350i ride height

350i ride height

Author
Discussion

billvet

Original Poster:

17 posts

236 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
can anyone help with a ride height query - I recently bought a 350i which came with a "selection" of rubber on all four corners which proved to be a very entertaining drive from Cheshire to Nottingham in pouring rain.I have replaced all four tyres which were a collection of 205/60/15 cheapos with Continental 225/60/15. The problem is now that the rear body is rubbing on the tyres. The main question is have I overtyred the car or do I need to fit uprated springs to increase the ride height at the rear or do I need lower profile tyres? Any thoughts appreciated.
many thanks in anticipation
Bill

V8 Fettler

7,019 posts

131 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
billvet said:
can anyone help with a ride height query - I recently bought a 350i which came with a "selection" of rubber on all four corners which proved to be a very entertaining drive from Cheshire to Nottingham in pouring rain.I have replaced all four tyres which were a collection of 205/60/15 cheapos with Continental 225/60/15. The problem is now that the rear body is rubbing on the tyres. The main question is have I overtyred the car or do I need to fit uprated springs to increase the ride height at the rear or do I need lower profile tyres? Any thoughts appreciated.
many thanks in anticipation
Bill
Do both rear tyres rub? If only one side then check alignment of the body with the chassis. Also check alignment of wheels

adam quantrill

11,535 posts

241 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Also see how many "fingers" you can stick in horizontally between the tyre and the top of the wheelarch on each side - is it uneven?

There is room for adjustment by adding/replacing the packing between the chassis and the tub.

Wedg1e

26,760 posts

264 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Are they original-pattern wheels with the correct offset, would be my first question... and 225/60 would have a higher sidewall than a 205/60 so it is feasible that if the arch clearance was marginal to start with you would get some rubbing.
Wider rubber was introduced with the 390SE that allegedly had uprated springs... whether that's true is open to debate wink

billvet

Original Poster:

17 posts

236 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
many thanks for the replies - yes both sides rub and I can physically lift the body to clear the tyres but when I let go it drops to within 1/2" of top of tyre and definitely rubs when moving. The previous tyres did not rub but were rubbish. The wheels are original BHS 7x15 as shown in the Wedge bible. Any idea where I can get uprated springs? I'll also look into increasing body packing.
Again, many thanks for your replies
Bill

gmw9666

2,734 posts

199 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Floor to top of wheel arch on my AVO shocked 420SE running 225 50 15 is

Front = 65cm
Rear = 62cm

No body rubbing but exhaust is a tad close to the deck :-)

Edited by gmw9666 on Sunday 31st August 20:06

billvet

Original Poster:

17 posts

236 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Just measured relative heights from ground to top of wheelarch
FL 65cm FR 64cm
RL 64cm RR 63cm

gmw9666

2,734 posts

199 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
billvet said:
Just measured relative heights from ground to top of wheelarch
FL 65cm FR 64cm
RL 64cm RR 63cm
Is your car parked on level ground? Your car looks 1cm higher on the passenger side???


Zacky94

92 posts

129 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
205 to 225 is quite a jump to be honest this is the width of the tyre
The 60 is the profile witch is calculated by the ratio of the width

So 225mm wide And 60% of that being 135mm profile
205 mm wide 60% of that being 123mm profile

So if you look at it that way it is quite a jump the new tyre being 20mm wider and the height of the sidewall being 12mm higher, witch is quite a lot when it comes to ride height
i would put the right tyres on it personally ,
hope this helps ,

Zack

V8 Fettler

7,019 posts

131 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Several websites for comparison calcs eg http://www.willtheyfit.com/

gmw9666

2,734 posts

199 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
V8 Fettler said:
Several websites for comparison calcs eg http://www.willtheyfit.com/
So the new tyres are almost an inch taller in overall diameter


adam quantrill

11,535 posts

241 months

Sunday 31st August 2014
quotequote all
Yeah 60 is the wrong profile if you put 225's on, you should be using 50 profile.

This is why they are too big.

Alan461

853 posts

130 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
This has answered a question I was going to ask about maximum possible rolling radius.
I was hoping to over rubber in order to alter the final drive ratio etc.
Going to a 225 on the same profile gives just less than 4% increase.
Speedo would read pessimistic by the same amount.

In answer to the other question some shocks will have collars to adjust the ride height and so clear the wheel arches, Gaz Golds etc.
might end up looking a bit monster truck smokin

c pryor

227 posts

181 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
May be best to return to the original tyre size (205/60) and get a top quality tyre. I had Michelins put on the back of mine. Also good to have the condition of the suspension components checked as poor shocks etc can lead to an erratic driving experience.

billvet

Original Poster:

17 posts

236 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
Once again thanks for all the comments - I think I'll change back to 205/60/15. The Contis can go on the BMW.

Number 7

4,101 posts

261 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
I ran 225 50 15 tyres on the back of my 350 for a while, and don't recall any clearance issues with the standard wheels.

bradderztvr

364 posts

146 months

Monday 1st September 2014
quotequote all
There was some experimentation in the early days when the 225/50's were used on the rear of 390's and as a result alot of 350 owners did the same. I tried it for a while, and didn't see any real improved difference and went back to the original 205/60 fitment, which is also cheaper. if the springs are a bit old the wheel arch will buzz the tyre if the car is heavily loaded and at speed into a sharp dip, but would be exacerbated with a 60 profile on a 225 rather than 50.