Alloy Wheel Advise Needed Please

[turboguru]

Hi Chaps,

I just purchased a 330 D 2002 3 Series Touring and discovered the alloys are cracked.

I am therefore going to buy new ones but what are the largest ones I can + what tires fit without it driving like a dog and needing a set up change? it has 17's on now with 225/45 P6000's on. If you can also recommend where to buy them that would be great as I need them asap

Cheers

Craig

[turboguru]

Can anyone please, please help me..

[Rabbo]

Find out the width and ET of your current rims here: http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/

Check your offset here: http://www.1010tires.com/wheeloffsetcalculator.asp

Check what tyre sizes you can get away with here: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

There are some good deals here: http://www.bmautosport.co.uk/index.php?catid=34&am...


PS. It's advice not advise. HTH

[DennisCooper]

turboguru said:

Hi Chaps,

I just purchased a 330 D 2002 3 Series Touring and discovered the alloys are cracked.

I am therefore going to buy new ones but what are the largest ones I can + what tires fit without it driving like a dog and needing a set up change? it has 17's on now with 225/45 P6000's on. If you can also recommend where to buy them that would be great as I need them asap

Cheers

Craig

Hi Craig,

17, 18, 19 and 20 inch can be fitted to an E46. Cracked wheels are 'usually' the sign of a cheap replica wheel, so be wary of that for whichever wheels you go for. It can and does happen to oem wheels too, but theres less chances of it (although some oem wheels are prone to this more than others)

Without a setup change? well, the golden rule here is to ensure the suspension components of the car are in good condition. With that being the case, you can get any of the sizes above and they'll fit and work. The bigger you go the 'small' percentage of ride quality you'll lose due to the smaller tyre sidewall flex. 18,19 and 20 inch sizing and it's recommended to lower the suspension to make the 'visual' impact look good.

Pricing varies, so you'll need to look at your planned level of expenditure on this, but i'd urge going for high quality wheels and tyres in order to help keep the slight reductions in ride quality to an acceptable level.

I've been 'told' I've ruined my E39 Touring by running 19inch wheels/tyres, I can't wait to see what they say when my 20's go on

Cheers, Dennis!