ASK ALL WHEEL/TIRE FITMENT QUESTIONS HERE - The Official Wheel/Tire Fitment Thread

[Erick]

Damn it Jason. You missed the point. :p

The 9" needs an et14 or lower to clear the strut, but that does not save it from not hitting the sway bar. My Type As are placed at et9 and I still rub on the sway bar at full cut. Clearing the strut is problem number 1. Then clearing the sway at full cut is problem number 2. The suspension adjustments and fender butchering is problem number 3.

Follow that order. ;)

Depending on wheel sizing, offset and tire selection, you will clear one problem, then have to deal with another shortly after. Problem number 2 is not really significant unless you are drifting. I dont think track cars and autocrossers usually have to steer that far in.

I think the 17s might be better, or much worse.

We'll see.

- Erick

[Mystikal]

Ok, here is my question for the pros here :)

Car is an 89 325i, will be lowered on Advance Design DA coilovers (ERS springs 700front/900-1000rear) springs and include front camber correction at about -2.5-3.0 degrees. I would like to fit 245s all the way around (to be able to rotate dot-r tires front to back) on a 15 x 16 by 8" wheels.

What's the best wheel size and offset I should look for in order to pull this off? I am open to pulling the fenders front and back but I am concerned with the inner clearance, especially while turning.

Help?

Well, problem #1 is finding R-comps in 245 all around that will happily fit under an E30. The only real option is 245/45/16, where there are plenty of choices. This is still a tall tire for an E30 to swallow though, and will present rubbing problems in a few different places (inner front well near lock, front fenders under suspension compression). But as I said, it's the only option I can see if you want that kind of width.

A 16x8 ET20 Rota Slipstream will need small spacers on the front with most tire models, and the size depends on which exact tire you want to run (the section width varies significantly). Even though they need small spacers for most tires I still recommend going with them, as you can fine-tune the final offset in order to keep fender modding to a minimum.

[Mystikal]

Damn it Jason. You missed the point. :p

The 9" needs an et14 or lower to clear the strut, but that does not save it from not hitting the sway bar. My Type As are placed at et9 and I still rub on the sway bar at full cut. Clearing the strut is problem number 1. Then clearing the sway at full cut is problem number 2. The suspension adjustments and fender butchering is problem number 3.

Follow that order. ;)

Depending on wheel sizing, offset and tire selection, you will clear one problem, then have to deal with another shortly after. Problem number 2 is not really significant unless you are drifting. I dont think track cars and autocrossers usually have to steer that far in.

I think the 17s might be better, or much worse.

We'll see.

- Erick

No, I didn't miss the point, we just misunderstood each other earlier.

I said:

Really...thanks for the info. See how little of a spacer you need, I'm curious.

Then you said:

The problem is not the strut. The problem is the sway bar (and constantly hitting it at Full Opposite lock ;) ).

...which I figured meant that you didn't need a spacer to clear the struts, but only to clear the sway. Make sense?

[Erick]

o.O

Ooooooh yes yes. Well, just to clarify. 16x9 et15 will clear early model e30s (the 48mm struts) with no spacers in the front. They will bolt on to 51mm struts, but they will be touching, and the car will not be safe to drive. Small spacers are necessary to make that work.

Sorry for the confusion. :p

[DSP74]

How about in the rear? Optimum offset?

[Erick]

For what wheel?

[DSP74]

15x9

[Erick]

You'll need a spacer in the front for sure. As mentioned recently, a 5-10mm spacer will do. I am not sure how close you will get to the sways, but that depends on your tire selection.

- Erick

[golde30]

Well, problem #1 is finding R-comps in 245 all around that will happily fit under an E30. The only real option is 245/45/16, where there are plenty of choices. This is still a tall tire for an E30 to swallow though, and will present rubbing problems in a few different places (inner front well near lock, front fenders under suspension compression). But as I said, it's the only option I can see if you want that kind of width.

A 16x8 ET20 Rota Slipstream will need small spacers on the front with most tire models, and the size depends on which exact tire you want to run (the section width varies significantly). Even though they need small spacers for most tires I still recommend going with them, as you can fine-tune the final offset in order to keep fender modding to a minimum.

m3ryan was running 16x8 rota slips et20 with 245/45/16 bfg comp t/a's without spacers, however he pulled the fenders about 1/2"...

[Jean]

Well, problem #1 is finding R-comps in 245 all around that will happily fit under an E30. The only real option is 245/45/16, where there are plenty of choices. This is still a tall tire for an E30 to swallow though, and will present rubbing problems in a few different places (inner front well near lock, front fenders under suspension compression). But as I said, it's the only option I can see if you want that kind of width.

A 16x8 ET20 Rota Slipstream will need small spacers on the front with most tire models, and the size depends on which exact tire you want to run (the section width varies significantly). Even though they need small spacers for most tires I still recommend going with them, as you can fine-tune the final offset in order to keep fender modding to a minimum.

Do you have any suggestions on wide dot-r tire that isn't tall? 225 is probably going to be ok with pulling the fenders a little, but 245s would only be beneficial especially with the limited weight reduction I can do in Solo2 SM class.

In 245/45r16 I have a choice of BFG g-Force R1 , Hoosier R6 . I don't see V710 being available in that size :(

[Jean]

m3ryan was running 16x8 rota slips et20 with 245/45/16 bfg comp t/a's without spacers, however he pulled the fenders about 1/2"...

I am ok with pulling the fenders, but was he having any rubbing issues on lock-to-lock?

[DSP74]

275/35/15 is 23" tall.....It's what I'm going to use with 949 15x9's......Unless at a point in time I deam those not big enough and move up to 18x10's and 285/30/18's or 18x11's and 305/30/18's

[z31maniac]

275/35/15 is 23" tall.....It's what I'm going to use with 949 15x9's......Unless at a point in time I deam those not big enough and move up to 18x10's and 285/30/18's or 18x11's and 305/30/18's

If you run a tire shorter than stock, aren't you going to make 2nd even shorter? Shifting at 6500 my car still isn't at 60mph yet.

But the auto-x guys around here run big courses, so I don't know if that matters to you.

[ethirdy]

You can run a 20mm spacer all around. 205/50/16 is the safe bet for tires, but you can easily fit on a 225/45/16.

Will the Vorshlag 57MM kit be long enough?

Is a 15mm spacer better or worse?

I'm having trouble finding a decent selection of 205/50/16's - what are alternative sizes that would work with my incredibly low setup?

[DSP74]

If you run a tire shorter than stock, aren't you going to make 2nd even shorter? Shifting at 6500 my car still isn't at 60mph yet.

But the auto-x guys around here run big courses, so I don't know if that matters to you.

I'm not sure yet. I'll play with diffs...I'm planning to limp through the next season with a stock LSD, and then have a better idea what to add ratio wise when I get the new LSD.

The two big sites local to me, and my two favorites, Grissom/Peru, Toledo/ BAX have the space for HUGE courses....


FWIW I'm not entirely against shifting.