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Thread: New wheel / tire setup. Advice needed.

  1. #1
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    New wheel / tire setup. Advice needed.

    Hi all. I recently purchased a new set of wheels for the car and I’m looking for input on what is the best tire setup for mainly street use / spirited driving.

    I purchased a set of BBS 2 piece wheels 17x8.5 all around. I was planning on going with a square setup for tires 245/40 front and rear Michelin’s pilot sports.

    My local mechanic who deals only in BMW’s advises me to do a staggered setup instead and put 255/35 (if I remember correctly) for the rear.

    What’s the consensus on this? I do want the car to look good as well as perform.

    Any input is appreciated

  2. #2
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    What BBS 2 piece wheels did you buy? Will the offset allow the tire width you want? I recommend square 245/40/17 if the wheel offset allows it. You may need a spacer up front. No reason to do staggered unless you are doing it for the looks. These cars handle very predictably. You don’t need to create understeer.

  3. #3
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    An older set of BBS RR which were refurbished. Et13

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kngmin View Post
    An older set of BBS RR which were refurbished. Et13
    You will have issues with fitment, stock offset on e36 is in the 40s - wheels sit inboard more that way. With 8.5" all around, you may not need a spacer up front, but it will be a challenge to fit them. Your "standard" tire sizes go out the window too.

  5. #5
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    Yes, forget about 245 rears. Probably 225s is all you can fit in the rear. Those wheels look great but are not a good choice for performance on an E36.

  6. #6
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    Rears will require pulling, possibly even down to 205/215 with serious camber (i.e. "stance" fitment). https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.ph...8-5&offset2=13

    Fronts will probably require at least a roll. https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.ph...8-5&offset2=13

    These are not good performance wheels. 245/40-17 on 17x9 ET40-42 is a good fitment, reqs 12mm spacer up front. Can go 255/40 with some rolling out back.
    '97 M3/2/5 Lux, AW/Modena, ~225k, many mods and lots of grip
    Please lift when giving a point by

  7. #7
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    Well we started off good until you shared the offset. Bad wheel choice for a sports car. If you’re into stance trash and stretched 215 on an 8.5” wheel, proceed. Otherwise you need to buy new wheels that fit.

  8. #8
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    I’m going to measure the wheel tomorrow to confirm that the offset is 13. I already purchased the wheels so I’m stuck with them at the moment. There’s a few people I follow online that seem to have a similar setup and their car doesn’t look took too “stancy”. One in particular is running a set of BBS RF with the same offset I believe. I messaged him to see what setup he is running. I’ll keep you guys posted. Appreciate the help in the meantime.

  9. #9
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    Probably 225/40 and camber what you will be left with for options.

    - 98 m3, techno/anthrazit cloth, 124k and officially worthless - 89 m3, alpine/black 143k and officially old - 2000 323it, tiag/grey, 169k and officially boring

  10. #10
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    It really depends on the tyre brand. Something like a Nitto Neo Gen or Federal 595 is recommended by the manufacturer for up to 8.5" for as low as 215/40ZR17.

    You're going to want a low aspect with those wheel specs to give you as much clearance from the fender as possible. Definitely roll the rears. Stock Style 24s for example are 7.5/8.5 ET +41. That is a 28mm difference in the rears alone. If you have such wheels, consider how 30mm spacers in the rear and 55mm spacers in the front would fit to the fenders given your current setup and understand what changes in tyre, camber, and height you will require to make the wheels fit. For the rear it isn't so bad sounding if you have slightly smaller tyres and a roll, but the front is going to be a pretty big change from stock and will probably require something pretty small if your car is lowered at all.

    If you want to get some idea of what you are getting into, check out this site... For example, here is what some 215/40ZR17s look like on 8.5" wheels. Play around with different configurations. You can see that some tyres will fit better for the same specs because of how stiff the sidewalls are and whatnot. I do believe they say that Federals have stiffer sidewalls and it really does show in the examples here. You can see how they are not nice and rounded like some of the others. That is going to result in an overall poorer seal compared to others by however much of a margin that actually is.

    I am myself no expert in this and currently run stock spec'd LTWs, but this site has helped me in considerations of what is an acceptable combination if I ever do get a set of wider wheels (and man I wish they had wider LTWs... maybe one day a set of E31 Throwing Stars will come my way and I will be forever happy).

    EDIT: I should also add that here is a good resource to reference for OEM wheel specs if you need to know anything about them.
    Last edited by yurisuika; 12-31-2019 at 07:16 PM.

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