What size alloys are right for irish roads?

mccafga

Hi all,
I'm currently looking for a new set of alloys for my 2005 BMW 320d E90. I've seen a few nice sets and have pretty much made my mind up but cant decide what size alloy to go for.

As I'm sure you're all aware the roads are a small bit of an absolute disgrace at the minute and it's a heavy enough car so I don't want to spend my driving time worrying about potholes and flat tyres. I've heard some people say going too low profile on the tyre ruins the feel of the car and its not like I can just test a set out so I'm wondering if anyone can help through past experience??

Also the current tyres are the standard run flats with no room for a spare in the boot so I'm guessing these aren't gonna come cheap.

Thanks for any help

vintagevrs

What size of wheels are on the car now? I changed from 17" with run flats to 18" with non run flats and the 18"s feel smoother. The run flats really hamper the ride quality with the thick tyre wall.

What kind of money are you looking to spend?

mccafga

I imorted the car with the stardard 16" hubcabs and would much prefer to change to a set of regular tyres but some genius in BMW decided there was no need to leave space in the boot for a spare tyre. I've already had a puncture on one of the runflats which would have left me stranded had it been a regular tyre.

I'm aiming around the 1200euro mark for the full set of wheels and tyres with the best ride possible i guess??

thenashlegend

Well I have an A4 on 17 inch alloysn with 235/45 tires....feels really comfortable and while there low-ish I've never had any problems with them and that was through the height of the bad roads!:D

tossy

I have 18's on my bora with 225/40/18 tyres,i find them fine on our fine roads,the car is on coilovers too so can be a little choppy on extremely bad roads,roads too bad to go any kind of speed anyway.

The 2 things i would say if going 18's would be avoid cheap replica wheels and avoid cheap tyres,other wise you will end up with a crap ride,loads of road noise and bent wheels.

vintagevrs

You could get a can of that gunk that fixes a puncture and I think when the tyre shop fix it they can jus clean the inside of the tyre wall to remove the stuff.

I have replica 18" wheels on my car. A set of 4 can be got new for €300, cant got wrong at that price and I have no issues at all with them. Then stick on what ever tyres you like depending on ride/perf preferences.

colm_mcm

I"d say 17's would be safe enough.

thenashlegend

tossy wrote: »

The 2 things i would say if going 18's would be avoid cheap replica wheels and avoid cheap tyres,other wise you will end up with a crap ride,loads of road noise and bent wheels.

Out of interest what brand of alloys would you consider to be good??....thinkin of a set of RS6's for the A4 and Im wondering where would be the best place to buy in Ireland?? and whether to go for 17's or 18's?:rolleyes:

tossy

thenashlegend wrote: »

Out of interest what brand of alloys would you consider to be good??....thinkin of a set of RS6's for the A4 and Im wondering where would be the best place to buy in Ireland?? and whether to go for 17's or 18's?:rolleyes:

Rs6's if genuine would be good.Brands i consider good are BBS,O.Z,Ronal etc most OEM VW/Audi wheels are made by BBS,O.Z or Ronal.

I had replica wheels on a car once,the were very heavy and killed the performance/ride of the car the were heavy and soft,i took those wheels off and fitted BBS wheels the difference was night and day,i liked those wheels so much i kept them when i sold the car and have them fitted to my current car,the have taken the odd hammering on a bad road and are still straight as a dye.

thenashlegend

Thanks for all that!:D Are there any good motor factors up north that provide quality parts??;) At the moment my tires are ok but the rear pads and discs are looking thin...so maybe if I was to make the one trip and pick up a few bits! Once the finances are arranged!;)

tossy

Main dealers up north would be your best bet,going up north to buy spurious parts is a bit silly in my mind,better off getting them on ebay if spurious is your thing!

thenashlegend

Ah i see!;) Is ebay not a bit?!.....well possibly troublesome....its one thing returning a small item but a set of lowering springs?!:o Maybe its just me?!:rolleyes:

tossy

thenashlegend wrote: »

Ah i see!;) Is ebay not a bit?!.....well possibly troublesome....its one thing returning a small item but a set of lowering springs?!:o Maybe its just me?!:rolleyes:

Ebay is grand once the feedback score is high and rating is good,there are also plenty of other internet based places for good OEM parts.Virtually every modification on my car was bought on line from Germany the states and UK.

thenashlegend

Its not the ratings Im bothered about although they do help! Im just worried about ordering the right parts....been as they are so exact and all! Any chance you could send me on the details of the companies you dealt with....if you'd recommend them?!;)

tossy

awesomeGTI.co.uk good site can be expensive

ECStuning.com great site,very cheap,potage can be dear and you will get caught for customs - still works out cheaper for most specialist parts.

Tmtuning.com US site based in germany

There is also alloywheels.ie who fo good deals on lower sprringsmatched shocks and coilover kits.

thenashlegend

Thanks for those!:D Will check'em out!;)

Dutchie

I had 17" 5 spoke spurious alloys on my A4. Ride was much better than my Lexus IS sport which came with factory 18".
I was going to buy an Audi A4 avant quattro with 19" but was told that they wouldn't last 2 minutes on Irish roads.

IMO the more money you spend on good quality rims and tyres the better. I ran the Lexus on bridgestone Potenzas until my last set which were a cheap Chinese brand. The handling was destroyed and the car became dangerous espically in the wet.

mccafga

Thanks for all the info. Spoke to a guy in my tyre place today he said i'd seriously regret going for 17" or 18" wheels with run flat tyres because they're far too hard and end up totally ruin the ride. He sugested I go for 18's with regular tyres and theres a conversion pack for BMW which converts part of the boot to make room for a spare tyre sacrificing the size of the boot. Sounds fine to me so long as the car feels good.

Also I've found a guy in England sellin good alloys through ebay at good prices and delivering fairly cheap so prob gonna chance buyin a set through him. Again cheers for all the help :D