Purchasing Wheels and Tires

[RichiRich]

Originally Posted by MauiKat

Thanx, EKS... kinda thought that way too, but didn't want to tryin' save a few buxs, and find out later inna BAD way, that I shoulda had longer bolts !!
So even with using the Hub Centric rings, your OEM bolts worked out fine ?

I've gone back and forth on this question as my wheels just arrived Friday.....I have newer lugs....and they tried to sell me new lugs also....I already bought hub centric rings for 14 bucks and new wheel center caps for 23 bucks..both off of ebay....so..the lugs question was my last. I know a few individuals that did buy the package that was offered and I know a couple that did not, me being one that did not...I would also like confirmation that I could utilize my current lugs...i was told that when you buy new wheels you should always buy new lugs....I have never heard that before....as I know many many individuals that have bought new wheels and utilized their current lugs they already had.....

also here is a link for some vredesteins at really good price...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=250288675539

RR

[MauiKat]

Yeah, Richie - they/he has a FAQ response on his site stressing that it's "highly recommended" whenever buying new wheels to buy new lugs that are made for the wheels, but at the same time, when I spoke to them, they said you CAN use your OEM lugs, they'd just recommend the new matching ones... ... my instinct is to be "better safe than sorry", but maybe that's just what they're countin' on for an extra bump in the sales, to make up for their discount pricing...
~ I saw that Bones site for th' Vreds... thanx... that IS the way I'm gonna go, if I can't do close locally...'prob with the shippin' purchase of specialty tires, like the Sessantas, is if there's somethion' wrong with 'em, or you need quick replacement, ya can't go back to the shop where ya got 'em...

[CaliColin]

He offered to sell me the lug kit for $59 as well. He did not push them on me, rather said "It is recommended that you change the lugs with every wheel change, but it's up to you." I opted to buy them since I already drove all the way to SD, and did not want to take a chance. But then when I went to install the new wheels, I compared them to the OEM bolts, and realized that the quality was not nearly the same. The kit has a cheap "Made in China" feel to it and comes with equally cheap looking chrome-plated valve stems. The OEM black BMW bolts appear to be made of a very hard, heavy steel. The bolts in the kit did not. The bolts in the kit look like they might start to round the corners after repeated use. Which made me doubt that the threads would stand up to repeated torque as well. I did not break out a hardness meter and do a scientific measurement, but upon observation, the light colored metal looks to be softer than the black OEM bolts. Think about the difference between the black impact wrench sockets vs. standard Craftsman chrome sockets. If you handle them, you can tell that the black ones are heavier duty, more durable. Such is the case between the OEM bolts vs. Eurotech's. Also, the OEM bolts come with a free-spinning conical washer that makes contact with the wheel. When you torque the bolts down, the washer allows the bolt to do the least damage to the wheel because it spins freely and reduces the friction between the bolt and the wheel. The reduced friction also allows you to get a better torque reading on your torque wrench. There's a reason BMW included the washer on the lug bolt. Lastly, I have a set of black OEM lug locks. It would look silly to have 4 chrome Eurotech bolts and one black OEM lug lock. As for the chrome valve stems, they are purely aesthetic. I opted for the free rubber ones that my tire shop gave me when they mounted the tires. I will be shipping the lug kit back to Eurotech for a refund. Unless anyone here wants a brand new in box Eurotech lug kit!!

[RichiRich]

Originally Posted by CaliColin

He offered to sell me the lug kit for $59 as well. He did not push them on me, rather said "It is recommended that you change the lugs with every wheel change, but it's up to you." I opted to buy them since I already drove all the way to SD, and did not want to take a chance. But then when I went to install the new wheels, I compared them to the OEM bolts, and realized that the quality was not nearly the same. The kit has a cheap "Made in China" feel to it and comes with equally cheap looking chrome-plated valve stems. The OEM black BMW bolts appear to be made of a very hard, heavy steel. The bolts in the kit did not. The bolts in the kit look like they might start to round the corners after repeated use. Which made me doubt that the threads would stand up to repeated torque as well. I did not break out a hardness meter and do a scientific measurement, but upon observation, the light colored metal looks to be softer than the black OEM bolts. Think about the difference between the black impact wrench sockets vs. standard Craftsman chrome sockets. If you handle them, you can tell that the black ones are heavier duty, more durable. Such is the case between the OEM bolts vs. Eurotech's. Also, the OEM bolts come with a free-spinning conical washer that makes contact with the wheel. When you torque the bolts down, the washer allows the bolt to do the least damage to the wheel because it spins freely and reduces the friction between the bolt and the wheel. The reduced friction also allows you to get a better torque reading on your torque wrench. There's a reason BMW included the washer on the lug bolt. Lastly, I have a set of black OEM lug locks. It would look silly to have 4 chrome Eurotech bolts and one black OEM lug lock. As for the chrome valve stems, they are purely aesthetic. I opted for the free rubber ones that my tire shop gave me when they mounted the tires. I will be shipping the lug kit back to Eurotech for a refund. Unless anyone here wants a brand new in box Eurotech lug kit!!

CC - I'm in the tire hunt mode right now....just out of curiosoty ....what kind of tires did you go with and how much did they cost you?? .if you don't mind me asking of course.

THX

Rich

[CaliColin]

Don't mind at all.. I went with Toyo S/T. $806 shipped for a staggered set of 275/40/20 and 315/35/20. Problem is, Toyo replaced the S/T line with STII. But they do not have the STII's in a 315 yet. So the only ones left were what were on peoples' shelves.

[RichiRich]

Originally Posted by CaliColin

Don't mind at all.. I went with Toyo S/T. $806 shipped for a staggered set of 275/40/20 and 315/35/20. Problem is, Toyo replaced the S/T line with STII. But they do not have the STII's in a 315 yet. So the only ones left were what were on peoples' shelves.

Wow! That is a good deal....any idea if the people you bought them from still have any??? or were yours the last of them??

Rich

[CaliColin]

I bought from www.td4l.com. Last I checked, they still had the 275's but are all out of the 315's. On the other hand, www.tires-easy.com had them in stock, but are a little more expensive. Go to their site and get a quick online quote. It's too bad you live in Conn, b/c my local tire shop said, "You should have checked with us, we could have matched that price." Perhaps you could get a quote online and ask some local tire shops to match it. Either way, they will have a hard time getting Toyo's as the size has been discontinued. Maybe that's why they were so cheap! But consider alternative brands, as a replacement tire will be difficult if not impossible to get if you need one.

[EKS PYB]

hey maui kat, i didn't use hub centric rings. i just bolted the rims straight on the X5 so i didn't need the longer lugs. now, if you do use the hub centric rings then you definitely might need the longer lugs.

don't quote me on that, you might want to check with someone here who has the hub centric rings on.

[TwinsPoppa]

Can someone clarify whether or not this hub-centric ring is required with these replicas? What's the purpose of the ring? Thanks.

[inky]

hub centric rings are exactly that. they are a ring that center your rim on the hub rather than centering off of your lug nuts. Your hub is 72.56 on an e53 and say for instance your rim inside diameter is 74(i don't know what the i.d. of the rep rim is) than you would need a hubcentric rim with a 72.56 i.d. and 74 o.d.
If you tighten it down with no ring installed it may not be perfectly centered on the hub and give you a nasty little vibration mutch like a tire being unbalanced or out of round.
no you don't need longer lugs with the rings, they don't mount between the wheel face and hub so the lugs length is just fine.