The best rim and tyre sizes for a standard e36

[hammoudeh]

hi all,

I got a navy blue e36 (model 1998), I was wondering which rim and tyre sizes are best for it. I dont want to lower it as road conditions in my country would casue problems with a lowered car. I am seeking advice which sizes are best for it with the pros and cons of each. I know that 15' are the best in terms of performance but they would not look as good as as 17' ... please advise and I would appreciate images with different sizes applied

Thanks

[BIMMER3]

15"- cheap, OEM size for most E36's, soft comfy ride, NOT the best "performance"
16"- look better, 225/50 16 works well on these cars, better grip and still compliant
17"- look awesome, several choices in tire size work on these cars 225/45 17, 235/40 17, even 245/40 17 fit

Try to find some used 17 x 7.5" wheels from an M3 and mount 225/45 17's all-around.

[meteoiu]

I dont want to lower it as road conditions in my country would casue problems with a lowered car. I am seeking advice which sizes are best for it with the pros and cons of each.
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[themadhatter]

15's would give you more sidewall to absorb the rough ride of the roads you're dealing with along with giving you that much more protection against bending a wheel.

17's are the best in terms of performance if you stick with a light weight wheel but reduce your sidewall by 1" between the wheel and road. You'll have less sidewall flex but less sidewall also means more risk of damage to the wheel.

[quik96M3]

If you're not lowering, the fender gap on a non-M E36 becomes more obvious as you increase wheel size, to the point where 17's look strange (make the car look "jacked up") on stock suspension. I'd lean toward 15's (or 16's) over 17's for this reason, as well as cost. If suspension is lowered and roads are in decent shape, no question - 17's look and perform best.

[hammoudeh]

Thank you guys for the advice, i am now better informed but I dont understand how 17" rims are the best in performance as I already think that bigger rims and tires would cause the engine to work harder to rotate them. would u please explain? ... and I still would appreciate photos for "not lowered" e36 cars with combinations of rims and tire sizes

Cheers

[themadhatter]

Thank you guys for the advice, i am now better informed but I dont understand how 17" rims are the best in performance as I already think that bigger rims and tires would cause the engine to work harder to rotate them. would u please explain? ... and I still would appreciate photos for "not lowered" e36 cars with combinations of rims and tire sizes

Cheers
you can purchase very light 17" wheels (BBS RK, Kosei K1 etc), pair this with good performance tires and you'll have low rotating mass along with short sidewalls.

if the roads are anything like those in Lebanon, maybe you'll want to stick with 16s.

[quik96M3]

Thank you guys for the advice, i am now better informed but I dont understand how 17" rims are the best in performance as I already think that bigger rims and tires would cause the engine to work harder to rotate them. would u please explain? ... and I still would appreciate photos for "not lowered" e36 cars with combinations of rims and tire sizes

Cheers

No matter which rim diameter you choose - 15", 16", or 17", the tire outside diameter and area of the tire contact patch are the same (assuming tire pressures are the same), so the engine sees the same overall wheel & tire geometry independent of wheel diameter. In other words, the 17" wheels would use a tire with lower sidewall than 16" wheels, and 16" would use lower sidewall tire than 15", resulting in the same outside diameter of the tire. And the additional weight of a larger wheel is at least partially made up by the lesser weight of a lower profile tire, assuming the lower profile tire isn't significantly wider. Of course, a narrow 15 x 7" alloy wheel with 205/60/15 tire is generally going to weigh a few pounds less than a 17 x 8" wheel with 235/40/17 tire, mostly because the 15" set-up is much narrower than the 17" set-up, but the few pounds weight difference is negligible with respect to acceleration, making the engine work harder, etc., at least for normal street driving. If the car was going on track, a few pounds difference in rotating mass becomes a little more significant.