17x8" ET25: Lightweight Track Wheels: APEX ARC-8 HERE NOW!

[Bishop]

lol I'm not gonna burn. It still looks good .

Did you notice the wheels and tires making the car feel a little sluggish or different from your other wheels? It may just be me, but it seems a little more sluggish than when I have the bottlecaps on. Not a big deal, It just means I need 24v sooner. You said it in the 17" thread, tires don't last forever lol, there's always room to improve. I don't think you're as low as me in the rear too so it looks like you have way more clearance. I still need to really scrape / roll my rears, then I think I'm gonna bring the whole car down a little more.

[Hodge]

Thanks NG!

Very informative...looks like way more room than I had measured for. I am way lower front and rear though.

My rear fenders are also rolled like that. That's just how they are stock.

[PaintPro21]

lol I'm not gonna burn. It still looks good .

Did you notice the wheels and tires making the car feel a little sluggish or different from your other wheels? It may just be me, but it seems a little more sluggish than when I have the bottlecaps on. Not a big deal, It just means I need 24v sooner. You said it in the 17" thread, tires don't last forever lol, there's always room to improve. I don't think you're as low as me in the rear too so it looks like you have way more clearance. I still need to really scrape / roll my rears, then I think I'm gonna bring the whole car down a little more.

If the tire has a larger overall diameter then it changed your gearing, and you'll accelerate a little slower. This is a totally worthwhile compromise for the amount of grip you get while in a turn though. 215's are shorter then what comes stock on the e30 m3. I don't know what stock is on the regular e30, but if it's the same then the 215 will have more aggressive gearing (again we are talking about a 1-2% change in diameter.

[Hodge]

If the tire has a larger overall diameter then it changed your gearing, and you'll accelerate a little slower. This is a totally worthwhile compromise for the amount of grip you get while in a turn though. 215's are shorter then what comes stock on the e30 m3. I don't know what stock is on the regular e30, but if it's the same then the 215 will have more aggressive gearing (again we are talking about a 1-2% change in diameter.

Most stock e30's size was 195/65/14...SHould be fairly close to 215/40/17

I rin 195/60/14 on my weaves, and wanted to stick as close to that size as possible. 205/40/17 is 3/10ths larger overall than 195/60/14.

[ngcreese]

Thanks NG!

Very informative...looks like way more room than I had measured for. I am way lower front and rear though.

My rear fenders are also rolled like that. That's just how they are stock.

I'm glad those pics helped out!

[Bishop]

If the tire has a larger overall diameter then it changed your gearing, and you'll accelerate a little slower. This is a totally worthwhile compromise for the amount of grip you get while in a turn though. 215's are shorter then what comes stock on the e30 m3. I don't know what stock is on the regular e30, but if it's the same then the 215 will have more aggressive gearing (again we are talking about a 1-2% change in diameter.

Thanks Eddy, I understand that, I might just be overly critical and think it's effecting the car more than it is just because they're so big, but I think the 325/40 is only like 1.8% over stock? I don't remember, I'd have to look.

Anyone have the tire conversion / calculator link handy?

[ngcreese]

lol I'm not gonna burn. It still looks good .

Did you notice the wheels and tires making the car feel a little sluggish or different from your other wheels? It may just be me, but it seems a little more sluggish than when I have the bottlecaps on. Not a big deal, It just means I need 24v sooner. You said it in the 17" thread, tires don't last forever lol, there's always room to improve. I don't think you're as low as me in the rear too so it looks like you have way more clearance. I still need to really scrape / roll my rears, then I think I'm gonna bring the whole car down a little more.

Bishop I went over to 1010tires.com to use their tire size calculator to pick my tires. What I noticed from their calculations was the following:

Compared to the 195/65/14 tire...
The circumference of the 215/40/17 is .887% less.
The circumference of the 235/40/17 is 1.748% more.

195s... 867.3 revs per mile.
215s... 875 revs per mile.
235s... 852 revs per mile.

I thought it was my imagination, but you'll get a bit more acceleration vs stock, with a 215 and a little less acceleration with the 235. The trade off is that 235s will give you better fuel economy and crazy freaky grippy cornering.

My car did feel a bit more spirited, but I thought it was just my imagination. None of this will really matter when you do your 24v swap.

[Bishop]

Yeah, I knew it was close to 1.8%. I'm not worried, cause I know my car corners like a go-kart now. And yeah.... I gotta figure out this whole 24v dilema..

[bunteh]

So I still have a few weeks before my wheels arrive, how are everyone else's faring?

also slightly cut as the wheels would have been $150 cheaper if i bought them today!

[Bishop]

That sucks bro. We had one little bit of weather and I put the caps back on, but it's been warm since so I swapped back. Rain last night so I think my days are numbered again... So far, I don't think mine are bent or anything (lotsa construction around here) and I still like em. Only downside? I'm lazy and haven't washed em really at all so they look a little dirty.

[ngcreese]

So I still have a few weeks before my wheels arrive, how are everyone else's faring?

also slightly cut as the wheels would have been $150 cheaper if i bought them today!

Your wheels are on the slow boat, ehh? Man, you'll be happy when they get there! I love these wheels! Very smooth, and so far strong and straight. No complaints after ~1000 miles of driving. I keep going outside to look at them. I'm keeping mine on through the winter, I think. Not much snow here to speak of.

[PaintPro21]

A few pics of the APEX M3 running the 5 lug ARC-8 wheels with Nitto NT-01's

[cmflossin]

brunette at the driver's door. dayum.

[PaintPro21]

brunette at the driver's door. dayum.

better pick of the brunette

[cmflossin]

gracias.