wrong wheel choice E39 - 18'? 17'? back to 16'?????
Discussion
evenin all
i think i may have bought the wrong wheels for my 540. ive had the 16" turbine wheels on it since i bought it, never liked the look of them, always planned to put some 18" wheels on. which i now have. 4 shiny M5 alloys (replicas).
ive just taken the car out for a blast and im not convinced by the ride. the car has the sports suspension and before, on the 16", the ride was so VERY smooth, felt like you were flying along very softly. now, whilst the car goes round bends with greater grip, the overall ride isnt as smooth. and its noisey, and bumpy.
i expected it to be different of course, and the 18" wheels really look the part, but im just not convinced. i wonder if i should have been a little more conservative and gone for 17" wheels, which i assume wouldnt be as low profile, would that mean the ride would be somewhere in between?
or is the ride a bit choppy because the wheels are replicas?
the old tyres were: 225/55
the 18' are: 245/40
and ive just seen some 17' ones that are 255/40/17 - so am i being a bit simplistic, or would the 17' wheels with these tyres give me a less harsh ride than the 18'??? maybe im just confusing myself. i need a scotch.
i think i may have bought the wrong wheels for my 540. ive had the 16" turbine wheels on it since i bought it, never liked the look of them, always planned to put some 18" wheels on. which i now have. 4 shiny M5 alloys (replicas).
ive just taken the car out for a blast and im not convinced by the ride. the car has the sports suspension and before, on the 16", the ride was so VERY smooth, felt like you were flying along very softly. now, whilst the car goes round bends with greater grip, the overall ride isnt as smooth. and its noisey, and bumpy.
i expected it to be different of course, and the 18" wheels really look the part, but im just not convinced. i wonder if i should have been a little more conservative and gone for 17" wheels, which i assume wouldnt be as low profile, would that mean the ride would be somewhere in between?
or is the ride a bit choppy because the wheels are replicas?
the old tyres were: 225/55
the 18' are: 245/40
and ive just seen some 17' ones that are 255/40/17 - so am i being a bit simplistic, or would the 17' wheels with these tyres give me a less harsh ride than the 18'??? maybe im just confusing myself. i need a scotch.
nerf said:
or is the ride a bit choppy because the wheels are replicas?
the old tyres were: 225/55
the 18' are: 245/40
and ive just seen some 17' ones that are 255/40/17 - so am i being a bit simplistic, or would the 17' wheels with these tyres give me a less harsh ride than the 18'??? maybe im just confusing myself. i need a scotch.
It's nothing to do with the wheels being replicas, it's the tyre profile (sidewall height) that makes the difference.the old tyres were: 225/55
the 18' are: 245/40
and ive just seen some 17' ones that are 255/40/17 - so am i being a bit simplistic, or would the 17' wheels with these tyres give me a less harsh ride than the 18'??? maybe im just confusing myself. i need a scotch.
A set of 255/40/17s won't really ride much different to a set of 245/40/18s, but a set of 17" wheels with 235/45/17 tyres should give a better ride.
Mr_Sukebe said:
I'm also curious about responses on this. I find my 330i sport running on 18's to be just a little too "firm" for my likeing. Maybe I should try swapping for some 17s. Thoughts?
That would make an improvement, it would take some of the harshness out rather than the firmness really.My 7 came with split rim 18's 255/45 18 rear and 235/50 10 front
To be honest I thought the ride was compliant but not harsh and was impressed
I removed the 18's when the tyres were worn out so I could refurb the polished rim sections and re-coat the centres - I bought a set of std 16's 235/60 16 tyres
The ride quality is soooooooo much better - real luxo barge that just wafts and floats along
Not 100% sure but I think I'll keep the 18's for summer use (not planning on laquering the polished part of the 18's) and use the 16's for autumn and winter use when there is lots of salt about!!!
To be honest I thought the ride was compliant but not harsh and was impressed
I removed the 18's when the tyres were worn out so I could refurb the polished rim sections and re-coat the centres - I bought a set of std 16's 235/60 16 tyres
The ride quality is soooooooo much better - real luxo barge that just wafts and floats along
Not 100% sure but I think I'll keep the 18's for summer use (not planning on laquering the polished part of the 18's) and use the 16's for autumn and winter use when there is lots of salt about!!!
Your assumptions about wheel size and the corresponding profile of the tyre are correct. Basically, the lower the profile the poorer the vertical absorption and hence the ride. There are a couple of things you can do with the current wheels if you are finding the ride too harsh; the first is to experiment by dropping the tyre pressures, you will be surprised how much difference half a psi can make to the ride. Secondly, you may find the brand of tyre makes a big difference. I recently changed from Continental to Michelin Primacy on my E39 and found it was a significant improvement to the ride.
BTW I changed from 16s to 17s on my E39. I rejected the idea of going to 18s because of the issues you are describing.
pp
BTW I changed from 16s to 17s on my E39. I rejected the idea of going to 18s because of the issues you are describing.
pp
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