White with all four wheel types

I created a montage of a white i3 with each wheel type. Just can't make my mind up!
https://app.box.com/s/i9vmuj0b0o70ji8habn9

Nice! I like the one the top left with the 20" wheel. (Which turns out to be what I have now)

Schanrx04 said:

Nice! I like the one the top left with the 20" wheel. (Which turns out to be what I have now)

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Same here

honks123 said:

I created a montage of a white i3 with each wheel type. Just can't make my mind up!
https://app.box.com/s/i9vmuj0b0o70ji8habn9

Click to expand...

Bottom right wheels are on the wrong way round, if that matters

Bill

The first i3 I saw at a dealer had the 20s. I thought they looked neat. Every other i3 I saw had the other three types of 19" wheels. Of those three, I liked the Mega wheels best because they looked like what you'd see on a electric vehicle. After months of seeing pictures of other i3s with the twenty inch wheels, I realized I was wrong. I checked online for months, looking for a used set of i3, 20" wheels. Not able to fine a set, I couldn't find one wheel available. Being conservative with my money, I hated the thought of spending so much through BMW parts on another set of i3 wheels and tires. Regardless, I took the plunge, and I was right. I love my i3 with the 20s, and the cost was money well spent. As a $1300 option at purchase, they're a bargain. Only down side, no all season tires.

Each to their own, but regarding $1300 for optional tyres as a bargain is quite something, I think.

If my car was a purchase instead of a lease, I would have swapped my 20's away a long time ago. I cannot see what the wheels look like when I am driving, but I sure can feel the harsher ride! Also IMHO, the i3 is not the sort of car that compels you to turn your head and look back at it when you walk away. Honestly it is not much less hideous than a Pontiac Aztek and all the wheels in the world won't help, it's virtues lie elsewhere......

Totally agree. I test drove both size tires back to back, and the noise and harsh ride really turned me off to the 20" wheels. My dealer would not swap the tires on the car I wanted, so I had to pay a little more for a swapped Tera with the 19". The loaded cars are hard to find with the smaller wheels.

Bunter said:

Bottom right wheels are on the wrong way round, if that matters.

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You are correct according to BMW. But if you compare them with those on the top right which are mounted as BMW intended, my eyes tell me that they are both mounted so that they rotate in the correct (i.e., best-looking) direction when driving forward. I have the wheels on the bottom right and have mounted them as pictured with no apparent problems.

alohart said:

Bunter said:

Bottom right wheels are on the wrong way round, if that matters.

Click to expand...

You are correct according to BMW. But if you compare them with those on the top right which are mounted as BMW intended, my eyes tell me that they are both mounted so that they rotate in the correct (i.e., best-looking) direction when driving forward. I have the wheels on the bottom right and have mounted them as pictured with no apparent problems.

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I agree with you visually but I would not swap the wheels L to R and R to L without swapping the tyres round.

Bill

The tires are not directional according to Bridgestone (i.e., there are no directional arrows on their sidewalls) even though their tread design means that the tread interacts with the road surface slightly differently left compared with right. However, this won't change when the wheels are swapped L <-> R.

These tires do have outside and inside faces that are not affected by swapping wheels L <-> R.

So swapping the wheels should make no difference unless their shapes might affect aerodynamics. Looking closely at these wheels, I have been unable to see anything obvious and haven't noticed any changes (yet) after swapping them.

alohart said:

The tires are not directional according to Bridgestone (i.e., there are no directional arrows on their sidewalls) even though their tread design means that the tread interacts with the road surface slightly differently left compared with right. However, this won't change when the wheels are swapped L <-> R.

These tires do have outside and inside faces that are not affected by swapping wheels L <-> R.

So swapping the wheels should make no difference unless their shapes might affect aerodynamics. Looking closely at these wheels, I have been unable to see anything obvious and haven't noticed any changes (yet) after swapping them.

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You're right, sorry, I'd not looked closely enough at my wheels. If you swapped the tyres you would no longer have the tyre's "outside" stamp on the outside! My bad.

Bill

Bunter said:

If you swapped the tyres you would no longer have the tyre's "outside" stamp on the outside!

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If you swapped the tires, then the outside stamp would be on whatever side you remounted the tires on the swapped wheels.

I would recommend remounting the outside stamp on the tire to the outside of the wheel for both tire/wheels.

I have the top right. I think they are wicked. I don't understand people who say this car isn't great to look at. I think it's beautiful. Also, all the fellow parents at my kids' daycare think it is dead sexy. Of course, most of them work at JPL, and they think the Mars Rover is dead sexy. But I don't, and I agree with them.