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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    Seattle, WA
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    Apex PS-7 18x8.5 Wheels BMW E46 ZHP

    Apex PS7 review 18" x 8.5"

    Hello all,

    My Apex PS-7 18 x 8.5 ET35 5x120 wheels in Hypersilver (for BMW E46 non-M) arrived moments ago and I wanted to summarize my first impressions. These (from online pics) appear similar to the VMR710's. I'll be updating this thread as time passes (updating with necessary wheel weights to balance, view installed, etc...) so please feel free to comment, ask questions, and I'm also open for any requests (if you would like to see certain measurements, pic angles, etc...). Images were captured on a HTC one M8.

    First off, I have no conflict of interest or anything to disclose. I'm not endorsed by any companies, have no bias towards aftermarket manufacturers, and no former experience in reviewing wheels. In fact, this is my first ever purchase of wheels (new or used).

    0) NEEDS and WANTS
    I needed to replace my stock m135 wheels as my rear-right suffered a crack and destroyed the tire with it. I'm not an aggressive driver, I DD my car, and I care about my ZHP. I usually only purchase OEM quality products (exception being rear camera, car nav, etc... things that cannot be helped). I wanted a square setup to replace the staggered stock one on the ZHP so I could rotate tires and reduce rubber costs. I wanted to go 18x8 all around (even considered 17's as well) but settled for 18x8.5's as Apex didn't offer the PS-7s in 8 (at time of order).

    1) ORDER PROCESS

    I ordered 4 PS-7's directly off of Apex's website as I couldn't seem to find them elsewhere:
    http://www.apexraceparts.com/apex-pr...l#.VAjbJfldXh4

    @ $289/wheel. I'm in WA so wasn't charged tax (CA residents would be charged 9.00%).


    I also couldn't find any warranty information on their webpage so I emailed Apex and received a response quickly the next business day:


    **************
    "Update for Case #873 - "Warranty and test results"
    [name redacted],

    Apex wheels are warranted for 1-year for paint defects and/or blemishes and manufacturing defects. Structural defects are covered for 2 years. All warranties are only given to customers that have purchased through Apex or an authorized dealer. We also cover the cost of shipping and processing warranty replacements.Here are some screen captures of the VIA search available online:

    https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5572/...0160b818_b.jpg

    https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2901/...e4a63f21_b.jpg

    https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2900/...e4702df5_b.jpg


    To see the results a username and password is required at this URL https://www.jwtc.jp/open/html/e/situmon1.html

    Let me know if you had any other quesitons.

    Best,
    [name redacted]"
    *********************

    I couldn't ask for more. Keep in mind that warranty exists only if wheels are ordered from Apex or AD. I'm unsure if this warranty is "owner specific" or will follow the wheels even if they are sold/traded off.

    I took advantage of their free shipping promotion and was not charged for shipping.

    I ordered them on Sunday (9/31/2014 - to Seattle, WA) and the wheels arrived via UPS on 10/4/2014. So 3 business Days as Monday was Labor Day. The shipment was tracked and I didn't have to sign anything. I ordered 4 wheels and received two packages:



    Slight cosmetic damage from shipping but no issues.


    2) UNPACKING

    In each package were 2 boxes where the wheels were individually contained:









    Each package contain 1] Wheel in protective cloth and 2] APEX center cap:










    3) WHEEL APPEARANCE - HYPERSILVER COATING

    I'm fairly meticulous with purchases and took over 100 pics of the wheels - noting every marking on each wheel. Overall, the wheels look great (yet to see them in natural light) and appear to be uniform in shade.














    4) Wheel #1
    Pictured above in unpacking section:

    No blemishes were readily visible or worthy to note. I weighed the wheel on my bathroom scale* and it came out to 22.8 lbs (wheel alone, no center cap, no protective surrounds).



    *Keep in mind that I do not know how accurate or precise my scale is... I have never calibrated it. I'll remeasure the wheels to increase the sample size and post new weight results to see if anything changes. If there are significant differences, then we'll know my scale is not reliable. If I can find some more precise way to measure, I'll update the results.

    5) Wheel #2
    Here's the second wheel I unpacked...



    1 visible QC stamp



    The only sort of blemish that I noted was on the center cap:





    I'm not sure how this may affect the appearance of the wheel down the road... As I'm not familiar with purchasing wheels but it seems very minor and will be hidden away.

    Wheel comes in at 20.0 lbs:



    6) Wheel #3



    The area around the center cap is a tad rough but nothing is peeling here:


    There's a small ding that's very noticeable if a finger is ran over it.



    The wheel had 2 QC markings:


    The above was unreadable.



    I'm not sure why this wheel was QC'd twice... Nothing to worry about as it did pass through QC.

    The wheel came in at 21.2 lbs:




    7) Wheel #4

    I didn't see any major blemishes or dings on the wheel:






    However the only QC mark could not be read:


    Somehow it got smeared away before it was packaged and shipped to me.

    This wheel had some extra clear coating or something on the rim edges. Nothing to be a concern about - seemed like it just wasn't cleaned before packaging:



    Wiping it with my finger got rid of it:





    The wheel weighed in at 21.2 lbs:




    8)Summary



    This is only a preliminary review and contains immediate first impressions. I'll update with a qualitative review of ride quality, balancing, wrapping them with Conti DWS 235/40/18 tires, and keep an up to date log (cleaning, state of appearance, etc..) of the wheels. I'll only have the stock m135 wheels to compare to.

    Overall, I'm very happy to see them. They are far lighter than the m135s, squared, and I'll have much more confidence riding with them than 11 yr old wheels that are prone to cracking. Wheel weights span from: 20.0, 21.2, 21.2, 22.8 lbs for an average of 21.3 lbs +/- 1.14 lbs, variance of 1.32 lbs*. This is slightly above the claimed 20.5 lbs that is noted on the webpage but no big deal for me (no weight weeny here).

    Again, thanks for reading and I'll try to update this when I can. Feel free to post any comments, suggestions, and notes!

    I should be ordering the DWS tires shortly later today... as I wanted to be sure to check out the wheels first.

    Worthy to note is that the wheels did not come with any sort of paper (manual, specs, warranty card, etc...). Again, I'm unsure what to expect when ordering wheels but I now assume in this modern age of internet, all I need is the digital receipt to call in warranties:

    For summary (re-iterated):
    Apex wheels are warranted for 1-year for paint defects and/or blemishes and manufacturing defects. Structural defects are covered for 2 years. All warranties are only given to customers that have purchased through Apex or an authorized dealer. We also cover the cost of shipping and processing warranty replacements.


    Thanks and happy travels.
    Last edited by BavarianZHP; 09-04-2014 at 03:29 PM.
    Fuelly

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,212
    OH snap... I realized I posted in the wheels section when there's an actual "reviews" section.. Mods feel free to move. Thanks!
    Fuelly

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Good info.
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    6,847
    Thanks for a thorough review of the unboxing. Awaiting for reviews post-mount

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Las Vegas, NV
    Posts
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    Excellent review so far! Strange how the weight varies by 2lbs. My VMR 710's look exactly like the Apex wheels. They were packaged the same also and with NO paper work or receipt. I should of weighed mine also, oh well.

    You will love the new look and the nice smooth ride!! I just installed the 10mm spacers on the rear. It actually improved the handling slightly, not that it was bad or anything but it's an improvement. Here is a photo of the car with spacers.





    235/40/18's Squared with 18x8.5 ET35 VMR 710's.

    BAV Stage 1 - BlueBus - UltraGauge - V1 - Orion V4's - ARC-8's - Brembo 996
    TTFS Engine/SMG Tune/CSL 255 - SGT Headers/Sect 1/SCZA - Evolve Eventuri
    VIS XTS CF Hood - CF Lip/Console/Diffuser - OE CSL Trunk - BWS 500S 9k/11k

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    I'm surprised the wheels have such a weight disparity.
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Bay Area, California
    Posts
    664
    Quote Originally Posted by danewilson77 View Post
    I'm surprised the wheels have such a weight disparity.
    Is this uncommon? What would the variety in weight indicate? Air pockets?


    Sent from my potato using Tapatalk
    Hi, I'm John, and I miss my 6MT Alcantara baby! | 2003 Orient Blue 330i ZHP
    Had: ARC8's | Poly Bushings | Koni Yellows | Perf Brakes | TMS Subframe | Hotchkiss | LOVE!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Las Vegas, NV
    Posts
    5,877
    Hopefully it's just the bathroom scale being inconsistent.
    BAV Stage 1 - BlueBus - UltraGauge - V1 - Orion V4's - ARC-8's - Brembo 996
    TTFS Engine/SMG Tune/CSL 255 - SGT Headers/Sect 1/SCZA - Evolve Eventuri
    VIS XTS CF Hood - CF Lip/Console/Diffuser - OE CSL Trunk - BWS 500S 9k/11k

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    VA/DC
    Posts
    14,445
    Quote Originally Posted by WOLFN8TR View Post
    Hopefully it's just the bathroom scale being inconsistent.
    I was thinking that. Did you retry any of them and get same/diff weights?


    Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Bay Area
    Posts
    2,973
    I showed up at Apex's HQ to buy two arc-8s after talking with one of their agents for 2 days. I arrived, and they only had one wheel. The rest are still on the water from china. This was nearly two weeks ago. Haven't received the last wheel yet (I bought both and took home the one they had and they'll ship me the other). Still waiting. Hope it arrived before my track day I've scheduled at end of the month. They weren't able to give me an ETA.


    Quote Originally Posted by WOLFN8TR View Post
    Hopefully it's just the bathroom scale being inconsistent.
    I'm quite sure it's that. They're not really calibrated for things that low, and even then, the cheap units can vary widely. Mine does.


    His: 05 330 ZHP Imola Red - 07 Z4 M Coupe Imola Red
    Hers: 04 330i ZSP
    2004 325 M56 Steel Blue Metallic - Sold
    Stephen's DD & AutoX/HPDE Build Thread
    Stewart WP - Z4M LCAB - M3 trans/motor mounts - DICE MediageBridge Duo - ARC-8 17x8.5"
    DrVANOS - Mason Engineering Race Strut Bar - E30 Exp. Cap - Custom Black+Beige Interior - M3 Seats
    Bilstein PSS10 - Turner Sway Bars 27/21 - ECST RTAB Limiters - R.E. RSM


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