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[my1st]

Hey all,

I seem to be unable to decide on 18" replacement wheels. My car is '08 Ti silver sport pkg sedan. I have it narrowed down to these two. I will likely get the anthracite/gunmetal color. I currently have PSS tires on the stock 162 wheels and I want something lighter and better looking. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

[123Britt]

Look at the weight of the CS.16 SportLINE & also look at the APEX EC-7
.
I LOVE ALUFELGEN AND ARC-8 -- (OF THE 2 - ARC-8 )
.
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I too am looking at 18" OEM looking wheels. THE M359's on the ********** SITE really look good too --- my current vote if weight is not a real concern.

[Route 16]

Arc 8 hands down, very concave and light

[sonorous]

The CS7 and Arc-8 are both good options. I would vote Apex simply becasue of the flow-forming manufacturing technology and the resulting strength.

As others have noted, the EC-7 is another good option. I actually just ordered a set. There is a group buy going on right now:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684707

[my1st]

In reference to the concavity of the wheels, I will be getting the 18x8 or 18x8.5 wheels in front and 18x8.5 or 18x9 in the rear. I believe that these aren't as concave as the wider wheels. A million points to anyone with pics of these wheels in gunmetal/anthracite.

[neilvosko]

Does 1 to 2 lbs per wheel really make a difference? Prob not unless it's a 10 % change so just get the one you like for looks

[Slow_335i]

Originally Posted by neilvosko

Does 1 to 2 lbs per wheel really make a difference? Prob not unless it's a 10 % change so just get the one you like for looks

Because race car! Everyone must have the lightest wheels possible!

I vote Alufelgen CS7 for the look of them, the others look cheap.

[Route 16]

Originally Posted by my1st

In reference to the concavity of the wheels, I will be getting the 18x8 or 18x8.5 wheels in front and 18x8.5 or 18x9 in the rear. I believe that these aren't as concave as the wider wheels. A million points to anyone with pics of these wheels in gunmetal/anthracite.

I'll see if APEX will let me do another test fit on ARC 8's if they have any.

Here's my test fit on EC-7's a couple weeks ago.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=714124

[cvc 22349a]

I've got to chime in on this thread cuz I've had both.. Went from oe 162's to Alufelgen's first batch of CS7's. The finish held up really well and so did the wheels, but after a couple years of modding my car I decided I wanted lighter wheels and more tire sidewall as my suspension got stiffer so I switched to Arc-8's last Summer. I do feel an improvement steering and braking response with the Arc-8's, but the finish isn't as durable as the Alufelgens were. The Arc-8's are much easier to clean and I'm happy with my current set up, but the CS7's looked better and are the closest replica of the E46 M3 CSL wheel made. Customer service: Apex is way better than Alufelgen! So imo, Arc-8>CS7

OP: If you want to see how they'd look on your tiag, search some old posts of mine.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by neilvosko

Does 1 to 2 lbs per wheel really make a difference? Prob not unless it's a 10 % change so just get the one you like for looks

Between which wheels? Arc-8's are <19 lbs ea and CS7's are ~26 lbs; big difference that can be felt..

[my1st]

Thanks cvc. If I can remove 6 or 7 lbs of rolling weight per corner for the price of the Apexs, that seems like a no brainer. Does anyone have a pic of the anthracite Arc-8s? They almost dont seem dark enough on their website, but I'm not ready for black wheels. Thanks everybody.

[neilvosko]

i meant like all the lightweight wheels are like 18-20 #'s so its splitting hairs. so just pick the ones that fit the bill.

[qhb]

Originally Posted by sonorous

The CS7 and Arc-8 are both good options. I would vote Apex simply becasue of the flow-forming manufacturing technology and the resulting strength.

As others have noted, the EC-7 is another good option. I actually just ordered a set. There is a group buy going on right now:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684707

I am planning to get on this group buy to get a set of EC-7 for my son's 2009 328i sedan but not too sure about the size. What do you think about a square setup with 18x8.5" ET35? Do you think this is the right size for a square setup? What color do you think will go good with "Imperial Blue Metallic"?

Thank you for you help and opinion.
Q

[drfrink24]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=672943

Flow formed, lightweight.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by qhb

I am planning to get on this group buy to get a set of EC-7 for my son's 2009 328i sedan but not too sure about the size. What do you think about a square setup with 18x8.5" ET35? Do you think this is the right size for a square setup? What color do you think will go good with "Imperial Blue Metallic"?

Thank you for you help and opinion.
Q

Yep, correct size for square size for 235/40 tires. Might want to run a 10-12mm rear spacer to bring the shoulder of the tire closer to the fender edge.
Black or silver looks good with blue imo.

[Moxie]

APEX wheels are JWL VIA certified. Not sure if Alufelgens are. I had Alufelgen & have a set of ARC 8's. I vote for the ARC 8's.

[cvc 22349a]

Originally Posted by Moxie

APEX wheels are JWL VIA certified. Not sure if Alufelgens are. I had Alufelgen & have a set of ARC 8's. I vote for the ARC 8's.

Ich habe auch beide gehabt

[Eddy@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by my1st

Thanks cvc. If I can remove 6 or 7 lbs of rolling weight per corner for the price of the Apexs, that seems like a no brainer. Does anyone have a pic of the anthracite Arc-8s? They almost dont seem dark enough on their website, but I'm not ready for black wheels. Thanks everybody.

In reference to the concavity of the wheels, I will be getting the 18x8 or 18x8.5 wheels in front and 18x8.5 or 18x9 in the rear. I believe that these aren't as concave as the wider wheels. A million points to anyone with pics of these wheels in gunmetal/anthracite.

Do you have an LCI or pre-LCI? Is there a reason you wanted to run narrower sizes?

The narrowest ARC-8 is 18x8.5" ET38. It's already an easy fit and could handle tires from 225-255 on a stock car. The common fitment for the rear of pre-lci models is 18x9.5" ET35 with 265/35/18's.

Here's a shot of Anthracite on a member's car. They opted for extra wide wheels with stretched tires. You can ignore the actual fitment





Here's a street friendly 18x8.5" ET38 with 235/40/18's and 18x9.5" ET35 with 265/35/18's

[jpirelli]

Apex ftw

[my1st]

The anthracite wheels look perfect! Pre-lci. I want the narrower wheels to mount current tires on. I have some PSS's with a lot of life left. My current 162 wheels have some rash and never looked that good anyway (and heavy).

[Meeni]

Eddy, does 8.5 ET20 square (concave) fit on the preLCI ?

[bigdnno98]

Those arc 8s are sick! I'm looking into them now. Just have to get off of these 19" miros. LOL