Wheelie, Wheelie, Cool!

Probably the first modification performed on cars around the globe is fitting a set of alloy wheels. There are a multitude of reasons for this first step in making your new vehicle uniquely yours. It may be to make the car look better, to allow the fitment of better tires or even lighter rims for the performance benefits they provide. One thing is for sure, they can utterly transform the look of a car, in some cases transforming an ugly duckling into somewhat of a swan. In my case the reason to upgrade the wheel / tire package on Project 335 was to get a set of wheels that would promote that classic BMW race inspired look that I like so much. Touring cars rule as far as I am concerned. I would be changing from the standard 17” with run flats to 19” with a good set of performance summer tires. While I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of run-flats and the huge safety benefits they provide, they do come with one major drawback, namely the ride quality. It was something I had never really noticed when I bought the car as the ride in my F350 dually is obviously described as being somewhat on the harsher side. The first winter with the car showed how harsh run-flats can be, when a significant bump in a nearby road had to be avoided as the winter got colder and the misalignment in the road surface got bigger and bigger. The 18” run flat Blizzaks protested loudly every time that piece of road was used and I was so worried about suspension or wheel damage that I even want as far as to choose an alternative route to work for the rest of the winter. That got me thinking. Did I want to go with run-flats on the 19” rims? The Greater Toronto Area is famous for having some potholes you could loose a young child in, did I want to chance ruining my new wheels or suspension by using run-flats with their inherently stiff sidewalls and risk component damage? I did not and after much soul searching the decision to move away from run-flats was made. So, what about the wheel choice? We all know there are good and bad wheels out there. Cast wheels are no doubt cheaper but do not have the

inherent strength of forged items. With ever-lower tire profiles bringing the wheel closer to the pavement, potholes and large debris can easily damage your expensive rims or suspension. The advantage to a forged wheel is that it is able to withstand these episodes a lot better that the cast version. So it is a trade off, run cast wheels and maybe replace them every so often or buy the quality, forged item and have piece of mind as you drive down the highway. What was my choice of wheel? I liked the CSL style that is synonymous with the BMW brand and motorsport but the regulation BBS rims are commonplace on BMWs and I really did not want to go that route. Enter the Internet and the bible of E90 users; E90Post.com, their wheel forum had all sorts of views, reviews, photos and interesting information relating to all sorts of wheels. It was there I saw versions of the MORR VS7 wheels that had the look I was looking for but I could not really find out much out about the company until I saw a post about them introducing a new wheel

to the marketplace. That grabbed my attention, their new VS8.2 product line looked exactly what I was looking to update Project 335. A call was placed to one of the MORR partners, Andy Rodriguez to discuss the wheels. It was revealed that the engineering for the wheels was done in house by his partner Carlos Morr who just happens to be a structural engineer. Designed to be lightweight but strong, the wheels are formed using SpunForged™ technology that lends itself to light but strong ideology. The 8.5-inch fronts come in at 19.8 lbs., rears are 23.8 lbs., which is impressive indeed. All VS8.2 series conform to the strict international standards of wheel quality and manufacturing, which include VIA, JWL, TuV-Rheinland, and DOT SAE J2530. The SpunForged™ VS8.2 is rated to the new safety standard of 690-kg (1520-lbs) per corner; an increase of 30-kg over the previous standard, making the wheel significantly more resistant to load stresses. MORR also decided to introduce a new look with the VS8.2 wheels called the Signature Series where the wheels are coated with black or silver and then the front face is Diamond Cut to give a showcase finish that stands out and provides a truly unique look. Add in the fact that there are not many wheels as concave as the VS8.2s. What more could I ask for. With all that revealed, my order was placed and all I did was sit back and wait. So was I happy in the end? You betcha! It may have taken a little longer than I anticipated but I understand why that was the case. Andy and Carlos are very picky about their product. The hard work was done by engineering a good solid wheel but it would not mean much if the finish did not match. Remember,

my wheels were built in the first production batch of wheels and until the finish was signed off on, there were no wheels shipped to customers. I know how picky they are, I spent a day at their Miami facility and saw how each wheel was inspected before shipping. Miniscule blemishes that are common-place on other wheels were rejected by MORR and returned for refinishing. As for receiving your new rims in pristine condition? MORR makes sure that happens by using two sturdy shipping cardboard boxes, one inside the other. Inside the boxes the rims come with a dust cover and foam rim protector. They also include a care package with a MORR logo’d micro fiber towel and documentation on how to mount and take care of your new rims. As I said mine were in the first production run and the owners took the time to sign every wheel in the first batch, that’s how proud they are of their product. When it comes to fitting tires there is one huge detail you must pay attention to! The new rims comes with huge warning labels stressing the tires have to be mounted from the rear. Fail to do this and you will either destroy your new rim or tire! The rear wheel is so wide the tire will not stretch over the rim when trying to fit from the front and if you ignore the

warning you will not be happy with the result. Ensure the company you have chosen to mount your tires has quality equipment to do this without marking up the face of the rim, which now sits on the machine. You also have to remember this fact when having tires removed, only this time there is no warning label to remind you! Lifting a wheel and tire combination confirms the weight numbers quoted in MORR’s advertising, they are indeed light, in fact the ten inch when fitted with a 275 Continental is easier to lift than one of my 18” ASA GT1 with a Blizzak winter tire. And what about the new Signature Black finish? The machined spokes with black pockets transformed Project 335, the car becomes the center of attention wherever it goes. Complete with the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires the stance looks right even without being lowered. The tires are slightly taller than standard and actually provide a rolling diameter that brings BMWs way out of whack speedo a bunch closer to the actual speed being travelled. Why Continentals? I struck up a conversation with Canadian Marketing Manager Terry Smouter at the Canadian Motorsport Expo early in 2011 and we got talking about a good solution for a summer tire for Project 335. The Castrol Canadian Touring Car

Championship had just announced a switch to Continentals at the show and I figured if they were good enough for the track they would work for me. They also are the OEM supplier for quality sports oriented manufacturers like BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Porsche. As all of these companies use the Autobahn during testing you can be sure the Continentals are designed to operate at speed. OEM tires tend to come in a restricted set of sizes and that does not work for those of us who like to tweak our cars a bit. They addressed that problem by coming out with a line of replacement tires for North America where the owner has the choice of multiple sizes and performance levels but with the cost factor considered in. The ExtremeContact DW (DW for Dry & Wet) was the suggested tire, as it is a performance summer tire that was developed for the all sorts of sports cars, sports coupes and performance sedans. It is designed to deliver good ride quality and serious performance on dry and wet roads alike. It is not intended to be driven in nearfreezing temperatures or in snow or icy conditions, so I will have to make sure the winter tire package is installed in plenty of time for the upcoming Canadian weather conditions. The tire features an asymmetric design with chamfered tread blocks and

a continuous, outboard notched intermediate rib that is designed to enhance responsiveness and cornering stability. Continuous center ribs reduce noise and provide constant rubber-toroad contact to control the longitudinal forces experienced when braking. A unique feature that Continental calls Tuned Performance Indicators, are visible letters molded into the second rib from the outboard shoulder to show drivers the tire’s current performance level. A visible “DW” indicates the tire has sufficient tread depth for dry and most wet road conditions and after the “W” has worn away, the remaining “D” indicates the tire has appropriate tread depth for dry conditions only. We chose the 235/35-19 for the front and 275/30-19 for the rear. The reason for the 275 on the rear was some people were noting that the Continentals tended to run a bit narrower than other brands and I did not want a stretched look for the rear wheel / tire assembly. As you can see in the photos the 275 does the job admirably and so far there have only been a couple of instances where the tires rubbed but that was on a less than desirable road surface. I think that we can even drop the car a little, probably no more than an inch and still not have a problem with excessive rubbing, but that is a project for down the road.

So how do the tires perform? Let’s start off with talking numbers. The DWs come with a UTQGS (Uniform Tire Quality Grading System) rating of 340, the factory equipped Continental RFTs are 400. The UTQGS allows the consumer to compare tire tread wear, traction performance, and temperature resistance. 32% of the tires on the road today are rated in the 301 - 400 range. Some may think that is too high for a performance summer tire as sticky tires are normally rated around the 180 mark. That being said, longevity wise, the DWs should last almost twice as long as a similar 180 rated tire. With every day use on a car like Project 335, the added mileage combined with the extra performance makes the Conti a great choice. One the road, the first thing I noticed was the reduction in road noise, the Continentals were excellent in this aspect. Mileage seems to be better but I cannot confirm this as I never really checked fuel consumption before

the upgrade. Maybe once the winter tires package is fitted I will do some comparisons. I have never taken the car on track but both dry and wet handling in spirited driving inspires more confidence than

with the previous run flats. They may not provide the copious quantities of grip some require, but as an affordable everyday option the Continental Extreme Contact DW is a great choice as a summer tire.