Anyone powder coat BMW 427 wheel yet in black?

SO, as an unfortunate i3 owner with 20" wheels and thanks to this forum now informed of my summer tires performance for the approaching gloom and doom of cold weather and lots of rain, I am thinking of buying the winter tire package. I will confirm as the other posters have said, that the winter tire/tyre package is around $1700 but if you want it in another wheel look to double that cost!!!

So thinking of the winter tire package but hate the stock look of the silver 427 wheel. Has anyone powder coated that in black yet? That might make a huge enough difference to accept the look of that wheel for a few months. Vain, yes I know, but you like what you like and dislike what you dislike.

The new aftermarket wheel looks cool, but it would be more cash and not as aerodynamic, so still weighing my options.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Summer performance tires are good down to about 20 deg F (although they lose some traction), and Portland's temperature seldom drops below that (avg low in the coldest month is 36, record low is 8). Remember that your tires heat up as you drive. My average low is 6 degrees colder than yours, and I've run summer performance tires year round with no issue whatsoever.

For your infrequent snowfalls, I'd suggest you keep a pair of Autosocks (http://www.autosock.us/) in the trunk to get you out of a jam.

They're also available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/AutoSock-AS645-Winter-Traction-Device/dp/B001NCHVK6

Although, I'm not sure what size to use. The one linked above is for tires that seem to be closest to the 155/70 R19 stock i3 tires

99.9% of the time, you aren't in an emergency situation, and reduced traction isn't an issue. It's your call whether you want the assurance that a winter tire can provide. But, the difference of a few feet in stopping distance can mean the difference between a close call and a major repair bill. That one morning when there's ice on the road, and the difference can ruin your day. Your choice. Below 40-degrees F, the differences can get quite dramatic, especially as the temp drops more. I consider it good insurance.

I agree with the above statement. Below about 40F average temps you really should consider a winter tire. Portland is borderline,however.

Why winter tires even without snow or ice
http://youtu.be/clSC7APitaQ

In actual testing
http://youtu.be/elP_34ltdWI

I agree with Jadnashuanh's observation as well, but more goes into braking and handling than just tires.

While I think we would all agree that driving summer performance tires without traction enhancement (chains, AutoSock, whatever) on snow would be dangerous, snow in Portland is infrequent, warm, and the roads stay fairly clear but wet. We are really talking about cold, wet performance.

The second video posted by F8L shows a 20% difference in braking performance between summer and winter tires mounted on the same car.

Before you jump immediately to the conclusion that summer tires are dangerous in these conditions, consider that the heavier of the two i3 models (i3 REx) brakes 16% better than the Nissan LEAF (source: Edmunds 60-0 tests) using the same type of tire (all-season). Nothing scales linearly, but that puts an i3 REx on summer tires in the ballpark of 4% of the braking performance of a Nissan LEAF on winter tires in cold, wet conditions. One could almost conclude that driving a Nissan LEAF rather than an i3 is almost as dangerous as driving an i3 with summer tires rather than winter tires in cold, wet conditions.

To be clear, I'm not knocking the Nissan LEAF. It's braking performance is actually better than its category average, I'm just using it as an example. It's a fantastic car, but I would give it more room to stop than an i3, just as I would give myself more room to stop an i3 in cold, rainy conditions.

That said, if DeafSoundGuy needs to regularly take his i3 up to higher altitudes, winter tires would certainly be in order.

Gotta go. I'm leaving to spend the weekend in Portland!

Tires however are the primary link when road conditions and temperatures are marginal or below. The best breaks can't do much if the tires can't get a good grip and with the aggressive regenerative breaking it is even more important in my opinion.

Not sure if blackening out the 427 would improve their looks, here are some pictures I came across of blackened 427's but not liking that either;
https://www.facebook.com/136847819678145/photos/pcb.966752090021043/966750983354487/?type=1

Just got my Powder Coated Black and Painted Blue

http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1753

I was doing some comparison sizing for the autosock. I believe 685 most closely resembles the i3 wheels.


This is based on the i3's 175/60 R-19. The Autosock model 685 fits 165/70 R-18. Using a Tire size convertor, I get this:


Totals are in inches Tire 1 Tire 2 Difference
Sidewall Height: 4.13 4.55 0.42
Section Width: 6.89 6.50 -0.39
Overall Diameter: 27.27 27.09 -0.18
Circumference: 85.66 85.12 -0.54
Revs per mile: 739.63 744.36 4.73

MLONG1107 said:

Just got my Powder Coated Black and Painted Blue

http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1753

Click to expand...

Very nice. I mocked up (blue painters tape) something similar on my standard wheels and talked about powder-coating with our local expert. He said it would be very labor intensive and expensive (I just wanted the trailing edge of the pinwheel wheels done blue). He did like the concept, but added he wouldn't want to tackle new BMW wheels at any price.

@DeafSoundGuy, did you end up getting winter tires?

I am currently strongly considering an i3, however all of the dealer inventory cars all include the 20" wheels. I'm not looking to get in a debate of all season vs dedicated season tires, but it is pretty hard to justify forking over the $1500 to buy tires/wheels for a car that is on a 2-year lease. I may just use this as a way to negotiate a lower price, as while I like the look of the 20" wheels the tire options are definitely more constrained. I wouldn't be dependent upon the i3 for actual sever driving, I have a Q5 for those days...however we do have a lot of cool weather here in Portland and am curious who people get along with just the sport tires on the 20" wheels.

Summer performance tires can get squirrely as the temperatures drop. The threshold varies, but nearly all of them are fairly hard by the time the temperature gets to 40F. Now, depending on the road conditions and the specific situation, you may never have any problem. Get into a corner a bit faster than the grip can provide or try to stop in an emergency, and your traction WILL be less than either the all-season or winter tires. Whether that is enough to give you grief, you won't know until you're in that situation. Throw in some ice or snow, and it could get dicey quickly. Get into an accident with summer performance tires in the winter, and you may have issues with liability. Lawyers just love to find reasons to blame the other guy.

I found 427's on ebay for $600 and had them powder coated black. Like them better than my stock 429's. With the money I saved I had them powder coated and put R2's on. Very very happy. Like the ride better too than stock. Will try to take some pictures.