Staggered style 68 on an e36: will these offsets work?

[luckydawg]

These are the sport double spokes that came stock on the 328i e46.

Front: 7.5 x 17 41mm
Rear: 8.5 x 17 50mm

If no fitment issues, then was planning on wrapping them all in 225/45/17 Falkens ZE512.

PS: I searched on these specifics but no hits. Thanks

[Dawg90]

Yeah, they fit, I think the E36 offsets are 2 mm off the E46, and 225/45/17 is the stock diameter.

[Jim@tirerack]

The rear wheel is high but I am pretty sure it will fit. Why don't you want to stagger the tires if you are going to stagger the wheels. You could run the 225/45R17 front and 245/40R17 rear.

[luckydawg]

Thanks fellas. Hadn't thought about staggering the tires as well. Guess I was just looking at it from the stock point of view, as pointed out by Dawg but I'll look into the pricing.

[Dawg90]

Thanks fellas. Hadn't thought about staggering the tires as well. Guess I was just looking at it from the stock point of view, as pointed out by Dawg but I'll look into the pricing.

Stock is actually 245 in the rear like Jim suggested, I forgot you have staggered rims.

[luckydawg]

Stock is actually 245 in the rear like Jim suggested, I forgot you have staggered rims.
Hmm. They come with the old rubber which is 225/45/R17 on all 4.

Switching gears a little: This spring I'm gonna upgrade suspension and lower things a bit and I've pretty well decided on the Sachs Performance Suspension Kit. It looks to be a good fit of sport to comfort. Since as you say, 245/40R17 is stock in the rear, I still won't be rubbing will I? (37lbs of audio in the trunk).

[Dawg90]

Hmm. They come with the old rubber which is 225/45/R17 on all 4.

Switching gears a little: This spring I'm gonna upgrade suspension and lower things a bit and I've pretty well decided on the Sachs Performance Suspension Kit. It looks to be a good fit of sport to comfort. Since as you say, 245/40R17 is stock in the rear, I still won't be rubbing will I? (37lbs of audio in the trunk).

Ok, first if they are style M68, which is what's referred to as the double spoke, they came on 2001+ 330 sports, not a 328i. 328's came with the 7 spoke Style 45, which I believe are non-staggered.

Probably they are just not original to the 328 you got them off.

[luckydawg]

Ok, first if they are style M68, which is what's referred to as the double spoke, they came on 2001+ 330 sports, not a 328i. 328's came with the 7 spoke Style 45, which I believe are non-staggered.

Probably they are just not original to the 328 you got them off.
Actually, there was only a vague suggestion by the seller that they were the originals on someone's 328i who moved up to 18's. So to be sure, I ran the numbers off the back through REALOEM.COM and this popped up: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AM53&mospid=47723&btnr=36_0428&hg=36&fg=15

[captainkarl]

I am looking at getting the same. I think they should look pretty good on e36.

By the way did you polish the crap out of your engine luckydawg? and if so did you put some clearcoat on it or just leave bare metal.

[luckydawg]

I did polish all the aluminum because I hated that cosmoline crap. I did not use clear coat because I wasn't sure how it would react with the high heat and didn't want to find myself scrubbing that off as well. It maintains a high sheen but beware engine cleaners and degreasers once your done.

[captainkarl]

Did you take the parts off or did you use a dremel while it was all assembled? Also what head or attachment did you use? Looks great!

[luckydawg]

Did you take the parts off or did you use a dremel while it was all assembled? Also what head or attachment did you use? Looks great! Thanks, you got an eye for style. lol But seriously, I did do some disassembly, but not exactly for the purpose of polishing the motor. That's a little too retentive even for the e36 freako I am. Over time and as repairs were done, I'd polish up a part here or there, and occasionally hit it for a few hours when the g-friend put me in timeout, ha, ha.

Here's my recipe, tried and true for an M42 to eat off of:
-Lacquer remover for the really thick cosmoline. Saves allot of elbow grease.
-Find the softest brass or steel wire wheel attachment for a power drill you can. B & D makes all kinds and WalMart stocks em. Be careful here though, and take your time. You're only trying to get all the cosmo off and get a uniform, albeit dull and lightly scratched finish.
-Get 2 or 3 packages of steel wool, the ones that come in graduated coarseness and start with the roughest one. The finish in most areas, if you were careful enough to keep from scratching too deep, will smooth out fast. Keep on going down in coarseness of steel wool until the finish reaches the level you like.
-The Big Secret (not): finish it all off with "Mother's Metal Polish". That stuff is crazy aw some and goes forever. I mean really, it is great.

Tips: Keep a shop vac handy with the small attachment for tight places cause your gonna have steel wool dust, flakes, shavings everywhere, especially on magnetic sensors.
NEVER use the engine cleaner setting at the car wash ever again. Certain degreasers and chemicals will stain the aluminum finish like it has paint splattered on it. No buffing that out either.
Buy a can or two of black "PlastiDip" and give all the black, plastic parts, except hoses, a face lift with a single coat (remove these parts first, lol).
Good luck.

[captainkarl]

cool lookys purdy thanks!