new owner questions

[gannet]

17s are probably cheaper Hopefully I won't be needing any new ones for a while...

Hope you like the tyres

 

[wasupdu]

Just picked up a 2004 2.5Se for the wife and have a few questions:

The car currently had Bridgestone runflats, those on the rear need changing and Im thinking about switching to Conti's. Anybody done the same and seen any differences?
Finally, I was warned about problems with the roof motor becoming water damaged. Ive read comments about taking steps to mitigate the chance of this but cant actually find any suggestions on what these may be. Can anybody shed some light on this?

I replaced the OEM wheels and tires with the M6 replicas and General Exclaim UHP tires (see my sig). The tires are much better for day-to-day use and I even went with 19"...much less noise.

As for the top motor replacement.....been there, done that...see the link that was posted from Z-post and you'll see my replies. Cleaning the drain areas was very easy to do (albeit kinda time consuming) and although I'd consider it maintenance it IS NOT considered part of BMW's maintenance warranty in the U.S... I had the motor replaced under warranty, and I immediately followed the DIY to remove what little debris was still in there (leaves/dirt, etc..). I wash my car religiously a couple times per week by hand and I've still noticed that water pools up near those drain areas every time I wash it even though it appears to be completly unclogged.