Wheel choices

[user 242]

Why in the world is BMW selling the spoked wheels without an all-season tire option. It's definitely the best looking wheel option and so that means you can only look good half of the year if you live where it snows?????....AND you need to buy an extra set of wheels and tires?????

Since the wheels and tires are custom made for the i3 and only sold by BMW that leaves no other options. Why not some black colored wheel options? BMWs designer seem to be obsessed with black as a theme color for the rest of the body since every single model MUST have a black hood. Bizarre!....and I'm afraid to say somewhat ugly. That's the VERY FIRST thing I'm going to change on mine.

 

[user 1096]

Up here in Upstate New York, I'm waiting to see the wheels that come with the $1700 snow package and as Tom notes in his blog: "There will be two different winter tires available (Blizzak LM500 & Blizzak NV, though I'm not sure they will both be available in the US). However they will only be available in 155/70 R19, so if you want the winter tires you'll be using the same size front and rear tire."

I checked with TireRack and they don't have any word on snows yet, but I'm sure someone else will come up with some wheels. I like the 6-series-look wheels, but will be damned if I am going to put a more-drag tire patch on the ground, supported by fragile 20" low profile wheels.....I've already bought and paid for enough of those already.

 

[jadnashuanh]

I've checked pretty much all of the tire manufacturers, and the only one right now that makes tires of any type for the i3 is Bridgestone. I expect that may change as the OEM ones wear out and there's a secondary market for them. Nokian (the maker of the Hakka's) does NOT show any tires in the required size for the i3. In fact, you have to really look hard on Bridgestone's site to find those for the i3...and, they do not show the winter tire on the USA website at all (and it's hard to find on their international one, too).

FWIW, for a 19 or 20" wheel, the actual tire's aspect ratio is pretty tall as well - IOW, it should not be particularly susceptible to damage as on other cars with a 19 or 20" option, when they then require sometime like a 35 or 40 aspect ratio (almost no sidewalls!).

 

[user 1096]

I have to wonder if this is another Michelin TRX deal where Bridgestone effectively finances the wheels and tires for the i3 in exchange for replacement exclusivity. Those of us around long enough to recall the use of (very good) Michelin TRX Metric wheels and tires on the very powerful '86 535, and especially the 87 535iS (progenitor to the M5) that I owned. I never got a straight answer as to how and why such an exotic size on a commodity item would be forced on the American market (hot Mustangs used them too) but suspect it was a form of OEM cooperation/collusion.

I wonder if we are seeing history repeated? If so, I only wish it were Michelin rather than Bridgestone--in which I don't have complete faith.

 

[mindmachine]

I have to wonder if this is another Michelin TRX deal where Bridgestone effectively finances the wheels and tires for the i3 in exchange for replacement exclusivity. Those of us around long enough to recall the use of (very good) Michelin TRX Metric wheels and tires on the very powerful '86 535, and especially the 87 535iS (progenitor to the M5) that I owned. I never got a straight answer as to how and why such an exotic size on a commodity item would be forced on the American market (hot Mustangs used them too) but suspect it was a form of OEM cooperation/collusion.

I wonder if we are seeing history repeated? If so, I only wish it were Michelin rather than Bridgestone--in which I don't have complete faith.

Unlike you I prefer Bridgestone to Michelin, so happy it is Bridgestone. Collusion, companies do it all the time.

 

[jadnashuanh]

My guess is that once the i3 has been around a bit longer and people need to replace their tires, you'll start to see others interested in building tires in this size. Now, they may or may not meet BMW's design goals of low rolling resistance and handling as an OEM replacement, but until there's a market, others won't just decide to make the molds and build tires (or wheels) that will only fit one model. As of right now, I think BMW has built maybe around 7K vehicles...not much in the scheme of things when it's the only vehicle that can use that size right now.