Wheel Offset Question

[ChrisV990]

I am planning on buying some new wheels for my M3 and I am confused about what offset I should be going for.

The front wheel size will be 17x8 and the rear will be 17x9.

What offset should I select for the front and rear to fit the best?

Also, is 9 inches to wide for the rear? Would it be better to just go 17x8 all around?

Just want to make sure I order wheels that fit!

[RRSperry]

IMO, I'd run a square setup. It's cheaper in the long run because you can rotate tires, and you will probably have a better selection. They also weigh less than big meats.

I've got 17x8 wheels and 245-40-17 tires, and have no issues even with 300+ rwhp...

[ChrisV990]

Thanks for the info! What offset should I choose if I order 17x8 wheels?

[CMG]

35

[xoutofstepx]

I am running 17x9 et40 square with 10mm spacers up front and my fenders rolled. Tires are 245/40 BFG Sport Comp-2's.

[ChrisV990]

I am running 17x9 et40 square with 10mm spacers up front and my fenders rolled. Tires are 245/40 BFG Sport Comp-2's.

I like your wheels! Why the spacers in the front?

- - - Updated - - -

BTW with the 17x8 wheels I am looking at it appears they only come in ET20 and ET38 offsets. I assume 38 would be the best choice for 17x8s all around?

[xoutofstepx]

Thanks! The front spacers were needed to clear the struts.

[Moron95M3]

Take a read:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1565280-**Official-what-wheels-tires-fit-my-E36-M3-Thread**&highlight=official+wheels+tires+fit

[ChrisV990]

Take a read:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1565280-**Official-what-wheels-tires-fit-my-E36-M3-Thread**&highlight=official+wheels+tires+fit

Thank you!!!

So it looks like I'll go with a 38mm offset and that should avoid any serious rubbing issues on a 17x8 setup.

[TheJordanWhitte]

I am running 17x9 et40 square with 10mm spacers up front and my fenders rolled. Tires are 245/40 BFG Sport Comp-2's.

Stock hight? I'm wanting to run 17x9's but I'm down about 1.2"

Thanks

[xoutofstepx]

Stock hight? I'm wanting to run 17x9's but I'm down about 1.2"

Thanks

Lowered on coilovers. You should be fine depending on offset.

[Arcsilvm33333]

what the tire size are you trying to achieve? Whats your current suspension set up? and what type of driving will you be doing?

In my opinion, there needs to be a balance between everything.. i.e. for regular street driving, going for anything wider than 235 or 245 square will be a waste of money, tire, and weight (gas). People with super wide tires usually do track (well at least id hope so) and they need that extra "10mm" to drive the car to the limit or even over the limit. So if you are doing mostly street driving, id probably get 235 square or even 225s you will be fine. Do you do a lot of track/ autox plus, this car is your DD, get a spare set of wheels and slab on some 245 star spec.

now on to the suspension, if you're running struts and springs, you will least likely have rubbing issue cause the car is not sitting that low. As long as the wheels dont poke out too much, the stance will look fine.

For our cars (e36 m3), i think you will be fine buying any wheels as long as the offset is between high 20s to high 30s... Here is a picture of my car as an example.

Suspension: KW V1.
Ride Height: front gaps are a little less than .5"
rear tires are slightly tucked.
Spacers: 12mm up front/ 5mm in rears
Wheels: BBS RK011 18x8.5 et.38 square set up
Tire Size: 225/40/18 square
Final offset: fronts 26 / rears 33

with this set up, I am confident that I can go with maybe 235 square for my next set of tires and maybe 10 -15mm spacer in the rears which will make the finial offset to fronts 21 / rears 13 - 18.


Hope the info helps,
cheers!


http://imageshack.us/a/img855/1980/7g4z.jpg

[RRSperry]

Good luck with 235-18 in the rear with an offset of 13...

[scooper]

I have a set of new arc 8s 17x8.5 in hyper silver if you're interested. Basically anything 17x 7.5-9 with ET of 35-45 will fit using spacers in front 12-15mm (for 17x9s) and running 225/45/17, 235/40/17, and 245/40/17. I am running square 17x8.5 et44 on 245/40/17s all around. Allows me to also rotate my wheels. Staggered wheels will give you more understeer.... if that is what you want.

[ChrisV990]

Basically the goal here is handling.

I like the look of 18s on the E36 but having had 18s in the past I personally feel like the car handled better on 17s (maybe it's just me?).

That being said this isn't a track car but the goal here is to have it handle good. I am running PSS9 coilovers, sway bars, and an x-brace.

I like the staggered idea but I feel like that would be more of a hassle since rotating tires won't be possible.

Lastly, the two different wheels I am looking at that I like the look of are the ESM-004 (I love the BBS LM) and the Apex ARC-8.

[jacobm3]

It seems everyone on this forum is extremely conservative when it comes to fitting wheels to e36s. I have 17x9 et22 with 10mm spacers in the front making final offset et12 and 17x10 et38 in the rear. I am NOT a stance kid and my fenders are just rolled not pulled at all. You guys need to stop underestimating what these cars can fit. I am only running -2 camber in the rear and -2.8 camber in front.

[RRSperry]

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. What size tires can you fit on those 17x10's?

[jacobm3]

245s. and the reason you should is because a 245mm tire has a greater contact patch to the road on a 10 inch wheel than on an 8.5 or 9 inch wheel. I will be moving to the correct size tire (255s) my next set. 255mm=10.039 inches. I'm stretched about a half inch with the 245s but I don't mind. Having the side wall of the tire preloaded gives excellent feed back and road feel. In fact the 2006 SCCA pro solo champion in STU ran a 245/40/17 on a 10 inch wheel. See here.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1691884

You simply get more tire on the ground when running a slightly wider wheel. This is exactly why Rolex series race cars run a good amount of stretch.
Here is a picture of a wheel/tire from a rolex series race car which is as stretched if not more stretched than what I'm currently running. Good day.
\http://i.imgur.com/WL2YBRr.jpg

[aeronaut]

Basically the goal here is handling.

I like the look of 18s on the E36 but having had 18s in the past I personally feel like the car handled better on 17s (maybe it's just me?).

That being said this isn't a track car but the goal here is to have it handle good. I am running PSS9 coilovers, sway bars, and an x-brace.

I like the staggered idea but I feel like that would be more of a hassle since rotating tires won't be possible.

Lastly, the two different wheels I am looking at that I like the look of are the ESM-004 (I love the BBS LM) and the Apex ARC-8.

You may not care, but those ESM's look like they weigh a solid 4lbs more/rim than then ARC's.