296’s

[Enjay455]

Hi
Newbie and imminent owner with wheel question….
Found a z4 that ticked nearly all the boxes and hope to pick up soon.It has 296 wheels,which I think look great but just a little wary of their track record
Rear tyres are runflats and fronts not,so am looking to replace all four.three of the wheels are the later/improved 296’s.Are these likely to be ok with NRF’s and less likely to crack or do would it be better to drop down to 18” wheels and tyres?

 

[Argyll Andy]

Hello and welcome

E your query, there’s two versions of 296’s, an earlier one with minimal lip (2nd pic) on the inside and a later one (1st pic) with a much larger lip. The later one is supposed to be much less susceptible to cracking but using runflats seems to increase the chances because of the much stiffer sidewalls having much less give to cushion any impact HTH

 

[Christopher72]

Just inspect the inside rims for cracks before purchase.... take the wheels off, etc... I bought one with a rear that was cracked on the inside rim unknowingly. Wish I would have inspected to lower the price. I picked up a new 296 rear and kept the old one for potential repair. My answer to the problem was to put on Non RFT (Goodyear F1's).

I love the look -- so I'll take the risk. Cracks should be easy to see and they will slowly leak, but hold air long enough for a buyer not to notice, unless you actively check everything.