zenetti

great to hear that you have fixed the problem Matt

what about these? not genuine alpina but definitely alpina style

just joined and............ WOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! straight to the top!! wonder how long that will last

I trialled a 17 x 9" wide wheel on the back of an E30 the other day, it fitted mint I am sure it was 35et, will check today and let you know soon.

I had 19x8.5's at 38et on my E36 and had no issues on the front. Just remember too that more offset sticks the wheel further in NOT further out.

what size tyre are you running? sounds like the tyre is too wide/tall for the vehicle. Can't really suggest a solution until we know what size tyre is on it.

very interesting maybe now that means i can comfortably sit on 120km on the motorway without getting a ticket

How you figure that?? If the speedo was reading 10kph faster than actual road speed then if I put bigger tyres on the car the speedo goes slower thus making it more accurate........ Thus, ifat 110 indicated it was doing 100 on GPS, then take off your 8.8% and you get 9.68 km, making it approx a kph wrong at 100.......... (considering GPS & Speedo dont measure in decimals you could in theory round it up and make correct at 100, but I'm not gonna nitpick on finer details) You are correct in your thinking but you are making a huge assumption that BMW have designed their speedos incorrectly. Why would BMW design their cars to read 10% 'slower' than they should from factory? Just curious but have you tried the 5km odometer test on the motorway at Ramarama. Would be interesting to see the difference between that, your GPS unit(s) and your speedo. I think we can all agree that the 5km odo test would be a good base to start from. If you have tried it across a number of BMW's with the same GPS unit - maybe it is your GPS unit that is out? I can't believe that there would be a factory fault like this from BMW. Imagine trying to argue that in court if you got a speeding ticket! Honestly Sir, I wasn't speeding, BMW have designed their speedo's wrong I still believe that your tyre is way too tall (55mm taller than factory) - are you positive it is a 215/70/15? This is the size that Honda CRV's use, so in essence you have put on a tyre designed for a SUV rather than a sedan (or coupe) Anyways, I'm not here to argue and make enemies - not my thing yeah I agree totally with the 'friends not enemies thing' - just good to have a nice 'discussion' about things.

understand what you are saying, but it still measures the distance between 2 points and does not take into account any variances between those two points. You might go form A to B but you might take a curved arc rather than straight line. anyway original thread was about tyre sizing - how about we concentrate on that

Hey Muzzie I would not rely on GPS as being 100% accurate as it takes points along your journey rather than real time data. My mate and I go on cycle rides all the time and his GPS is always different to the cycle computer, and the cycle computer has been set up with correct tyre size. Unfortunately I am not the one that is wrong here.The difference betweeen a 205/60/15 and 215/70/15 tyre is 8.8%, so if you are travelling 100km/h your speedo will be reading 92km/h. I have been in the tyre industry for over 4 years now and think I know tyre sizing. Don't be surprised if your gf gets pulled over for speeding. The car probably slid about because the tyres were worn out, nothing to do with sizing. more tread = more grip. For once I think 3pedals may agree with me

215/70's.......................!?!?!?!?!?!?! the guy at the tyre shop that fitted or recommended those needs to be shot!!! the car must drive and handle like a bucket of bolts, not to mention the 'old skool' arse in the air look!! 225/55's would be a much better tyre to go for. the speedo would have been corect with the original tyres on.

i'm guessing the pics in your profile are when the car had the cutties in it? Is your rear wheel arch now at the top of the wheel with the Jamex springs in it? If so, this is where my car sat and from memory was approx 110mm off ground. just remember LEGALLY you can not go any lower than 100mm off ground.

it's funny my Jamex superlows woked out mint in my E36 318 and never had any problems with 'sag' etc

sorry mate didn't mean to come across in a negative way

would not recommend it as they have to heat the springs to compress them further. This obviously weakens the spring and also changes the 'compression rate' of the spring. this means very bouncy! can also be potentially dangerous as Graeme stated as the springs themselves are weaker.

Just a word of warning - a good friend of mine had an E46 coupe and wanted it as low as possible. He ended going 60mm lower in the rear - 6 months later he had to replace the whole rear sub frame - 6k worth. Apparently being too low had caused too much 'force' on the car and it ripped the rear arms away from the chassis!! And I have since heard of 2 other cars doing the same thing - all were E46 coupes.

excellent - you learn something new every day!! 328imobbin - if a staggered fitment is supposedly 'worse' why would BMW spec them from factory on the M series cars? Being performance oriented vehicles one would suspect that the BMW technicians would have a fair idea of how to make the car 'work'. I have also noticed that the new HSV VE's (no comparison I know) are coming out factory staggered fit too. I am sure if you look at the majority of 'performance' vehicles they will run staggered fit wheels.

good luck trying to getthem rechromed - it's just about impossible. best bet would be to get them dipped to remove chrome and then polished maybe - but it all costs money!It's funny how we follow the american trends, pity we are about 3 years behind. My mate was at SEMA in 04 and black centred machined lip were all the rage - now it is coloured centres to match your car colour.

just a quick note 17" tyres won't fit 18" wheels

if you are going to try someone else's wheels make sure they are 18's or 19's also. I can just about guarantee that if you put on a factory 16, the problem will disappear. Don't ask me why but with control arm bushes it doesn't happen on 16's but does on 18's or 19's. We have come across this problem 2 or 3 times now when upgrading a car to 19's. replaced the bushes and presto! problem gone. I would also say that Direzza's or Goodyear Eagles are not budget or lower end tyres. Not everyone can justify the cost of a pirelli for the 'perceived' extra performance. PERSONAL OPINION - PIRELLI's are not worth the money. I would say that providing the tyres you bought were/are new they will not be the problem. Even an out of round tyre ( which does happen occasionally with EVERY manufacturer) would cause vibration a lot more of the time than what you have described. If they are factory wheels they should not need a locating rim, if they are aftermarket however, check that the centre bore is 74.1mm. I have found out from past experience (and we went through everything - and I mean everything!)that even a wheel with a 74.5mm centre bore can cause the problems you have described. Just another thing to check before you 'throw' money at it. It could be something as simple as a misdrilled centre bore.

elaborating on the lower tyre a 225/45 and 255/40 are the same overall diameter. A 245/40 is slighly lower in overall diameter. My question was pertaining as to why BMW would not keep the same 'height' tyre all the way round like as they do on 'lesser' models. I am postive that an E46 M3 runs 3 series offset on the front and 5 series offset on the rear. Is an E36 not the same? Also a wider rim generally runs a higher offset to keep it 'tucked under' the guards, E46 M3 obviously being the exception. Would the wider track at the rear affect the handling?

don't M3 BMW's run different offsets and suspensions setup's to normal BMW's? I know that the E46 definitely runs different offsets. Just a question ( and not trying to stir any pot) because if this is the case then why compare to a normal E36 or E46. and yes I realise you can run staggered fitments on 'normal' E36's. Also 225/45/17's and 255/40/17's are same rolling diameter. so why would BMW spec a slightly lower tyre on the rear for an M3

does it do it under braking or when you lift your foot off the throttle? we have come across this before and it turned out to be the control arm bushes.

try Keith @ Jamex 0800 JAMEX1 his springs have always worked great for me made in the netherlands, cold wound, the works!

i also had a set on my 92 E36, really updated the look of the car whatever you do DON"T BUY these http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...0113391.htm?p=5 very ricey looking