Is "Liquid Metal" a legitimate wheel manufacturer?

[TomB985]

Just wanted to say thanks for the informative post and photos!

Much of this is basic knowledge for those of us who’ve been wrenching awhile, but it’s guaranteed to help a lot of people we haven’t done this much before. I especially like your note about low ground clearance and jack compatibility.

 

[The Swede]

Helpful post.

I bought a set of 17” Liquid Metal Shift rims with Ice-X rubber. Purchased them from a non Performance M3 owner who barely used them as he returned it to Tesla due to Apt landlord charging limits.

Anyhow, the rims did not come with hub centering rings.

I purchased a set of 70.1-73.1 hub rings and my tire shop put them on, but said not a good solution because of that lip (67.1-73.1 are a no go). He said the “barely fit”.

So, his machine ship is going to custom make them.

Does Discount Tire install these on performance 3’s without a hub centering ring? I spoke with one shop in my area and they were more than happy to do it w/o them.

My guy said that this is not a good idea (a guy who has been in biz for decades and works on very high end cars.

 

[The Swede]

Edit: they are 18” rims !

Helpful post.

I bought a set of 17” Liquid Metal Shift rims with Ice-X rubber. Purchased them from a non Performance M3 owner who barely used them as he returned it to Tesla due to Apt landlord charging limits.

Anyhow, the rims did not come with hub centering rings.

I purchased a set of 70.1-73.1 hub rings and my tire shop put them on, but said not a good solution because of that lip (67.1-73.1 are a no go). He said the “barely fit”.

So, his machine ship is going to custom make them.

Does Discount Tire install these on performance 3’s without a hub centering ring? I spoke with one shop in my area and they were more than happy to do it w/o them.

My guy said that this is not a good idea (a guy who has been in biz for decades and works on very high end cars.

 

[MRGEDU]

Discount Tire will ship you the correct ring, did you call them?

 

[The Swede]

Discount Tire will ship you the correct ring, did you call them?

yes, I went into a shop near me. They seemed confused, but ordered a set. Never called me back. When I swap on the winter rims next season, I’ll call another location that is more competent. Thanks

 

[driver7]

Thank you for the super informative discussion and pictures. Based on yours all experience, back in the summer I purchased Hakka R3s from Discount Tire with Liquid Metal wheels for my M3 winter driving. With TPMS sensors the entire package came out to just under $2,000.

During the self-installation last night everything worked exactly right, including the provided hub adapters fitting perfectly. @Colgate2004, big thank you for your pictures -- they helped me tremendously.

Did you also buy wheel covers / hub caps to put on the 10-spoke Liquid Metal wheels? It seems like the OEM Aero covers don't fit. Or potentially, do you have any recommendations for lug nut caps? The lug nuts that Discount Tire gave me are 10-rib metallic (i.e. not black) so I need to cover them to complete the look.

 

[Fishinwall]

Ah, a couple of other notes:
- As the Discount Tire rep told me and others have confirmed here, the OEM lug nuts DO NOT FIT the Liquidmetal Shift wheel lug holes (the lug hole diameter is too small), so you *DO* need to buy the aftermarket lug nuts (the nuts that came with the Discount Tire "installation package" were black-finished 12-pointed nuts, which of course need a 12-point socket, which came included in the package. Interestingly, Discount Tire sent me 32 lug nuts... so I have 12 extras.
- For ease of future changeovers (so I don't have to use my old monkey wrench) I bought a Titan Tools 21mm, 1/2"-drive socket to fit both my air wrench (for removal only!) and my trusty torque wrench (129 ft-lbs) for installation.

Which Model Liquid Metal Wheels did you get? Are those the Ravens or Shadows.