My Lowered E39 Touring

[kvmvl 6]

Just got the new wheels today

Lowered on Einbachs

Not entirely happy about the way the back sits
any tips? 
Spacers? should I get the back lowered even more? 

 

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

It would look nicer if it was a little more lowered in the rear. It's also not the best photo to compare with all the different angles in the back ground and the sloping drive. Take a photo on level ground with a neutral background.

Edited May 26, 2020 by B.M.W Ltd

[Eagle 1662]

Yeah the photo isnt the best. How long ago were the springs installed? What struts did you use?

[francoisv 466]

I've managed to get mine pretty low. You just need to be prepared to remove the SLS if it has any. The NZ market isnt very big for the E39 Touring, but i managed to work it out for mine. Feel free to drop me a text 021 302 485 for a run down? 
PS i like those wheels

Edited May 26, 2020 by francoisv

[kvmvl 6]

here is another pic
My driveway is pretty flat 

[kvmvl 6]

3 hours ago, francoisv said:

I've managed to get mine pretty low. You just need to be prepared to remove the SLS if it has any. The NZ market isnt very big for the E39 Touring, but i managed to work it out for mine. Feel free to drop me a text 021 302 485 for a run down? 
PS i like those wheels

cheers bro
all good if I give you a call at some stage? 

[kvmvl 6]

So update
an E39 specialist is telling me that my wheels (18 x 8 ) is too small 
I wish I had known this earlier 
the guy that I bought it off assured me that it was fine
The tyres are 225/40/18 
I wanted to run some spacers but read that they are illegal
this puts me in a weird place having already spent $1500 on a wheel and tyre setup

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

Was it a tyre shop or private sale ?

[zero 1162]

Put some bricks in the boot

[kvmvl 6]

installed the springs last week at mag and turbo - not sure about struts

[qube 3570]

4 hours ago, kvmvl said:

So update
an E39 specialist is telling me that my wheels (18 x 8 ) is too small 
I wish I had known this earlier 
the guy that I bought it off assured me that it was fine
The tyres are 225/40/18 
I wanted to run some spacers but read that they are illegal
this puts me in a weird place having already spent $1500 on a wheel and tyre setup

Best thing to do is to sell the wheels and buy some proper fitting ones.

Correct specs should be something along the lines of:

Front: 18x8 or 18x8.5, offset around 10-20 with 225/40/18 or 235/40/18

Rear: 18x9 or 18x9.5, offset around 15-25 with 255/35/18 or 265/35/18

(this is not a rule, its just what works. Some idiots might want to run zero offset wheels with stretched tyres etc for stance but my guide should give you a nice flush proper fitment with actual useable tyre sizes rather than something that will crack your wheels on the first pot hole)

 

Photos for reference: 18x8 offset 13, 18x9.5 offset 25, tyres 225/45 front 255/35 rear

 

[zero 1162]

@kvmvl What offset are your wheels?

[kvmvl 6]

3 hours ago, qube said:

Best thing to do is to sell the wheels and buy some proper fitting ones.

Correct specs should be something along the lines of:

Front: 18x8 or 18x8.5, offset around 10-20 with 225/40/18 or 235/40/18

Rear: 18x9 or 18x9.5, offset around 15-25 with 255/35/18 or 265/35/18

(this is not a rule, its just what works. Some idiots might want to run zero offset wheels with stretched tyres etc for stance but my guide should give you a nice flush proper fitment with actual useable tyre sizes rather than something that will crack your wheels on the first pot hole)

 

Photos for reference: 18x8 offset 13, 18x9.5 offset 25, tyres 225/45 front 255/35 rear

 

Cheers mate - the dude I bought it off said that "yes they will fit your car"
they do fit, but are they the best fitment? probably not
this is such a mission because I just wanted to get it sorted and over and done with 
Instead of having to run spacers and a wider wall (45)
the offset is +35 which is annoying because I spoke to mag and turbo after and they were like nah those are the wrong ones
I can't really take them back because they were bored out for my hub, but the good news is that the guy that sold me the wheels and tyres (which are brand new)
is hooking me up with some free spacers and wider wheels for the back
so we should be able to get a flush fit
but hey
its ok for now

3 hours ago, zero said:

@kvmvl What offset are your wheels?

as above

[kvmvl 6]

8 hours ago, B.M.W Ltd said:

Was it a tyre shop or private sale ?

I bought it from a guy who I've known for like 16 years that opened up a wheel and tyre business, obviously hes still learning too
but hes helping me out by getting me some free spacers and replacing the back wheels with wider ones, cert has yet to be discussed but I don't know
should I just chill with this set up for now? Its not rubbing against the suspension at all mag and turbo says its fine to run

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

A cert with spacers could also be another problem you will need to face

[qube 3570]

Its "fine" to run the wheels as is. Just looks a bit odd cuz its tucked in so much due to the high offset. 

if you run spacers it will look better visually but the biggest issue is getting a cert which is not a great thing to do cuz then you are stuck with this set up which ultimately doesnt suit your car and secondly if you do run it without cert then you will have issues with insurance in the event of an accident. 

Like I said, best thing to do is to on-sell them to someone with a 3 series and get proper fitting mags + tyres rather than getting the "wrong" 225/45/18" tyres again which will make it even more difficult to sell in the future cuz that tyre size wont fit 3 series anymore.

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

Without a cert it won't get a WOF either

[kvmvl 6]

2 hours ago, qube said:

Its "fine" to run the wheels as is. Just looks a bit odd cuz its tucked in so much due to the high offset. 

if you run spacers it will look better visually but the biggest issue is getting a cert which is not a great thing to do cuz then you are stuck with this set up which ultimately doesnt suit your car and secondly if you do run it without cert then you will have issues with insurance in the event of an accident. 

Like I said, best thing to do is to on-sell them to someone with a 3 series and get proper fitting mags + tyres rather than getting the "wrong" 225/45/18" tyres again which will make it even more difficult to sell in the future cuz that tyre size wont fit 3 series anymore.

Thanks
This whole time I thought they were 225/40 but they're actually 205/40!!! (no wonder it looks so weird) 
I didn't even check until last night! 

I have two options, sell the set as is and get a proper fitment from mag and turbo
Mag and turbo also said they're accept the trade-in for $1100 which isn't a total loss for me, which is $400 less than what I paid 
I could also just run them as is but change the tyres to recommended 245/40 and that would fill the guards up nicely and leave out the spacers 
was just worried about clearance  

When I paid for this sh*t I had absolutely no idea bout fitment or offset or anything
and in the last 3 days I feel like I could open up a tyre shop! 

[qube 3570]

1 minute ago, kvmvl said:

Thanks
This whole time I thought they were 225/40 but they're actually 205/40!!! (no wonder it looks so weird) 
I didn't even check until last night! 

I have two options, sell the set as is and get a proper fitment from mag and turbo
Mag and turbo also said they're accept the trade-in for $1100 which isn't a total loss for me, which is $400 less than what I paid 
I could also just run them as is but change the tyres to recommended 245/40 and that would fill the guards up nicely and leave out the spacers 
was just worried about clearance  

When I paid for this sh*t I had absolutely no idea bout fitment or offset or anything
and in the last 3 days I feel like I could open up a tyre shop! 

Its a learning process.. no wonder its so small, 205/40 is way too tiny for an E39.

You wont be able to run 245/40 on your 18x8 wheels because 8" is too narrow to fit 245 width. the most you could do is probably 235/40

Also, bigger tyres wont mean it will "fill up the guards nicely" because your offset is still too high and the width of the wheel is still too narrow so your mag wheel is still sitting further in towards the car rather than closer to the guard edge.

$1100 for those wheels isnt a bad trade in value to save yourself some hassle.

 

[kvmvl 6]

29 minutes ago, qube said:

Its a learning process.. no wonder its so small, 205/40 is way too tiny for an E39.

You wont be able to run 245/40 on your 18x8 wheels because 8" is too narrow to fit 245 width. the most you could do is probably 235/40

Also, bigger tyres wont mean it will "fill up the guards nicely" because your offset is still too high and the width of the wheel is still too narrow so your mag wheel is still sitting further in towards the car rather than closer to the guard edge.

$1100 for those wheels isnt a bad trade in value to save yourself some hassle.

 

You're a bloody legend mate
Well I just listed them on market place for $1400, so if somebody buys them I'm sweet, I'll go straight to mag and turbo
The dude I bought the rims off uses a tyre place and the tyre place recommended 245/40 to be closest to the OEM wheels 

Rolling diameter is pretty much the same

 

orange is oem obvs

Edited May 28, 2020 by kvmvl

[qube 3570]

Yea still wouldnt bother trying to run 245 on an 8" wheel as the tyres will bulge out and handling will be poor. also known as ballooning.

Its all good to compare to the original 16" wheels for reference but the original 16's have poor (but standard) fitment in my opinion and you can get better looking and better performing fitments by going with my recommendations above.

 

[kvmvl 6]

53 minutes ago, qube said:

Yea still wouldnt bother trying to run 245 on an 8" wheel as the tyres will bulge out and handling will be poor. also known as ballooning.

Its all good to compare to the original 16" wheels for reference but the original 16's have poor (but standard) fitment in my opinion and you can get better looking and better performing fitments by going with my recommendations above.

 

thanks mate
worst case scenario I will run the 235/40 on this and maybe run some 20mm spacers in the back 

[zero 1162]

Another option is to just replace the rear wheels with a wider wheel in the correct offset.

That way you wont need spacers, and you wont need a cert.

205 is way to small for an e39 so you would want to put wider tyres up front.

As the wheels are new perhaps your mate will exchange the rears for something in a more suitable offset and width?

[kvmvl 6]

9 minutes ago, zero said:

Another option is to just replace the rear wheels with a wider wheel in the correct offset.

That way you wont need spacers, and you wont need a cert.

205 is way to small for an e39 so you would want to put wider tyres up front.

As the wheels are new perhaps your mate will exchange the rears for something in a more suitable offset and width?

cheers mate
Yeah he's offered me all of the above
he said he'd take the tyres for full refund and then I just pay the balance of the new tyres, which looks like its going to be 235/40, probably a $50 difference
and when he has stock again he will swap the rears for a more flush offset and width

[zero 1162]

Sounds like a perfect solution.

Your task is to now find what offset and width those wheels are available in, and have someone like @qube advise you on the best choice for your car.