[Orion12521]

I bought my 2018 M550i in May. The only disappointing thing about it has been the wheels. I love the 668M wheels and my car has 664M. My car also came with Pirelli P Zero Summer tires that were brand new, just put on by the dealer I purchased the car from. That meant I had to do something about tires for winter and somewhat limited my options on just buying 668M wheels. I didn’t care for the idea of just throwing away the Summer Pirellis and I didn’t like the idea of switching tires twice a year - hesitant because of the potential for marking up the wheels with every mounting and remounting of tires.

I was worried about 668M wheels because they are 20 inch and would require purchasing winter tires in 19” for the 664M wheels and then summer tires for the 668M in 20”. I would then have a set of barely used 19" summer tires that I had little or no use for. I also had some concern about the reports of 20” wheels not withstanding pot holes as well. Considering BMW offers the 664M wheels in black with winter tires mounted and TPMS for around $2,800 that really seemed like a strong option. However… If I could find aftermarket wheels for around $1,400 to go with the price of winter tires at around $1,400, it could be a wash compared to the black 664M in winter configuration. I started looking at replicas and immediately found Fondmetal. Their Alke is seemingly an exact replica of the 668M. Perfect! Except, they don’t seem to be in business anymore. I emailed them and retailers in their network and never got a response. I also found the GMP Italia DEA in Matte Anthracite. It is not an exact replica, but it was substantially similar and if you really aren’t looking hard, you likely would miss the differences. Also, GMP Italia makes the wheels in 18”, 19” & 20” configurations. This would allow me to have the look of the 668M, in a 19” wheel which was ideal for what I wanted. The DEA also comes in a square setup which would allow me to move the Summer Pirellis I have to them.

The problem with these wheels is that GMP Italia does not seem to have a distributor in the USA. Not to be deterred, I found a couple of retailers in the UK that claimed shipping world-wide. Doing a little more research, I was left with one company that allowed a shipping address in the US during the ordering process. It took 3 weeks for shipping to me. The retailer had to wait to receive them from GMP Italia. When they received them, they shipped them UPS the next day (Friday) and I received them the following Monday. I worked with my mechanic to have the new Winter tires delivered to them and then they swapped & mounted the tires with the wheels I provided and I came home with new summer wheels installed and a set ready for winter when the weather turns. Start to finish, it was a 6 week process of doing the research, ordering the wheels, then tires and the coordinating installation. The price ended up being a bit more than if I had purchased the 664M winter wheelset from BMW. That said, I’m very happy with how it worked out and love the wheels. I also appreciate having the convenience of swapping the wheels myself, at home twice a year as needed.

Original setup:
664M wheels 19x8 ET 30 - square setup
Pirelli P Zero Run Flat Star BMW Summer 245/40r19


New Winter setup
664M wheels 19x8 ET 30 - square setup
Pirelli P Zero Winter Run Flat Star BMW XL 245/40r19

New Summer setup
GMP Italia DEA Matte Anthracite Diamond 19x8 ET 30 - square setup
Pirelli P Zero Run Flat Star BMW Summer 245/40r19

[Joe-BMW33]

Nice work. It looks great. Those wheels do look like 668's at a quick glance. I clean mine so much that I am pretty intimate with the differences between yours and 668's, but these may be the best aftermarket wheels I have seen.

I definitely understand your thought process and making the best of what you have. I am a big fan of a staggered set-up though and the stance impact of it. I know you mentioned they offered squares in every size, did they offer a staggered set-up?

Got a link to the UK company you dealt with?

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Got a link to the UK company you dealt with?

https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/allo...-g31?year=2020

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/allo...-g31?year=2020

Thanks, doesn't look like the DEA is available in a staggered setup. These are and are close in design but not color.

https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/allo...-g31?year=2018

[Orion12521]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Thanks, doesn't look like the DEA is available in a staggered setup. These are and are close in design but not color.

https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/allo...-g31?year=2018

The GMP Italia DEA does come in a staggered setup.

Widths by wheel diameter:
18": 8" & 9"
19": 8", 8.5", 9"
20": 8.5", 9.5"

For the 19" in 5x112 bolt pattern, the 8" width has offset available of ET27, 30 & 43. The 9" width has an offset of ET 44. When I submitted the order to wheelbase, they sent me a follow-up email letting me know that a staggered setup was available and asked if I wanted to go that direction. I decided to stick with the square setup, primarily because going staggered would have required buying 2 new summer tires for the rear. That would have eventually been a wash because I would have had the two old rears to swap onto the fronts when they needed replacing. I think the consideration that put it over the top for me was the ability to rotate the tires with the square setup. There was also a part of me that thought it would also minimize the difference in handling when swapping from summer to winter with both sets being square.