" vs 20". Weight again is more dependent on the particular wheel choosen at each size, but obviously the larger wheel will weigh more. The weight difference is probably around 10-20% or 3-6lbs per wheel. Add a factor for unsprung weight and you could be looking at a penalty of 24-48lbs roughly of additional weight. This around 1% of overall vehicle weight and I don't think that will be noticeable in acceleration. IMHO.

Bad Bimr

You are right in saying that paying more money will not get you a better or lighter wheels it just gets you a more expensive wheel. In the past few years I have seen so many new wheels companies. It seems a new one comes out every day. They come out with some shiny expensive wheels and put them on some rap star or ball players car and charge an arm and a leg. Most of these wheels are made in china of poor quality but the buyer thinks differently because they were expensive.

Marketing 101: Have a famous person endorse or show your product and it will sell.

Last I checked I did not see Fikse, Kinesis, Forgeline, OZ, BBS, SSR etc on the cover of popular magazines. These companies products speak for and sell themselves and don't need a rapper to endorse them. The race track does the endorsing for them.

When you buy wheels get a set from a reputable company that has been in the wheel business for years and manufacturers own their wheels rather then these fly by night marketing companies that have wheels made in china and put a fancy name on them.

Just my 2 cents

BP

kchan

i totally agree with bad bimr
if you go with 20", you either have a VERY low profile tire (30 in front and 25 in rear) to keep it the same diameter. this will be like running on rubber bands...
if you use the 35 front 30 rear, that means your overall size will be 1" larger, i think you can get by if your car is not lowered. If it's lowered, it may rub.
My 19" weighs only 21 lbs, i love it. they are the bbs rgr, got them used for a good price.
In terms of wheel weights vs. acceleration, i doubt going to 20" will have a noticeable difference. i change from OEM to my 19" setup, saves about 10 lbs on each corner. it seems like it's willing to spin more freely, but i won't say it's a night and day difference.

arcticT

All great points....everyone seems to make a great argument in favor of 19's. It's VERY frustrating to me as well how it is so difficult to find out what a wheel weighs, short of purchasing the wheels and weighing them yourself. Weight is the second deciding factor, right behind looks for me. I think I will go with 19's and maybe take a jack down to the drag strip this fall and do some OEM vs aftermarket comparisons.

Bad Bimr

Installed the new 19" wheel/tire combo yesterday. The new wheels and tires weigh much less then the stock 124 wheels and run flats. Did not have a scale handy but I can assure you a minimum of 10 lbs per wheel (if not more). The car definitely feels quicker. My wife (who know nada about cars) commented this morning that the car felt different. She made a comment that she does not have to press the accelerator pedal as hard to get up to speed. I did not tell her that the wheels could make the car faster, she said it on her own. This confirms what I thought when I drove the car.

No matter what size you get make sure to get light weight wheels. You will notice a difference.

BP