[ellisina4]

Hello,

I purchased 2015 550xi about 3 weeks ago and wanted to introduce myself.
I have been a loyal Audi owner for last 15 years. Last year I bought my wife F15 X5 5.0 and really loved the car. Q7 was 8 year old design and I did not want to wait another year. I was 3/4 way into the lease on my 2013 Audi S6 and one of the cylinders starting misfiring, sending the car into the limp mode. I changed the plugs, swapped the coils but that did not help. The last resort was to change the fuel injector but that required pulling the engine out, $4k job, and AoA would not cover it under warranty as the car was tuned. Well, I knew what I was doing when I tuned the car, “if you want to play, you have to pay.” So I decided to look into a new car and terminate my lease early. New S6s are 4-6 month to order so I started looking at 550xi and really liked it. The residual on 550 is 14% higher than on the new S6, something that equates to about $400 cheaper/month lease. So I got this carbon black 550xi. I did not want to wait 10 weeks so I got what they had on a lot, despite not having DHCP, otherwise, it had everything I would want.
Also, I hated the DSG on my S6 with rough downshifts and ON/OFF feeling. Do not get me wrong, S6 is a great car but 550 is so much smoother with the power delivery. Even when I tune 550 it most likely will not be as fast as the tuned S6 (I constantly ran 11.5 quarter mile with just ECU and TSU tune from GIAC) but 60-130 times should be comparable.

Now the wheels. I hated the feel of RTFs and looked at getting M5 343s but when I saw pics of Vosrteiner wheels V-FF 103, I was sold. I ordered these from Jay at VIBE Motorsports. All I can say, I cannot be happier with the service Jay provided, one of the best experiences ever.

Here are some details on the wheels (pics to prove it):
1. Tires are Conti DWS 245/35/20 and 285/30/20 = perfect fit
2. Wheels are 9x20 ET 30, 10.5x20 ET 40, all forged
3. Now the most important, the weight,
4. Factory setup was 65.2lb
5. New setup is 49lb
6. That is about 65lb savings of the unsprung weight between 4 wheels and, some people may argue, that is equivalent to 250lb+ of the regular weight.

My car is not lowered and I only drove it 20 miles or so; so far no rubbing. After speaking with Jay at VIBE Motorsports, their test car was lowered 1.5”+ and they had no issues either.

What I do love is how more agile the car feels and the look of the wheels, plus these wheels are made specifically for 5-series.

Anyway, just wanted to share with everyone.

[valbmw]

Congratulations!
Great start with both car and wheels. I have 20" Vorsteiner VS-310 and also a full pack of their carbon fiber: front lip, rear diffuser and trunk spoiler. All that stuff is perfect, you may want to check it out and think about it in the future.

[.BMW.]

Beautiful wheels!

[493263]

Now all you need is to drop it about 1 inch and darker tints.

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by 493263

Now all you need is to drop it about 1 inch and darker tints.

I drive 20k miles per year so decided to go with 35% on side windows and 20% on rear. 35% on sides is what is legal in IL.
My wife told me to drop it also, as soon as she saw the car, haha. With my S6 it was easy, using VAG tool, just reprogrammed the control module and I got 1" drop, plus you can raise it on demand by 3/4". With 550 it is $1200 labor from reputable shop, + alignment and cost of springs. Dinan is the way to go on springs as you can't hide this mod and from my modding history, not sure if I would go for H&R or similar. Dinan is 1/2" drop only... not much for $2k+.

Also, the black pieces that sit ahead of front wheels scrape on everything even without the car being lowered... LoL

[lsturbointeg]

Gorgeous wheels! So r u gonna lower it or keep it stock than?

[remmib]

That's very light for a non-forged wheel.

[spyroz]

Originally Posted by remmib

That's very light for a non-forged wheel.

Those are forged wheels..

[The Beast]

The picture of the forged wheel appears not to have a tyre fitted, whereas the original wheel clearly has a tyre fitted... Is this just an optical illusion or are you not comparing like for like?

[lsturbointeg]

Same here I thought Vorsteiners are forged wheels?

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by The Beast

The picture of the forged wheel appears not to have a tyre fitted, whereas the original wheel clearly has a tyre fitted... Is this just an optical illusion or are you not comparing like for like?

It is an optical illusion. U can see the tire on top if the picture. These wheels came with tires mounted and balanced and I installed them in my garage. The vorsteiner wheel without a tire is about 22lb as they are forged.
Sorry for the confusion.

[remmib]

Originally Posted by spyroz

Those are forged wheels..

I see Vorsteiner calls it flow forged, and I guess that's the same as the flow form wheels from HRE.

[bimmer722]

Car looks great!!! I love mine too!

[lsturbointeg]

Looks great bimmer722

[bimmer722]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Looks great bimmer722

Thanks

[The Beast]

I'm going to be controversial here and say that I don't like them on the F10... Just my opinion but I think the spokes look way to dainty for such a large car and way too much disk and calliper is on display

Anyway not hating as the cars are lovely, just my thoughts

[lsturbointeg]

I think on the aesthetics With a big brake kit like Brembo with larger calipers and cross drilled rotors it would stand out The Beast!

[PR_F10_535]

I love them! Enjoy

[Vorsteiner_Info]

wheels look fantastic on your vehicle. we were very excited when we were engineering these wheels to provide deep concavity profile for the rears. I know for the non ///M chassis, it has always been difficult task to achieve max concavity.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by spyroz

Those are forged wheels..

Flow forged is not forged. Don't let the marketing fool you.

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by The Beast

I'm going to be controversial here and say that I don't like them on the F10... Just my opinion but I think the spokes look way to dainty for such a large car and way too much disk and calliper is on display

Anyway not hating as the cars are lovely, just my thoughts

Thank u for the feedback. My friend from this forum, opasha, came over for dinner with his alpine white x5 and his calipers are painted blue. Now I am sold on painting my calipers. He recommends painting them BMW gold color. Any recommendations on color for carbon black car with dark wheels? Does anyone know anyone in Chicago northwest suburbs to do a good job?

[The Beast]

Originally Posted by ellisina4

Thank u for the feedback. My friend from this forum, opasha, came over for dinner with his alpine white x5 and his calipers are painted blue. Now I am sold on painting my calipers. He recommends painting them BMW gold color. Any recommendations on color for carbon black car with dark wheels? Does anyone know anyone in Chicago northwest suburbs to do a good job?

Definitely think that would help, dark gold or bronze would look good imo... But I'm sure others will chip in with some other suggestions/pictures 😀