E36 16" inch wheel width recommendation

[Eevo]

Hello,

I have decided to put an 16 inch oem BBS wheels on my e36 320i sedan. Now I have to decide which rim width I should pick and I am completely lost.

Widths available are 7, 7.5 inches and 8 inches. Can anyone please explain me the difference between these? Which one will work the best in terms of handling and safety on 16" wheels? Also which tire width and profile would be ideal?

I would be grateful for any information, thank you!

[Pelican Parts]

Hello - take a look at the link below. It's a great, helpful guide on wheel fitment and spacing/offsets. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Wheel Fitment & Spacing Guide

[Jim@tirerack]

Depending on the offset of the wheels I would go with a 16X7 or 7.5 with either a 205/55R16 or 225/50R16.

[Eevo]

Thanks! The offset I usually see on 16" BBS is 20 or 21.

[Jim@tirerack]

The offset for an E36 should be around 40mm. The 20mm is for a 5 Series

[TostitoBandito]

Since you're probably not going to be running wide tires, that offset might work, at least in front.. A 16x7.5 with a 225/50-16 should fit in front. I believe all E36's have the same wheel well dimensions, and my M3 has 17x9 ET42 wheels with tires which are basically 255's. That's a 30mm wider tire on a wider rim but the offset is only 22mm different and I also use a 12mm spacer on mine (which you won't need with the lower offset), so you should have plenty of fender clearance.

It might be tricky in the rear though. You generally want a high offset there on an E36 because the fenders aren't very wide. My math says that a 225/50-16 with a 20mm offset should have a bit less fender clearance than my setup. I run -2 degrees camber in back but haven't rolled the fenders or anything. It'll be very tight if it fits.

In any case, you should take measurements or test fit before you jump in if possible. Check out this tool for figuring out before/after clearance differences:

http://www.fitmywheels.com/

[Eevo]

Ok thanks for explanation! And what if I would go with 215x50r16 on 7,5, shouldn't I have more space between wheel and fender?

[TostitoBandito]

Yes, a few mm more, but it will still be fairly tight. You'll want to measure or test fit something similar (or something you can extrapolate from) before you buy anything. Measure fender clearances on your current wheels and tires and then do the math to figure out where the new wheels will sit. You can get tire width specs from tire rack, and then:

Divide tire tread width by two. This gives you the amount of tire sticking out beyond the wheel mounting surface on your brake rotor. Subtract your offset from this to get the adjusted total. Higher offset means less tire sticking out from under the car. Once you get this number you can mock it up with a straight edge or two Measure that distance straight out from where your wheel attaches and then use a string or another straight edge measured to half your actual tire height to see where that puts the wheel in relation to your fender. They also sell fancy tools that do this for you:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-wheelrit...ool/01201~wrt/

[Eevo]

Basically, my major consern was if the wheels won't be esthetically too buried inside the fenders with 7x16 inch rims. I am currently running 17x8,5 et38 i guess. 215/45r17 tires. Tires are a little bit streched but nothing terrible. Rims are visually sticking too far out for my taste though. I don't have clearance issues with this setup maybe thanks to the fact, the suspension is rock hard and not very adjustable also. This is one of the reasons I want to switch to 16"s, Czech roads are a mess! Also I think 16"s will improve a handling little bit. Here is a link to the photo of my car. Thanks! https://ibb.co/iDrGYF