discussion Keep the wheels or not?

GravityLee

Well-known member
Pics as requested. As I said, they look really good but are not practical for my purposes.


I'm going to be the devil's advocate here, and suggest you keep the wheels. Unless you're doing some really terrible roads daily, and/or do a fair bit of long distance mileage where a catastrophic tyre failure can leave you stranded, I'd stick with that (and maybe get a space saver spare).
 

CK4LIFE

Active member
Pics as requested. As I said, they look really good but are not practical for my purposes.

"However, I'm more of a function over form guy so I have 2 issues:

1) replacing those tires is going to give me a heart attack"

Unless you can handle a heart attack, better keep them 😜 OR as per previous advices, TWT will advise on swooping from seller
 

ENT_DocY

Active member
I'm going to be the devil's advocate here, and suggest you keep the wheels. Unless you're doing some really terrible roads daily, and/or do a fair bit of long distance mileage where a catastrophic tyre failure can leave you stranded, I'd stick with that (and maybe get a space saver spare).
I was considering it, considering the headache. I go to the Kruger 4+ times a year, mixed with other reserves where the roads are not as good as Kruger.
I'm just not sure how these will handle it.
For the rest of the time I'm in JHB (where the roads aren't great either lol🤣)
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
I was considering it, considering the headache. I go to the Kruger 4+ times a year, mixed with other reserves where the roads are not as good as Kruger.
I'm just not sure how these will handle it.
For the rest of the time I'm in JHB (where the roads aren't great either lol🤣)

You need my Ford EcoSport for those Kruger roads :)

The Kruger roads are not kind to 21 inch wheels. Even if your tyres are fine, you may get rim damage over time. I would suggest swopping for smaller wheels and also swopping out the TPMS sensors too (I heard that this can be done).

Also, I see you have Alenza tyres. From my experience, those are terrible tyres. Poor grip in the wet and prone to picking up nails.
 
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///M Individual

Well-known member
I was considering it, considering the headache. I go to the Kruger 4+ times a year, mixed with other reserves where the roads are not as good as Kruger.
I'm just not sure how these will handle it.
For the rest of the time I'm in JHB (where the roads aren't great either lol🤣)

These 21inch wheels definitely not going to work for you then. You need some meat on your tyres.
 

FILV

Well-known member
I vote for going to the 18's or 19's if possible.
whats the point of opting for an Suv/sav if you still need to worry about ultra low profile tires and where you can travel to or your route?

That why when i got my f25 M sport i was actually glad it came with the 18's rather than the 19's. Of course the larger mag looks amazing, no matter which series car. But i found the 50 profile the perfect balance between road performance and pot holes and soft off road'ing.
Im still able to hit a hidden pot hole, or off track road and not worry about being stranded, or a buckled rim.

when you are in a dark or dodgy area with abd raods with the family, you wont mind looking less cooler with smaller rims, but knowing you can get to your destination lol

If you are in the positon to do so, keep the 21's in storage. Like that if you know you wont be traveling any time soon or wish to sell the car, you can revert to the original look.

And yes... some of the roads in Joburg currently are worse than i have experienced in the middle of know where lol
 

r0ckf1re

Well-known member
I was considering it, considering the headache. I go to the Kruger 4+ times a year, mixed with other reserves where the roads are not as good as Kruger.
I'm just not sure how these will handle it.
For the rest of the time I'm in JHB (where the roads aren't great either lol)

I did Kruger with 20s. To be honest the ride was crap with the m Sport suspension combined with the 20s. On the way back I had both rear tyres fail. I had Good Year excellence at the time. I suppose they aren’t designed for prolonged off-road in 40 deg heat. I entered Phabeni gate and exited at Crocodile river, to give you and idea of distance if you know the park.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

TurboLlew

Honorary ///Member
My 2c: those are not exactly paper-thin profiles. Low for an SUV, but not like rubber bands. It's a sidewall of just under 10cm vs 12cm - will it make that big of a difference vs the tradeoff on looks/exclusivity?

Play around with a calculator https://tiresize.com/comparison/

On the costs: have you actually priced the tyres for current and proposed sizes? There may not be a huge difference in price despite 19 vs 21 inches - my FIL for instance has some strange 18" size on his E-class that is more expensive than the 20" PS4S on my M5.

I get the examples of offroading, but I don't think 19s or 20's or 21s are going to help you much if you should really be in something better suited. Depends on how often your lifestyle demands this sort of functionality... the story of guys buying a bakkie on the basis of 'needing it' for household use vs. paying for delivery the 2 or 3 times in a year you need it. X1/3 etc are not about offroading: rather to move your family around (in my mind anyway) in a way that feels like a car but that lets you lug multiple sets of bikes, kid things and sports gear etc around.

No way I would sell those wheels TBH, but then that is with the lens of how I would be using it I guess LOL
 

///M_Diesel

Active member
@ENT_DocY , keep the 21s and get a set of G01/G02 19inch M Sport for your trips, as I mentioned the 18s won't work due the M brakes fitted on your X3.

These 21s won't work on a normal 3 series the front are 245 and rear 275 offset :)
 

ENT_DocY

Active member
You need my Ford EcoSport for those Kruger roads :)

The Kruger roads are not kind to 21 inch wheels. Even if your tyres are fine, you may get rim damage over time. I would suggest swopping for smaller wheels and also swopping out the TPMS sensors too (I heard that this can be done).

Also, I see you have Alenza tyres. From my experience, those are terrible tyres. Poor grip in the wet and prone to picking up nails.
Yeah the sensors can be replaced, I'll probably just put another set in the smaller wheels rather than taking my set out.
 

ENT_DocY

Active member
My 2c: those are not exactly paper-thin profiles. Low for an SUV, but not like rubber bands. It's a sidewall of just under 10cm vs 12cm - will it make that big of a difference vs the tradeoff on looks/exclusivity?

Play around with a calculator https://tiresize.com/comparison/

On the costs: have you actually priced the tyres for current and proposed sizes? There may not be a huge difference in price despite 19 vs 21 inches - my FIL for instance has some strange 18" size on his E-class that is more expensive than the 20" PS4S on my M5.

I get the examples of offroading, but I don't think 19s or 20's or 21s are going to help you much if you should really be in something better suited. Depends on how often your lifestyle demands this sort of functionality... the story of guys buying a bakkie on the basis of 'needing it' for household use vs. paying for delivery the 2 or 3 times in a year you need it. X1/3 etc are not about offroading: rather to move your family around (in my mind anyway) in a way that feels like a car but that lets you lug multiple sets of bikes, kid things and sports gear etc around.

No way I would sell those wheels TBH, but then that is with the lens of how I would be using it I guess LOL
Thanks for this. That comparison tool is useful. The difference in sidewall is a whole inch, which is significant. Overall wheel size remains the same, so it will still fill the well nicely.

The price difference on the tires is significant. On the 19s you can get a Bridgestone for almost half the price, which is huge.

The more I read up on it, the less sense it makes to keep these wheels. I get the eye-candy factor, but like someone else pointed out, if I hit a hole in the middle of Mpumalanga or Limpopo, I couldn't care less about how the car looks.

I also get the point about SUVs not being 4x4s, and it is valid, but I've used my F25 for 10 years all the way into Kgalagadi and it hasn't failed me once. I don't think it's asking a lot that it's replacement does the same job!
 

MR_Y

Well-known member
As someone who travels on gravel everyday, it makes no sense to me why a 30d was specced with 21 inch wheels. On an M40i, M40d or X3M, which stay on the tar 99% of the time, such large alloys make sense (though not if you hit potholes).

A 30d needs sensibly sized wheels.
 

Yulz9081

Honorary ///Member
Just my 2c, similar position and opinion as @TurboLlew, keep the wheels. I also would never sell. Its a big draw card when you want to sell on. Even if you get a smaller set to swap on just for the bundu trips.

I've hit some unavoidable craters on my 21's at stupid speeds and the tyres and rims survived without damage. When I drove back on those roads, I couldn't believe they were capable of withstanding such impact. Also did some light off the beaten path driving through Pilanesberg and Welgevonden and she coped well so it really isn't all doom and gloom with the 21's but it is a personal preference I guess.

For me the looks matter and as @MR_Y rightfully pointed out, my M40i is a tar road queen 99% of the time.
 

ENT_DocY

Active member
Just my 2c, similar position and opinion as @TurboLlew, keep the wheels. I also would never sell. Its a big draw card when you want to sell on. Even if you get a smaller set to swap on just for the bundu trips.

I've hit some unavoidable craters on my 21's at stupid speeds and the tyres and rims survived without damage. When I drove back on those roads, I couldn't believe they were capable of withstanding such impact. Also did some light off the beaten path driving through Pilanesberg and Welgevonden and she coped well so it really isn't all doom and gloom with the 21's but it is a personal preference I guess.

For me the looks matter and as @MR_Y rightfully pointed out, my M40i is a tar road queen 99% of the time.
Thanks for this. Out of interest what car was it in?
 
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