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Project 745i: Wheels and Tires

Posted on 16. Jan, 2010 by bespokeordie in Diary

     A little while ago I found myself in for service at my local BMW $tealership (that’s “dealership” to most of you out there) waiting for my car to pull up after its routine maintenance.  Wandering through the new car lobby I started to think that my 2004 745i (e65) may be due for replacement.  And, as fate would have it there sat a new body style 2010 750i (f01) in the same black / black colorway as my car.  After a quick loop around and an endearing comparison of the new silhouette to that of my own I could see the similarities, but found a lot that I didn’t like.  The nose of the car looked too sharp for my standards, the rear felt awkward, and the side profile reminded me very much of a Lexus.  After sitting inside, the car’s features really won me over.  Google maps on the navigation screen, updated iDrive features and User Interface, iPod capability, night vision and back cameras.  It was a tech nerd’s wet dream in there and I was loving it.  Caught up in the intoxication of my nerdy ways I found myself sitting in the chair of the finance desk awaiting the trade in value on my 745i so we could wrap up the purchase of my new 750i.

      The value was so offensive that I dare not repeat it here because it will just make me angry again.  I know cars lose value, I’ve taken losses on cars many of times in my past, but this was nothing short of an insult.  Driving home I started to think about the difference between the two cars.  The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that my 745i has been the best car I’ve ever owned.  The car is fully loaded and the features that I did like about the new 750i weren’t unattainable on my baby.

      The strange feeling sitting in the f01 750i wasn’t awe of the new goodies of the car, it was my loyalty to my car which has treated me so well over the years.  Knowing that my warranty and maintenance packages expire in October of this year, I made the decision that I was going to go back to my tuning days and begin my mission to update the 2004 e65 745i.  I am not going to go crazy or over the top.  The idea is to lightly tune the vehicle with a very distinct purpose.  Update the looks of the car, the features, and performance while maintaining a professional and classy appearance both inside and out.  Of course, the costs would have to watched and deals would have to be scoured for because it doesn’t make sense to pay too much for an aging car.

      Part one of this transformation is complete.  My first focus was on the wheels of the car.  I wanted to maintain an OEM feel while upgrading to a larger wheel/tire combination.  I really feel that skimping on wheel quality can really hurt the appearance of the vehicle and I was not prepared to make any sacrifices in this regard.  Black wheels and chrome wheels run rampant in the tuner scene these days and in keeping with the desired “OEM feel” theme I decided I would search out a quality set of 2 piece forged wheels with a brushed center and chrome lips.  I wanted the set to be staggered for wider rear tires and I didn’t want to go over the top with excessively large lips on the rims.  After months and months of searching I found a set of used Capital Forged wheels that fit the bill and were aesthetically quite appealing.  They reminded me a little of the e46 BMW M3 19″ wheels on the last body style.  The lips were 3.5” in the front and 5.5” in the rear and were in great shape for being used.  Perfect for the 265/30/22 front and 295/25/22 Pirelli PZero Nero tires I found an equally as great a deal on at Discount Tires.  I have heard a lot of criticism from people stating that the visual pleasure you get from a wheel /tire setup like this will be short lived once you realize that you sacrifice in the area of ride quality.  The profile of the tires is extremely thin I will admit, but I am willing to try it out and see for myself because I like the look that much.  That beign said, the car was dropped off today at Big O Tires in Irvine, CA to finally have everything installed. 

     So far I haven’t experienced any changes in ride quality.  The car doesn’t feel like I have such little rubber wrapped around the wheels and the cabin is just as quiet as it use to be.  It is all still new, but so far so good.  Look out for many more updates as this project continues.  Plans for the immediate future to be on the look out for include H&R springs to get rid of that ugly gap in the wheel well, a retrofit of a better navigation DVD drive (with the latest software and custom Points of Interest), and a very custom iPod integration solution.

Total Cost: Wheels & Lightly Used Tires @ $550.00 + 2 New Pirelli PZero Nero Rear Tires @ $288.58 + Mount, Balance, and Install @ $50.00 = $888.58 USD.

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Tags: bmw, cars, project 745i