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[jdsboston]

Hey guys,

I just bought a CPO 06 330xi 6mt with Type 162 18s all around. It's been mine for about three weeks now so still getting familiar with the car. I was cleaning her today and noticed that the rear tires are not staggered 255s. I was really pissed as I thought that I had bought a set of staggered 162s 8.0/225 up front and 8.5/255 in the rear. I have three questions:

Q1) Were any of the 2006 330Xis actually shipped with symmetrical 18x8.0 162s all around??

I am assuming that all Type 162 18inch cars were shipped with staggered setups and this is cheesy dealer shenanigans? Is that right?? Or was a symmetrical 162 setup possible from the factory??

My gut is that they swapped out possibly damaged rear rims for 8.0 / 225 fronts?

Q2) Maybe they just put 225 tires on the 8.5 rims to be cheap? How can I tell if the rear rims are 8.5" or not? Is there a code stamped on the rim someplace on the outside that I can confirm?

Q3) How would you guys handle this?

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

/Josh

[GregL]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

Hey guys,

I just bought a CPO 06 330xi 6mt with Type 162 18s all around. It's been mine for about three weeks now so still getting familiar with the car. I was cleaning her today and noticed that the rear tires are not staggered 255s. I was really pissed as I thought that I had bought a set of staggered 162s 8.0/225 up front and 8.5/255 in the rear. I have three questions:

Q1) Were any of the 2006 330Xis actually shipped with symmetrical 18x8.0 162s all around??

I am assuming that all Type 162 18inch cars were shipped with staggered setups and this is cheesy dealer shenanigans? Is that right?? Or was a symmetrical 162 setup possible from the factory??

My gut is that they swapped out possibly damaged rear rims for 8.0 / 225 fronts?

Q2) Maybe they just put 225 tires on the 8.5 rims to be cheap? How can I tell if the rear rims are 8.5" or not? Is there a code stamped on the rim someplace on the outside that I can confirm?

Q3) How would you guys handle this?

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

/Josh

1. As far as I know, 18" rims were not an option for any MY2006 E90/91 xi cars, at least for North America. At the time, factory installed 162s were only available as part of ZSP on the 330i and only came staggered.

2. There is a stamp behind one of the spokes, it would be easiest to remove a wheel to check. Like you said it's possible that your dealer put 225/40/18 on 8.5" rims, it's within the specified range for that size tire.

3. What does it say exactly on your paperwork in terms of rims?

[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by GregL

1. As far as I know, 18" rims were not an option for any MY2006 E90/91 xi cars, at least for North America. At the time, factory installed 162s were only available as part of ZSP on the 330i and only came staggered.

That's what I thought. Is there anywhere I can confirm this? I suppose I could call my local dealer and tell them what happened. I am meeting them here in DC/VA on Tuesday. Selling dealer is in NJ.

2. There is a stamp behind one of the spokes, it would be easiest to remove a wheel to check. Like you said it's possible that your dealer put 225/40/18 on 8.5" rims, it's within the specified range for that size tire.

Thanks. I will ask about this on Tuesday

3. What does it say exactly on your paperwork in terms of rims?

Well the CPO report I got a copy of it and it shows that the original rims on the car were the 10-spoke 17s. The dealer told me a previous prospective buyer before me had requested the 18s as an upgrade but that that buyer's financing fell through. I got the whole wheel package for nothing. However, I emailed them to confirm the tire specs and I got confirmation on 225 front 255 rear. I can't believe I overlooked this. It is a major F-up on my part and I am pissed as I was so careful to check everything else.

Do you think I should call the selling dealership directly or should I do some more research on this?? I went down the street just now as a neighbor of mine has a 330i with the 162s and his are definitely staggered and he is running 255s on the rear... man what a bummer this is to discover after the deal has closed.

/Josh

[jdsboston]

Hey guys,

I have drafted a little memorandum of understanding with the selling dealer on this and excerpted the list of terms. Here's what I am asking them to agree to. Please let me know if you think I should be asking for anything else to get the right rear rims swapped onto the car here in DC.

EXCERPTED TERMS:
"Proposed Solution -- Please ask your team manager to read this carefully as I will place these terms below into a one-page MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) which I expect that an authorized member of the BMW of XXXXXX management team will sign before we get this corrective process started.

I propose that you mail me the correct ZSP Type 162 rear rims with the correct 255 tires that I was expecting on the car at delivery:

1) Rims must be 100% true and straight and cosmetically flawless -- no road rash at all. I would like to see detailed closeup pictures of these rims BEFORE they are shipped
2) Tires on these rims must be the same Bridgestone OEM RFTs that I currently have on my car but obviously in the correct rear size of 255 R35 18 configuration.
3) I would like brand new tires, given the significant delay in the plates and this additional hassle with the incorrect rear rims.
4) If tires are not new, used OEM RFTs must be "almost new", i.e. tread depth of at least 10MM
5) Your team will mount and balance the tires with OEM stick-on weights so I don't have to pay for that down here. Please make sure they are very careful not to damage the rims if mounting with new tires. Again, I would like to see detailed closeup pictures of these rims BEFORE they are shipped
6) Upon receipt, I will inspect the rims and have them evaluated by my local dealer to be sure that they are true and straight.
7) If there are any problems with the rims or the tires, I will get in touch with BMW USA to resolve this directly through them.
8) Assuming okay, I will have my local BMW dealer mount and balance the new 18x8.5 rear rims. Re: Payment for installation: Your team will have to make arrangements for my BMW dealer to be paid for this work as I do not have any interest in paying for it since this is a mistake. Let me know if you can arrange to have my local dealer invoice you directly.
9) You will provide me with a UPS or FEDEX account number to have the other rims shipped back to you at your expense.

An Alternative:
1) Your team sends me a check for $1500 to cover the cost of (a) rear rims and (b) tires for my car and (c) installation (balancing and mounting).
2) Once the new wheels are mounted, you will provide me with a UPS or FEDEX account number to cover the expense of shipping the two Type 162 18x8.0 rims back to you at your expense.

..."

THOUGHTS?? ANYTHING I FORGOT??

THANKS GUYS!!!

[F32Fleet]

You have to be careful with the AWD cars. You can't just go staggered willy nilly because you might chew your front transfer case all to hell.

[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by Socom

You have to be careful with the AWD cars. You can't just go staggered willy nilly because you might chew your front transfer case all to hell.

Hmm, well I haven't heard that from other folks who have owned XIs like mine and are running staggered. What are you basing that on? As long as the diameters are the same it's no big deal the width of the rims/tires as far as I understood the way the X drive works...

/Josh

[lonestar22]

im sure the person that made the wheels the same size was looking after the AWD system

[flip4335]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

Hmm, well I haven't heard that from other folks who have owned XIs like mine and are running staggered. What are you basing that on? As long as the diameters are the same it's no big deal the width of the rims/tires as far as I understood the way the X drive works...

/Josh

The only reason for a staggered setup is to put more rubber at the source of the power. FWD cars mostly have a square setup because the power is in the front. My wife's Mercedes E350 is a 4Matic (AWD) and it has a square setup (245/45/18s all around) like all of the Audis, Acuras with SH-AWD, WRX-STIs, and most other AWD vehicles. Under extreme starts, all of the power transfers to the rear tires in the Mercedes, but the car usually runs a 30/70 power distribution for front/rear. With that said, I don't understand the staggered setup for e90xi AWD vehicles, if power is going to all four wheels. My guess is that it is merely cosmetic. Please advise.

[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by flip4335

The only reason for a staggered setup is to put more rubber at the source of the power. FWD cars mostly have a square setup because the power is in the front. My wife's Mercedes E350 is a 4Matic (AWD) and it has a square setup (245/45/18s all around) like all of the Audis, Acuras with SH-AWD, WRX-STIs, and most other AWD vehicles. Under extreme starts, all of the power transfers to the rear tires in the Mercedes, but the car usually runs a 30/70 power distribution for front/rear. With that said, I don't understand the staggered setup for e90xi AWD vehicles, if power is going to all four wheels. My guess is that it is merely cosmetic. Please advise.

Thanks for your thoughts. That's amazing to think your wife's MB has 245s all around. And you make some very interesting points.

I have to admit I am only three weeks into the car so very new to this drivetrain and still learning about it. I think you're getting after the same issue I am wondering about but I don't think having staggered on the XI is "merely cosmetic" as you implied as I was under the impression that the front/rear power distribution was even more rear-biased on the XI drivetrain than 70/30.

I would bet this topic is a more interesting thread for the XI crowd so I lobbed it over there. I have also asked a bunch of other folks for their thoughts on XIs, rims and tires and will let you know what I hear.

Does anyone else out these have any insights on XIs and running staggered versus squared front to rear wheels?

/Josh

[jdsboston]

Well I think this is pretty definitive.

Here on this thread is a fellow from the XI boards saying that his 06 330XI was shipped OEM with staggered Type 162s.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293976

I am definitely gonna follow through on this with the dealer and get the right setup on the rear.

Thanks for your replies guys.

/Josh

[GregL]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

Does anyone else out these have any insights on XIs and running staggered versus squared front to rear wheels?

/Josh

AWD cars naturally understeer, adding rubber to the rear will create even more understeer so yes, it's a cosmetic thing. I went staggered not too long ago for the summer and love the looks, but to be honest it handled better with a squared setup. While it's possible to tune out some of the understeer by adjusting tire pressures, that can only do so much.