Tyres, alloys, refurbs, value, opinions, that old chestnut.

Cv6benplus

Cv6benplus

Member
 Coventry
Thinking aloud rambling post.

Ultimately, we all want to drive around on nice alloys with black round things on them.

Tyres, on a Z4, with limited annual mileage, so long as they're black, round and inflated, and match across an axle, then I'd be happy with budget.
If it was a daily driver with a half decent commute then I would probably sway towards more premium tyres because you will run out of tread before you run out of tyre life.

My opinion is I don't need to spend £100s on tyres that will begin to perish before they run out of tread. That seems like a waste of money.

I'm also looking for a nice set of 18" alloys.
I currently have ellipsoids 107s (which don't need a refurb) on my silver 3.0 Z4, but I think the split rim 108s in either single tone silver or two tone grey on the spokes with silver around the edge would look very nice.

I also have a sapphire black 3.0 which came with a set of 108s clearly in dire need of a refurb. I also have a second set of 108s which need a refurb and also a set of ellipsoid 107s that need a refurb.

For my sapphire black I am leaning towards darker colored wheels,
I think black wheels suit mv2 and mv3 but from what I've read, mv3's are more prone to cracking and black will not suit ellipsoid 107s or split rim108s.
I think a dark grey graphite or gunmetal or other similar shade would suit ellipsoid and the spokes of the 108s with a lighter ring.

I am yet to seek quotes locally for wheel refurbishments.

Irrespective of the refurbishments, any set of my wheels will definitely need tyres.

There are plenty of sets of refurbished alloys on marketplace and on here that look very nice but are without tyres and therefore the cost of tyres needs to be considered when purchasing all ready refurbished wheels. Some instances it makes the alloy wheels overpriced as they don't have the tyres.

There has to be some sort of ceiling price where the cost of alloys whether refurbished or purchased post refurbishment plus the tyres becomes unaffordable or unjustifiable?

How can anyone justify spending £650 on a set of refurbished alloys and then another hundred pound per corner on tyres average?

We are all different and have different needs and uses for our zeds. What's other people's opinion on tyre cost versus lifespan versus mileage, equally your thoughts on refurbishing rims versus purchasing post refurbished alloys.
A lot of the time it's parked in your garage, you're not really going to get value out of £200 michelins when £50 budget tyres can sit in your garage just as easily.
 
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Sure, a thousand pound wheel/tyre combo on a leggy 2.5i doesn’t make much sense, but on a low mileage coupe it may well add value.
 
The reason for spending money on premium tyres only to have them sat in the garage is the same as for spending money on a premium sports car only for it to be sat in the garage, isn't it?
 
When I got my second E86 it came with a clean set of 108s that had been refurbed a few years before, but after reading on here how many people had struggled to find anyone willing to tackle them and the costs quoted when they did I wanted to move them on before they needed another refurb!

It's expensive to get a proper job with stripping and powder coating because they need to be split and the bolts seem prone to snapping, and they cost £5 each which can quickly add up with 20 in each wheel.

I got really lucky as an E89 owner was selling a set of clean 18" staggered Style 295s from his 35is because he had fitted 19s. I got them with tyres for what I sold the 108s for, which was a great outcome. :)

My MC didn't work out quite so well. It came fitted with 19" CSL Reps, but everyone has them, so I bought a used set of OE 224s that cost £350 but the tyres weren't much good. Another £300 for a refurb then £400 for a set of Kumho Ecstas (which actually performed well) and I was into 4 figures - although I did get a few hundred back selling the CSL Reps.

In 2018 I bought an E91 but it came on winter tyres. I managed to find a set of decent 17s from an F30 for £190 with tyres (2 good, 2 end of life) because the owner had bought some 18s.

That and the deal I had with my second E86 seems the best way to go!

FWIW E89 Style 290s don't seem to be worth much but would work on an E85 and sit much further out in the arches, although they are only 17s. I bought a set for my E90 and really struggled to shift them even with usable tyres, until an E85 owner bought them for his track car. He wanted smaller wheels so sticky tyres would be cheaper.
 
Well, the wheels on my e90 looked shocking. My options were either buy new wheels for £550, and try and flog the old ones, or get the current ones powdercoated for £250.

Went with the powdercoating, really glad I did. They look brand new now. And I really dont need another set of wheels - i already have some basically worthless mv3s because of how cracked they are.

Fyi, mv3s arent prone to cracking - the problem was they were mounted with early run flats and they caused the cracks.

And I would never buy budgets. Kumhos are cheap enough and are still a decent tyre.

Wheel styles / colours is a personal choice. I think 107s and mv3s look great, and I really dislike 108s and mv2s. Colours wise, i like bright silver wheels on a black or dark grey car, and dark grey wheels on a silver car.
 
My Z4 is only for enjoying - not my daily, but I value good quality tyres over sorted wheels.

I'm driving on some extremely crusty Style 68s, but they're clad in Michelin Pilot Sport 5s which may be overkill, but may just save a life one day where budget tyres may not have been up to the job.

I definitely want to refurb my wheels, but I've spent more than the car's value in the past four months!
 

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I'm with Lewis here. I don't care how the wheels look, as long as the tyres are good enough to keep me alive. I've got Bridgestones or Michelins on all our vehicles - some of which are curbed/scuffed/corroded.

The amount of times the actions of other people have required me to slam the brakes on, and then the difference between a crash or not has been down to the quality of my tyres means it's something I will not be skimping out on - regardless of the car's mileage.

Also @Lewis Benson - great choice - style 68s rock! One of the best BMW designs IMO (5 spoke, a bit of dish, and simple/clean) - and they work well on the Z4, too.
 
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