Huge Fender Gap on My E30 Vert

[papag1234]

I have a 92 318i vert. I've been restoring a set of 15" bbs rs's for awhile and finally got around to putting them on today and the enormous gap between the tires and fender makes the car look like a lowrider up on hydraulics with tiny wheels.

I saw another e30 with the same size tires here

Tires are 225/45r15 front and 245/40r15 rear. The larger gap is in the front and it's nearly 5"!

How can I best close this gap? My budget for complete suspension setup is ~$3500 (if cheaper then even better) and ideally I'd like to have the same ride height as the other member. I've been searching endlessly and don't know the best way to approach lowering the car.

[nando]

224/45 is slightly too small for the OD, so that's part of your problem. But yeah, old cars had tons of wheel gap. A set of H&R sports and some decent shocks would do the trick and cost way less than $3500.

There are also drop hats from the E90 that fit right in if you need a little more drop than what a standard set of springs will give you.

[roguetoaster]

The real issue is that imperial measuring tape, get a metric one and your issues will be resolved.

[e30davie]

225 45 R15 is apparently close to 1" over all diameter smaller than 205 55 r15 - the oem size.
245 40 R15 is apparnely slightly smaller again than 205 55 R15.

I have 205 55 r15 and my tyre is almost jammed up against the front spring seat. yours is miles away.

So yes, my opinion is that you should be using a metric measurement stick too, and your tyres are too small. One of the most popular 15" tyre seems to be 205 50 R15. but even that is a bit on the small side for a daily driven e30. its what the spec e30 guys use though - but those are race cars.

I personally think to "close the gap" you will end up being far too low for either ground clearance or suspension working in its optimal range.

[nando]

The real issue is that imperial measuring tape, get a metric one and your issues will be resolved.

you're kidding right?

[nando]

225 45 R15 is apparently close to 1" over all diameter smaller than 205 55 r15 - the oem size.
245 40 R15 is apparnely slightly smaller again than 205 55 R15.

I have 205 55 r15 and my tyre is almost jammed up against the front spring seat. yours is miles away.

So yes, my opinion is that you should be using a metric measurement stick too, and your tyres are too small. One of the most popular 15" tyre seems to be 205 50 R15. but even that is a bit on the small side for a daily driven e30. its what the spec e30 guys use though - but those are race cars.

I personally think to "close the gap" you will end up being far too low for either ground clearance or suspension working in its optimal range.

It's not really his fault though. There are basically no tires left in the OE size that are not shitty Chinese all-seasons. Heck, last year I got some discontinued Kumho summer tires in 205/55R15 because it was the only thing that was decent, available, and actually fit correctly. Not sure what I'll do when those are dead - back to DOT-R tires I guess. Good thing I don't put that many miles on it!

[papag1234]

Thanks for all the responses everyone -

nando yes I've been searching for different tire sizes like crazy recently and haven't been able to find many options! I used the thread I linked to as inspiration, but admittingly, I should have done more research before pulling the trigger.

roguetoaster ah yes! I see where my biggest mistake was. I will make that purchase. Thank you :)

e30davie Yeah, my tires are definitely too small. I'm shopping around for a better fit today. Once I dropped down the car off of the jack and saw what the wheel looked like in the fender- I knew I messed up and that I'd have to drop the car way too low to drive comfortably and before I do anything else I should seek some advice on here.


The wheels are 15x8 and 15x8.5 btw and I really want to stay as wide as possible because my plan is to swap the motor eventually (s62). I did a LS1/T56 swap about 6 years ago with the sikky kit (wow was that car fun and I've missed it dearly), did the drivetrain first and was going to do the body/cosmetics later, but never got around to it before I sold the car and moved. This time I'd like to keep the swap within the bmw family, but start with the cosmetics first as I've always put performance first in the past - I'd like to try a new approach and make a cool beach cruiser before I take the plunge.

Anyway, I found Kumho Ecsta AST 225/50R15's on tirerack for the front (24mm taller or .9in), but can't find anything from Kumho or any other brand that would work on the back. It seems like 245/45r15 would give me the same sidewall increase as the front, but I can't find any tire in that size... nor can I find a 235 tire. It seems like my options are to keep the hankooks on the rear and run kumhos on the front or run a square tire setup on a staggered wheel :/

[nando]

If you don't have like 400+ HP, I'd just run the 225s on all 4 corners. I've done lots of crazy wide tires and honestly I think the E30 drives better with a 205 or 225 max.

[papag1234]

Right now I have 134hp. I suppose I'll live like this until I actually need it. Thanks for the help making the decision Nando.

[e30davie]

It's not really his fault though. There are basically no tires left in the OE size that are not shitty Chinese all-seasons. Heck, last year I got some discontinued Kumho summer tires in 205/55R15 because it was the only thing that was decent, available, and actually fit correctly. Not sure what I'll do when those are dead - back to DOT-R tires I guess. Good thing I don't put that many miles on it!

Yep, agree there. I had the same issue in Australia here. hardly anything left. I ended up with Bridgestone RE003 which to be honest are very good as a street tyre, just a little on the expensive side for what they are ($180aud each i think it was).I think 205 55 R15 is a VW golf size here in aus, which is why the the RE003 exists in that size. RS4 in 205 50 r15 are cheaper....I too am not sure what i am going to do once these are dead. Admittedly i don't drive the car much, so its going to be a while before replacement is required.