Mounting new winter tires on beat-up old stock rims: good idea?

StabPreflop · 10-03-2012, 11:34 AM

I'm buying a new set of winter tires (Dunlop Winter Sport M3 runflats) for my 2008 E90 328xi.

Right now the car has the original 16" OEM wheels it came with. After a couple of years of driving in & around New York City, all four rims are dented. As far as I can tell, not too severely: no unusual vibration, and steering is straight.

Is it a good idea to just have the new winter rubber mounted on these rims and use them as a winter set for a couple of seasons? This would cost me around $180-200, compared to the alternative of $532 + shipping + TPMS for a new set of Rial Salernos with the tires premounted.

So, up front, reusing the current wheels looks like a clear winner. I'm worried about two scenarios that could screw me if I go this route though:

1) If the dents prevent the tires from being mounted properly, then I still have to buy the new wheels (repairing costs even more), except I just wasted the opportunity to have TireRack send them premounted for free. The tire installer guy says this "shouldn't be a problem." Is that legit?

2) If the dented wheels are much more likely (than a new set would be) to fail early, meaning before the tires are used up, then it'll hurt even more since I'll not only have wasted the original mounting fees but have to pay again to move the tires to a new set of wheels. Is this a real concern?

BTW, here in NYC, the roads are basically completely unmaintained so I'm not inclined buy new wheels, just for the winter, "for the heck of it." Only if they'd cause a problem for mounting, or be likely to be done before the tires are.

What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for your help.

Rmk392 · 10-03-2012, 11:59 AM

if the rims still hold air you should technically be ok although not recommended.

StabPreflop · 10-03-2012, 08:05 PM

Yeah I get that. I'd definitely just get new ones if I lived somewhere else. Here they'd just be destroyed again in a year. So I just wish I knew how much longer I can trust the wheels I've got now. It's 4yrs/50k now. A good 8k from one road trip, so not all pothole miles... but a lot.

For next summer my plan is to get the hardest rims possible and hope for the best

wdeerfield · 10-03-2012, 09:51 PM

i personally would order the wheel set from TR. $300 difference is an easy bill to swallow for piece of mind driving everyday not having to worry about it. Rials are great wheels for a bmw.

StabPreflop · 10-04-2012, 01:35 PM

Gorgeous ride man. The Montego Blue and the VB3s look incredible.

Thanks to both of you for your input. I was pretty much ready to just keep the old wheels but I'm convinced otherwise. I might still go that way if I can get a pro to actually look at them and tell me they're good enough to last a lot longer... otherwise I will just get the Rials as you suggest.

BTW, what would I do with my old wheels in this scenario? I know the tire place will dispose of my old tires for a fee, not sure what to do with the wheels though. Do I just take them to a scrapyard?

Thanks again guys, appreciate the help.

StabPreflop · 10-04-2012, 01:40 PM

Ooooh. One more thing. Is moving the pressure sensors to the new wheels something a n00b like me can figure out to do myself, or do I need to take it in for that?

10-03-2012, 11:34 AM	#1
StabPreflop Private First Class 8 Rep 115 Posts Drives: '23 M5 Comp Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (0)	Mounting new winter tires on beat-up old stock rims: good idea? I'm buying a new set of winter tires (Dunlop Winter Sport M3 runflats) for my 2008 E90 328xi. Right now the car has the original 16" OEM wheels it came with. After a couple of years of driving in & around New York City, all four rims are dented. As far as I can tell, not too severely: no unusual vibration, and steering is straight. Is it a good idea to just have the new winter rubber mounted on these rims and use them as a winter set for a couple of seasons? This would cost me around $180-200, compared to the alternative of $532 + shipping + TPMS for a new set of Rial Salernos with the tires premounted. So, up front, reusing the current wheels looks like a clear winner. I'm worried about two scenarios that could screw me if I go this route though: 1) If the dents prevent the tires from being mounted properly, then I still have to buy the new wheels (repairing costs even more), except I just wasted the opportunity to have TireRack send them premounted for free. The tire installer guy says this "shouldn't be a problem." Is that legit? 2) If the dented wheels are much more likely (than a new set would be) to fail early, meaning before the tires are used up, then it'll hurt even more since I'll not only have wasted the original mounting fees but have to pay again to move the tires to a new set of wheels. Is this a real concern? BTW, here in NYC, the roads are basically completely unmaintained so I'm not inclined buy new wheels, just for the winter, "for the heck of it." Only if they'd cause a problem for mounting, or be likely to be done before the tires are. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance for your help.
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10-03-2012, 11:59 AM	#2
Rmk392 First Lieutenant 28 Rep 367 Posts Drives: E92 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	if the rims still hold air you should technically be ok although not recommended.
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10-03-2012, 08:05 PM	#3
StabPreflop Private First Class 8 Rep 115 Posts Drives: '23 M5 Comp Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (0)	Yeah I get that. I'd definitely just get new ones if I lived somewhere else. Here they'd just be destroyed again in a year. So I just wish I knew how much longer I can trust the wheels I've got now. It's 4yrs/50k now. A good 8k from one road trip, so not all pothole miles... but a lot. For next summer my plan is to get the hardest rims possible and hope for the best
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10-03-2012, 09:51 PM	#4
wdeerfield A family of bimmers 2747 Rep 7,742 Posts Drives: '18 G01 X3M40i Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Clifton Park, NY iTrader: (0)	i personally would order the wheel set from TR. $300 difference is an easy bill to swallow for piece of mind driving everyday not having to worry about it. Rials are great wheels for a bmw. __________________ 2018 PB/Black G01 X3M40i \| 699M \| ZDA \| ZPP \| ZPX \| Maxton front lip \| X3M vents \| 15mm Spacers \| Diamond G20 style grills
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10-04-2012, 01:35 PM	#5
StabPreflop Private First Class 8 Rep 115 Posts Drives: '23 M5 Comp Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (0)	Gorgeous ride man. The Montego Blue and the VB3s look incredible. Thanks to both of you for your input. I was pretty much ready to just keep the old wheels but I'm convinced otherwise. I might still go that way if I can get a pro to actually look at them and tell me they're good enough to last a lot longer... otherwise I will just get the Rials as you suggest. BTW, what would I do with my old wheels in this scenario? I know the tire place will dispose of my old tires for a fee, not sure what to do with the wheels though. Do I just take them to a scrapyard? Thanks again guys, appreciate the help.
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10-04-2012, 01:40 PM	#6
StabPreflop Private First Class 8 Rep 115 Posts Drives: '23 M5 Comp Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (0)	Ooooh. One more thing. Is moving the pressure sensors to the new wheels something a n00b like me can figure out to do myself, or do I need to take it in for that?
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