Are e36/e34 wheels interchangeable?

[NiceCupOfTea]

As above. Want something smallish (15/16") for winter tyres but must be able to fit an e36 and e34. Are there any gotchas with offset or brake size / staggered hubs that might cause a problem?

Thanks in advance.

[TheEnd]

e34s on an e36 will stick out a bit.
They should usually fit though unless you are going for wide tyres.

[NiceCupOfTea]

No, as I say it will be the cheapest set of 16" wheels I can get in a sensible size for winter tyres.

Would I be better off looking for e34 wheels or e36 wheels?

[TheEnd]

e36 will fit properly on an e36, e34 wheels will have "stance" which is apparently all the rage these days.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I'm looking for a good e36 328i Sport at the moment, along with half of the rest of PH, and wanting it before the winter, so thinking I may go with an e34 for the winter and change if and when I find a decent one. So probably better off getting e36 wheels if they will fit on an e34?

Sorry for my ignorance, is "stanced" lower or sticking out? Don't want any insurance issues...

[TheEnd]

e36 wheels might not fit on an e34, as they are naturally drawn in more, and might end up rubbing on something.

[disco!!!!]

as said the E34 wheels will fit on an E36 but they will stick out a bit depending on what tyres you are using
the E36s usualy run an ET47 offset but this depends on the width of the wheel, the offset quoted is from a 7x15" wheel
E34s use a ET20 offset in most cases so the wheel will be sitting 27mm further out than before
they will fit with the right tyres

on my E36 i have a set of 8" style 5s the fronts are ET10 and the rears are ET20 with a 205/40 profile tyre
the fronts line up with the front arch beautifully and the same goes for the rear
here are some pics
rears


fronts


and before anyone says it, i have had the rear arches done and i did experience some scraping but not much

[NiceCupOfTea]

Thanks guys, some useful stuff there.

Next question - any way I can use 185/65 R15 tyres on a 15" BMW wheel to fit on an e36/34 or are the circumferences going to be vastly different?

[griffter]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Don't want any insurance issues...

e34 wheels will fit on the studs, but will increase the track as stated. Because you'd be putting wheels not deisgned for the car on the car there will be insurance issues (at the very least they'll want to know). It'll throw the suspension and steering geometry out completely.

e36 wheels probably wouldn't work on an e34 because they'd be a narrower track and the fronts at least will probably foul on lock.

With all due respect, it's a bit like trying to buy one pair of wellies you and the wife can share!

[Frances The Mute]

The offset of E36 wheels is way too high (or low, depending on how you look at it) to fit on the E34. Basically, the E36 wheel will foul the suspension of the E34. The other way around is fine.

You'll need to get a close match on the tyres, too. Work out the rolling circumference of the OE tyres then comapre it with the proposed new tyres. The accepted tolerance is +1.5% or -2.5%