Wheels widths

[Mavrick 0]

What would be the optimal wheel width for an e30?

I can get the type of wheel im looking at in sizes ranging from 17x7.0 inches to 17x9.0 inches, which is as wide as i would/could like to go, they come in half inches as well i.e. 17x7.5 inches.

I would quite like to run a staggered set up, but am open to your suggestions/opinions.

Cheers,

Mavrick

[speedyg 16]

Alpina E30s came out with 16x7 on the front and 16x8 on the rear, Hartge had 16x7.5 all round. So that might be a good place to start. What offset will the new wheels be?

[bravo 35]

If you want 17's and by optimum mean practical and good handling without too much scrub then 17x7 - a max of 17x8. if you mean optimum in terms of aesthetics then a 16x8-9 or 17x8-9 with a stretched tyre looks awesome if you are in to that sort of thing.

Edited August 13, 2007 by bravo

[Mavrick 0]

I was looking at an off-set of around +22.

Just going for wheels that look mint, that dont sacrifice handling. 16's would be mint they're rare as and tyres are more expensive. If I were to go for the 17's i would go for a mild stretch to make them fit easier.

They're VS-XX work wheels, its trying to justify spending that much on wheels which is the hard part.

[hybrid 1043]

Non-staggered 8inch rear / 8inch front at 20 offset, 17inch would be best

If you want staggered, 8.5 rear at 15offset and 8inch front at 20offset, 17inch.

Anything more in the front and you will rub on lock.

17inch is the best size for non m3 vehicles (lookwise)

If you were prepared to do some guard work, you could look into going to 9's on the rear and 8's on the front. up to you really

nice choice in wheels

[ED1RTY 2]

Nice choice alright!!

Where do you get those in 4 lug?

[Mavrick 0]

Sweet cheers for the infomation Hybrid.

Yeah would be keen to get the 9's on the back but that might be too much effort. The 8 inch give 2.5 inch dish, which should be sufficient.

Staggered seems more appealing, whether or not it's feasible is another question. Might just be safer with 8 inch all round....

Yeah the wheels are sik as hell.

Work wheels in Auckland, pretty sure thats the only place in NZ you can get them from. Although you could import them yourself.

[drifty325i 0]

Snap nice wheels! what can you get a set of them for in 17s?

[Mavrick 0]

Got quoted $3,268.00 delivered to my door (P. North) for 17x8 for the fronts and 17x9 for the rears.

So as you can see they're not a cheap aftermarket wheel.

[zenetti 0]

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.

[Mavrick 0]

Cheers, was it a f/l or a pre f/l because i have a feeling pre f/l's dont have as much room under the rear guards as f/l's. Can anyone clarify that?

[hybrid 1043]

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.

sweet .. I think maybe we need to make a spread sheet for people? Of everyones experience with wheel widths. I know when I was looking for info for my e46 I did a lot of research overseas as nobody had done what I'd done in NZ that I know of. (common as muck these days however)

Im running 18x8.5 on the rear at the mo on the m325 with 35 offset. Accept its on a m-coupe trailing arms so my offset figures are different.

The new set of LMs are 9.5 rears at 32offset. This will of make the rear wheels stick out past the guards, but we are sticking the m3 box guards on so its a non issue for us.

there are some minor things you can infact do if you get the wrong offset wheels (obviously you want to try and do it right first time, but all is not lost if so)

* Adjustible rear shock towers (will give you an extra 5-8mms inner guard)

* Increase offset: Take the wheels to a wheel specialist to lower the offset by shaving and balancing the wheels hub

* Mild stretch on the rubber (will lower guard rubbing, sometimes negates the fact to roll the guards or do what I did and rebuild them .

* Lower offset: order some quality legal spacers (turner motorsport) EG we needed to get the front wheels from 35mm offset to 20mm as the clearance tollarances for the 6pot calipers required us to be 22mm or under so we used 15mm spacers. You will also need longer centering lugs bolts (turner).

Or if you are lucky enough to have true 3 piece wheels just order new dish sections at the correct sizing

[bravo 35]

Modifying the wheels and adding legal spacers/adapters requires a cert. Just so you know if you are planning on doing this the legal way. (I know you know this Josh).

With rears on e30's it is mostly the guard clearance that is the issue with lowered vehicles. For fronts it is mor the struts so if you go really wide you may need different offset front and rear.

For instance those 8" ET35 rims would have 3mm more guard clearance than my 7" ET20's which means you won't have to roll the guards like I did. However, they will have 13mm less clearance with the front strut than my 7" ET35's I used to run (which had bugger all clearance - 7" ET38's have been known to rub the struts slightly unless you have the smaller 320 struts). That means you will need at least a 10mm spacer at the front for those wheels that fit fine at the back. Either that or go for a 20 offset for the fronts which will fit fine.

Here's a good tool you can use to judge how much difference offset will make on various width wheels. If you know for one size the max and min offsets that will fit front and rear, then you can work out the same for any wheel width.

[togate 0]

i have 15x8 0 offset wheels on my E30, sits slightly outside the guard, nothing flaring wont sort out.

[Mavrick 0]

What sort of rims are they? Have any pics?

[ED1RTY 2]

Are you planning on doing any future modding in terms of serious power? If you are id go 8.5 at least...

Im running x9's and they are pretty sticky with the m20 but when it gets the m50 t conversion they will get a run for their money!

[Mavrick 0]

There is plans in the future but i cant see it happening anytime soon.....Funds always seem to get diverted away from the car for other more pressing items.

I'd say 8.5 at a minimum as well just because of the dish haha, but power will have to come into play at some stage.

Cheers for all the comments.

[Mike 1]

Are you planning on doing any future modding in terms of serious power? If you are id go 8.5 at least...

Im running x9's and they are pretty sticky with the m20 but when it gets the m50 t conversion they will get a run for their money!

Problem is its hard to find any wider tyres than 225 in a suitable size for our cars. I have seen 245/40 overseas but not in NZ. Basically I don't see the point in going wider rims when you can't get the tyres to fit.

You really have to go 17's and move up into 235 or 245 if you want wide rubber on the back.

[drifty325i 0]

225/45/16s are all im using to keep the v8 on the ground, should be fine with the help of some camber adjustment

[bravo 35]

It has been discussed before - wider tyres may not give you the grip advantage you are after as grip is related to the surface area presented to the road and the pressure with which the two come into contact. As the pressure is related to the surface area and the mass of the car, the pressure between the surfaces will reduce with a wider tyre. Also, in the wet, the wider tyre presents a greater face to the water - a narrow tyre may be able to "cut through" the water better.

Obviously go too narrow and it doesn't work - similarly there is a point where going any wider stops giving you more grip.

Find out what width is best and don't bother going any wider - you are wasting time and money.

Also, rubber compound is a factor - a narrower tyre with a better compound will provide more grip than the wider tyre with a rubbish compound.

Edit: These guys say it better than me. There are dozens of resources with the same info out there. you can rebut alot of it as it is physics in lab conditions - actual cornering, road surface etc make it a bit different, but the point is - wider does not automatically = more grip.

Edited August 22, 2007 by bravo

[ED1RTY 2]

Graham, I understand where you are coming from but I personally notice a hell of alot of difference going from my x9's to bottlecaps. I find it VERY hard to break traction with the x9's and its piss easy with the bottles. think anything bigger than x9's (unless running slicks on a drag car etc) would detract from handling let alone give less grip.

Personally x8.5 or x9 is the best for E30.

Alternatively anything with at least 205/40 tyres FTW

[bravo 35]

Same with me going from bottles to 17x7's. Except the bottles are $95 economy tyres and the 17x7's are $200+ Dunlop performance tyres.

Handling is s big point esp. with a lower profile (less sidewall flex = better turn-in), but my point was really that you should go wider than bottles, but may be pointless to go nuts.

[Mike 1]

Personally x8.5 or x9 is the best for E30.

Alternatively anything with at least 205/40 tyres FTW

Your entitled to your opinion but I can't understand you would want 9" rims for anything but looks on an e30. I can fit wider tyres on my 7.5" rims. To run a decent tyre on 9" rims you'd need serious guard work. 16x8 max, with ET20, even then you need rolled guards if your running 225/45.

I don't understand running way undersized tyres either? 205/40 is tiny, why not run the factory rolling diameter.

All that said, I'm no expert, only going what has worked for other people. would be sweet to have enough time and money to try all these setups out.

[bravo 35]

205/40/16r is small, but 205/40/17r is correct size.

[wms 1]

I run 17x8 all round - E36 front E39 rear offset - look staggered but arent