Small/med, rapid, pretty, toys, under £7k?

[TW]Fox · 18 Apr 2013 at 21:58

Quite - it will ride and handle better on 18's plus you say it has Conti's all round on the 18's too. A no brainer?

Jonny ///M · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:00

I used to love the 19" wheels when they were new but being a bit older now I prefer how the car sits with the 18" wheels.

Didn't realise the 18s had the better tyres. No brainer for me...maybe sell the 19s and invest in some upgrades/fixes.

Vita · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:03

I'd be scared to buy a sub £7k or £8k M3. I hope you have some trouble free motoring with it.

AndrewNR · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:38

A "mint" pre-facelift is probably under 10k.

Considering the mileage, colour, spec etc I'd say 7kish is about duty, if you're lucky.

Fantom · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:44

[TW]Fox;24142425 said:
Quite - it will ride and handle better on 18's plus you say it has Conti's all round on the 18's too. A no brainer?

I had noticed it rode better than one I looked at with 19s but as housey says they just look too small... I have some thinking to do regarding wheels.

[TW]Fox · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:48

Fantom said:
I had noticed it rode better than one I looked at with 19s but as housey says they just look too small... I have some thinking to do regarding wheels.

Give it some thought - don't buy an M3 and go for style over performance, which you will be doing if you pick 19's on Nankangs over 18's on Conti's

-westy- · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:56

Personally I think the M3 looks better on the 19" wheels, however I wouldn't let this preference let me drive around on Nankangs.

Fantom · 18 Apr 2013 at 22:56

Clarkey said:
18s ftw, rears all round.

Is that yours Clarkey? coilovers?

[TW]Fox · 18 Apr 2013 at 23:00

It's not his, no - and it just looks ruined in that picture. Don't do that to yours. BMW knew what they were doing with the M3 and Ebay is unlikely to be a source of improvements

Fantom · 18 Apr 2013 at 23:16

[TW]Fox;24142833 said:
It's not his, no - and it just looks ruined in that picture. Don't do that to yours. BMW knew what they were doing with the M3 and Ebay is unlikely to be a source of improvements

good, I wanted to check before I said I hate the idea of lowering the M3

Although the 18s look good on that, I fear it is because it is lowered and the 18s fill the arches... I'm going to at least test fit these 19s to see what I think, strangely though the fronts have different profiles so I definitely need 2 new fronts, and that means it will decide what I put on the rear when I burn through the nankangs (Asap)

How do I do donuts with SMG?

[TW]Fox · 18 Apr 2013 at 23:20

The fronts are different profiles as standard, to retain the same rolling radius as the wider rears. Remember, the profile is a percentage of the width.

Fantom · 18 Apr 2013 at 23:35

[TW]Fox;24142926 said:
The fronts are different profiles as standard, to retain the same rolling radius as the wider rears. Remember, the profile is a percentage of the width.

I meant they are different profile to each other lol someone made a cockup when ordering a tyre I guess...

flibbage0 · 19 Apr 2013 at 00:39

Well done for buying the car that you wanted.

I really like the E46 M3 and I can't see the value of a decent example decreasing.

Hopefully one day I'll get to drive/own one.

-westy- · 19 Apr 2013 at 02:08

Fantom said:
I meant they are different profile to each other lol someone made a cockup when ordering a tyre I guess...

As in the 2 tyres on the front are a different profile? Or they are a different profile to the tyres on the rear?

Fantom · 19 Apr 2013 at 08:41

-westy- said:
As in the 2 tyres on the front are a different profile? Or they are a different profile to the tyres on the rear?

correct, I know the fronts are supposed to be different from the rear but the two fronts are different from each other, I picked up the wheels for cheap on the way back from picking up the M3.