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E30 + widened steelies?

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    E30 + widened steelies?

    I'm considering different wheel options like a few others on this forum and one that particularly interests me is the widened steelie thing that the vdub peeps do.

    I nabbed these steelies off a Golf and PS'ed em on my car. These are chromed barrels with black centers of course. Anyone have some actual pics to compare to though, or would you agree that this is a fairly accurate representation of the wheels on my car?

    If you got em, please post up actual pics of wide steelies on an e30 of your choice (preferrably alpine), or show me your best photoshopped rendition. Much thanks in advance!

    I can't seem to get the diameter correct, and I have not adjusted the whitebalance to match either.
    Claus Luthe is my hero.


    #2
    I actually like some of the steel racing wheels available, you just have to make sure you get wheels intended for oval/road course, not just drag or they will bend under heavy cornering loads usually. Plus, you can get 15x12 ;)

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      #3
      ^ that is the site I was looking at actually... but I want 16 inchers instead of the 15s. I wonder if the 16X10 can squeeze in with some good fender rolling. I am curious about the rims being lugcentric as opposed to hubcentric as well.
      Claus Luthe is my hero.

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        #4
        I have looked way into this, and my conclusion is this:

        Our cars are hubcentric unlike our VW friends who are lugcentric. So all those steelies are made from VW steelies and don't work with hubcentric rings. So basically they will vibrate really bad at speed.

        There is one or two guys that are running them and I have PMed them and asked them. They both said that theirs vibrate.

        The only option for this to work correctly is to get the only steel wheels that were stock on an e30, from a '90 318i (not 318is), and send those to Stockton wheel in Stockton, CA and they will make them to what ever size you want. They can even turn them from 14" to 15" or 16" widened steelies. I think they would charge you around $600 to make them into 16x9 if you send them the wheels.

        That's the route I was going to take, but the only steel wheels I could find were all in the midwest and they were all jacked up. And I just decided to keep my BBS RS's and widen those.

        Good luck.


        The wheels you photo shopped were from BHR- BHR Steelies

        e30 325is - e30 M3 [FOR SALE] - Audi S4 - '78 F-250 .....clicky clicky

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          #5
          I remember you were looking into that^ i still think it would look bad-ass

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            #6
            Originally posted by SoCal Life View Post
            I have looked way into this, and my conclusion is this:

            Our cars are hubcentric unlike our VW friends who are lugcentric. So all those steelies are made from VW steelies and don't work with hubcentric rings. So basically they will vibrate really bad at speed
            Totally incorrect. All 4x100 VW's have the same 57.1 centerbore as e30's. I know this for a fact because I own a mk2 Golf. A set of widened VW steelies would work fine as long as when you widened them you got the offset and backspacing correct. Most of the guys with vibration issues are either using steel racing wheels like what you would get from Diamond Racing which are lugcentric and not hubcentric or they did a poor job widening stock wheels.

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              #7
              You got some toe out on the rear there.:)
              Byron
              Leichtbau

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                #8
                a simple correction would have been fine

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Bitburger View Post
                  Totally incorrect. All 4x100 VW's have the same 57.1 centerbore as e30's. I know this for a fact because I own a mk2 Golf. A set of widened VW steelies would work fine as long as when you widened them you got the offset and backspacing correct. Most of the guys with vibration issues are either using steel racing wheels like what you would get from Diamond Racing which are lugcentric and not hubcentric or they did a poor job widening stock wheels.
                  I will add some. Diamond Racing wheels are lugcentric. They therefore have to be balanced via the lugcentric method. That's probably where the vibration comes from. Also, since they are lugcentric, they would be used best with studs and the correct angled lug nuts. That would assure the wheel is properly centered.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by thejimlab View Post
                    I will add some. Diamond Racing wheels are lugcentric. They therefore have to be balanced via the lugcentric method. That's probably where the vibration comes from. Also, since they are lugcentric, they would be used best with studs and the correct angled lug nuts. That would assure the wheel is properly centered.
                    very good point there! maybe most ppl that experienced the vibration never had their wheels + tires properly balanced to begin with. I find it hard to believe that without hub centering the lugs are not able to accomplish the same task.
                    Claus Luthe is my hero.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Bitburger View Post
                      Totally incorrect. All 4x100 VW's have the same 57.1 centerbore as e30's. I know this for a fact because I own a mk2 Golf. A set of widened VW steelies would work fine as long as when you widened them you got the offset and backspacing correct. Most of the guys with vibration issues are either using steel racing wheels like what you would get from Diamond Racing which are lugcentric and not hubcentric or they did a poor job widening stock wheels.
                      Uhhh......... I never said anything about the center bore. My brother and good friend both have Mk2's and have had my BBS RS's mounted on them. The problem comes from the fact that our cars are made for Hubcentric wheels. The center bore on all these steelies are just stamped out metal. There is no way to attach hubcentric rings to these wheels.

                      So unless you're some super stud with calibrated hands, when you mount the Lugcentric wheels, they will not be Dead Nutz centered. Have you ever mounted your VW's wheels?? I would assume so. When you put them on the studs they are way off centered. Then you tighten a few lugs and the wheel snaps into place, dead centered. Well, with the e30, you accomplish the same thing by the hubcentric Hubs. Since all these steelies just have a big hole in the middle with way to fit snug around our hub, they will only be able to be centered with the lugs. And since our hubs are not meant to center the wheel this way..... Good luck.

                      I've talked to this guy and he also told me that his setup vibrates: 16x8/10 Widened Steelies on an e30

                      I've talked to almost all the Well known shops that make widened steelies and they have all told me that their wheels are not compatible with hubcentric rings, nor can they make the wheels hubcentric.

                      So the best thing you could do is find a set of steel wheels from a '90 318i and have them sent off to get widened. Since these were OEM on the e30, the centers have been precisely cut for the e30's wheel hub. So they won't vibrate.
                      Last edited by SoCal Life; 08-21-2007, 11:03 AM.

                      e30 325is - e30 M3 [FOR SALE] - Audi S4 - '78 F-250 .....clicky clicky

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                        #12
                        our cars are hubcentric because the are made that way. If you put in wheel studs, then you can run anything you want without concerning yourself with hub size because the wheel will center itself with the studs and lugnuts. Don't think so? See any american made car from the beginning of time until about the 90's.

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                          #13
                          I think I've found my next set of wheels.



                          AWS Gorillas

                          -For those who help defend others against wheel-snobs and their associated douchebaggery.

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                            #14
                            comming from a Mk3 GTI and vwvortex.com I am in love with widened steelies, and am considering them as options for the futrue, I would want all flat black to get that sleeper'ish look of oem steel wheels with a badass lip on them.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by thejimlab View Post
                              our cars are hubcentric because the are made that way. If you put in wheel studs, then you can run anything you want without concerning yourself with hub size because the wheel will center itself with the studs and lugnuts. Don't think so? See any american made car from the beginning of time until about the 90's.
                              I am not arguing this fact. I'm sure that will work fine. But you just can't slap widened steelies on the car and expect them to work.

                              Who sells a stud kit for the e30?

                              e30 325is - e30 M3 [FOR SALE] - Audi S4 - '78 F-250 .....clicky clicky

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