What is so bad about BK alpina reps?

[dom-1984-320i]

Hi guys,

am pricing up getting some whells for my car, i do like the alpinas, there a e30 classic as you all know. I am on a budget of around £600-700 including tyres. I have been looking a the BK reps but some folks seem to think there mot so great, why is that and are they really that bad. mine is a 84 320i crome bumbers and old school so i do what wheels that will sit nicely on the car. Struggling a bit with making my mind up, any help as alway would be greatly appricated.

Cheers
Dom

PS... Its my cars birthday today 22 years old and still going strong!!!

[WillG]

not sure, i like the look and they are cheap, did notice how heavy they were tho when i was swaping a buckled/cracked set from crash over for some factory 15" BBS

[dom-1984-320i]

so there pretty heavy too?

[WillG]

yeah id say they are heavy, seemed like it comapring them to the BBS

[robsy]

I would agree - look great but not brilliant on quality - most ive seen have cracked too on the inside edging after a few years

They are cheap though - If you go direct to BK racing (tinternet) they do them with tyres for eff all and they do look the biz once you replaced the BK racing badge with Alpina ones

Still cant beat a clean set of 15" BBS or Original 16" Alpinas (if you can find them ) though....

but horses for courses and all that...

[Ziggy]

You can get real alpinas for that kinda money - why get some that weigh loads, aren't strong, & don't even fit the car properly without at least finding some decent spigot rings?

[Steviec]

Ive had no probs with mine, they fit well and have lasted.

[Project_E30]

Does it make a difference if you have the plastic spigot rings or aluminium?

[Kedge]

From what i have heard the aluminium rings stop any wheel vibrations.

[dom-1984-320i]

http://img183.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 20ivj7.jpg

this is my e30, wheels then getting lowered 40mm all over. what wheels will suit do u thing guys and girls.

cheers[/img]

[eun]

you can pick up a set of reps on ebay in 17 or 18 inch brand
new for £300 then tyres on top.

but then your budget could buy the genuine version which are greatly appreciated

[WillG]

i dont think you can get genuine 16" alpinas for £250 no chance on 17", bros fitted fine without any noise or vibration he did have correct rings which BK supply with wheels, he says handling was better then with the BBS aswell which i know everyone will disagree that car handles with 17" but maybe its something to do with suspension setup

[dom-1984-320i]

you think i could get genuine new alpinas with tyres for £600-£700?

[Project_E30]

So is it worth changing the plastic for Aluminium??

[Idol]

They do 2 different types, supposedly they only make the one type now, it has a flat rim and 8 holes for 2 different offsets. when the old type (IMO) are better, they dont have the flat rim but a more curved rim and have the offset just for the E30. I have'nt had any probs with mine. Quite popular on the E30 but thats coz they look Sweeeet!

[Kedge]

I think if your planning on putting 17" you ought to think about lowering your car as it'll look too highIMO.

I think Hartges would suite it better though!

[dom-1984-320i]

Hey Kedge,
the car is getting lowered as i said in my post. Hartges is a good choice, cheers.

[Kedge]

Oh yeah so you did,

Just can't picture Alpinas on a car of your colour for some reason.

[dom-1984-320i]

its a tricky one Kedge, am struggling a bit to be honest mate.

[Gouki]

17" reps with tyres click that, cheapest I;ve found on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

u'd ideally need to lower it once u put wheels on.

[dom-1984-320i]

Cheers Gouki, i am lowering 40mm all round, to many speed bumps in London so dont want to go any lowe as i use my car most days

[eun]

i dont think you can get genuine 16" alpinas for £250 no chance on 17", bros fitted fine without any noise or vibration he did have correct rings which BK supply with wheels, he says handling was better then with the BBS aswell which i know everyone will disagree that car handles with 17" but maybe its something to do with suspension setup

thats why it says a set of reps for £300 and they didnt mate e30 genuine alpina's in 17....only came in 16's as far as i know

[WillG]

gouki those ones are 5 stud

[Theo]

Get a set or mint 15" BBS, theres very little that looks better on the E30. I've had 15" Hartges, 16" Alpinas and now 16" Hartges on my car, but I still really like the look of the BBS.

If you want to get a set of genuine alpinas, you will be looking at paying at least £600 with tyres for a good set.

[WillG]

i dont think you can get genuine 16" alpinas for £250 no chance on 17", bros fitted fine without any noise or vibration he did have correct rings which BK supply with wheels, he says handling was better then with the BBS aswell which i know everyone will disagree that car handles with 17" but maybe its something to do with suspension setup

thats why it says a set of reps for £300 and they didnt mate e30 genuine alpina's in 17....only came in 16's as far as i know

was talkjing to ziggy, posts were coming in quite fast, there where 17" 4 stud genuine for M1 i think but very rare, but what im saying is just BK wheels on their own are 65£ each from BK, they arent in same budget as new or refurb genuines

[Gouki]

gouki those ones are 5 stud

they come as a 4 stud, it says so there

[gareth]

a halfwa house would be to look for some 16" replicas. they're not made my BK and don't have spigot rings or dual PCD's. basically all 16" alpina replicas are a near direct copy of the 7.5J16 E30 alpina wheel. a lot more angular than the E36 style BK171. the BK wheels also ruined the handling while i had them.

i've had 15" BBS, 16" alpina reps and 17" BK alpina reps.
the BK's are heavy, handle like shite, are the wrong offfset, vibrate like a bastard unless you replace the spigot rings, are weak and generally are nasty.
the 16" ones are very nice and light and handle every bit as well as 15" BBS's.
15" BBS is soooo old skool cool on a chrome bumper and for the money would be my choice.

[fuzzy]

ive never had any problems with my reps and ive given them some serious abuse

[Simon13]

spot the difference




these pictures make the reps look quite good when infact they look totally different and wrong in real life!

17s? weigh a tonne too much unsprung weight!

[Rich_W]

http://www.elitedirect.com/

Do genuine Alpina wheels as do

http://swtyres.co.uk/
http://www.performancealloys.com

(used Elite for tyres, but never for wheels)

Also bear in mind there are 2 or 3 variants of the multi spoke wheels.

[dom-1984-320i]

Cheers Rich,
will go through them sites and take a look.

[WillG]

gouki those ones are 5 stud

they come as a 4 stud, it says so there

it says under the title e36 and 5/7 series, it says they are availble in 4 stud below but i think these are 5 stud, just saying incase someone buys them

[oguz327]

Ive had no problems with my bks, no cracks or vibration. fine for street use.
If your planning on doing track days go for 16s or 15s

[gareth]

basically, the 17's are really only for posing and are no good for anything more!

if anyone is happy with their 17's, borrow some 15's or 16's from someone and you'll not want to put the 17's back on.

the 16" replicas i have a very similar to simon13's ones shown above. i would hazzard a guess that they're basically cast from real ones!

mine on 17's


mine on 16's


refurbished 16" reps against 17" BK nasties


the 16" reps in silver with centres that are very similar to the real ones.


horses for courses....

[ed325i]

Can you still get the 16" reps ?