Staff Cars: Dan's E36 318is

Good news: New rims. Bad news: Small brakes!

Team Dynamics 17s keep it bad boy in matte black

"Rims maketh the car," said William Maxspeare over a frothy ale as he pored over a copy of Ye Olde Max Power in the tavern way back in the day. Oh boy, was he right.

While I can bang on all day about my make-it-drive-real-sweet OEM+ plans for the little BM, rolling on weeny stock rims is clearly a heinous crime. Well, the Max police can cancel their warrant for now cos I've just fitted these 17-inch, Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2s. Looking tough in matte black.

Paid a pretty good price for them, too. Wheelbase had them on a deal for £100 a corner, plus the Falken tyres at about £80 each. Millsy said I had enough tyre to plough a field on the stock rims. Not anymore, mate! (could do with being a touch lower, though! - Millsy)

I went for this inconspicuous motorsport look because it looks tough and this car lives on the street. If I do fully Max the BM, instead of buying another car to go fully mad on, then it'll likely have a bit of the E36 M3 about it, which will need something larger, shinier, and more conspicuous (to tea leaves!) to top off the look. So, for now, while I source an LSD to finish off my current plan of low, firm and fast-ish for back lane blasting, these classic motorsport multi-spokes'll do the job nicely.

I went for the Falken rubber for a few reasons. I'd never run them before - after years of Yokohama and Toyo - and a few reviews said these FK510s were a good all rounders; sitting between Yokohama and Bridgestone in the price list. I'll report back on stickiness at a later date.

So, well happy with the look and the build quality is good, especially at £100 each. But, as we know, life's an endless bitch, and as I'm snapping away for these here pics, it hit me just how small my brakes are. OEM+ means big brakes for sharp stops. Guess I'd better add them to the list!

Brakes as big as a mouse's member :(