It's been awhile since I updated the thread but I just had a big change so it's time to update! I have a few other small updates that I'll throw in soon but I want to get this one out of the way.
In January I ordered a M2 spec set of Volk ZE40's in Bronze and they finally arrived in the mail. The M2 spec is 19x9+23 (F), 19x10+34 (R). This ends up being 6mm further offset than stock. These sizes replace the original M3/M4 size as well, which were 19x9.5+22 and 19x10.5+35, which were a bit aggressive for the M2 and some people had issues with rubbing, even when they ran 245/265 tire widths.
I also decided to up the tire width to 255/275, and there is plenty of room to do so. I went with Michelin PS4S and so far in my 20 miles of driving I like them! I went with the PS4S over something more aggressive like RE71's because I wanted the tires to last a little longer.
Now I had heard rumors that not all 19" rims will fit over the M2 Competition brake caliper, but I was assured that it would fit by a number of different people since the inner barrel of Volks tends to be fairly wide. However, my worst fears were confirmed after we mounted and balanced the tires and tried to install the wheel - it doesn't clear by ~2mm or so. It has to do with the very outer edge of the caliper being just a little too wide. Just a word to the wise, the valuable lesson I learned here was don't mount tires without test fitting the wheel first.
At this point I had a couple of options... I could sell the wheels + tires at a likely loss locally, but another shipment of ZE40 had just come in so the market was saturated so to speak - or I could take this opportunity to change the brakes. In all honesty I was never a fan of the M2 Competition brake kit, I feel that they're too heavy for any performance benefit they might have. Sure they look great, but they're HEAVY. I can't find the exact thread at the moment but if my memory serves the M2 comp brakes are 35lbs heavier than the OG M2 brakes. The brake kits in stock immediately available to me were the $10k Brembo kit or a baby blue Alcon kit, or try to source a blue kit from a F87 M2. So I ended up buying a readily available used M2 brake kit to run for now while I decide what kit I want to go with.
While some would have said I should have waited on installing the wheels then, well, I don't disagree but I'm shipping my car back to the states in two weeks and it was the best solution at the moment.
What are my thoughts? So far I'm happy! I'm by no means a professional racing driver but I can tell no discernible difference in braking between the 6p and 4p kits, I can tell a slight difference with the tire widths, and I want to say that the car feels a bit more nimble with the wider tires, lighter wheels, and lighter brakes, but I'm not sure if that's a placebo or not. I'll drive more and report back.
Anyway, on to the pictures!
First things first, remove the TPMS from the stock wheels so we can move them over to the new wheels.
Now... Let's mount!
It was at this point we realized the wheel wouldn't fit, started exploring options, etc. etc.
And it was then time to say goodbye to these.
New brakes are definitely smaller... Definitely. But I actually feel that they fit the car better. So I'm really happy with the switch.
They fit! Thank god.
Now time for some finished shots.
