[Hoooper]

After cracking my second type 195 stock wheel, I decided it was time to pick up some wheels I could trust, and maybe save some weight while I was at it. I drive a lot of miles, sometimes several hundred a day, so having wheels that might crack at some point in the middle of my drive and leave me stranded was unacceptable. I settled on Apex EC-7 since they have good reviews for being strong, tough, and light as well as coming in the right offsets for my car. Also settled on continental DW over the PSS due to price and a couple pounds saved per tire in the sizes I used. Now lets get to the good stuff. Stock front tires are fairly deep still, probably 80% tread or more. Rears were more like 10-15% remaining. I calc'd the weight of rubber difference between a stock rear tire and the tread depth remaining out to 5.2 lbs, which makes the weight difference make sense. Roughly 11-12 lbs less per corner is what I was expecting so this is pretty much spot on Its been raining pretty good here so I havent taken any pictures, but the point of the wheel choice was to look basically stock and they do that well.

Stock front wheel (225/40 R18) 18"x8"


New front wheel (235/40 R18) 18"x8.5" et35


Stock rear wheel (255/35 R18) 18"x8.5" if you add 5.2lbs here for a new tire you get 56.4 lbs, on paper the weight should be about 56.5lbs so thats pretty close.


New rear wheel (265/35 R18) 18"x9.5" et43 I maybe could have got away with the et35 on this wheel, but even the et43 on a 9.5" wide wheel puts the wheel edge 7mm further out and I have 0 interest in rubbing. If for whatever reason I feel like I need to get it further out there I can use a 5mm spacer I guess.

[Quasimodem]

I heard from someone (who I believe worked or had worked at a BMW dealership) that the 195s are especially used for our cars because it has to be strong (for the torque and additional weight maybe). I havent cracked one yet, and I love the look of the wheels. But yes, they are damn expensive. I do drive paranoid. I had a passenger criticize my driving once as dangerous for bicyclists. But I wouldnt swerve around a pothole if there was a bicyclist next to me.

Nevertheless, I thought the 195s were especially chosen for their strength. I am dubious that you can get a stronger wheel if it is lighter.

I dont go to the UK forums much, but I recall seeing a huge discussion about a class action suit against BMW for cracking wheels. I dont know if the 195s are offered in the UK, but you might ask there if they have seen problems with these wheels.

[Hoooper]

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

I heard from someone (who I believe worked or had worked at a BMW dealership) that the 195s are especially used for our cars because it has to be strong (for the torque and additional weight maybe). I havent cracked one yet, and I love the look of the wheels. But yes, they are damn expensive. I do drive paranoid. I had a passenger criticize my driving once as dangerous for bicyclists. But I wouldnt swerve around a pothole if there was a bicyclist next to me.

i didnt crack one for a while, then I cracked two in a month. The last one managed to crack badly enough in one drive that I filled the tire at night to 42 lbs and 8 hours of sitting later it was at 0. No doubt though that the prospect of losing nearly 50 lbs of rotating mass played into my decision. Better feel in the corners, grip, ride, quieter, MPG...

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

Nevertheless, I thought the 195s were especially chosen for their strength. I am dubious that you can get a stronger wheel if it is lighter.

they may have been chosen for their strength, they are heavy enough to suggest that. However, weight doesnt necessarily have that much to do with their strength. Manufacturing techniques can allow less weight and more strength. These OEM wheels are the lowest of low manufacturing techniques for wheels, cast, and apparently not high quality casting either. Cast material is fairly prone to cracking in comparison to other techniques due to the unpredictable material distribution in the mold and the lower formed density of material (this is the reason stock cast wheels are heavy, they use extra material to try to achieve reliability without the cost of better manufacturing). The Apex wheels are flow formed which is sort of a combination of low pressure casting and forging, the wheels can be a lot lighter than cast because of the manufacturing method. Flow forming is the method OZ uses for F1 wheels, BBS uses for racing wheels, etc. If you were to just compare cast vs cast then I would agree that weight should be indicative of strength, but thankfully there are superior forming methods available out there. Flow formed wheels are similar to forged wheels strength-wise.

BMW of late has apparently used some crap manufacturing on their wheels, made worse by the wider use of run-flats. IMO there is no excuse for cracking wheels, especially if youre using wheels that come in at nearly 30 lbs, on a vehicle that runs over $50k MSRP. I have a family friend that has cracked 5 wheels on an X5. An X5! How are they so weak that they crack on an SUV with "big" sidewalls? I know this guy isnt just running over curbs all the time...

Also, the conti DW's are not run-flats AND have a bigger sidewall, that will help prevent wheel damage.

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

I dont go to the UK forums much, but I recall seeing a huge discussion about a class action suit against BMW for cracking wheels. I dont know if the 195s are offered in the UK, but you might ask there if they have seen problems with these wheels.

I have heard that also, but finding info on 195 wheels is not easy, I think most people arent referring to them by their number

[TDIwyse]

I also went with different wheels a couple years ago. Significant weight savings to be had. Hope these work well for you.

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

I had a passenger criticize my driving once as dangerous for bicyclists. But I wouldnt swerve around a pothole if there was a bicyclist next to me.

I'd like to encourage you to value human life above your wheels. The life and liberty of a law abiding US citizen has value that supersedes your wheels.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by TDIwyse

I'd like to encourage you to value human life above your wheels. The life and liberty of a law abiding US citizen has value that supersedes your wheels.

Well, I generally try not to run over bicyclists even if they are immigrants or law breakers. And you're siding with an inveterate tailgater who has multiple speeding tickets and red light camera violations.

Anyway, I wasnt aware BMW wheels were qualitatively inferior to aftermarket rims. That may be. I certainly did notice that UK eruption of complaints, but I sort of assumed that might be related only certain models.

Personally, if I were to get a second set of rims or replace my 195s, I would go aftermarket because BMW wheels are overpriced.

I dont think that 18" rims are good regardless of who makes them, I really wanted the Sports seats when I got the Sports Package with my car. That being said, I think the rims are gorgeous from an aesthetic perspective, so for that, but 18" rims just dont leave enough room for rubber (and RFTs exacerbate that) from a practical perspective.

Dont get me wrong, I hope your aftermarket rims work great, but cracking is a risk that is heightened with wider rims and thinner tires. If you retain 18" rims thinking that the manufacturing process of a certain aftermarket rim maker is going to eliminate any possibility of cracking, I think you will be disappointed. Retaining 18" rims shows that you think appearance and performance is more important than the danger of cracking. If you dont agree, answer these (admittedly rhetorical) questions regarding your new rim:

Is your new rim also made in 17" that would fit your 335d? Or couldnt you find a similar rim in 17" that fits the 335d? Wouldnt this 17" rim be less likely to crack because it would have a thicker shock absorbing tire around it? Why didnt you get this 17" rim? Why did you opt for the 18" rim when a 17" rim which is less likely to crack was available?

[Hoooper]

Obviously a resistance to cracking wasn't the only part of the formula or I would have downgraded my brakes and gone for 15s. That said, I've been running fairly cheap 18" wheels with the same size tires in a pretty stiff sidewall in another car for over 80k miles on the same roads and haven't had any issues with those. I don't think "eliminate" the possibility of cracking is accurate, I still have the possibility of cracking the wheels on my jeep with 9" of sidewall top and bottom. I also have no doubt that upgrading to quality wheels with a solid build and manufacturing process will significantly lessen my chances of cracking a wheel. I would be pretty surprised if these higher quality stronger wheels with a slightly taller and softer sidewall end up cracking.

[BB_cuda]

Hooper: For the OEM weights, were those with runflats? I'm trying to assertain if the ~11 lb decrease was wheel only or wheel + going to a "go flat" tire.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

Obviously a resistance to cracking wasn't the only part of the formula or I would have downgraded my brakes and gone for 15s. That said, I've been running fairly cheap 18" wheels with the same size tires in a pretty stiff sidewall in another car for over 80k miles on the same roads and haven't had any issues with those. I don't think "eliminate" the possibility of cracking is accurate, I still have the possibility of cracking the wheels on my jeep with 9" of sidewall top and bottom. I also have no doubt that upgrading to quality wheels with a solid build and manufacturing process will significantly lessen my chances of cracking a wheel. I would be pretty surprised if these higher quality stronger wheels with a slightly taller and softer sidewall end up cracking.

Just please let us know if you have problems with the new rims. We all hear about problems with BMW rims here, but almost never about aftermarket rims. Maybe that is because the aftermarket rims are better and dont crack, or maybe because this is a BMW forum and nobody thinks about posting their aftermarket experiences here.

Our cars are a bit heavier that other 3 series (not sure about the M3 though), and we have more torque in the back, so if anybody is going to stress our rims, it will be us. This is the first I have heard about 195s cracking, but I dont hang out in the wheels and tires forum much. Did you hit obstacles or potholes and notice the result shortly thereafter? Or did you just notice a loss of air pressure and found out it was a cracked rim?

[Hoooper]

Originally Posted by BB_cuda

Hooper: For the OEM weights, were those with runflats? I'm trying to assertain if the ~11 lb decrease was wheel only or wheel + going to a "go flat" tire.

I was on Bridgestone oem runflats. The tires themselves on paper are 4 lbs lighter each. On paper the stock wheels are 29lbs each and these apex wheels are 20-21.5lbs

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

Did you hit obstacles or potholes and notice the result shortly thereafter? Or did you just notice a loss of air pressure and found out it was a cracked rim?

No special hits or anything, not even something I can think of as a possibility. Both times I found out when I pulled out of the garage in the morning and got the warning.

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

Maybe that is because the aftermarket rims are better and dont crack, or maybe because this is a BMW forum and nobody thinks about posting their aftermarket experiences here.

I doubt that's it. If there was a wheel people were having trouble with it would be plastered all over the forums. Aftermarket parts get extra scrutiny because nobody wants to replace a working part with something that's going to let them down. Just look at the jbd threads, very few people have had any issues with it but finding the issues people have had would be very easy.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

No special hits or anything, not even something I can think of as a possibility. Both times I found out when I pulled out of the garage in the morning and got the warning.

That's weird. when I had the stock 2009 Bridgestone RFTs I hit a couple of potholes that really worried me about my rims, one even put a significant bubble in my sidewall. None actually resulted in rim damage.

If you didnt have tire bubbles in the same location as the rim crack it sounds like defective rims. IMHO it is common to get tire bubbles from obstacles or potholes, but uncommon to get rim cracks. So it is safe to assume that to hit something significant enough to crack a rim it would also -- 1. leave a tire bubble, and 2. be an impact that would get your attention (if you were the driver) and cause you to inspect the wheel (obviously the crack would probably not be visible) and remember the incident.