Anyone running 18" wheels?

[sweetride01]

I know you don't want opinions like this, but what happened to our friend the 17"???

And I don't want to kill the thread, but does anyone know the maximum width wheel you can put on a standard E30 w/o adding fender flares?
I've always wondered.

[BMW BMXER]

This guy on maxbimmer has 19s too. 19s look funny.

24's on a crx? what what?

[808BMW]

its not impossible to run 18's on an E30 because I have seen 24" wheels on a CRX an it wasnt a monster truck either but it didnt have any fenderwells and was missing a lot of metal to make them fit. I used to have picts of it but I dont anymore.

You can run 18's without increasing the overall diameter of the wheel past stock.

215/35 - 18 is actually a TINY bit smaller than stock.

Dan pinder has 19's.

[Digitalwave]

its not impossible to run 18's on an E30 because I have seen 24" wheels on a CRX an it wasnt a monster truck either but it didnt have any fenderwells and was missing a lot of metal to make them fit. I used to have picts of it but I dont anymore.

You can run 18's without increasing the overall diameter of the wheel past stock.

[nando]

there are legitimate reasons to using an 18" wheel, like if you wanted a BBK (not going to work with bottlecaps). also, if you are able to run a wider tire that helps with both cornering and braking.

[E30 Racer]

...meh.

Too big imo.

How else do you propose to get 285s on an E30?

[DEV0 E30]

...meh.

Too big imo.

[nefarious7907]

its not impossible to run 18's on an E30 because I have seen 24" wheels on a CRX an it wasnt a monster truck either but it didnt have any fenderwells and was missing a lot of metal to make them fit. I used to have picts of it but I dont anymore.

[E30 Racer]

forget looking bad, they will handle bad.

We'll see about that...

[Beej '86 325es]

[quote="C ///M"]

Less sidewall = less sidewall flex
Less sidewall = less sidewall rollover
Larger diameter and mass with less sidewall = Enhanced turn-in

That about sums it up. Although they're not the most practical wheel if you live with rough roads, they're really fun to drive on if you're on a nice patch of pavement. I've run 16s as well, and while the 18s are more fun, the 16s are more practical.

[Matto]

edited

The interweb is full of stupid people

[C ///M]

.

Agreed, although i would be just as happy if people that arent answering a question that was specifically asked would just leave the comments out. I stated right in the first post that i wasnt looking for peoples negative opinions, just pictures. Some people cant help themselves..


Just so there is no confusion, that wasnt directed at you C ///M

I know you said you're not directing your comment at me, but you're right anyway. I should have just ignored it. I just have a problem with the spread of mis-information and there is so much of it that it's hard to ignore ...SO, in reply to your post.. I have some pics of 18s on e30s but I don't really have any hosted.

Go to MaXbimmer, quite a few members have 18s there. Search for Windsor318is, E30M50, and Jeremy. They all have 18s. I'm sure you've also seen pick's of Randy's E30 with 18x8 Compomotives. (his board name is EMPOWERD if you want to search from some of his pics.). Sorry I dont have any pics, you'll have a much easier time just searching bimmerforums, dtm, and max.

[roadrage]

.

Agreed, although i would be just as happy if people that arent answering a question that was specifically asked would just leave the comments out. I stated right in the first post that i wasnt looking for peoples negative opinions, just pictures. Some people cant help themselves..


Just so there is no confusion, that wasnt directed at you C ///M

[C ///M]

Oh P.S.

I didn't hear a dumbass say 18in rims handle like crap. I heard it explained rather well that 18in rims are really heavy and give you less sidewall to work with. So you end up with a lot of unsprung weight and no forgiveness from your tires. I went from stock bottlecaps to a set of 16in rims and there was a very noticable difference in how the car handled, stearing and acceleration was slugish.

Less sidewall = less sidewall flex
Less sidewall = less sidewall rollover
Larger diameter and mass with less sidewall = Enhanced turn-in

Either you have no idea what you're talking about, or you simply don't know what to feel, or something else is wrong with your car. What suspension are you on and what are your camber/caster/toe measurements? Also, what wheels are you using and is that model overly heavy?

So wait... tell me again about your experiences driving on 18s?

Now, there is a lot that goes into handling and wheels isn't a small category. Wheels can hurt your performance more than helping depending on size, weight, tire used, and the rest of your car's susp. and engine setup. The problem here is, that you really have no place in replying to this thread, as you have no experience, and don't seem to know much about the subject at all. Your initial post of "forget looking bad, they will handle bad" belongs in the category of utterly useless and uninformative posts.

Please provide some background or explanation.

By the way, stEEring is spelled with two letter "e" 's. You can't even spell steering, yet you know what to feel for? (sluggish is also spelled with two g's, but whatever.) Your "sluggish" description really doesn't fit. I believe you are too focused on the acceleration aspect of heavier wheels. If your "steering" feels sluggish, I suggest you check your powersteering components and/or fluid.

EDIT: For all the good info on this forum, the amount of mis-info still spread by people unwilling to realize that they don't know what they're talking about really brings this forum down. I don't know how often I plead with members to atleast think before they post.

[Matto]

forget looking bad, they will handle bad.

It would be nice if people actually had a fucking clue about what they were talking about. They hear one dumbass say something and immediately it must be true. It's great how no one actually has any personal experience. All those DTM E30 M3s with 18s fitted must have just handled like shit.

Oh P.S.

I didn't hear a dumbass say 18in rims handle like crap. I heard it explained rather well that 18in rims are really heavy and give you less sidewall to work with. So you end up with a lot of unsprung weight and no forgiveness from your tires. I went from stock bottlecaps to a set of 16in rims and there was a very noticable difference in how the car handled, stearing and acceleration was slugish.