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Thread: 98 M3 Sedan Introduction and Wheel dilemma...

  1. #1
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    98 M3 Sedan Introduction and Wheel dilemma...

    Hi everyone, I'm the proud new owner (and only the second owner) of a 1998 BMW M3 Sedan (auto). It has a little over 110,000 miles on it and has been well maintained by the previous owner. Aside from a few minor cosmetic issues (there are some stone chips and small clear coat scratches on the paint as one would expect for a 20 year old car), the car looks great and drives great as well. My only dilemma is that one of the 20-spoke DS2 wheels has a chip around the outer lip and leaks about 15-20 psi overnight! After doing some research online I also realized that my light alloy wheels are chromed which appears to be rare enough that finding a replacement is proving difficult. So I am faced with the dilemma of having to either wait to track down one chromed light alloy wheel or just throw another set of wheels on the car. Which leads me to my next wheel-related dilemma. The car has BRAND new Michelin pilots on it and I have noticed that most of the wheels I could put on the car come in the 17 x 8.5 size, whereas on mine of course the fronts are 17 x 7.5. So I am hoping other enthusiasts out there might have some ideas as to how I should proceed...

    BTW... so sorry for not realizing this before posting, but I think I will have to wait for site approval before I'm allowed to post pictures of the car! As soon as this happens I will post pics so all of you can see what I'm talking about.

    In the meantime, I hope to hear from some of you... and I will also be checking out the e36 wheel discussion thread below!

    -CanyonDestroyer

  2. #2
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    Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new ride! I'm attaching our site's DIY tech articles on the E36 platform to help you with any maintenance or fixes that you may do down the line. Please let us know if you have any questions!

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  3. #3
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    Hmmm, I have a set of chrome DSII's sitting in my garage. I won't sell just one but feel free to PM me if you are interested in the whole set. It's a staggered setup just like yours.
    CBlock


  4. #4
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    Thanks for the responses PP and CBlock! CBlock, I tried PMing you, not sure if it will allow this as I just joined the site today. I'm definitely interested in your set, would you be able to post pics or PM them to me? Looking forward to seeing them...

  5. #5
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    OK I finally figured this out... it only took me a week, lol. OK, so here it is! I realize now these aren't the greatest pics, but you'll at least get the idea of what I'm workin' with...

    [IMG][/IMG]

    [IMG][/IMG]

    [IMG][/IMG]
    [IMG][/IMG]

    - - - Updated - - -

    Would it be possible to fix such a small chip? Even if I did that, the rims would still need to be rechromed...

  6. #6
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    Congrats on the purchase! Loving the color combo, keep her clean!

  7. #7
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    Thanks, Shaun! It's definitely the sexiest looking car I've ever owned...

  8. #8
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    That's a pretty big divot, and it's compromised the ability of the rim to seal the tire since it's losing pressure. Conventional wheel repair where they grind/polish out scratches and curb rash won't do anything here. The only way to fix this would be to weld more metal to the wheel in that area and grind it flush. I have no idea if that's a thing or not, or how cost effective it might be.

    My guess is you need a new wheel, or a new set of wheels. It's gonna be tricky to find an individual 17x8.5 wheel of that style for a replacement. If it was a front 17x7.5 wheel you might have better luck because spare wheels were in that size. I'd suggest getting a new set of wheels, either OEM wheels like this or aftermarket.

    I really like my new summer wheels, if you want any ideas for non-OEM wheels (Apex ARC-8 17x9):


    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 06-21-2017 at 01:56 PM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  9. #9
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    Hi Tostito- ty for your reply and suggestions... I'm starting to feel what you're sayin' about the difficulty of replacing my one rear chromed 17x8.5 wheel... I have to say I love the setup you have, I've noticed that Apex Arc-8s are really popular for the e36 m3 and it's easy to see why! I might go ahead and get some aftermarket wheels except that the car has brand new michelin pilot sports and I understand its quite a pricey tire.... so in the meantime I'm thinking going with a non-chromed set of DSIIs or the style 24 another stock M3 wheel....

  10. #10
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    Can't go wrong with a staggered set of DSII's, there's a set for sale right now with a spare in the for sale section
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  11. #11
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    1998 BMW m3 convertable
    I have a 1998 BMW m3 convertable and I am running 17x8.5 all the way around w a 10mm spacer on the front. I am running on BRidgestone Potenza re71r 245/40/17.

  12. #12
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    I have to concur, Shifty. After considering a lot of different options, staggered DSIIs are definitely the planned solution. Besides, I absolutely love the way my e36 M3 rides/handles, so no need to go making changes to the wheels now.

    - - - Updated - - -

    interesting, BMW.m3.1998, how do you like having 8.5s all around? And what prompted the change? I had some Potenzas on my Miata and they were really great tires...

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