Winter tyres (and wheels) on an E46 sport

[Mr_Sukebe]

Quick question for those in the know.
Just supposing that I wanted to fit winter tyres on my E46 sport (2002), what are the recommendations for not only tyres, but also wheels.
At the moment, mine has the usual 18" MV alloys with 225/255 tyres on the front/rear. As I understand it, the minimum wheel size that will fit over my brakes would be 17". I'm assuming that I'd be looking for 17" steels, but don't know what sizes.

Thoughts?

[phelix]

What engine? 330i will be 17" minimum but 330d may well work with 16" - check your owner's manual for the tyre sizes.

I think you may struggle to find 17" steel wheels - 16s from a 1 series are probably the biggest you'll find.

[Mr_Sukebe]

My car is a 330i sport, hence why I believe the minimum size wheels that will fit over the brakes are 17".

I struggle to believe there's not a solution. Surely some of our Euro compatriots actually get enough snow to justify the use of snow tyres.

[rassi]

Check ebay.de

These would fit, for instance and have some good tyres on them: http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-Z4-Z3-1er-E46-Alu-Winter-Ko...

[Mr_Sukebe]

They look awfully like 16" alloys, and as per my previous post, to my knowledge my car needs 17" wheels to clear the brakes, though please correct me if I'm wrong.

[rassi]

They are indeed 16" - I would be surprised if a 330i would need 17" minimum, as my E39 M5 with 343 mm front discs can run on 17". How big are your front discs?

If 17" is minimum size, then all of these would work: http://shop.ebay.de/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m... and specifically these http://cgi.ebay.de/Winterreifen-BMW-E46-330I-225-4...

[B19GRR]

My Tyres can apparently supply you with steelies in 17" with winter tyres fitted, bit pricey mind:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/skw.pl?dsco=110&c...

Cheers,
Rob

[phelix]

A 330i will need 17s. You should be able to buy a set from ebay for £150 and tyres for £4-500 and with sensible driving (don't thrash them) they'll give good service for 4 years or so.

[leefrizz]

Hello there just joined up for a bit of advice please :-)

Recently bought a 2005 320 CD Sport. Didn't realise I'd have this much trouble in the snow! So I'm going to set it up properly for the rest of this winter and ready for next year. at the minute I've got it garaged and it won't be coming out until it can drive forwards instead of sideways!

At the minute I have it on 18" MV2's with 255 35 ZR18 on the rear and 225 40 ZR18 on the fronts. I assume this is a standard setup, I recently bought two new Michelin PS2's for the rears which I thought would see me through the snow but I was wrong.

I plan to buy a new set of wheels (well a used set) and stick some proper winter tyres on them - Nokians or Vredestein I think? So a couple of questions:

• Are my rear alloys actually wider than the fronts or just the tyres?
• what is the smallest set of alloys I can get on my car with regards to brake disc clearance? I'm thinking 16"
• What size winter tyres will I get if I do buy 16" alloys?

Thanks in advance!

[phelix]

Look on the sticker on the door jamb of your car or in the owner's manual to identify the smallest wheels that will fit. No need to runner wider wheels/tyres at the rear; run the same size so that you can rotate after each winter to maximise wear.

[leefrizz]

Cheers for that, I'll have a look when I get home.

For example if I bought 16's then what tyres would I get to keep the same rolling radius?

And for 17's as well?

I don't quite understand all this profile jargon especially when it comes as a ratio of width and profile!

[mosstrooper]

leefrizz said:

Cheers for that, I'll have a look when I get home.

For example if I bought 16's then what tyres would I get to keep the same rolling radius?

And for 17's as well?

I don't quite understand all this profile jargon especially when it comes as a ratio of width and profile!

Check this http://www.alloywheels.com/tyrecalc.asp

[leefrizz]

That's great - thanks!

[a11y_m]

leefrizz said:

Hello there just joined up for a bit of advice please :-)

Recently bought a 2005 320 CD Sport. Didn't realise I'd have this much trouble in the snow! So I'm going to set it up properly for the rest of this winter and ready for next year. at the minute I've got it garaged and it won't be coming out until it can drive forwards instead of sideways!

At the minute I have it on 18" MV2's with 255 35 ZR18 on the rear and 225 40 ZR18 on the fronts. I assume this is a standard setup, I recently bought two new Michelin PS2's for the rears which I thought would see me through the snow but I was wrong.

I plan to buy a new set of wheels (well a used set) and stick some proper winter tyres on them - Nokians or Vredestein I think? So a couple of questions:

• Are my rear alloys actually wider than the fronts or just the tyres?
• what is the smallest set of alloys I can get on my car with regards to brake disc clearance? I'm thinking 16"
• What size winter tyres will I get if I do buy 16" alloys?

Thanks in advance!

My Z4 has the same size tyres/wheels as yours (225/40/18 and 255/35/18). Options fitted to Z4s in 16" and 17" are fitted with the following tyres:
- 225/45/17 front and rear
- 225/50/16 front and rear

There's not much difference in the price of winter tyres between these sizes, so really just depends what alloys you find for cheap. I'm getting some 16"s.

I've got the 3.0i and believe the front discs are 300mm - 16" alloys fit this as they're standard on some versions. I'd imagine this would be similar/same for yours. More info on it here: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&am...

[phelix]

3.0 E46s need 17s because of the front brakes - I would be surprised if the the Z4 didn't as well. The sticker on the door jamb should reveal what wheels and tyres will fit and maintain the rolling radius.

[leefrizz]

Cheers everyone :-)

After checking tonight then I'll more than likely buy a set of 16's and get some winter tyres size 205 55 16

Hopefully I'll get the lot for less than £600 then flog the lot as a set after I sell the car for hopefully around £400. Worth it in the long run instead of wiping out!

[Matt UK]

leefrizz said:

• Are my rear alloys actually wider than the fronts or just the tyres?

Pretty certain that the alloy wheel widths are indeed wider on the rear than the front.

[a11y_m]

phelix said:

3.0 E46s need 17s because of the front brakes - I would be surprised if the the Z4 didn't as well. The sticker on the door jamb should reveal what wheels and tyres will fit and maintain the rolling radius.

I'm getting all my info online, mainly this thread: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&a... relating to brake upgrades and sizes, but it could be wrong.

It does say that 3.0 E46s have 325mm front discs while 3.0 Z4 has 300mm. Seems a bit strange as I doubt there's much difference in weight between a 3.0 E46 (???kg) and a 3.0 Z4 (1385kg IIRC)...

I'll know soon enough as I'm awaiting delivery of a set of 16" Z4 alloys in the next few weeks...

[MattW]

For what its worth (at this late stage) I have a E46 2004 320D Sport and have a set of winter tyres on it as I regularly drive it down to Switzerland skiing.

I took the std MV2 alloys off the car and replaced them with a set of BMW 16" alloys, fitted these with a set of Continental 205/55/R16 and hey presto a grip snow capable BMW; I have been driving around for weeks now with no problems at all, except for where the road is covered by sheer ice, but that is of course a given.

Come March, I'll put the MV2's back on the car again.