Can Somone Educate Me On M3 Wheels Please?

[Roofus]

I'm looking to purchase the vehicle in the picture. I've read a little bit about these rims coming in several styles, something like stamped and not stamped or something like that. I think these are the Lightweight wheels, but I really don't know enough about it. I'm traditionally a VW guy. Always loved these E36's and just sold my 337 and trying to get more knowledge of all the little bits of info we enthusiasts crave.

Thanks for the help!

[chowfunstudios]

Those are Double Spoke 1. There are also Double Spoke 2, Contours, and the five spoke LTW wheels that could be had from the factory.

-Marv

[bcbrad]

What I have come to understand about our wheels on M3's is that there are four kinds of OEM rims. The four are;

M DS1's
M DS2's(or DSII)
Forged M double spoke
M Contour's

Here is a link to a picture.

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq/E36_M3_Wheels.jpg

DS1's came on a 95 M3 and then DS2's and the others came on M3's after that. I'm not an expert on them but maybe this helps.

I have DSII's on my car below ˅ ˅ ˅

[Roofus]

Thanks guys. I think we're getting somewhere. These look similar to the Double Spoke II. But they look to have a non-functioning cover plate, or possibly a functioning cover plate that unscrews to reveal the actual bolts.

But these are stamped. And I believe I read that the stamped rims are lighter weight similar to what was put on the LTW. But the LTW appears to have Double Spoke II's that are stamped.

Confused because I can't seem to find info on these wheels at all.

[bcbrad]

Don't get confused though. The ones in your picture are definitely Double Spoke 1's. The whole stamped thing you're talking about though, idk.

[Roofus]

Don't get confused though. The ones in your picture are definitely Double Spoke 1's. The whole stamped thing you're talking about though, idk.

Ok, you're on the money!
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...67&postcount=7

I think what I had confused about the stamping thing is with the LTW's, not these.

See how these LTW's are not stamped:


But the LTW's that are on the actual M3 LTW are stamped:


My guess would be that you could purchase the LTW rims from BMW, but only the LTW's that actually came on the M3 LTW were stamped to set them apart. Just a guess, but that would make sense.

Cool. Glad we Sherlock Holmes that out! Thanks for the help!

[DrLivingston]

The OP car pictured are not LTW. Those are the DS1's I had them on my 95. And the only thing I can recall being special on these is that they are only 1995 specific. Not saying that people don't just move them from car to car, but from the factory came on only 1995's and the DSII's are 96+ and have a concave center .

DSI

Here is the rest of the wheels E36 M3's had:

The forged M Double Spoke pictured above is your LTW you were referring to. The contours are hard to mix up as they are drastically different. And the DSII's have a concave center which you can tell in the pic. So from here on out you should be able to spot your wheels
I'm pretty sure IIRC the weight went in this order. LTW somewhere like 18-19 pounds. DS1 21.6 DSII 22.xx and contours being the heaviest.

[JETninja]

DS1's only come in 7.5" width...

All the others come in Staggered widths 7.5/8.5....

[Roofus]

DS1's only come in 7.5" width...

All the others come in Staggered widths 7.5/8.5....

Eww. That kinda sucks. I guess they are easier on the pocket book when it comes time to buy tires though.

[metale]

Eww. That kinda sucks. I guess they are easier on the pocket book when it comes time to buy tires though.

You can still use 235/40R17 tires all around on them. +'96 M3 came with 225mm tires on the front. Happier?

[Krause]

Stamped wheels came on the 95's. That goes for both the DS1's and the Forged LTW wheels. They had BMW Motorsport stamped on them and were painted silver.

On the 96+ cares they switched to the DS2's and unstamped LTW wheels, they made some slight design changes and no longer carried the BMW Motorsport stamping. They were also polished instead of painted.

You also had the choice of the Contour wheels, I think they came on the luxury package by default.

[Roo2003]

so which one of the three types is most desirable? I just bought a 95 M3 with the Forged M with the BMW Motorsports lettering on each wheel. The original owner gave me all the documentation when he special ordered the car and he got the Forged M as special option.

[alanilil]

The forged double spoke "LTW" wheels are the most desirable. They were a pricey option new and still sell for about $800 for a nice set. DSI's are generally the least desirable.

In general a new set of tires costs more than a set of used OEM wheels.

[Roo2003]

The forged double spoke "LTW" wheels are the most desirable. They were a pricey option new and still sell for about $800 for a nice set. DSI's are generally the least desirable.

In general a new set of tires costs more than a set of used OEM wheels.

Thanks. Cool, the "LTW" wheels are what I have.

[The Letter M]

What I have come to understand about our wheels on M3's is that there are four kinds of OEM rims. The four are;

M DS1's
M DS2's(or DSII)
Forged M double spoke
M Contour's

Here is a link to a picture.

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq/E36_M3_Wheels.jpg

DS1's came on a 95 M3 and then DS2's and the others came on M3's after that. I'm not an expert on them but maybe this helps.

I have DSII's on my car below ˅ ˅ ˅

OK, well technically (and according to what you'll find at realoem.com), there are 7 wheels that were available for the E36 M3 if you include the 2 varieties of Contours (one was for winter tires), all 4 of the DS styles and one I've never liked or seen anywhere, but it's still in the list (style 29).

I have 3 of the above sets, including the stamped LTW's, the non-stamped ones & a set of winter Contours.

[Mauritius36]

whats the difference with the winter contours?

[metale]

Probably wheel width.

[The Letter M]

The winter Contours are only 7" wide and they have no "M" badge. Hell, they are probably more rare than any of the other ones... not that everyone wants 7" wheels, although for winter, a narrower wheel & tire is better in the snow.

[metale]

They should be ok with some tires like 205/50R17.

[The Letter M]

I have 215's on mine...

[mipktb]

Eww. That kinda sucks. I guess they are easier on the pocket book when it comes time to buy tires though.

Well, it's the '95 vs. '96 thing.

The '95 was criticized for being too oversteer prone. When the M was reintroduced for '96, BMW made a bunch of small changes to keep the car more 'balanced' (i.e. balance ---> slight understeer vs. balance slight oversteer.)

Aside from Traction Control (ASC), the '96 got a few tweaks to suspension geometry (shock hats, sway bars, front control arm configuration) along with a 3.23 ratio differential instead of a 3.15.

The staggered wheels standard on all '96+ M3 (7.5f, 8.5r) were to decrease the oversteer tendency of '95.

However, as an enthusiast, I much prefer oversteer. I bought a high-horsepower, FR car for a reason. If I had a desire for understeer, I'd own an ITR.