E36 M3 Max wheel/tire width with stock fenders

[EOSphoto]

What is the widest wheel/tire combo that will fit on an E36 M3 coupe without cutting the fender and using an over fender. I've rolled my fenders pretty aggressively to the point where I've flared them out a bit and changed the shape slightly. Can I stuff a 255/40/17 or a 275 tire in there or do I need to go with the Hardmotorsport over fender to run a 275?

What offset wheel is ideal to run the most tire? My car is lowered a good amount on some Moton motorsport coilovers and I have -3.3 camber in the front -2.5 in the rear.

[HaLo]

I stuffed 255's just by rolling the fenders on a 17x9 rim.

Dunno about 275's...

[TXV007]

Are you going to be running sticky tires on a track? I have 255 Toyo 888 on 17x9 on my car but had to beat the crap out of the inner fender, roll the lip...because the sticky tires and low spring rates (400/500) were causing the car to roll over so much. 245 fits without an issue.

[Joshh]

Kosie K1 40mm offset with a 245 Kumho V710 fit with a bit of room. My car is not an M3 however. 255 is the widest I would think would fit.

[Crustashio]

255/40/17s on 17x9 fit no problem with a roll with your camber settings. My setup is ~-3.5 front and -2 rear with 12.5" ride height both ends. I tested the rear under full compression with no spring and had room left to the fender lip on a set of yokohama A032r (ancient rcomp) mounted on dforce LTWs.

Anything bigger and you will have to start cutting or making compromises. There is a really good post by terry fair (vorshlag) about what they went through on an e36 M3 to fit various different sizes up to 315, I just can't seem to find it in search. I came across it when looking for info or rolling e36 rear fenders.

[hide1]

265's fit on 18x9.5 with a roll. A lot of the track guys run them..

[ALong]

A 255/40 or a 245/40, depends on the tire manufacture. A lot of DOT R 245/40-17 tires are actually wider than 255...

[EOSphoto]

Thanks using a 18x9 now with 245/40/18, may try a 255 or 265 Hoosier. What offset should the wheels be for maximum tire clearance? I currently have a pretty thick spacer and I think the wheel is 45 offset.

Do you guys completely remove the fender liners? If so how do you keep the brake ducts and undertrays in since they all tie together?

[M Dizzle]

scott blair (joenationwide on the forum) was able to squeeze 275s under his stock pulled fenders (not crazy ugly pulled either) but I think he had to raise his car height. I personally can't imagine fitting anything larger than a 255 under my fenders without it looking horribly pulled.

[rob22sf]

A 255/40 or a 245/40, depends on the tire manufacture. A lot of DOT R 245/40-17 tires are actually wider than 255...

+1

[EOSphoto]

My 245's don't seem to rub except on the fender liners at full lock.

Do you 255 guys remove the fender liners or just let them rub on the tire at lock?

[Crustashio]

Just let it rub.

[jeremy5000]

People have recently been running the 265 setup on 18x9.5s and 18x10s a lot recently, but there was someone on here with 275s on 17x10 SSRs a few years back I believe.

[EOSphoto]

When my 245 Rivals are dead I'm going to try 265 on 18X9.5. No rubbing issues at autocross this weekend. The fenders liners stayed intact.

[BeeHemDoubleU]

What do you guys think about Toyo Proxes RR 255/40 on 17x8.5" Kosei K1's for an e36 M3 strictly track car? I've been trying to find some well priced 17x9 but it's a hard to find used wheels in that size. I find plenty of 17x8.5" wheels but i'm hesitant to run 255 tires on them. Is there a big difference between running 255's on 8.5" vs 9" rims?

[badmonkey]

What do you guys think about Toyo Proxes RR 255/40 on 17x8.5" Kosei K1's for an e36 M3 strictly track car? I've been trying to find some well priced 17x9 but it's a hard to find used wheels in that size. I find plenty of 17x8.5" wheels but i'm hesitant to run 255 tires on them. Is there a big difference between running 255's on 8.5" vs 9" rims?

255/40 on 17x8.5” Kosei is a proven combo. Probably need a little fender roll, easy fitment.

Apexraceparts has perfect 17x9 for the e36, reasonably priced.

[NotoriousJJE]

245 Hoosiers fit with a 17" wheel. Those tires are 10.3" wide according to Hoosier. So closer to 265 street tire.
I can't see anything much wider than that fitting under stock fenders after a solid roll/ little pull...

[Fair]

245 Hoosiers fit with a 17" wheel. Those tires are 10.3" wide according to Hoosier. So closer to 265 street tire.
I can't see anything much wider than that fitting under stock fenders after a solid roll/ little pull...

Yea the 245/40/17 Hoosier R7/A7 is fairly wide at 10.3" section width, 9.7" tread width. That is going to be pushing the limits of an E36 fender...



We picked this size because it is the widest "245" that Hoosier makes (compared to their 16" and 18" 245mm tire, the 17" version is a 1/2" wider).



We tend to look at the manufacturer's recommended wheel width range for a given tire and go to the widest wheel shown, or even a little bit more. Hoosier states that an 8-9.5" wide wheel is optimal for this 245/40/17 R7. But another 1/2" of width is even better! But fitting that on an E46 is gonna take some HAMMER TIME.



The E46 has a bit more fender room than the E36 and we still had to flatten the front and rear lips to clear this tire at full compression, when stretched out onto the 10" wide wheel.



Eventually we flared this E46 Coupe (HARD Motorsport flares) just to keep the rubbing under control...

[NotoriousJJE]

Yea the 245/40/17 Hoosier R7/A7 is fairly wide at 10.3" section width, 9.7" tread width. That is going to be pushing the limits of an E36 fender...

Eventually we flared this E46 Coupe (HARD Motorsport flares) just to keep the rubbing under control...

Confirmed it fits on an E36. I have run that setup for the better part of a year now. Takes a roll and some massaging but it fits. THis is on an ET45 wheel with a 15mm spacer because it is close to the strut. The problem is the tire deflection on my skinny ass wheels I have to run.

[DocWyte]

I fit the 245 R7 on Kosei K1 17x8.5 ET41 wheels. 15mm spacer up front to clear the struts, rolled rear fenders. I do get a little rubbing on the inner front fender on the rear with them...

[golgo13]

I'm on 255/40/17 Federal RS-Rs that run 265
17x9 +42 APEX ARC-8s
12mm spacer up front
Fenders are rolled and the liners have been cut.
I was getting some rubbing on the muffler and the front frame rails but it's nothing I'm worried about. Doesn't impact the performance of the car at all.

Next tires will be Hankook TDs which have stiffer sidewalls.

[Franky goes]

I have a sedan and it has less room in the back then the coupe.
I'm on coilovers at approximately 5'' ride height. 2.5 to 4 degrees of camber. 20mm spacers in front nothing in the back.
Wheels are 17x9 with 42mm offset.
BFG R1 245/40R17 tires.
Good luck.

[matthugie]

Bumping this up. The class I run allows fenders to have the OE lines exaggerated, but no material can be removed or added and the inner lips can't be unfolded and rolled outwards. The goal is to run 255 or the class limit 265 Yokohama A052's, ideally on 10's or 10.5's. I am aware that 255's will fit on a 9 or 9.5 (I have actually tried the 255 on a 9 and it sucked), but the A052 REALLY likes wider wheels and I'm looking to explore what is possible. There are posts saying people are running certain wheel setups that meet that criteria, but without offsets and/or specifics it doesn't really tell anyone more than that it might be doable and I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel (pun intended).

So, does anyone have specifics? The car is track only and already beat to hell so I don't really care how the fenders look, and it is on MCS 2WNR with adjustable rear control arms and camber plates so alignment has room for adjustment. TIA.

[Pat533i]

I wish they made 265/35/17s. They would work well on the apex 9.5. Or if you could find a higher offset 10inch. The 17x10 et25 won’t work without flares. Best bet is for the 255’s with the 9.5.

Consensus is that the ao52 is the fastest, but it is not a very stiff tire and feels vague. So that may have been why it sucked for you? Maybe by the time your season ramps up the new re71rs’s will be available.

[matthugie]

I wish they made 265/35/17s. They would work well on the apex 9.5. Or if you could find a higher offset 10inch. The 17x10 et25 won’t work without flares. Best bet is for the 255’s with the 9.5.

Consensus is that the ao52 is the fastest, but it is not a very stiff tire and feels vague. So that may have been why it sucked for you? Maybe by the time your season ramps up the new re71rs’s will be available.

Thanks Pat. The vague feeling with not enough wheel width to support it is exactly why they sucked. I went down to a 245 on a 9 and they had much better feel and were faster. The 255 on a 9.5 is likely where I'll end up, but I'd really like to make 10's work if possible.