[purdyawesome]

So -- I'm taking delivery next week of my M3. It is arriving with the 19" silver wheels. I created a thread a while back that was somewhat helpful in understanding the differences in wheels - brands, prices, construction, etc. But here's what I need help with:

THE GOAL - 2 sets of wheels-- one for winter months, one for summer months.
I want my second set of wheels to be STAGGERED to look like the stock setup. I am undecided between 18" and 19" wheels for the second set. I want the second set to be at least equal to the OEM 19's - in construction, weight, balance, aesthetics, performance. I'd like a brand that hides my "newbism" - meaning I'm not planning on mounting American Racing, OZ, or any other brand that belongs on a Charger - I'm not too proud... I want the M3 fanboy yuppy cool guy wheels that you would find some spoiled kid (spoiled - not rich) rolling on in Santa Monica - God that's embarrassing, but it's the truth.

THE DILEMMA - Do I mount winter tires on the OEM 19's and purchase summer wheels? Keep the stock summer tires and mount them on new wheels? Or do I purchase winter wheels and keep the OEM for summer?

I know, I know - this sounds like a dumb dilemma because it should just be a matter of preference. But - here's where I need help ---
I don't want to spend more than $3,000 for the new wheels and tires combined.
I came up with this price firstly because that's about what I can afford to spend after dropping $75k on a new M3 and secondly, this is roughly the cost of the 640M 18" BMW Winter Wheel Package. I would prefer to use 19" wheels because of the look - but if someone can come up with a compelling argument to use 18's, so be it... In this budget, I'm not overly concerned about pot holes because an individual wheel replacement wouldn't hurt too badly - we're not talking about $2500 custom forged wheels.

I've looked at VMR, Avant Garde, BMW 640m, and slightly out of budget - the HRE Flowform wheels, Velos, Ray's...

THE QUESTIONS:
What should I get? Is forged out of the question at this price point? Who makes the best wheel in the $600 range? Should I dedicate the OEM wheels to summer or winter usage? How do wheels in this range stack up against the OEM 19's? Sure I'd love some custom HRE's or BBS wheels - but I don't think I'd ever be able to justify spending 12-15% of the vehicle price on wheels for what I'll be using this car for...

Super lengthy post - but thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing opinions. I'm close to Chicago and I'm guessing there are a lot of guys going through a similar thought process as summer slips away... Hopefully this helps a bunch of new owners!