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Alloys for 205/55/R17 winter tyres for F46 Gran Tourer

3K views 11 replies 3 participants last post by  tweeky 
#1 ·
Hi,
I have a F46 Gran Tourer with 17" wheels (Style 478, described in the original brochure as 7.5J x 17). I bought runflat Continental winter tyres for this past winter, which were exactly the same dimensions as the original tyres. I had my winter tyres mounted on my existing alloys. When I had them switched back for my summer tyres, the guy at the tyre place said it's not a great idea to be taking runflats on and off every 6 months, because they're not really designed for that (rigid sidewalls so greater potential for getting damaged). Is this true?

So I started looking for some BMW original alloys to go with my winter tyres. My local BMW dealer quoted me an extortionate £1500 for 4 alloys with Tyre Pressure Sensors.

I assumed that I could look for any of the other 7.5J x 17 wheel models which were shown in the original BMW 2-Series Gran Tourer brochure (Styles 480, 385, 379, 479). But when I searched on eBay, I found some 379 Style wheels which weren't even 17"!

How can I be sure exactly which wheels would be 100% guaranteed compatible with my car and tyres? I'm not that bothered about the exact style of the wheels. I did read one of the posts explaining Offsets, but most of the listings on eBay don't give that kind of detail.

Thanks in advance your your guidance. I know very little about wheels and tyres, so please go easy on me!
 
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#2 ·
I don't like mounting and remounting tyres, risk of damage to both tyre and cosmetic damage to wheel, plus the £50 charge twice a year.

Most 379 wheels are BMW 1/2 Series wheels (5x120), so the vast majority won't fit your re-badged Mini.

F45/46/Mini's use a different bolt pattern (5x112) and very large offsets (ET54), so be very careful shopping on eBay. I'd be looking out for Styles 478, 479, 480, 481 & 483. I think they're all unique to the your unusual F46 bolt pattern, but please double check carefully before buying.
 
#4 ·
I'm still hoping that Michelin will release more CrossClimate tyres in runflat version, so that I can forget about this whole winter / summer tyre story (and cost) once and for all. I contacted Michelin a few months ago, and they told me that they had no plans currently for Crossclimate runflats in my tyre size. But they did say that in Q2 2018 they expected to be releasing CrossClimate runflats in the tyre size which my wife has on her car (205/60/R16). So hopefully they will eventually get round to some other tyre sizes. From everything I've read and heard, Crossclimate tyres seem to be the bees knees, for most people's requirements.
 
#5 ·
If I get new BMW wheels with Tyre Pressure Sensors, do I need to get these sensors somehow "paired" with my car, so that they communicate with each other? If so, is that something which I can do myself, or do I have to take it to BMW to get them to do it?
 
#7 ·
Thanks marco_polo,
I found some alloys for sale on eBay (including tyres) at . It says specifically that these are for F45 and F46
I even checked the manufacturer p/n which is given in the eBay listing (36 11 6 855 091) and checked it on the website, which also says it's compatible. But the listing says it's stud diameter 120, whereas I understood from your earlier advice that I need 112 (5 x 112). Am I misunderstanding something?
 
#11 ·
Hi marco_polo,
I managed to get the 36 11 6 855 091 alloys (Style 379) on eBay for £500 including delivery and 4 Michelin 205/55/R17 91W Primacy 3 tyres (BMW*, with 5.7 to 6.7mm of tread remaining). They are the correct model for F45/F46. They are in pretty good condition, apart from a bit of kerbing on one of them, but they are fine for my requirements. I had my winter tyres fitted to them last weekend, and I'll be selling the Michelin Primacy 3 summer tyres which were previously on these alloys, because they aren't runflats.
Thanks for all your advice.
Mark
 
#12 ·
Try these people I was going to use these for my winter set up but a use set came up on here before I pulled the trigger. They did winter wheel and tyre packages.
 
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