Why 5-lug over 4-lug......?

[Roysneon]

All South African cars are rhd

So are 'all' Japanese cars, but E30s shipped and sold there were lhd.

[rkettner]

Yup.........

e36m3 struts (bought all the M3 stuff for $850......the so called complete kit was sent with wrong control arms, had to source two actual m3 arms)
eyeball CABs ($180)
Koni cut-n-gut inserts in front ($270)
Koni Porsche 911 rear shocks ($350)
Bimmerworld billet rear mounts ($100)
GC coilovers ($460)
e28 camber plates ($300)
z3 hubs (came with m3 parts)
Rotors and calipers that match accordingly. ($300)

You're also talking about a coilover project that should be considered somewhat seperate for costing purposes.

[xAZxE30x]

Looking back I probably wouldn't have gone 5 lug. But I got a good deal on the e30m3 rear setup and then of course had to find some front struts to tag along

I did have a set of RC090's that I wanted to run and I'm not an adapter fan so that was a good incentive

[Ray Smoodiver]

I saw you mention something about the factory 5 lug before and thought it was maybe a 320is but I think they came 4 lug anyway. That's a cool fucking car you have there! Is it LHD?

All the SA cars built there were RHD

Ray Smoodiver -

your car is beautiful dude.

Cheers mate! 291,000km - barely run in!

[Stephen]

I disagree with e30 friendly sizes being more common in 5x120. It will depend what you are after wheel wise, granted.

5x120 is BMW only, 4x100 spreads to a few marquees. For track beasts, there are wide options in both, so why spend the money to switch over? Plus with any custom wheel, you can simply choose to have it drilled 4x100, and use the large pile of cash left over to buy some larger brakes.

e30 m3 brakes are no longer that big comparatively, and all the goofyness involved in widening your track with e36/ti/etc gear means you will have to run shitty e46 stock wheels, and eliminate the space you could've used to adapt if you find non 5x120 wheels you like later on (plus 5-lug swap + adapters = wtf?)


a 5x114.3 swap, now theres some wheel selection.

[z31maniac]

I see no point other than opening up E36/E46 17" selection.

[Freude am Fahren]

The thread title aks why 5 over 4 lugs but it seems you've already done the swap. So what gives? You want us to justify your decision for you? Or is this a mediocre attempt at convincing those sitting at the cusp of making this decision to lean one way or another? I'm utterly confused...

[IronFreak]

I disagree with e30 friendly sizes being more common in 5x120. It will depend what you are after wheel wise, granted.

5x120 is BMW only, 4x100 spreads to a few marquees. For track beasts, there are wide options in both, so why spend the money to switch over? Plus with any custom wheel, you can simply choose to have it drilled 4x100, and use the large pile of cash left over to buy some larger brakes.

e30 m3 brakes are no longer that big comparatively, and all the goofyness involved in widening your track with e36/ti/etc gear means you will have to run shitty e46 stock wheels, and eliminate the space you could've used to adapt if you find non 5x120 wheels you like later on (plus 5-lug swap + adapters = wtf?)


a 5x114.3 swap, now theres some wheel selection.

I agree with everything you said. I have the e36m3 setup with z3 rears. my track is much wider, so much so that I have to run a really deep offset to get under the fenders or flare it, which I'll end up doing.

I think I'll invent a 5x114.3 swap.........about 90% of the wheels I'd like to have come in that bolt pattern.........

The thread title aks why 5 over 4 lugs but it seems you've already done the swap. So what gives? You want us to justify your decision for you? Or is this a mediocre attempt at convincing those sitting at the cusp of making this decision to lean one way or another? I'm utterly confused...

I have only had my e30 for about a year.......in which it was only a DD for 2 weeks until I found this site........and it's been ripped apart ever since. I enjoy the build, I've gotten more satisfaction out of that portion of my projects then any other part. The 5-lug was an early on impulse buy influenced by a friend telling me how awesome it was..... problem is I never really spent the time learning or understanding the car before I made that decision. This is more of a justification for my actions and to let others know what they're getting into and that it might not be all that it's cracked up to be.

Many great points have been made and I have come to the conclusion that if I ever do another e30 I won't be going 5-lug.

[Asbradley21]

I'm going 5 lug because no one makes 18x10 4x100 wheels to fit over my 350mm brakes.

[Stephen]

Sure there are:

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/work-vs-xx-wheel-18x100-4x100-p-11290.html

Weds also makes a few, and then there's the plethora of custom wheel options in which 4x100 would be cake

[lambo]

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/w...0-p-11290.html

boom.

[decay]

all the goofyness involved in widening your track with e36/ti/etc gear means you will have to run shitty e46 stock wheels

e36/z3 5-lug and e38 weaves here. just be ready to pull the fenders.

[Stephen]

That's exactly my point though. Those wheels re-drilled on a 4-lug car would not cause any rubbing issues, maybe a mild to full roll depending on tires.

[nando]

I thought it was mostly for brakes...

I mean, if you have money, there are many, many choices for custom sized, custom spec'd wheels out there.

"for brakes" is a pretty poor reason

any 5-lug swap that uses stock brakes are going to be inferior to a BBK for 4 lug, both in stopping power and weight, while also costing more.

[decay]

That's exactly my point though. Those wheels re-drilled on a 4-lug car would not cause any rubbing issues, maybe a mild to full roll depending on tires.

well, i wanted the extra track, and the look that came with it. other people may approach it a different way if they have different desires- but i got good handling, and slightly bigger brakes that consist of OEM parts and not high-dollar stuff.

i love the way the car turns and stops, and other people like the way it looks. was the right choice for me.