Want to buy Rims and/or Winter Tires

[GrnEyeDog]

that's correct, all 4 wheels are the same width fit just fine without any spacers. If you want to see how it looks, just remove front wheel of your car and install it in the rear - you'll see that it fits.

[strei]

ok, another dumb question: if the narrow rims will fit just fine on the rear axle then is there advantage to having wider rims in the back in the first place?

[GrnEyeDog]

In the summer you want to have bigger (wider) contact patch, more tire contact with the road for better handling and traction. In the winter it's the opposite - wider tire will not dig in into snow and ice, but go over it , driving on snow/ice means less traction. And I described a situation when the car just starts moving, when you're driving, tires do not dig in as much. Basically - narrower tires are better for winter driving.

[3pete]

Wow sheinr4143 -- you got a steal! That's pretty close to "buy one, get three free" pricing which is not usually a sales strategy I associate with BMW, but quite nice for you!!! :-)

We also experienced bizarre, head-scratching pricing on the set of 427 winter tires + wheels, in our case in the opposite direction as your transaction, when BMW offered a complete set of four for just $508.75

[strei]

I'm in the process of buying a 2014 Tera i3. The problem is that its wheels are 20 inch and I live in the midwest. Instead of buying an additional set of winter wheels, I thought I would by a set of all season wheels (4 428 style rims and Ecopia EP600 tires) and sell the 4 20 inch rims. I wondering what I could reasonably expect to get for 4 20 inch rims (no tires) in great condition?

[robthebold]

I'm in the process of buying a 2014 Tera i3. The problem is that its wheels are 20 inch and I live in the midwest. Instead of buying an additional set of winter wheels, I thought I would by a set of all season wheels (4 428 style rims and Ecopia EP600 tires) and sell the 4 20 inch rims. I wondering what I could reasonably expect to get for 4 20 inch rims (no tires) in great condition?

If you can afford to keep the summer set and get a winter set with snow tires installed, it's a big plus. I feel that the dedicated snow tires on a sporty RWD car really help getting around in winter. And with the regenerative braking being so aggressive, the extra traction would be reassuring. When you've got the winter wheels ready to go, you can put them on yourself the day before your first storm is forecast or whenever you'll need to be driving in consistently 40F weather or colder, whichever comes first for you.

But ya, cost. It's why I haven't yet gone this route on my i3, unlike my previous RWD cars which I bought BK (before kids).

[strei]

thanks, yeah -- I would like to keep the 20 inch wheels and buy a winter set but I can't spend that right now. So what do you think I can expect to get for a great condition set of 20 inch rims?

[MKH]

So what do you think I can expect to get for a great condition set of 20 inch rims?

They list on eBay for around $250 per wheel. The only problem, is if you filter the listing by 'sold', none have every been sold. I had a set for sale, granted they all were slightly bent on the inside rims from pothole damage, and required spending $100 per wheel to fix, but I got no interest. Ended up selling them for aluminum scrap, when I went to 19" because the 20" are so prone to damage. Replaced them with 19" 'pizza-slice' wheels I found locally on Craig's list - $300 for the set of 4. One had some curb rash, but easily fixed. You might try posting on the i3 Facebook group and see if there is any interest in the 20".

[strei]

What kind of damage are the 20s prone to?

[MKH]

What kind of damage are the 20s prone to?

With the low 2 inch sidewalls on the summer sports tires on the 20" rims, hitting potholes in the road will put nice bends on the inside of the rims. There just isn't enough air cushion to keep the rim from bottoming out and hitting the road. Hit a big pot hole hard enough, and it can also pinch the sidewall against the rim, weakening the sidewall in that spot so if forms a blister bubble on the sidewall, basically ruining the tire. Hitting potholes in Dallas, I ended up bending all four 20" rims, and put pinch blisters in two tires. Dumped the 20" for the 19" with the all season tires, which have 3 inch sidewalls. That extra inch of sidewall height makes all the difference. No rim or tire problems since I switched. The 20" may be fine on a well-maintained German autobahn, but cr@py city streets, they just don't stand up.

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