[apespud001]

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Hi everyone,

I have a 320d 08 plate with continental premium contact ssr runflat tyres that are in desperate need of replacing.

Where I need advice is whether to go to blackcircles for example and pay £360.00 ish to replace like for like tyres or £450.00 ish to improve my alloys and get new tyres in the process.

Ebay have these for example : 350220824209 from wheelbase.

Are replica alloys ok or do I need genuine and are the tyres decent enough to race around as I have been on the Continentals?

So, do I replace like for like on the continentals or look for a wheel/tyre package such as the one above ?

I really appreciate any help offered.

Ben

[F31-340i]

Those wheelbase MV3 alloys will only be copies (8J all round, unlike originals which have wider 8.5J rears - originals will look much better), and the tyres will probably be very (too) cheap and not RFT.

What are your current alloys? Do you want to keep them? What size are they (and what tyres do they take)?

Do you want to stay with RFTs or not? Have a search on here.

On a 320d, if you stay with your current alloys I'd be ditching the RFTs and getting some Falken 452 (falkentyres.co.uk are usually cheapest, as they are sent direct). Technically they are a "budget" tyre, but I had them on my last 330d (E46) and I thought they were excellent (as good as my previous Goodyear Eagle F1s).

I worked out I could put Falkens allround on my MV3s for around £360+fitting. If you can get Contis for this then I assume you have smaller alloys than MV3s at the moment? Are you sure you're being quoted for RFTs?

If you want MV3 and haven't got them, there are some original MV3s in the classifieds....

[apespud001]

Originally Posted by ///ajd

Those wheelbase MV3 alloys will only be copies (8J all round, unlike originals which have wider 8.5J rears - originals will look much better), and the tyres will probably be very (too) cheap and not RFT.

What are your current alloys? Do you want to keep them? What size are they (and what tyres do they take)?

Do you want to stay with RFTs or not? Have a search on here.

On a 320d, if you stay with your current alloys I'd be ditching the RFTs and getting some Falken 452 (falkentyres.co.uk are usually cheapest, as they are sent direct). Technically they are a "budget" tyre, but I had them on my last 330d (E46) and I thought they were excellent (as good as my previous Goodyear Eagle F1s).

I worked out I could put Falkens allround on my MV3s for around £360+fitting. If you can get Contis for this then I assume you have smaller alloys than MV3s at the moment? Are you sure you're being quoted for RFTs?

If you want MV3 and haven't got them, there are some original MV3s in the classifieds....

thanks for the reply,

I currently have 16" wheels and quite fancy getting larger ones to improve the look of my car.

the tyre size is 205/55/r16 which is smaller than the tyres that come with alloys (does this make any difference?)

the continentals for approx £350.00 ish are the exact run flat replacement of the ones that came with the car new.

i am not bothered regarding having run flat or otherwise but based on the falkens you suggested i would rather just replace the exact same continentals

i am aware that the tyres that come with the alloys on ebay are probably crap and that is my main concern

cheers

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by apespud001

thanks for the reply,

I currently have 16" wheels and quite fancy getting larger ones to improve the look of my car.

the tyre size is 205/55/r16 which is smaller than the tyres that come with alloys (does this make any difference?)

the continentals for approx £350.00 ish are the exact run flat replacement of the ones that came with the car new.

i am not bothered regarding having run flat or otherwise but based on the falkens you suggested i would rather just replace the exact same continentals

i am aware that the tyres that come with the alloys on ebay are probably crap and that is my main concern

cheers

I might have a set of 17 x 8.0 Style 284 light-alloy wheels, 225/45R17 Front/Rear Tyres, Bridgestone "Turanza" EL42 available towards the end of the month. The tyres only have about 4500 miles on them. You can see them here and here. They're 19mm in diameter (538mm vs. 519mm) more than your 205/55R16s which would make your speedometer show slower than your actual speed by a couple of mph.

[F31-340i]

452 Falkens in your 205/55/R16 size are only £52 delivered - or £210 for a full set (need to add say £50 fitting/balancing).

RFTs get alot more expensive as you go up sizes.

The Falkens I quoted for would be those on genuine MV3 alloys in 8, 8.5J 18" sizes. The comparison is that for such a set of Falkens costing around £360, the Michelin equivalent RFTs are around £860, and Bridgestones £780 - all without fitting.

I'd recommend getting OEM alloys if you can - I was toying with getting some 19" M6 reps (with wider rears), but I'm glad now I persisted with trying to get some OEM 19" 225 style wheels instead. You can't always be sure of the quality of the alloy wheel either, nevermind the budget tyres.

If you have a non-Sport model (which I assume you must have if its got 16" wheels), I'd recommend seeking out some of the Ellipsoid 18" wheels (style 162) - the best style IMO for an SE model.

Some on ebay here, but they are new, from the US and too expensive, 170352145386