Carbon Fiber Wheels - owner impressions?

[KKSigs]

So for all of our Canadian members who are on tour with their GTS, what's your impression on the carbon fiber rims?

[schnell325]

I'm not on the trip, but the photos of them look insane

VCP will give his two pennies worth once he sobers up from Monte Carlo

[Robcut1]

I am getting a white car but feel that the orange wheels are over the top for me personally. Does anyone know if you will be able to take delivery of the car in the US, with the carbon wheels in place of or at the same time you receive the car with the orange wheels? My dealer told me that you have to get the orange wheels on the car and then pay $12,000 to get the carbon wheels. He is not sure whether or not he can order the wheels to arrive at the same time the car arrives at the dealer. Also, anyone consider plastdip?

[Valentino_f82]

Originally Posted by Robcut1

I am getting a white car but feel that the orange wheels are over the top for me personally. Does anyone know if you will be able to take delivery of the car in the US, with the carbon wheels in place of or at the same time you receive the car with the orange wheels? My dealer told me that you have to get the orange wheels on the car and then pay $12,000 to get the carbon wheels. He is not sure whether or not he can order the wheels to arrive at the same time the car arrives at the dealer. Also, anyone consider plastdip?

How do you exactly go from about to order $12,000 wheels .. to plastidip at a whopping $6.99 a can?

[Robcut1]

Originally Posted by Valentino_f82

How do you exactly go from about to order $12,000 wheels .. to plastidip at a whopping $6.99 a can?

There is a shop locally who only does that work. They remove the wheels and will charge around $300 to $400. When done professionally, the results can be quite good. My point being simply that maybe my white car will look great (to me) if the orange wheels were simply sprayed to look black. Why spend $12,000 if it will look fine for $300, and I will not notice any performance difference? Plastidip can be removed so there will not be a depreciation issue. I do believe however, that the carbon wheels will not be available forever. Therefore, it may actually make sense to "grab" a set to increase the value, aesthetics and performance of the car!! Incidentally, I love the orange wheels on the black, gray, and frosted cars.

[Bashful]

ok...maybe I'm missing something here.....

plastidipping the wheels? kinda missing the point of this entire car and the point that the Carbon wheels are meant to reduce the rotational inertia aren't we?

anyways, I apologize if I ramble but I'm extremely jetlagged as I caught Coldplay in NICE France and then jumped an early morning flight back....and then put in a full day at work today. I unfortunately have to jump on a plane tomorrow and skip another couple timezones again....so I'll try to address a couple of things..

I took delivery of one of the Carbon Wheeled cars at the Welt with the Canadian euro tour and then proceeded to put 1300 kms on my car.

So the 3 of us who opted carbon, are extremely happy with our choice, but I guarantee my friends who took the 666 wheels are equally happy with their choice. Cosmetically there is a lot to the wheels that you cannot see on a pic...the finish is exquisite and the shape does not come across in a pic...there is a beautiful arc to the spokes coming through the centre that just doesn't show up on a pic..... I think they are great from a looks standpoint, they exceeded my expectations in this regard.... but I also like them for the technical aspect and innovation.....I chose them for this reason.

-the cool thing is that all the GTS's on our trip were different to each other.....so we all had a chance to see the different choices/combos, and driving together you get to see the cars in motion.

The Carbon wheels are limited so if you want them, I guess first you'll have to see if you can get them, and just know the 12,500 price in euros and/or dollars is with the credit of the 666 wheels....so just be prepared if you get a chance to purchase them but it is a separate purchase, be prepared for ~20k....don't shoot the messenger, I'm just just preparing you....

so to sum up the wheels question, I love the wheels cosmetically and for what they stand for technically.... but I didn't drive a 666 wheels version I don't know if there is a discernible difference in street driving. I think due to the limited nature of the car I would not advise plastidipping the wheels, personally I feel that's madness.....just buy another set of wheels....ie buy the CS wheels which are not orange finished 666 and paint those....or after market ones... but we should all do what makes us happy right?

one thing that needs to be addressed...
I can now report that in my opinion this car is so far beyond a regular M4, it is shocking.....

as johnny lieberman said in a recent 'smoking tire podcast'....

( that ironically I listened to in the GTS on it's laughably bad stereo, because racecar right?)

while driving to do the Monaco Rally mountain stage(...which was mental...there was a police blockade set up at one point to catch us...apparently our rate of speed was freaking out the locals...but thats a story for another day.)....where was I?

oh yeah, on the podcast he said, he honestly didn't think BMW had it in them to build a car like this....I agree.
They are not the same car...much like a 911 Carrera S and a GT3RS are not the same, the GTS is a different planet entirely.... it's that big a difference.....especially when you consider I haven't gotten it to the track and addressed it's adjustability.

One of the People I spent a ton of time with on the trip it Walter Haupt, a Professional race car driver/legend and the lead technical engineer for the GTS..... we picked his brains to death! and he was just amazing.....I'm still sorting out all the amazing intricate details and interesting facts he told us about our cars.... he knows literally everything about it. Anyways, it all adds up to a package that when you drive it is so much more compelling than the M4, you cannot compare the two, but it needs to be stated that they are not meant to be compared...and I know there are endless threads trying to. These threads are meaningless so don't even entertain them.

-of note we also did not get the fire extinguisher, as it does not meet our can specs, which was a surprise to all of us...US may be the same as we are getting the same cars....even our A/c controls are in degrees F, and not Degrees C...which threw us all.

ok thats enough for now, I have to repack and sleep. for those of you getting the car...congrats, you are going to love it.... the roads and the drives we did....it is such a special car, it's even better than I thought it would be.

oh we also did a race school in M2's. They were DCT and had upgraded Pagid pads. it was torrential down pour and utterly nuts. we were all split up into groups and did a little drifting for fun but then switched cars and did a bunch of track work. I was in what was termed the expert group which had less people so we got more seat time, and were lead by Walter who is a madman. anyways long story short, it was terrifying (b/c of the weather and the speed that walter was pushing and that he demanded we be so close together in order to see)....and some of the most fun I've had. the M2 is such a blast....great package.

I'm sure the other guys will chime in but most are at the Nurburgring, I unfortunately had to miss it....but I'm sure we'll get a big thread together with pics etc.

[KKSigs]

Originally Posted by Bashful

ok...maybe I'm missing something here.....

plastidipping the wheels? kinda missing the point of this entire car and the point that the Carbon wheels are meant to reduce the rotational inertia aren't we?

anyways, I apologize if I ramble but I'm extremely jetlagged as I caught Coldplay in NICE France and then jumped an early morning flight back....and then put in a full day at work today. I unfortunately have to jump on a plane tomorrow and skip another couple timezones again....so I'll try to address a couple of things..

I took delivery of one of the Carbon Wheeled cars at the Welt with the Canadian euro tour and then proceeded to put 1300 kms on my car.

So the 3 of us who opted carbon, are extremely happy with our choice, but I guarantee my friends who took the 666 wheels are equally happy with their choice. Cosmetically there is a lot to the wheels that you cannot see on a pic...the finish is exquisite and the shape does not come across in a pic...there is a beautiful arc to the spokes coming through the centre that just doesn't show up on a pic..... I think they are great from a looks standpoint, they exceeded my expectations in this regard.... but I also like them for the technical aspect and innovation.....I chose them for this reason.

-the cool thing is that all the GTS's on our trip were different to each other.....so we all had a chance to see the different choices/combos, and driving together you get to see the cars in motion.

The Carbon wheels are limited so if you want them, I guess first you'll have to see if you can get them, and just know the 12,500 price in euros and/or dollars is with the credit of the 666 wheels....so just be prepared if you get a chance to purchase them but it is a separate purchase, be prepared for ~20k....don't shoot the messenger, I'm just just preparing you....

so to sum up the wheels question, I love the wheels cosmetically and for what they stand for technically.... but I didn't drive a 666 wheels version I don't know if there is a discernible difference in street driving. I think due to the limited nature of the car I would not advise plastidipping the wheels, personally I feel that's madness.....just buy another set of wheels....ie buy the CS wheels which are not orange finished 666 and paint those....or after market ones... but we should all do what makes us happy right?

one thing that needs to be addressed...
I can now report that in my opinion this car is so far beyond a regular M4, it is shocking.....

as johnny lieberman said in a recent 'smoking tire podcast'....

( that ironically I listened to in the GTS on it's laughably bad stereo, because racecar right?)

while driving to do the Monaco Rally mountain stage(...which was mental...there was a police blockade set up at one point to catch us...apparently our rate of speed was freaking out the locals...but thats a story for another day.)....where was I?

oh yeah, on the podcast he said, he honestly didn't think BMW had it in them to build a car like this....I agree.
They are not the same car...much like a 911 Carrera S and a GT3RS are not the same, the GTS is a different planet entirely.... it's that big a difference.....especially when you consider I haven't gotten it to the track and addressed it's adjustability.

One of the People I spent a ton of time with on the trip it Walter Haupt, a Professional race car driver/legend and the lead technical engineer for the GTS..... we picked his brains to death! and he was just amazing.....I'm still sorting out all the amazing intricate details and interesting facts he told us about our cars.... he knows literally everything about it. Anyways, it all adds up to a package that when you drive it is so much more compelling than the M4, you cannot compare the two, but it needs to be stated that they are not meant to be compared...and I know there are endless threads trying to. These threads are meaningless so don't even entertain them.

-of note we also did not get the fire extinguisher, as it does not meet our can specs, which was a surprise to all of us...US may be the same as we are getting the same cars....even our A/c controls are in degrees F, and not Degrees C...which threw us all.

ok thats enough for now, I have to repack and sleep. for those of you getting the car...congrats, you are going to love it.... the roads and the drives we did....it is such a special car, it's even better than I thought it would be.

oh we also did a race school in M2's. They were DCT and had upgraded Pagid pads. it was torrential down pour and utterly nuts. we were all split up into groups and did a little drifting for fun but then switched cars and did a bunch of track work. I was in what was termed the expert group which had less people so we got more seat time, and were lead by Walter who is a madman. anyways long story short, it was terrifying (b/c of the weather and the speed that walter was pushing and that he demanded we be so close together in order to see)....and some of the most fun I've had. the M2 is such a blast....great package.

I'm sure the other guys will chime in but most are at the Nurburgring, I unfortunately had to miss it....but I'm sure we'll get a big thread together with pics etc.

Thanks for sharing and input. Makes me want my GTS even earlier. Only a few more months. So far for the US there is nothing definitive of just getting the CF rims or the 666 or possibly both. My parts manager here locally emailed BMW NA and emailed him saying that they were still in the process of getting them to the US. I laughed cause I showed pics of the Canadian tour with the CF Rims. He just ordered the rims anyway. Only time will tell

[Captain Unknown GT4]

Thanks For a great and fun story. I would have loved to have them CF rims but I told my selfe they was to much euros. So much fun For you guys bombarding questions about GTS to that Guy who know all about it. Want my car now☺️

[RPChan]

If what you want is CF rims I know that HRE now builds custom CF wheels. Get the 666 wheels and order some from HRE.

[W///]

Originally Posted by Bashful

ok...maybe I'm missing something here.....

plastidipping the wheels? kinda missing the point of this entire car and the point that the Carbon wheels are meant to reduce the rotational inertia aren't we?

anyways, I apologize if I ramble but I'm extremely jetlagged as I caught Coldplay in NICE France and then jumped an early morning flight back....and then put in a full day at work today. I unfortunately have to jump on a plane tomorrow and skip another couple timezones again....so I'll try to address a couple of things..

I took delivery of one of the Carbon Wheeled cars at the Welt with the Canadian euro tour and then proceeded to put 1300 kms on my car.

So the 3 of us who opted carbon, are extremely happy with our choice, but I guarantee my friends who took the 666 wheels are equally happy with their choice. Cosmetically there is a lot to the wheels that you cannot see on a pic...the finish is exquisite and the shape does not come across in a pic...there is a beautiful arc to the spokes coming through the centre that just doesn't show up on a pic..... I think they are great from a looks standpoint, they exceeded my expectations in this regard.... but I also like them for the technical aspect and innovation.....I chose them for this reason.

-the cool thing is that all the GTS's on our trip were different to each other.....so we all had a chance to see the different choices/combos, and driving together you get to see the cars in motion.

The Carbon wheels are limited so if you want them, I guess first you'll have to see if you can get them, and just know the 12,500 price in euros and/or dollars is with the credit of the 666 wheels....so just be prepared if you get a chance to purchase them but it is a separate purchase, be prepared for ~20k....don't shoot the messenger, I'm just just preparing you....

so to sum up the wheels question, I love the wheels cosmetically and for what they stand for technically.... but I didn't drive a 666 wheels version I don't know if there is a discernible difference in street driving. I think due to the limited nature of the car I would not advise plastidipping the wheels, personally I feel that's madness.....just buy another set of wheels....ie buy the CS wheels which are not orange finished 666 and paint those....or after market ones... but we should all do what makes us happy right?

one thing that needs to be addressed...
I can now report that in my opinion this car is so far beyond a regular M4, it is shocking.....

as johnny lieberman said in a recent 'smoking tire podcast'....

( that ironically I listened to in the GTS on it's laughably bad stereo, because racecar right?)

while driving to do the Monaco Rally mountain stage(...which was mental...there was a police blockade set up at one point to catch us...apparently our rate of speed was freaking out the locals...but thats a story for another day.)....where was I?

oh yeah, on the podcast he said, he honestly didn't think BMW had it in them to build a car like this....I agree.
They are not the same car...much like a 911 Carrera S and a GT3RS are not the same, the GTS is a different planet entirely.... it's that big a difference.....especially when you consider I haven't gotten it to the track and addressed it's adjustability.

One of the People I spent a ton of time with on the trip it Walter Haupt, a Professional race car driver/legend and the lead technical engineer for the GTS..... we picked his brains to death! and he was just amazing.....I'm still sorting out all the amazing intricate details and interesting facts he told us about our cars.... he knows literally everything about it. Anyways, it all adds up to a package that when you drive it is so much more compelling than the M4, you cannot compare the two, but it needs to be stated that they are not meant to be compared...and I know there are endless threads trying to. These threads are meaningless so don't even entertain them.

-of note we also did not get the fire extinguisher, as it does not meet our can specs, which was a surprise to all of us...US may be the same as we are getting the same cars....even our A/c controls are in degrees F, and not Degrees C...which threw us all.

ok thats enough for now, I have to repack and sleep. for those of you getting the car...congrats, you are going to love it.... the roads and the drives we did....it is such a special car, it's even better than I thought it would be.

oh we also did a race school in M2's. They were DCT and had upgraded Pagid pads. it was torrential down pour and utterly nuts. we were all split up into groups and did a little drifting for fun but then switched cars and did a bunch of track work. I was in what was termed the expert group which had less people so we got more seat time, and were lead by Walter who is a madman. anyways long story short, it was terrifying (b/c of the weather and the speed that walter was pushing and that he demanded we be so close together in order to see)....and some of the most fun I've had. the M2 is such a blast....great package.

I'm sure the other guys will chime in but most are at the Nurburgring, I unfortunately had to miss it....but I'm sure we'll get a big thread together with pics etc.

Great post. You should post what you were able to pick from Walter's brain.

Also, the GTS 666 look THAT much better in real life, I was shocked

[CanAutM3]

In fact, I find the carbon composite wheels to look very good.

[Msmall143]

Originally Posted by Robcut1

I am getting a white car but feel that the orange wheels are over the top for me personally. Does anyone know if you will be able to take delivery of the car in the US, with the carbon wheels in place of or at the same time you receive the car with the orange wheels? My dealer told me that you have to get the orange wheels on the car and then pay $12,000 to get the carbon wheels. He is not sure whether or not he can order the wheels to arrive at the same time the car arrives at the dealer. Also, anyone consider plastdip?

your options are 12k cost for wheels or a $3 can of plasti dip and you're having to actually think about?!!?? how much money you got?

you can get a set of custom one off wheels made for well under 12k. could also powder coat or even trade for a aftermarket set for your stock orange ones.

To even consdier spending 12k on any wheels you really have to be 100% set on having the absolute best performance and the absolute best looking. And the bmw cf wheels are the neither the best performance or best looking when compared to the options you have available;e at the 12k price point

[Doctor///M]

Originally Posted by Bashful

ok...maybe I'm missing something here.....

plastidipping the wheels? kinda missing the point of this entire car and the point that the Carbon wheels are meant to reduce the rotational inertia aren't we?

anyways, I apologize if I ramble but I'm extremely jetlagged as I caught Coldplay in NICE France and then jumped an early morning flight back....and then put in a full day at work today. I unfortunately have to jump on a plane tomorrow and skip another couple timezones again....so I'll try to address a couple of things..

I took delivery of one of the Carbon Wheeled cars at the Welt with the Canadian euro tour and then proceeded to put 1300 kms on my car.

So the 3 of us who opted carbon, are extremely happy with our choice, but I guarantee my friends who took the 666 wheels are equally happy with their choice. Cosmetically there is a lot to the wheels that you cannot see on a pic...the finish is exquisite and the shape does not come across in a pic...there is a beautiful arc to the spokes coming through the centre that just doesn't show up on a pic..... I think they are great from a looks standpoint, they exceeded my expectations in this regard.... but I also like them for the technical aspect and innovation.....I chose them for this reason.

-the cool thing is that all the GTS's on our trip were different to each other.....so we all had a chance to see the different choices/combos, and driving together you get to see the cars in motion.

The Carbon wheels are limited so if you want them, I guess first you'll have to see if you can get them, and just know the 12,500 price in euros and/or dollars is with the credit of the 666 wheels....so just be prepared if you get a chance to purchase them but it is a separate purchase, be prepared for ~20k....don't shoot the messenger, I'm just just preparing you....

so to sum up the wheels question, I love the wheels cosmetically and for what they stand for technically.... but I didn't drive a 666 wheels version I don't know if there is a discernible difference in street driving. I think due to the limited nature of the car I would not advise plastidipping the wheels, personally I feel that's madness.....just buy another set of wheels....ie buy the CS wheels which are not orange finished 666 and paint those....or after market ones... but we should all do what makes us happy right?

one thing that needs to be addressed...
I can now report that in my opinion this car is so far beyond a regular M4, it is shocking.....

as johnny lieberman said in a recent 'smoking tire podcast'....

( that ironically I listened to in the GTS on it's laughably bad stereo, because racecar right?)

while driving to do the Monaco Rally mountain stage(...which was mental...there was a police blockade set up at one point to catch us...apparently our rate of speed was freaking out the locals...but thats a story for another day.)....where was I?

oh yeah, on the podcast he said, he honestly didn't think BMW had it in them to build a car like this....I agree.
They are not the same car...much like a 911 Carrera S and a GT3RS are not the same, the GTS is a different planet entirely.... it's that big a difference.....especially when you consider I haven't gotten it to the track and addressed it's adjustability.

One of the People I spent a ton of time with on the trip it Walter Haupt, a Professional race car driver/legend and the lead technical engineer for the GTS..... we picked his brains to death! and he was just amazing.....I'm still sorting out all the amazing intricate details and interesting facts he told us about our cars.... he knows literally everything about it. Anyways, it all adds up to a package that when you drive it is so much more compelling than the M4, you cannot compare the two, but it needs to be stated that they are not meant to be compared...and I know there are endless threads trying to. These threads are meaningless so don't even entertain them.

-of note we also did not get the fire extinguisher, as it does not meet our can specs, which was a surprise to all of us...US may be the same as we are getting the same cars....even our A/c controls are in degrees F, and not Degrees C...which threw us all.

ok thats enough for now, I have to repack and sleep. for those of you getting the car...congrats, you are going to love it.... the roads and the drives we did....it is such a special car, it's even better than I thought it would be.

oh we also did a race school in M2's. They were DCT and had upgraded Pagid pads. it was torrential down pour and utterly nuts. we were all split up into groups and did a little drifting for fun but then switched cars and did a bunch of track work. I was in what was termed the expert group which had less people so we got more seat time, and were lead by Walter who is a madman. anyways long story short, it was terrifying (b/c of the weather and the speed that walter was pushing and that he demanded we be so close together in order to see)....and some of the most fun I've had. the M2 is such a blast....great package.

I'm sure the other guys will chime in but most are at the Nurburgring, I unfortunately had to miss it....but I'm sure we'll get a big thread together with pics etc.

Wait, was this you?

[Bashful]

yuppers.

[WheelsBoutique]

Originally Posted by RPChan

If what you want is CF rims I know that HRE now builds custom CF wheels. Get the 666 wheels and order some from HRE.

HRE does not manufacture any Carbon Fiber wheels at the moment. They've shown off prototypes at various shows over the years but no production models...yet

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by WheelsBoutique

HRE does not manufacture any Carbon Fiber wheels at the moment. They've shown off prototypes at various shows over the years but no production models...yet

It became impossible, then just extremely difficult to get a CF Passenger Car Wheel TUV Certified once actual requirements specific to CF were established. They're extremely expensive and require a metallic or other deformation material within or reinforcing the fiber weave to prevent it from splintering in the in the impact tests. APP is behind the GTS wheels and IIRC the barrels were developed with the help of SGL/Pagani using Carbo-Tanium, hence the very high price. We stopped further development after the new regs went into effect and killed Dymag for a while. They've found a loop hole recently but it won't remain open for long. In the end it's Cheaper, lighter, and more flexible aesthetically to use UDM if possible. We experimented with variations of the reverse (metallic barrels/CF centers) but I can't justify the complexity and expense for the minuscule results.

[VCP]

I do not mind the CF wheels. To me a bit less aggressive. I think they suit the MG and FDG better than AW and BSM. Have not seen them on BSM. That said, I prefer the contrast of the Acid Orange against the AW and BSM. This is a subjective topic and is personal preference. A bit more un-sprung savings, but these CF wheels were a after thought and were not designed and tested on the GTS during production. They are built by a different company than the 666. I chose to not get these due to the color contrast that the 666 offer to BSM.

[mu2002cs]

Here's my current plan.

I have ordered a set of CF wheels. Will mount the stock Cup tires on those wheels for track purposes. Then, will mount PS2s on the stock Acid Orange wheels for occasional street driving, tours, etc. Have driven a Vette with Cup tires in the rain - not recommended!

[VCP]

Legit

Originally Posted by mu2002cs

Here's my current plan.

I have ordered a set of CF wheels. Will mount the stock Cup tires on those wheels for track purposes. Then, will mount PS2s on the stock Acid Orange wheels for occasional street driving, tours, etc. Have driven a Vette with Cup tires in the rain - not recommended!

[KKSigs]

Originally Posted by VCP

Legit

I am doing the same since I have also ordered the CF rims but they have no estimation for delivery

[Bashful]

So you guys have no confirmation that you are in fact getting them?

Do you know the price if you do?

[KKSigs]

Originally Posted by Bashful

So you guys have no confirmation that you are in fact getting them?

Do you know the price if you do?

My sales manager is still trying to find the possibility of straight ordering it from factory with car. However my parts manager went ahead and ordered the rims which will be about 13k with discount