Slight trouble with my 18x9's

[cliffdunedin 8]

Hey guys, today i got my spanking new 18x9's for my e36 and installed them on the car. I took it for a little drive and on full lock i could hear the sound of rubber rubbing so i went home and had a look and found that on full lock the inside of the tyre is rubbing on the stabiliser arm(if that's what it's called) it's only within 5-10mm of being on full lock that it touches but i know that will fail it from getting a WOF...and anyways i'm not keen on driving with the risk of it touching!

The offset is 40 and there is room within the guards, what i'm wondering is...if there is a way to shorten the steering lock from going as far and touching or would spacers rectify the problem?

Cheers

[SIR E30 68]

Chuck on some 5mm slip on spacers! Might pay to check the legality of them though. And you would probably benefit from some longer wheel studs.

[dubman 39]

spacers need hubcentric rings/locators for cert and legal purposes. +1 on longer wheel studs

[cliffdunedin 8]

Just wondering, if i used spacers that were say 5mm would the Wof testers notice that small a spacer and also would i need to space the rears as well?

[pjay 8]

25mm spacers and some stretch would fix it up good.

Don't worry about the WOF testers, worry about insurance!! If your car isn't legit if/when you claim, they can refuse your claim.

[e38king 1]

25mm spacers and some stretch would fix it up good.

Why do all you young guys go on about stretch and spacers? What ever happened to buying wheels that are designed to fit a car. Your suggestion won't fix his problem at all. Why don't you think something through before posting tripe.

3 pedals is on the right track but I think in plain English he means it will steer and track badly.

The truth is 18x9's are too wide for the front of an E36. I have owned over 10 so far.

Where did you buy the wheels from? and what size tyres are you running?

Edited April 20, 2010 by e38king

[cliffdunedin 8]

I bought the wheels from e-bay, and did do some investigating whether the 5x120-40 offset would fit an e36 and everyone i spoke too seemed to be 99% positive they would fit. it's on 245/40/18's but i doubt going smaller and stretching would of made much difference!

Does anyone know of or have a link re the certification needs with spacers??

[JFry 1]

Some E36s with bigger wheel packages from factory came with spacers for the steering like you originally suggested. Not sure how easy these would be to retrofit though

[dubman 39]

Does anyone know of or have a link re the certification needs with spacers??

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/stdWheels&Tyres.pdf

[cliffdunedin 8]

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/stdWheels&Tyres.pdf

lol was just looking through that...from what i can tell any spacers over 20mm need to be certified, so any under do not...I think!

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Some E36s with bigger wheel packages from factory came with spacers for the steering like you originally suggested. Not sure how easy these would be to retrofit though

I HIGHLY doubt that. No BMW afaik comes with spacers factory and tbh I've never heard of any manufacturer who fits spacers factory. If the wheels are factory they are made to the cars specification thus theres no need for spacers.

Spacing will fix his problem. You can fit 9's on the front of an E36. BMW didn't offer anything larger than 7.5 on the front of E36's from factory afaik. M3's came staggered 7.5 and 8.5. Which doesn't mean 9's won't fit, it just you have to do a bit of work.

I think you guys are taking it a bit OTT. While 3 pedals is theoretically correct it won't be as detrimental and noticeable as you guys are implying. I can't find more than a couple examples on the net of people complaining about negative effects of spacing the front wheels. A 5 or 10mm spacer isn't going to make a great difference especially if its a certable item.

And mate, not all wheels come in all offsets. If you want a certain wheel you need to make some compromises.

Spacers need a cert.

Just to get it straight, I wouldn't try and fit 9's on the front of an E36!

[SIR E30 68]

lol was just looking through that...from what i can tell any spacers over 20mm need to be certified, so any under do not...I think!

Thats what I thought.. and with a 5mm spacer you might get away without hubcentric rings. With my rear rims I have used a 5mm spacer and it still sits on the hub properly.

On another note.. (donning the flame suit that appears to be appropriate on this forum now days) You could run a smaller tyre at the front, say a 235 (which wont be uber stretched) to give you a bit of clearance.

[greenday-rulz21 6]

This Cert sheet says as I understand it that any spacer needs to be certed. Correct?

CertThresholdScheduleApril04V3.pdf

[SIR E30 68]

Then a slight stretch of the tyres would be the best bet. f**k spacing the steering.. thats playing with fire

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Again, my understanding is the first document is what is required to get a cert. The only part of that you need to read to relate to this is the 'Spacing and adaption requirements'. Afaik 20mm is the largest spacer you're allowed to fit to a car even with a cert. Cause then over 20mm you'd be getting near the noticeable detrimental effects to your handling haha.

The second document explains what needs to be certed.

[SIR E30 68]

I didnt bother to read the 'document' Im taking your word for it..

[JFry 1]

Oops, I was meaning spacers/stops(?) on the actual steering rack somewhere... they limit the amount of lock that you can get. Pretty sure that mine has it.

[*Glenn* 854]

Oops, I was meaning spacers/stops(?) on the actual steering rack somewhere... they limit the amount of lock that you can get. Pretty sure that mine has it.

Thats correct. The lock washers under the steering rack end ball joints come in different sizes to limit full lock position. These are the steering lock stops.

[cliffdunedin 8]

Oops, I was meaning spacers/stops(?) on the actual steering rack somewhere... they limit the amount of lock that you can get. Pretty sure that mine has it.

That would be perfect and would rectify my issue!!

Does anyone know if these can be purchased?

Edited April 20, 2010 by cliffdunedin

[zenetti 0]

Any spacer needs to be certified - period.

If you run a slip on spacer it must be hubcentric and be attached to the wheel before it can be certed. A bolt-on adaptor must also be hubcentric and needs to be certified.

If you run a slip on spacer and the car is not certed you will void your insurance. One of the major requirements of 99% of insurance co's is having a car that is up to WOF level, and technically speaking a car that is not certed should not have a WOF.

Your biggest problem I can see is running 245/40/18's. This tyre is too tall and too wide for the front of your car. Whoever sold you the 245's should have been aware of this, unless you specifically asked for them.

Personally I would never run a 9" wide wheel ont he front of an E36. On the rear yes but not the front. I have run 8.5's at 45ET on the front of my E36 previously with 225/40/18's and never had any issues.

If it was me I would be going back to the tyre shop to change the tyres to 225's. They will be slightly stretched but it should solve your problems without having to change your steering lock.

Good luck getting it sorted

[*Glenn* 854]

That would be perfect and would rectify my issue!!

Does anyone know if these can be purchased?

I can supply the steering rack spacers and these do not need a cert. These are also the inner rack end lock washers. Give me a call (09) 2722546

[cliffdunedin 8]

Thanks Jono for clearing the legal cert and spacers issue...and cheers glenn will give you a buzz later on this afternoon, i think that the steering rack spacers seem my best bet! cheers

[antony 0]

Cant believe noones asked yet, but pics please

[cliffdunedin 8]

Of?? They are not on the car right now because of the rubbing...but will get some pics up once they are all good!