16x8 "style 5?" rims. Redrill or adapters?

[8380 Labs]

just gonna leave this here...

a good explanation of why you should be buying these adapters:

OEM 5-lug style 5's are the most popular example of a wide range of stock BMW (and other manufacturers') wheels that people like to run on 4-lug e30s.

as i see it, there are several factors that must be taken into account when considering a modification like running 5-lug wheels on a 4-lug car:

1) what are the available options?

- full 5-lug suspension swap, redrill or adapters

2) are you planning on driving the car on the track or the street?

- i would not recommend adapters or a redrill for track applications

3) what is your budget?

- if we're talking about running a set of wheels for purely aesthetic purposes on a street car, only two of these options make sense from a budget/effort standpoint, and that would be a redrill or adapters.

4) which option will fit the best?

- let's say you were hell bent on a 5-lug swap. unless you're planning on purchasing a $1,500+ e30 m3 setup, a hacked together e36/z3/whatever setup is going to totally bugger the geometry (especially the front castor) those german engineers worked so hard to perfect. an e36/etc 5-lug swap also widens the track significantly, so your 5-lug wheels now bolt up directly, but fit the same way as they would with $400 adapters - except you spent way more money and effort to get there. also, if you want to change wheels it's much harder to reverse a 5-lug swap.

- fill and drill will allow you to retain the stock offsets, but you'll most likely end up needing to buy spacers to get the wheels to sit properly in the fenders - there's another $150+ on top of the $300+ you spent on the redrill...if you can find a place who will touch that project.

- we've sold quite a few sets of 18mm 4x100 > 5x120 adapters to e30 guys running style 5s and other 5-lug wheels - there are a bunch of pics and reviews in this thread...people are realizing the degree to which this 4-to-5-lug design has opened up their wheel options.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3060726&postcount=98

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3084200&postcount=124

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3171907&postcount=174

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3173353&postcount=178

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=3190857&postcount=185

5) which option is the safest?

- if you've ever seen a 4x100 redrilled style 5 wheel, you'll know that to do that they must machine into the centerbore of the wheels. i personally wouldn't want to run those on my car, and it's the same reason many machinists will refuse to do the work. i know there are people out there who have run redrilled wheels safely, but if there's a price-competitive option that's more readily available and less of a safety gamble, i'd go that route, personally.

- a considerable amount of time was put into the research and development of this product line, and the result is a 4-to-5 lug adapter design that is revolutionary. i've been using adapters in some form or another for about 8 years now, and these are the best i've ever seen.

- from the modular hubcentric rings, to the use of studs (which makes installs much easier) and the design of the kidney-shaped adapter plate, which means no moving parts (compared to all other 4-to-5-lug adapter designs) - these are by far the best designed/built and safest adapters on the market, and the best choice if you want to quickly/easily/cheaply/safely run 5-lug wheels on your 4-lug car.

let me know if you have any questions, thanks.

[jaywood]

Wow! I like the adapter'd style 5's....

[tk-421]

style 5s with 18mm adapters & 205/45s.

style 5s with 18mm adapters, 205/45s and camber plates.

the second link is mine and they're actually 20mm. the pics have bc coilovers freshly mounted and 205/45's and had rubbing issues but now i'm on 205/40 nexen n3000's and those problems are gone. there's also less rake.

[quillbro]

205/45 16 Falken

You roll the fenders at all?
Are you on 18mm all around?

looks good.

Thanks, -Evan

[jizo]

Lookin very good! What size rubber are you running?

205/45 16 Falken

[PNWDan]

Not the same thing, 18mm is the smaller adapter available, you run 10mm up front which is not an option with adapters.

Shaving metal would increase the offset. Hence ET23 with 18mm adapters would equate to a +5 offset which as mentioned before leaves little room for tire/camber options. Shaving a few mm of metal would bump that up to +8 to +10, which is much more manageable.

I see what your saying however I doubt you can remove more than 2-3mm without messing up the integrity of the wheel.

Most are running the 18mm adapters with zero issue

[cardnation]

running adapters from 8380 labs....I love the way they feel and mount.

Lookin very good! What size rubber are you running?

[jizo]

running adapters from 8380 labs....I love the way they feel and mount.

[mbonanni]

One of you is taking about a fill n drill with spacers, the other is talking about adapters.

I talked to someone about shaving metal off the inside hub, and I was told that it decreases the strength greatly with every mm, and if it come down to that I should not be tunning the wheels.

I say you fill n drill. Best option period. If you want to run adapters. Go ahead, just pull/roll your fenders for a little more tire options.

[cardnation]

You already have to run a spacer to clear the calipers. Removing material will do nothing but require more spacer. At et23 these fit well with adapters. I run my filled and drilled 17's with 10mm up front and 20mm in the rear. They are et20 originally

Not the same thing, 18mm is the smaller adapter available, you run 10mm up front which is not an option with adapters.

Shaving metal would increase the offset. Hence ET23 with 18mm adapters would equate to a +5 offset which as mentioned before leaves little room for tire/camber options. Shaving a few mm of metal would bump that up to +8 to +10, which is much more manageable.

[PNWDan]

I had a wild idea here so bare with me.

It seems like we are talking about a ~3mm difference in offset being the issue when running 18mm adapters.

Has anyone thought about shaving a couple mm off the inside hub, increasing the offset so say 26mm or 28mm?

There is A TON of metal in there.

Thoughts?

You already have to run a spacer to clear the calipers. Removing material will do nothing but require more spacer. At et23 these fit well with adapters. I run my filled and drilled 17's with 10mm up front and 20mm in the rear. They are et20 originally

[cardnation]

I had a wild idea here so bare with me.

It seems like we are talking about a ~3mm difference in offset being the issue when running 18mm adapters.

Has anyone thought about shaving a couple mm off the inside hub, increasing the offset so say 26mm or 28mm?

There is A TON of metal in there.

Thoughts?

[cardnation]

Everyone talks about the potential issues with a fill and drill but has anyone actually had an issue? I run filled and drilled style 5s and though I dont abuse my car....I have certainly gone on spirited driving runs and have never had an issue. Can anyone share examples of style 5 fails?

What I think most forget is that these wheels come off big HEAVY 7 series cars.

[frolf]

I am running 225/45s all the way around. They are definitely snug up front (no rubbing, but there isn't room for any more tire) but have lots of room in the back. I probably could have put 245s in the back, but I like the square set up.

Steering feels just as good as it did with 205s.

Plus, I think the 225's look a lot better in there as well.

[quillbro]

No spacer in the rear, 5mm in the front to clear both the strut and the brake caliper.

steering heavier with the 8" wheels? Did you stagger your tire setup or just go square on all tires???

Def leaning towards this wheel set. Looks nice, OEM+ now i just have to find a place in the area that will fill+drill competently.