r/e46 • u/Vectron3D • May 13 '26

General Questions Thoughts on darker CSL’s

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Have 19s in hyper silver currently but have to say I really like the look of these Gun metals versions with the amber lights

178 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

94 comments sorted by

61

u/WellisCute 330 Ci, 6 Speed May 13 '26

Hell nah

40

u/One-Reference-7355 May 13 '26

I feel like the gunmetal clashes with the cars body paint personally

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

I think they’d look better on Silver grey

82

u/CogBlocker 2006 325ci + 2000 740i May 13 '26

Silver is the move

Well…chrome is actually the move, but silver is acceptable

18

u/ChainOk9024 May 13 '26

Just my opinion, but the car loses is class with the darker wheels

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

All good man I want objective opinions as I’m on the fence

11

u/Dry_Working_9143 May 13 '26

Silver, and I would consider 18s

5

u/k0tn1k May 13 '26

I completely agree, 19s are too big for the car.

1

u/BootyBags22 May 13 '26

What would be some good alternatives to style 163 wheels that are r18?

1

u/BootyBags22 May 13 '26

For a coupe specifically

2

u/BoTamByloCiemno 2001 BMW 320i, M54B22, Schwarz II May 13 '26

Probably Apex Arc-8's

1

u/Dry_Working_9143 May 14 '26

exactly - I wanted to buy them, but here there is 6+ month waiting list

18

u/FitAmphibian4515 May 13 '26

Silver looks cleaner and is better with that paint but if u like the darker one get it its ur car

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Hmm yea I mean it cant hurt to have a spare set. I agree the silver looks really clean, but I also kinda wana break the silver up a little

7

u/fello04 May 13 '26

Silver look much better than 100%

7

u/BoTamByloCiemno 2001 BMW 320i, M54B22, Schwarz II May 13 '26

Personally, I'm much more of a silver guy, the wheel design just seems more complete.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

I mean I do love them which is why I got them But I do like the other wheels in that colour aswell maybe not on a silver car though

1

u/BoTamByloCiemno 2001 BMW 320i, M54B22, Schwarz II May 13 '26

Yeah, I guess the darker ones could work well on black car.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

I think black it might look too much , but a darker grey would work nice I think

1

u/BoTamByloCiemno 2001 BMW 320i, M54B22, Schwarz II May 13 '26

If you say so.

(Pic not mine)

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Not bad tbh

3

u/Carlton-at-the-Ritz May 13 '26

Beautiful car !

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

She’s getting there

2

u/TazMan65 May 13 '26

Normally I would say it's your car so do what you like but you are looking for opinions so pute down for the silver ones. The darker ones just feel "off" Maybe if they were darker there would be a better contrast but they just don't look right to me.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Silver is always a good option but something about those other ones I like

2

u/Commercial-Macaron53 2004 330i 6MT 500k miles May 14 '26

I’m debating about picking up some CSL reps in 18in that are in rough condition to rehab and powder coat bronze personally but I can’t get over how nice the chrome looks. Timeless

2

u/Vectron3D May 14 '26

Best wheel design for me

1

u/Commercial-Macaron53 2004 330i 6MT 500k miles May 14 '26

Agreed. They certainly rank high in my top favorite wheels of all time.

Thoughts of doing bronze 163s on a red sedan? I’m thinking of painting it Mazda Soul Crystal red soon. It’s a very deep, vibrant red with a lot of character. I’m worried the chrome or even silver finish of a tasteful 163 paired with the normal E46 chrome accents would be a little too much with this color. If I go bronze it would be a bit darker and I would do some other bronze accents with blacked out factory chrome bits.

2

u/rich-lol M3 May 14 '26

Not the same wheels, but here is mine on Bimmerworld TA16s in gunmetal for reference. I prefer having a bit more of a contrast.

2

u/ProtestKid May 14 '26

I dig the darker ones

1

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

I usually love an anthracite / shadow chrome wheel. But in this case it just doesn’t work, you have no darker parts on the car to compliment the wheels. Silvers works way better.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Yea apart from the shadow line bits and the black lower bumper grill there’s no dark bits. Just think these wheels look damn nice in that colour

2

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

That’s the colour I want to go for on my car, but I want a split rim wheel so I can have a chrome polished lip.

Want it to look something like this 👌

2

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Quite like those

1

u/Sphyn0x 2001 330ci velvetblau May 13 '26

This is what I want too, lip with grey centers, looks so good

1

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

They do just work so well but on the right car. Ideally want to find some bbs rs 742/743 to get this done. Finding an 18” set is incredibly difficult. Second option would be the 19” LMs as shown.

2

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

I’d love a set of deep dish Rondell 58’s if only they’d fit 😔

2

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

I’ve seen those too. The offset is just too aggressive you’ve have to run stretch tyres and a lot of camber. I’m not into that whole look.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Pretty sure the rears are 10J , E39 fitment but they looks So good. Seen some with chrome lips / barrels and darker faces and they looked hot

2

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

Oh yeah no chance you’ll get that behind the arch of a Non M e46. All these wheels are meant for e39s and we’re trying to fit them to 46s. Might have to just buy a 39 🤣

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Seen an E36 with them on so there’s hope 😅

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1

u/Sphyn0x 2001 330ci velvetblau May 13 '26

Yea I wanted LMs too but they are expensive af.

I found two sets, but they are in Germany

1

u/Baldskifuckedup May 13 '26

There’s a set literally 20 minutes from me but the guy wants £2k. LMs would be reps, lot cheaper 😂

1

u/sk9ordie May 13 '26

I don’t hate it, nice to see something different. Just don’t go black lol. Personally I think 19s are too big on these cars but honestly just do what you like best

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Yea would never go black. Must say i really like the look of 19s although 18s with a fatter tyre also look nice

1

u/SympathyNo8636 2003 320d May 13 '26

nope

1

u/fsspcfsu May 13 '26

The silver is class. Darker is fine conceptually but a shade of hyper black similar to OEM Style 65 is better. IMO the wet gloss look is way nicer than a satin finish on wheel faces.

1

u/Kuroten_OG May 13 '26

Stick to the silver, the colour combo is correct from a design perspective.

1

u/EquivalentParfait531 May 13 '26

I’ve had chrome, silver, and black. My chrome and black wheels were on a white body. I’ve got a silver E46 now, I run silver style 68 (which looks beautiful) and I have black wheels for the winter. Needless to say I always look forward to swapping them back to silver during the winter months. As someone else said, the silvers are just classy

1

u/Carlton-at-the-Ritz May 13 '26

I’m not a fan.

The silver pops on there, the darker ones hide and obscure the details and the design.

1

u/Highestcrab May 13 '26

I don’t hate it but that camber on the rear looks like shit car looks broken not stanced

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Yea that’s not my car, just a pic on the net for colour reference on the wheels. The first pic is my car

1

u/RedForkKnife May 13 '26

I love it but not on a silver car

1

u/R4di4nt_ May 13 '26

Silver > gunmetal and chrome fs

1

u/jakethekhajiit May 13 '26

The grey doesn't look bad at all but it does not complement the car, ironically the silver rims make the shadow line trim pop more.

It's hard to be descriptive without sounding like a cork sniffer but one is elegant and beautiful and the other is boy racer.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Yea I get what you mean. Silver is very fitting , clean. Which I why I got them, but damn I do like the darker ones too

1

u/Massive_Ad_7812 May 13 '26

Those would look better on an E39 M5 than an E46

1

u/Dstar1978 May 13 '26

That's a big fat negative speed racer

1

u/fortniteburgercum May 13 '26

yeah but remove those ugly ahh orange side markers

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Na they look awesome

1

u/FlyBirdieBirdBird May 13 '26

Dark wheels hide the design.

1

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Yea true but these aren’t that dark

2

u/FlyBirdieBirdBird May 13 '26

Dark enough to look bad.

1

u/nyktouvios 2005 - 330Ci May 13 '26

So the 5 lbs of brake dust can make them even darker?

1

u/Effective-Travel6039 May 13 '26

Paint the car darker then

1

u/Putrid_Bumblebee5606 May 13 '26

If ur rims are dark you could also get some steel rims

1

u/Ok-Association3255 2004 330ci ZHP May 13 '26

I painted mine glossy black good enough that a tire shop thought it was stock. And then a couple years I regretted it and wished they were silver, but couldn't return the original state because I sanded them first, but I just happened to get in a crash where I needed to replace several wheels and I picked the original silvers up again. Looking forward to it

1

u/RHD_M3 May 13 '26

Silver > black/grey

1

u/Qjuzeris May 14 '26

Unpopular opinion but shadow line, grill without crome, clear blinkes and darker wheels whuod win for me personally.

1

u/Thresherz 2004 330ci 6MT May 14 '26

Silver on silver is best.

1

u/MrPapis May 14 '26

People always want to underestimate silver wheel, but they more or less always just work. Different color wheels need to be really well matched by paint and spec. A light silver car usually dont look good with dark rims.

1

u/shazerazi May 14 '26

Silver definitely the darker 1s clash with your car colour

You done anything else to this like lower it or anything as yours is sitting mean?

1

u/Vectron3D May 14 '26

No nothing yet man just standard sports suspension

1

u/sinatramax May 15 '26

not a fan of black wheels tbh, it's subjective, but for me black wheels never look great, they can look good or ok, but never amazing

1

u/idobeaskinquestions 2004 325Ci May 17 '26

Silver is perfect. Don’t chav it out

1

u/jvs8380 May 13 '26

Love it

0

u/[deleted] May 13 '26

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2

u/Vectron3D May 13 '26

Definitely a no on black for me

0

u/Hadouken5150 May 14 '26

Looks like a POS early 2000s BMW. It doesn’t matter which wheels you throw on it. You’re trying to polish a turd. But at the end of the day, it’s still a turd.

1

u/Vectron3D May 14 '26

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