Shark, I plan on using it as a 3 season wheel too. I'm almost 100% decided to get them, now the universal "do I get RFT or standard rubber" debate? My thing is that any problems I ever had with my past Mini wheels resulted in a crazy blowout, not just a nail in the tire, so a spare is a must if I didn't get RFT's. Tire slime just won't do for me. Those times I had the blowout, I was glad to have RFT's. I've been looking for a solution and was THIS close to having found one, but i'm short about 2" as far as space under the flat load floor to fit a spare. I use my trunk often, if I had a spare, it must be put in the compartment below.

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:


All from a pothole.

 

FWIW, these are nice wheels, but only available in 18":

http://www.apexraceparts.com/APEX-EC-7_ep_45.html

 

Ouch! You were able to drive on the run flats with that degree of wheel damage? Pretty impressive case for run flats if that's the case. I see that RFT's are available in 245 40 19, but the prices for RFT's in that size are breathtaking! I've long assumed, everything else being equal, that run flats make wheel damage more likely because the hard sidewall transfers more energy to the wheel when something like a pothole is hit. Do you agree with that? I have to say I've bent more than my share of wheels from pothole damage even when using non RFT low profile tires.

 

When I had that incident, I had a 20 mile ride to my friend's shop. It wasn't a pleasant ride, but as advertised, I drove between 40-50mph and in the right lane with my hazard lights on. Yes the steering wheel was giving off tremendous feedback because of the bent wheel and ruined tire, but the tires did exactly what they were advertised to do in the 20 or so miles I had to drive like that. Those pics were taken the next morning at my friend's shop after the drive.

Question is, does one sacrifice ride quality for peace of mind?

 

I actually think this is a bigger indictment of RFTs than it is a testament. What would have happened if you had regular tires? You would have had to call and wait for a tow to your friend's shop? To me, dealing with the terrible ride characteristics, extra weight, noise, etc. of RFTs every single day is not worth having to wait a bit for a tow truck to tow my car 20 miles on the extremely rare occasion I have a catastrophic tire failure.

In the era of TPMS and cell phones, the debate is even more skewed in favor of standard tires. If I were frequently driving through remote, potentially dangerous, areas, I might strongly consider RFTs. Otherwise, I have a hard time seeing the case for them.

(I know it sounds like I'm coming at you, Shoof, but I don't mean to single you out. I respect your opinion and I'm sure you have sound logic behind RFTs, but they just don't make sense to me. I hope you don't take offense and apologize if you do.)

 

Thanks for the pep talk, Greg. Glad to know I'm not alone in feeling occasional pangs of wheel-regret. My girlfriend, to whom I have occasionally expressed doubt, is now convinced that I have "commitment issues" and will never propose. Easier to change wheels then women, though!

I think you are right that lowering it will make all the difference. Like you say, it will get rid of the wheel gap and tuck them back inside the fenders a bit. I also think it will help to ditch the stock Beyern center caps. I hate to do it to Beyern, because they make a good product, but I ordered a set of these to slap on there:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-4X-BMW-A...ht_2677wt_1378

I'm thinking they'll fill out the wheel and improve the looks quite a bit.


Thanks for the offer, Greg! I'll definitely keep that in mind if I getting short on options. Unfortunately, the alignment is what I'm really looking for. I'm not sure what kind of shops do this stuff and am reluctant to take it to the dealer. There is a place in town that does performance mods for BMWs and Minis; maybe I'll give them a shot?

 

Greg, one more question...I've always assumed that, everything else being equal, the shorter the sidewall, the better the handling (often at the expense of ride quality), and the taller the sidewall, the more the sidewall will flex and detract from handling. So I was thinking that a 235 40 19 tire would handle better versus a 245 40 19 tire (although the wider 245 might provide more grip on a dry road). Do you think there's any merit to that? Thanks.

 

I wouldn't be able to say for sure. In the old days, when we used to replace our 60 or 70-series tires with 50-series tires the stiffer, shorter sidewalls absolutely helped handling a bunch over the ballon tires, no doubt about that. However, I think 40-series is probably about optimum. The reason I say that is because I have 30-series tires on my Genesis, and the sidewalls are so short in comparison to the width, that their lack of compliance causes them to skip over the pavement when you're cornering near the limit on a road that isn't perfectly smooth. Like anything, there is a happy medium "sweet-spot" and once you start going away from it, in either direction, you loose performance... IMHO a 50-series is too flexy, a 30-series is too stiff, and a 40-series is just right.

But for your question, between the two you mentioned, the difference is so slight that I'm not sure you'd be able to tell, and I wouldn't know offhand if a 3.7" sidewall of the 235 is better or worse than a 3.9" sidewall of a 245. When I was shopping for tires for ours, I wanted something just slightly taller than stock, like 2-3% taller. Here are the tire heights I came up with...
25.9" = stock R60 tires
26.4" = 235/40/19
26.7" = 245/40/19

So height wise the 235 seemed good, but it's kind of an oddball size and there weren't any tires that I wanted available in that size. Also, 235 is optimum for an 8" wide wheel, and I got 8.5" wide and a 245 is the optimum size for that width. There were three different tires I like available in 245... the Potenza RE760, the BFG g-force Sport, and the Conti ExtremeDW. So based on all that it was a no brainer to go with the 245.

So, I didn't really answer your question, because I don't know for sure, but I suspect the difference is negligible.

 

Thanks Greg, appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

 

Looks like I'm joining the 19" club. I pulled the trigger on the NM RSe14's. I ordered 225/40/19 Michelin Pilot Super Sports and TPMS sensors from the Tire Rack. I have a dealer account with TR and NM, so at least I was able to take advantage of some savings. NM did me a big favor and sold me the wheels for well below what my usual purchasing price would be because I told him it was for me personally and to hook me up. I got the tires and sensors today, and should have the wheels next week Wednesday or so.

In the meantime I'll carry a SLIME spare tire kit (consists of slime and compressor), though I am very actively looking for a compact spare tire solution and may have found something that can be used AND fit in the hole in the trunk under the flat load floor so it doesn't take up any space...Stay tuned!

 

Man, where were all you NM wheel lovers when I was trying to decide! Good thing the Beyern wheels are growing on me day by day.

Going to throw some NM springs on there next week with Greg's help and will post some new pics when I do. Maybe my new center caps will come in before then!

 

Shoof, I for one would be very interested in seeing photos and hearing your thoughts as I'm also planning to buy the same wheels and tires...maybe a size or two larger on the tires. Thanks in advance.

 

caring a "SLIME" tire kit eh?? Ghostbusters helping out in this?

 

I found a good deal on some used BBS LM's. Do you guy think I could get away with running a 19x8.5 +32 and a 225/40 without rubbing, or do you think it would they would stick out too far with that low of an offset? Btw......I plan on lowering on KW V3 coils.......Thanks

 

those BBS will look horrible, you should just sell them to me :P j/k
They will poke ever so slightly & will likely rub some. I dont think it will poke like 'mexi-cali' style but some. With the V3's you should be able to stiffen it up quite a bit to limit rubbing. Obviously you ride height will play into that as well.
Nice choice on the rims.

I am joining the 19" club today. I have gone NM RSe14's in satin Black. I ordered 225/45/19's & will lower my ALL4 w/ the NM-E springs.
- I believe I am the 1st to use this tire size. The taller tire was chosen for ride comfort/protection & also looks. Yes, a slightly bigger tire to actually fill the wheel gap a few mm. (going to a 19 from a 17 but maintaing the same diameter does nothing to actually fill the opening)
This size will also correct the speedo which I have compared w/ my GPS at speeds from 30-85mph & the speedo is consistently off by 3-4mph(over actual).
pics hopefully this evening.

 

SmithWerks, PLEASE post pics asap. I am looking to order the NM wheels, and am struggling between gun metal and black. I also have a light white CM, so this is perfect for helping my decision. Thanks so much! PS-- let me know how the springs work out as well, from a handling and ride perspective. I'm debating whether the 2k is worth it for the coilovers.

 

Here ya go. 225/45-19 on 19x8 NM-E RS-14. Stock factory Sport Susp. (Ive had the NME springs before I had the car, these go on soon.)

 

Looks Great!

 

Here's the Gunmetal RSe14's

 

Love 'em!

 

what size wheels are these? width, offset??
thanks!

 

Can u tell me width of OZ wheel and Offset please

 

Can u tell me width and offset, thanks

 

Those are OZ Superturismo LM 19" and looks like they are x8.5 eta40 rims with tires 225/40 R19 Michellin.

 

Thanks! On the white with black roof(SoftBank) countryman right?