i3 Rims: "Cutting" direction going forward on one side and backwards on other side

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fastring

Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
Messages
6
Hello, purchased 2015 i3 this month and just noticed my rim direction. I have the Giga World 19" #429 rims. On one side of the car, the rim direction is one direction (such as cutting forward) and on the other side of the car the rims are the other direction. On both sides of the car, the wheel direction is the same, the issue (non-issue?) is that all 4 are not the same direction. I have googled pictures and it appears lots of image on google show the rims oriented so that they point either forward or backwards for direction. I have also looked at parts lists and there are two rim part numbers a left and right. My concerns are:
1. Did the prior owner get tires rotated/new tires (only 9700 miles on odo) wrong?
2. Are the rear rims wider and now not on the rear?
3. Does it matter, assuming same width, if some wheels point one direction and others the other direction? Is there an efficiency impact (range)?
 
1. probably not
2. yes the rears are wider and can not be mounted on the front
3. doesn't matter... it's only an OCD thing :)

All 2014 and some early 2015 i3's had dedicated left and right directional wheels, meaning they all cut in the same direction. Sometime during mid 2015 production BMW scrapped the left/right wheel setup and started mounting just one wheel and that's how they've been ever since.

The dedicated left-right directional wheels was likely just meant for launch of the model when it would be getting a lot of media attention and hitting the autoshow circuit.
 
Thanks! That makes sense, guess I'm limited on rotating tires just between left and right as the two on the front need to stay there (narrower than rear rims/tires).
 
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