17" wheels on E36 coupe - will they rub?

[Carpie]

Hi,

I have an E36 coupe on standard suspension with 15" alloys, if I buy a set of 17" wheels, will they fit ok without rubbing etc?

Also would they look ok on the standard suspension or will it be too high?

I am probably going to upgrade the suspension on the car which will lower it by 30-40mm at some point, will the 17s sit ok or will I need the arches rolling/bodywork modifying?

Cheers, Matt

[E36Rob]

17" Wheels will fit fine, just make sure you get the correct fitment. I run 18" on a E36 coupe with no issues.

[parksie]

I've got 17 x 9" wide on the back ,but the arches are rolled

[kds keltec]

one of my staff has a 328i e36 with lowering springs and 18" alloys and they do not rub either!!

[Carpie]

Cheers, are your cars lowered or not?

also, how much of a difference will it make to the accuracy of my speedo? Do I need to do anything about it, or is it negligable?

I have just worked out that the actual difference between 15" and 17" will be 3.05 cm due to the difference in tyres (currently 205/50, tyres on 17s are 205/60), still don't know how much difference itll make

[Kerry540]

8 1/2 x 19" will fit without rubbing if the offset is correct.

Kerry xxx.

[scorcher]

You sure they're 205/60/17???? If you're sticking with 205's then you need to go down to 205/40/17 at least.On the back I would be looking to put something wider on there...probably 245/35/17 if they'll fit.

[rsstman]

a 205/60/17 is a very high profile tyre. you definatley want something like a 205/40/17

[M5Dave]

E36 M3 Evo runs with 225/45/17 on the front and 245/40/17 on the back, I think the 328i Sport has the same.

[JimexPL]

You don't really need anything wider than a 205 on the back of a 320 - It'll have too much grip and whats the point in that when you have rear wheel drive?

[matt uk]

Bigger wheels on std ride height can look a bit odd..

If possible ask the garage to put them on your car and have a look at the final product first.

[phelix]

Carpie said:

I have just worked out that the actual difference between 15" and 17" will be 3.05 cm due to the difference in tyres (currently 205/50, tyres on 17s are 205/60), still don't know how much difference itll make

Something doesn't compute here. If you go from 205/50 to 205/60 your sidewall height will go up by 20.5mm. Double that to get the overall diameter change. Then add two inches for the changed wheel diameter and the difference is 92 mm or about 3.6 inches. That almost certainly will cause problems.

[matt uk]

http://www.torquecars.com/tuning/alloy-wheels.php

You want to keep within the original rolling radius to avoid problems. Have a look at the linky

[Carpie]

Sorry, I ballsed up typing it, tyres on 17s are 205/50, current ones are 205/60.

Also it doesn't compute because I didn't double the increase in sidewall for the diameter figure. The actual difference in overall circumference (according to that useful site) is 30.79.

It will be time for new tyres soon enough, I'm going to splash out on some nice ones so might go for lower profiles.

It's all sorted now. It'll be fine. Probably.

[poshboyracer]

Careful of offset - there isn't much room to play with in the arches with 17s and a drop.

Make sure the wheels you have are 3 series fitment, not 5/6/7/8. They have a significantly different offset and can lead to rubbing on the outside edge.

I fitted 8.5j 17s on 245s at the rear with no arch rolling - offset was 38.