16's or 17's on an e30?

[Kaz 64]

Hi guys,

So I'm starting to seriously look at wheel options for my e30 and I'm unsure whether I should go for a set of 16's or 17's.

I've always prefered 17's but I'm not sure the 17's will fit.

The sizing options I have are:

16x8 all round - 20 offset

16x8 & 16x9 staggered - 20 & 15 Offset

17x8.5 & 17x10 staggered

Unsure of the offsets on the 17's yet.

Anyway what are people's preference to wheel size on an e30? Would prefer to do minimal guard work but rolling isn't a problem. It will be sitting on superlows when I have the wheels, currently on e30 msport suspension though.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

better post the sort of style you are looking at before i can vote. haha

[Kaz 64]

better post the sort of style you are looking at before i can vote. haha

It would be sitting at a similar height to my old one, but obviously different car and different wheels. I'm after a fairly aggressive fitment, but being a mostly daily driver, not slammed on it's ass.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Kaz

[Ace Of Spades 51]

16's unless your going for super stance fitment as the 17's look to big imo.

[E30-323ti 66]

I voted 16's (16x8's with 225/45's on all 4)

But depends mainly on style and NOT running 'rubber band' tyres.

[hybrid 1043]

you can even go up to 18 inch

10inch wont fit. your max size without a lot of work is 9inch .. maybe 9.5 if you were very careful and ordered custom offset wheels.

[qube 3570]

16s for sure and staggered fitment!

Not a fan of 17s or 18s with silly stretched low profile tyres.

[Kaz 64]

you can even go up to 18 inch

10inch wont fit. your max size without a lot of work is 9inch .. maybe 9.5 if you were very careful and ordered custom offset wheels.

So these wheels wouldn't fit? They aren't the ones in my original post but ones I'm also considering. http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=45695

Was pretty sure they wouldn't fit with 10's on the back. I could probably order in a set of 17x8.5's all around though.

I wouldn't go 18's, they look too big on a e30 in my opinion.

16s for sure and staggered fitment!

Not a fan of 17s or 18s with silly stretched low profile tyres.

Definitely nothing stupid. Not a fan of stretched either.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Kaz

[Cab 148]

16" regardless of whether you're going for stance or not. You can pull off 17's, in my opinion, only if you have heaps of dish to make them look smaller and you're on rubber band tyres.

The best setup for an e30 if you want it flush with a little bit of poke would be 16x8 +10 up front (if you have 16x9 up front and an offset higher than +10 you'll hit the strut and need spacers), 16x9 +10 in the rear. 195/50/16 tyres all round.

I'm a veteran on this topic.

[Kaz 64]

16" regardless of whether you're going for stance or not. You can pull off 17's, in my opinion, only if you have heaps of dish to make them look smaller and you're on rubber band tyres.

The best setup for an e30 if you want it flush with a little bit of poke would be 16x8 +10 up front (if you have 16x9 up front and an offset higher than +10 you'll hit the strut and need spacers), 16x9 +10 in the rear. 195/50/16 tyres all round.

I'm a veteran on this topic.

Thanks for that, helps alot.

Basically these are the wheels I would like for my e30. By the sounds of things, I'm most likely going 16x8 and 16x9's.

16's: http://esmwheels.com/access/002r-p-178.html

Or in 17's: http://esmwheels.com/access/002r-p-198.html

[e30ftw 410]

Definitely 16", 17's look too big IMO, especially dished wheels. I have those in 16x9 all around, Fronts poke out so 8" would probably be perfect.

They look good in that black too..

Edited August 21, 2013 by e30ftw

[Cab 148]

Thanks for that, helps alot.

Basically these are the wheels I would like for my e30. By the sounds of things, I'm most likely going 16x8 and 16x9's.

16's: http://esmwheels.com/access/002r-p-178.html

Or in 17's: http://esmwheels.com/access/002r-p-198.html

Yeah those 16's would sit nicely.

[polley 916]

16" regardless of whether you're going for stance or not. You can pull off 17's, in my opinion, only if you have heaps of dish to make them look smaller and you're on rubber band tyres.

The best setup for an e30 if you want it flush with a little bit of poke would be 16x8 +10 up front (if you have 16x9 up front and an offset higher than +10 you'll hit the strut and need spacers), 16x9 +10 in the rear. 195/50/16 tyres all round.

I'm a veteran on this topic.

195s? Do you even traction?

[APT 194]

My rule for e30's, 16 inch for non kitted cars, 17 inch for kitted cars.

17s fill the guards way more and look better IMO , flick me a txt when your in the area and come have a look at mine.

[Cab 148]

195s? Do you even traction?

195's all good man not even stretch.

[Kaz 64]

My rule for e30's, 16 inch for non kitted cars, 17 inch for kitted cars.

17s fill the guards way more and look better IMO , flick me a txt when your in the area and come have a look at mine.

Yeah sweet will do. Mine's a tech 2 as you know. If I went with 17's, I would have to stick with 8.5's all round which I'm not sure they do.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Kaz

[Lucan 196]

I say go for 16's...you know what my tech 2 looks like.

Andrews looked good on both sizes TBH. Add some pics of you car in both phases for ref maybe Andrew?

[timewarrior 3]

Hi guys,

So I'm starting to seriously look at wheel options for my e30 and I'm unsure whether I should go for a set of 16's or 17's.

I've always prefered 17's but I'm not sure the 17's will fit.

The sizing options I have are:

16x8 all round - 20 offset

16x8 & 16x9 staggered - 20 & 15 Offset

17x8.5 & 17x10 staggered

Unsure of the offsets on the 17's yet.

Anyway what are people's preference to wheel size on an e30? Would prefer to do minimal guard work but rolling isn't a problem. It will be sitting on superlows when I have the wheels, currently on e30 msport suspension though.

I voted 17s but it is such a tricky topic.

Bigger is not always better, it all depends on the size, pattern, offset and rubber. And those things together can do more for the look of a car than anything in my opinion. When I bought my E30 they came with 18s which looked horrible. The car had bigger 4 pot brakes from an RX7 and was running 25mm spacers to clear them, meaning I was limited to "FWD offset wheels." The 18s had an offset of 42, which meant the offset was effectively 17 which is not enough for a wheel of that size. Having to run FWD offset wheels made things a big tricky as the dished BBS designs seem to work best for E30s and they're hard/impossible to get in the offset I needed.

So I lucked out and bought a set of ET37 Oz Superturismos in 4x100 for $500. These are pretty much my favourite "FWD offset" wheel but I had no idea what they would look like on an E30.

I think they look good and it's cool that it's a point of difference for an E30.

17 inch 4x100 Oz Superturismo in Silver ET37 with 25mm Spacers (final offset ET12). Red BMW E30.

[APT 194]

Ill post some pics up tonight, mind you i only went 17s when i went 5 stud.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

I voted 17"s as that's what are on my 'vert in the sig below. Not saying mine is the ultimate, in fact there are many better looking E30s / wheel combos out there but most of those are 17s or even 18s

A lot depends on the drop as well as the wheel / tyre size for it all to look right.

[e30pete325 0]

I have stared at my car for hours pondering the same thing wat damn size wheel? so heres my conclusion 17s look really really cool and 15s give e30s that old skool agressive look which I like allot also but at the end of day it comes down to style, because so many people use 17s theres obviously no concern as to how the bigger wheels affect the gear ratio or people wouldnt use them and if that was a concern it would be my only one ...

[RAC1NGDYNAM1CS 0]

Hey there,

I am looking at 17s due to the car being lowered with a Zender kit on it . It’s an 85 323i 4 door what size 17s and offset will work to bring the wheels out closer to the guard edge without having to roll guards . I currently have my painted bottlecap rims on so neeeed to change that lol . Support would be appreciated 

[gjm 3258]

1 hour ago, RAC1NGDYNAM1CS said:

Hey there,

I am looking at 17s due to the car being lowered with a Zender kit on it . It’s an 85 323i 4 door what size 17s and offset will work to bring the wheels out closer to the guard edge without having to roll guards . I currently have my painted bottlecap rims on so neeeed to change that lol . Support would be appreciated 

17x7 (possibly 17x8) et25 should fit - these are not an uncommon size in the US. Use 205 or 215/40-17 tyres. Wider tyres are likely to rub.