jon dee

Yussss... I have those M3 kits you suggested on my wish list. Only problem is that I have a bit of an overspend situation at the moment, and the NZ$ to US$ exchange rate is terrible right now. I actually found a euro car specialist workshop in Lower Hutt and I am going to see if I can book a time to have them put the car on a hoist and check out the front end just for peace of mind. I've got the 17" wheels up for sale as I have bought another set of E92 189 wheels. Anything wider will have to wait until I really need it Cheers... jondee

@ str8_6 I did try calling Auto 38 a couple of times but no-one picked up and I had to leave messages that weren't returned. So I called in when I was passing (not driving the BM at the time) and spoke to the woman in charge. Jon was under the hood of a vintage BM racecar at the far end of the garage and the lady explained that he was very busy and could not look at my car or do a WOF check until Thursday (this was on Monday). Apparently Auto 38 take their cars down the road for VTNZ for WOF testing in any event. So to keep life simple I went to my usual workshop for the WOF. From what I could see, Auto 38 had a workshop full of cars with only one person working on them. If that is the case, then Jon will be very busy !! Because I live way on the other side of town it takes a bit of organising to drop my car off and then return the next day or even a few hours later to pick it up. Therefore I shall probably wait until I actually need some work done/parts installed/whatever to book the car in. Then it can stay there for as long as it takes, and the full check and diagnosis can be done at the same time. Maybe you should go for a drive in my car and see how it compares to yours Cheers... jondee

OK... perhaps I should not have used "clunking" to describe what I was refering to. Both my other cars have sports type suspension and both make the same basic sound when hitting manhole covers and other similar sharp edged bumps in the road. I guess you could say it is a sort of "thump" sound... not a klank, klunk or klink. If I was to sit in the car and someone else was to give a front tyre a decent whack on the tread wiith a tyre iron, it would make the same sound... as much felt as heard. This is not the sound of something loose; it is the sound of something solid transmitting a sudden impact into the chassis. So the only thing unusual is that I expected a high end vehicle (albeit used) to be better insulated from the sound of tyre impacts. Perhaps it is just a minor downside to the sports suspension package ? From my forum reading I see that there are a variety of rubber bushes and insulators in the car that may be showing signs of wear. These could be contributing to increased noise transmission to the interior, and In due course I will be checking and replacing these if needed. It has been suggested that upgrading the front suspension with M-Sport components to get a little more camber is a worthwhile investment. If I go down that route it would be the perfect opportunity to replace all the front end bushes and insulators Cheers... jondee

Got a new WOF last week from my usual garage and the only comment made was that the front pads are getting low. I had a look, measured the discs and they probably have another 20km in them. But I have ordered some HPS pads and will get some new front rotors organised so that I have everything I need on hand when the time comes. The rear pads and rotors were changed about siz months ago. I'm starting to think that the "clunking" is just what you get with low profile tyres and stiffer suspension. I can live with it, and will get a proper check done the next time the car is in for a service. Cheers... jondee

Some anonymous BBS reps 17 x 8 -35 as in my avatar. They wern't hub centric either which didn't help as I don't like having to use centring rings. No prob... they were an impulse buy as I do like that wheel design... just didn't realise how "technical" it gets when trying to mix and match wheels on Bm's. Maybe somewhere down the line I will look at getting some wider wheels, but that will be a fairly low priority. Cheers... jondee

Did a trial fit on the front with one of my little wheels and it was binding on the back plate .. live and learn... goodbye square setup It's only sheetmetal but I'm not about to start modifying stuff, so those wheels will be on TradeMe shortly. And in view of the fact that I don't plan on tracking this car I have bought another set of the 189's that guarranty no fitting problems. Bonus is that I will now have four spare wheels Cheers... jondee

Doing the sums in my head, I think that front fitting puts the rim about 2mm outboard, but with the extra stretch on the tyre, it should be more or less in the same place as the OEM 18 x 8 +34 wheel with 225/40 tyre. I don't know if there are clearance differences between your F20 and my E92 coupe, but that 8.5" wheel should work for me. Useful information that Cheers... jondee

Yusss... I have noticed that there are always some nice wheels for sale in the $1500-2000 range, but a bit spendy for me at the moment. That 18" set are the same fitment as I have now and look to be a lighter wheel. Maybe next year Cheers... jondee

@ Herbmiester Thanks for the link. I'll get those ordered. The car still has 12 months of mechanical warranty to run so I will need to check if there is any problem with fitting upgrades. And yeah, to try and keep things simple, I shall keep my eye out for a nice set of wheels in the OEM fitment, and if nothing turns up I will just use the factory wheels. Cheers... jondee

No argument there. The problem with reading overseas forums is that there is a lot of anecdotal information about what various people have tried/used, but very little in the way of hard measurements. Very often, when the owner is shooting for maximum width they will fit a certain wheel/tyre combination and then find that it rubs and they have to roll or pump the guards to make it work... or change the tyres/return the wheels or simply put up with it rubbing And then there is the question of "pinching" the tyres by fitting tyres that are a lot wider than recommended for the rim width, or "stretching" tyres to stop them rubbing. If I go to the trouble of getting custom wheels, i'd like to be certain that they will fitt without rubbing when fitted with my choice of tyres. So yes, I am a bit pedantic, but I subscribe to the "do it once and do it right" motto I have no problem with having a wheel that pokes out further towards the guard than the OEM fitment so long as it does not rub. With the car on the ground there does not appear to be much scope for going wider (with OEM tyre sizes) but I don't know the wheel trajectory under bump so maybe there could be 10 or 15mm of clearance ? I'd be happy if anyone could give me an actual confirmed measurement. Cheers... jondee

@ Herbmiester Yes, given that it looks like getting the ideal wheel/tyre setup is going to involve a set of aftermarket wheels and some expensive tyres, I may well put that upgrade on the back burner for a while. I'll be on the phone to Jon tomorrow as the car is due for a WOF and that will be a perfect opportunity to get the front suspension checked out. Cheers... jondee

@ qube Not sure I agree with all of that. Factory spec sets a baseline for where the outer rim sits with regard to the hub bolting face, and can easily be evaluated by walking around the car. In my opinion the factory wheels sit just about perfect, so I would want to maintain the outer rim very close to the factory placement. The clearance from the strut to the inner rim is a lot more difficult to assess unless the car is on a hoist. And that is where the extra width will be going... towards the strut. Knowing the distance from the factory rim to the strut (and the overall rim width) sets the maximum wheel space available, and that is what I am trying to figure out. Sure, the tyre size will need to be taken into account, but I think that the calculator gives a good idea of what width/offset might fit, and that beats trying a dozen different wheels at random in the hope that one might fit just right. The 18" sizes you suggest look decent but I am guessing that the width/offset combo will only be available from aftermarket wheels ? Thanks for the input. Cheers... jondee

Taking the points made above into consideration, if I was to start looking for wheels capable of putting more rubber on the ground, what sizes should I be searching for ? Looking at the car with the OEM 8 + 8.5 wide staggered setup, there really does not seem to much scope for wheels with more "poke" without trimming or rolling. So if the extra width has to go towards the strut, what space is available if leaving 5mm between the rim and the strut ? Would 18 x 8.5 + 38 fit in front (2.3mm furyher out, 10.4mm further in) ? Would 18 x 9.0 +42 fit in the rear (1.4mm further out, 11.4mm further in) ? Possible to go wider (closer to strut on the inside) ? Maybe 9.5" wide in back ? Cheers... jondee

Yussss... all good points. And I might add that initially I was looking at a 135i Msport to hotrod a bit. But when that fell thru I found that a nice 335i could be had for less money and changed direction (at least for the moment). And I have read about the advantages of fitting M-series lower control arms and a mechanical LSD, and that would not be out of the question further down the track. The question is though, is worth trying to turn an overweight luxury coupe into a great handling sports car, or would it be better to start with a slightly smaller. shorter and lighter car with great brakes (but the same engine) ? But that's a question for another day Cheers... jondee

I do have a few mild power upgrades in mind... probably not more than a larger intercooler, alloy charge pipe, MHD stage 1+ tune and a little bit of e85 mixed in with the 98. So of course the effect of these mods will be factored into whatever wheel/tyre combo I settle on after the honeymoon is over Cheers... jonde

I can see your viewpoint, and if I was looking to make a track day monster I would very likely use the widest wheels and tyres that would fit on the car. To do that I would need to do a lot of trial fitting and guard rolling etc. I don't have that facility. Neither am I interested in tracking the car; only running a few local hillclimb or street spint evnts that typically are of less than 2 minutes duration. If the engine overpowers the tyres then backing off the throttle a little is a no cost solution In a years time when I have had a chance to evaluate the car with both the OEM and my little wheels, I'll decide exactly what wheel/tyre combo I want on the car. If that means buying custom wheels and wider tyres, then so be it. Cheers... jondee

Good point and one of the reasons I made this post I have read a lot of internet posts on BMW related forums about tire sizes, wheels and offsets , but I have zero experience with the E92 myself. So this starts with me deciding that I like a certain style of wheel, and seeing a set on TradeMe that caught my eye. That's the set in my avatar and they errive this week.They happen to be 17 x 8 - 35 which I believe to be near ideal for a square setup on an E92. They are fitted with some rubbish tyres but will do for checking clearances. I am also lead to believe from my reading that a square setup tends to reduce power on underdteer when compared with a staggered setup ? And going to 17" wheels allows the use of less expensive taller profile tyres with the ability to swap wheels front to rear to even out wear. No doubt there is a tradeoff between profile, ride quality and ultimate grip, but as these wheels are only intended for having fun at clubsport events, I consider this to be an experiment. Hopefully, using a softish high performance tyre will generate a bit more grip to counteract the slight reduction in tread width. I love the way the factory wheels look on the car and have no intention of trimming the liners or rolling the guards, So while it would be nice to have the luxury of trying a bunch of wheel/tyre combinations to check clearances, at this stage I'm just wanting to make sure there is no big downside to the square setup. Cheers... jondee

I have a set of 17 x 8 offset 35 wheels on the way and am considering a set of 235/45-17 Hankook Ventus RS4 (Z232) tyres. The idea is to have a set of tyres that can be driven to a street sprint, used for the event and then driven home. I really would have preferred Ventus RS3 (Z222) for the tread pattern, but it seems that they are out of production now that the RS4 is on the market. Looking around and using the various fitment calculators, it seems that this wheel/tyre size combo would fit and maintain near enough the same tire diameter. So looking for some advice Q1. Who has used this wheel/tyre size combo on an E92 ? Any issues with clearance ? Q2. Who has used the Hankook RS4 (in any size) and how did it perform ? Q3. Who has used 235/45-17 tyres (any brand) for clubsport events (excluding circuit) ? Q4. Am I on the wrong track here and should I be looking at a different tyre size with a shorter sidewall ? Would mention that I am not committed to the RS4. It just looks to put a decent amount of rubber on the ground in solid blocks and is a directional rather than asymetrical design... and 200 wear rating. Above is the Hankook, but based on price and availability the Zestino 07A below might be a better option. It is made in a couple of different wear ratings and seems to be easier to find than the Hankook. Zestino seems to be one of the new generation Chinese tyres and has been rated quite highly by some of the people who have posted test results on the web. I'm not planning on winning any trophies, so I don't need $500 tyres. If I can put a set of four on the car for under $1000 and have some fun... them I'm good Cheers... jondee

@ Jacko Problem is that where I have this car stored there is barely room to open the door wide enough to get into the drivers seat. So not an ideal situation for getting under and inspecting the suspension. For what it is likely to cost I'm happy to pay someone with a hoist and knowledge to do the diagnosis. When I have an idae of what needs to be done I will decide if I want to buy the parts and do the job myself, or pay a garage to do the work. I change springs and shocks etc on my Corolla, but that is a smaller car and those parts are easy to access. There is a lot more stuff packed under the hood on the BM !!! Cheers... jondee

Olaf... good suggestion I need someone who knows how to diagnose stuff rather than just throw new parts at the car and hope that something works. I'll give Jon a ring on Monday and see if I can book a time to get the car up on their hoist. Browsing the interwebs I read that there are a bunch of rubber bushings under the car that can cause problems. And the strut top mounts may also need looking at... as well as the shocks. Going to have to open a savings account for this car !!! Cheers... jondee

2008 335i Msport E92 Coupe 85,000km new BM owner. I noticed while just toddling around the suburbs over typical Wellington uneven road surfaces, that the front suspension seems to "clunk" a bit more than I would have expected a BM to clunk :) I am used to sports oriented suspension in my other cars and they kind of "bump" when running over small irregularities in the road surface. But the BM sounds more like it has worn bushes that are allowing more mevement than they should. Q1. Is this typically a thing with BM's at around 85,000 km ? I have also noticed when hitting a bit of broken surface in a corner at highway speed the front wheels seem to skitter like the shocks were having trouble keeping the tyres in contact with the road surface. Q2. Again, is this a sign that the OEM shocks are up for replacement ? Maybe the two issues are connected ? If they are, would a set of Bilstein OEM spec replacement shocks be a decent solution ? This is a road car that may see the odd street sprint or hillclimb. All suggestions welcome. Cheers... jondee

Yusss... that's the plan if I have struck out after checking the wreckers and that guy who does the single wheels on TM.

Hey Olaf... first Thursday of the month... same clubnight as the HVMC I'm more of a daylight saving motorsport enthusiast and tend to hibernate at this time of the year. So it will most likely be a few months before I get to meet you all. At this stage I am aiming at making the Shelly Bay Sprint (6 Oct) my next event, and if all is well, giving the BM its first outing. Truth is I'm a social competitor, there for a day out and to have some fun. And of course I enjoy catching up and talking shizz about cars

Thanks Bozza... I'm happy with the colour. Only rough spot is that one of the front wheels has some kerbing ? So I am on the outlook for one clean wheel, then I can use the kerbed one for the spare. Going to try a few wreckers and figure the chances of finding one.

Getting old and tired of trying to squeeze more killerwasps out of an old Corolla, so decided to start over with a later model car. Had to be RWD, have two doors and a bit of grunt, so I settled on a 2008 335I Coupe. Car is bone stock with 85.000km and really tidy. Liking it so far and enjoying the amount of go faster or go much faster bits that are available for this platform. Here are some pictures from the day I picked it up in Napier... I'm a mamber of the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club and hope to run the BM in a few car club events. It is my first ever Euro car so a big learning curve ahead. First thing I have to do is round up a spare wheel as I don't like being without a spare and tools when I am out and about. Always better to have one and not need it So if anyone has an 18" spacesaver or a lonely 18 x 8 style 189 wheel taking up space in their garage, hit me up. Cheers... John D