Is it worth buying 15 inch wheels anymore?

[onesecond]

Finding tires for the 14inch basketweaves is quite difficult so I started looking to upgrade my wheels to 15s but it seems like that tire selection is going to die soon. Is it even worth it to spend the money on 15s or should I just go for 17's at this point (not really a fan of the size on closer to stock e30s)

[reelizmpro]

This is why I switched to 17's on all my E30's a long time ago. I found that 17" tires were more common and thus cheaper than 15" tires. Unfortunately, it's the same with 16". I had 16" BBS RZ from the E28 M5 on my M3 but got rid of them mainly because the correct tires (225/45/16) were only made by 1 or 2 manufacturers and very expensive. 17's look better too IMO, especially if your car has any ground effects/aero kit.

[varg]

It's a bad spot to be in, since 17s just look too big on E30s imo. The small aspect ratio necessary with such a large wheel also hurts ride quality with no real benefit. 16s are still a good bet if you can live with having to put good tires on your car, ZIIIs just became available in 225/45/16. Who knows what availability will look like in 5 years.

This is why I switched to 17's on all my E30's a long time ago. I found that 17" tires were more common and thus cheaper than 15" tires. Unfortunately, it's the same with 16". I had 16" BBS RZ from the E28 M5 on my M3 but got rid of them mainly because the correct tires (225/45/16) were only made by 1 or 2 manufacturers and very expensive. 17's look better too IMO, especially if your car has any ground effects/aero kit.

There was a year when I had to get R1Rs for my E30 because they were basically all I could get other than R888s, that wasn't ideal but they are still overall a good tire and have served me well even in rain and cold weather. Odd to see an M3 owner remark that the 200TW class is too expensive or otherwise unsatisfactory when I've been putting nothing but them on my relatively cheap garden variety E30 for years now.

[mtech325]

The stock rolling diameter 15s are definitely dwindling in terms of options. For normal around town driving, seems like the Yokohama and Kumho 205/55r15 tires have stuck around in one form or another over the years. The 200tw tires though for 15 inch you may have to downsize to the Miata size of 205/50 or 225/45 to have more choices. Some of the undersized tires do look noticeably smaller on the e30, but other ones like the Falken 615's run a bit wide and don't look too out of place (and still reasonably affordable).

[Victell]

I really miss 225/50r15s. My first e30 looked perfect with that size.

[onesecond]

There was a year when I had to get R1Rs for my E30 because they were basically all I could get other than R888s, that wasn't ideal but they are still overall a good tire and have served me well even in rain and cold weather. Odd to see an M3 owner remark that the 200TW class is too expensive or otherwise unsatisfactory when I've been putting nothing but them on my relatively cheap garden variety E30 for years now.

Have you run the 200tw tyres in below freezing? I'll typically have the car out until the end of November up here in Ottawa but that means it's going be in some frigid temperatures

Guess I'm just trying to figure out if I should just get some Maxxis MA-202s for now on the basketweaves and see how the tire selection is in a year or two

[varg]

Have you run the 200tw tyres in below freezing? I'll typically have the car out until the end of November up here in Ottawa but that means it's going be in some frigid temperatures

Guess I'm just trying to figure out if I should just get some Maxxis MA-202s for now on the basketweaves and see how the tire selection is in a year or two

Not as cold as you will experience. When I was in NC I drove around on the R1Rs with temperatures in the 20s, it was particularly cold on my drive down the cherohala skyway which yielded that nice photo of my car backed by snow-covered trees. I was nervous about this but it didn't cause me any issues in the end, I certainly wasn't skating around on them, though under boost the traction was noticeably worse. These tire compounds do have a minimum temperature where the manufacturer urges you not to drive. That's a material temperature not an air temperature, so if you pull the car out of the garage and the tires and road are above ambient, you don't really have to worry about it. Park it outdoors though and those tires could easily get too cold and crack if you move the car. They're called summer tires for a reason, in the end. And you probably can't safely use them in Nov in Canada. If this stupid forum software showed people's locations like all forums always used to, it would be easier to give input on stuff like tires. I wouldn't have even mentioned summer tires if it said "Canada" under your username, I remembered from the past that reelizmpro is in California though which is why I don't see why the tire availability didn't work for him.

[digger]

Michelin ps4 205/50/16 are a good all-round street tyre
I’ve been contemplating changing to 215/40/17 or 205/45/17 there are some better options still

[packratbimmer]

If you have the torque to overcome the greater rotational mass, bigger rims and tires make sense. I would not put 16" or 17" rims on a 318i for sure! Yes, it is getting grim finding 15" unless you like Kumho 225/50r15

[Northern]

I'm going with "Yes" because it's still better selection than 16s. Maybe 205s are better, but 225/45R16 is harder to find than 225/55R15.

That said, I give up and I'm running miata diameter stuff on the 15s.

[e30davie]

205 55 R15 is still available in Australia in Bridgestone RE003 - I've been running them for a few years and they have been great. I think it was a VW golf oem size which is why its still around. but theres not much else in 205 55 r15 thats for sure.

I think the bigger wheels suit the later model plastic bumper cars but i dunno i dont think they suit the early chrome bumper cars, especially without the mtech kit.

[Digitalwave]

15" has more selection than 14" and 16". 17" has more selection than all of them, but it's still fairly limited if you stay around 24" diameter.