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What To Do About Wheels?

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I'm looking for advice from this group. I live in New England, where the roads are total garbage and I'm looking to change up my red M3LR's 19" wheels. I'd like black wheels to match the black trim and I'm trying to decide whether to:

  1. Have my OEM wheels powder coated satin black (cheapest option $850, but no chance for improvement in ride or reduction in weight); or

  2. Martian Wheels MW03 in satin black (most expensive option $2,400, forged for pothole resistance and 4lbs lighter per wheel - Tesla Model 3 19); or

  3. Avant Garde M610 in matte black (cost in-between 1 and 2 at $2,000, flow forged so less pothole resistant and only 2lbs lighter per wheel - Avant Garde Wheels | M610 | Rotary Forged Wheels).
Does anyone have experience with one or more of these options? I've never bought after market wheels for my cars, so it's hard for me to separate the marketing hype from reality (does going with a forged wheel really increase durability, does a few pounds of "unsprung weight" really change anything). I see that Martian is a relatively new company and AG has been around for a while - should I care?

Thanks!
 
I've no experience with the wheels you listed, but I can say that you absolutely can feel a BIG wheel weight difference.

Going from the uber-heavy 20x9" M3P Uberturbines to lightweight forged 18x8.5" wheels improved the power steering feel and made the car feel more nimble in quick back-and-forth turns. The difference was very clear, not subtle. In hindsight the power steering felt a little overwhelmed by the stock wheels. (I also got more grip thanks to a better tire, and better ride quality of course thanks to taller sidewalls.)

My wheel weight change was pretty extreme though, the Uberturbines are ridiculously heavy, and my forged 18s are very light. You're looking at a smaller weight change just going from cast OE to forged in the same size. Will you feel the difference? Maybe. I don't think it'll be a big difference...but there's a decent chance you will feel it. Probably subtle.
 
Get a set of jova forged wheels, they're painted in any color you can imagine, and they run about $1300+/- set shipped. It does take a couple of months for them to arrive though because they're all made custom order and they don't really keep any extras in stock.
 
I've no experience with the wheels you listed, but I can say that you absolutely can feel a BIG wheel weight difference.

Going from the uber-heavy 20x9" M3P Uberturbines to lightweight forged 18x8.5" wheels improved the power steering feel and made the car feel more nimble in quick back-and-forth turns. The difference was very clear, not subtle. In hindsight the power steering felt a little overwhelmed by the stock wheels. (I also got more grip thanks to a better tire, and better ride quality of course thanks to taller sidewalls.)

My wheel weight change was pretty extreme though, the Uberturbines are ridiculously heavy, and my forged 18s are very light. You're looking at a smaller weight change just going from cast OE to forged in the same size. Will you feel the difference? Maybe. I don't think it'll be a big difference...but there's a decent chance you will feel it. Probably subtle.
The 18" Jova's I had were 17.3 pounds. that's 15 pounds lighter than the 20" uberturbines....each
 
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I've no experience with the wheels you listed, but I can say that you absolutely can feel a BIG wheel weight difference.

Going from the uber-heavy 20x9" M3P Uberturbines to lightweight forged 18x8.5" wheels improved the power steering feel and made the car feel more nimble in quick back-and-forth turns. The difference was very clear, not subtle. In hindsight the power steering felt a little overwhelmed by the stock wheels. (I also got more grip thanks to a better tire, and better ride quality of course thanks to taller sidewalls.)

My wheel weight change was pretty extreme though, the Uberturbines are ridiculously heavy, and my forged 18s are very light. You're looking at a smaller weight change just going from cast OE to forged in the same size. Will you feel the difference? Maybe. I don't think it'll be a big difference...but there's a decent chance you will feel it. Probably subtle.
What was the weight difference? Also did you notice any impact on range/efficiency?
 
What was the weight difference? Also did you notice any impact on range/efficiency?
Can't say, I haven't weighed my original or new wheel+tire pairs. Dropping weight was just a side benefit to me, I was mostly focused on avoiding cracked/damaged wheels and having a cheaper tire size. I can tell you the new wheel+tire pair is way easier to lift up and carry around though!

(Our S P85 came with a similar 245/35R21 setup and one of them cracked just from driving down a typical surface-of-the-moon road. Don't want to deal with that again.)

Edit: I did notice an efficiency improvement. It became easier to match EPA rated efficiency. I went with a different tire though, but same category and with more grip. My guess is the smaller, lighter wheels are what helped my efficiency, but could be the gripper tires have lower rolling resistance too...maybe...
 
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