[Unicorn123]

Well...

A few weeks back we were commiserating with Plynth regarding his blown out RTF when I (again, noting the irony) had the same thing happen to me the next day at 0545 hours in the middle of Hartford on I-84W.

I had a significant vibration in the front end after getting a tire replaced and finally had time to take the car to my local excellent mechanic. As suspected, the RF rim was seriously bent, not necessarily at the impact point but the run-out from the hub was freaking huge (we're talking 30mm at least, maybe more) and the damn wheel looked like a weeble on the balancing machine. In fact, all four wheels (I noticed a subtle vibration when I bought the car but chalked it up to a bad balance) are bent to varying degrees, which were visually obvious on the balance, as I witnessed all four wheels spinning. In every case, there was significant run-out. I was seriously bent (no pun intended).

Besides just bitching in general (which is the essential purpose of my whinging here), how in the heck can BMW sell a car with such poor quality wheels. I realize we are not buying Hummer's here, but this is rather ridiculous. I have never had a BMW (or any other car for that matter) with such abysmal wheels and it is appalling that they feel that these factory wheels are "good enough", for a car that delivers such high performance. I am not a mechanical engineer (I'm the engineer that designs the materials and processes that the wheels are made from and with) but really?

Considering the critical importance of wheels and tires in stopping the car and keeping it attached to the road, I find it very disturbing.

Thanks for letting me vent. New wheels with real tires are being express shipped in Friday. Looking forward to spending the weekend enjoying a really great car that drives as it should with proper tires and wheels that are actually straight and round. Stuck with the square setup...

On a side note, drove an E93 335i 6M 1 owner retractable my local indie is selling used. Might buy it to replace my Z3, which I love but as noted previously, is too low to drive on the pothole / frost heaved roads here in NE CT. The top on the E93 is wicked cool and I must admit, I really enjoyed the ride. It handled quite well, has plenty of power and was a fun ride...I miss having a ragtop, or a reasonable facsimile thereof!