MV3 18" Alloys on a 320d Tourer?

[Mr Red Barron]

Hey guys,

I've just got my hands on a 56 reg e90 320D SE with a few optional extras. I have to say i'm extremely pleased with the car, but would have loved it to come with the M-Sport bodywork.

Anyway, it's got the standard 16" alloys on at 205/55/r16.

I want to put some MV3 18" wheels on there to improve the looks, but am worried about the offset wheel sizing on the rears. I'm looking at a couple of sets on fleabay with the fronts being 225/40/18 and rears at 255/35/18.

Are there any issues at all with fitting these to a touring?

edit to add: Just found a few sets for sale at 225/40/18 all round. I would have thought that should be no problem?

Edited by Mr Red Barron on Tuesday 7th December 13:10

[2GOOD]

Hi Mr Barron, I'm not stalking you honest, can't help with the wheels but did you chop in the Elise? In other news, I've put down a deposit on a 320d e93 today!

[Mr Red Barron]

2GOOD said:

Hi Mr Barron, I'm not stalking you honest, can't help with the wheels but did you chop in the Elise? In other news, I've put down a deposit on a 320d e93 today!

No mate, going to sell it privately in the spring like you suggested. Just declaring it sorn and going to stick it in the garage for a while.

[2GOOD]

Good lad, popped into a place on the A40, this side of Witney, on Monday night who do the odd Elise & there is a guy on SELOC who trades in them if things get tough in the meantime.
Going to be going something similar with my Saab

[Mr Red Barron]

So can anyone give any advice on the original topic please?

[Luca Brasi]

This was always very helpful to me, it's in German though.

http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/

[Lostprophet]

Mr Red Barron said:

Hey guys,

I've just got my hands on a 56 reg e90 320D SE with a few optional extras. I have to say i'm extremely pleased with the car, but would have loved it to come with the M-Sport bodywork.

Edited by Mr Red Barron on Tuesday 7th December 13:10

Hows the car running? My wife wants the 320d estate. I'm more into the x-type estate and 159 sportswagon.

Whats the 320d like? Our budget is 20k and she wants and auto with low mileage.

[Mr Red Barron]

Lostprophet said:

Hows the car running? My wife wants the 320d estate. I'm more into the x-type estate and 159 sportswagon.

Whats the 320d like? Our budget is 20k and she wants and auto with low mileage.

Have to say i'm very impressed with it. We were also looking at an a4 estate and the x type. I quite liked the A4 actually, but we couldn't find one with low enough miles to meet our budget. We thought that the x-type.....although well spec'd, was a bit old for us....plus we didn't like the fact it's a ford underneath.

But the quality in the beemer is great, gearbox feels nice and sharp with just the right amount of weight behind it. All the switches have a quality feel to them. The only gripe I have is the fact our old focus estate actually had a bigger boot. It's an awkward shape with the wheel arches bulging into the space.
But overall i'm extremely pleased with it, got a few additional extra's like front parking sensors etc. The only thing is I just don't like it with the small wheels.......hence why i'm trying to find out if I can just go and fit the 18" MV3 wheels on it.

[Mr Red Barron]

1. BUMP!! ##

Still want to find out the answer to my question. I've seen a few E91's with the MV3's on and they look great. Is there another 17" or 18" wheel that looks good on a tourer?

[E30M3SE]

Wheels will be fine, better to run the 255 tyre on the rears, assuming the wheels are the genuine staggered set up, the 225 on the rear wheel will be quite streeeeeeteched and look silly and handle poorly.

[ANOpax]

A Word Of Caution.

Don't forget that the MV3s you've seen on sport models look good because the suspension has been dropped too.

I don't want to spoil your enthusiasm but if you put MVs (of any type) on a non-sport 3 series, they just look naff because the wheel arch clearance is too great and simply looks 'wrong'. If you're aware of this issue, have seen pics of how naff the car will look and still want to go ahead with it, then I'd suggest you call your BMW garage, give them the registration of your car and they'll be able to advise on sizing and offset. IIRC, offset is the same on all non-M 3 series so anything which works on a 3 series sport will also work on your SE.

[Gunk]

MV3's on an SE IMO look a bit aftermarket.

If you want to lift the look of your car why not fit 17" Double Spoke Style 161 Wheels instead, they are staggared so the rears are 255, and they were an option when your car was new.

[dave144]

Although not MV3's I have a set of 18" MV1's on a e46 330i msport with the same tyre sizes and have no issues. I also have a E36 325i banger which came with 18" inch MV's with the same tyre size as you are asking about and the ride is ruined by the huge tyres. The steering is heavy as hell. Going to chop them in as soon as can get a cheap set of 15/16"

[andyscole]

My best mate has fitted some copy mv3's to his e91 320d se about 2 months ago. Got a brand new set for £300 from eBay. They look near identical to originals and he's had no problems with them. Fit and run fine...

[Mr Red Barron]

Excellent, thanks for the replies guys.

Hmmmmm, I might now go down the 17" alloy route rather than the MV3 route. Have no intention of lowering the suspension so don't want it to look naff. Hopefully will be a bit cheaper too!

tempted to get rid of the run flats though, can't stand them!! Tram lines like no-ones buisness, are expensive to buy and give a bloody harsh ride. So will be looking for a 17" set with hopefully normal tyres on them. Just need to find a space saver now if I go ahead with it.

[anonymous-user]

i have to say with only a 2.0 up front i'd stay away from the 255 rears myself! (even on my 3.0d it makes the car a bit to understeery as std) it would feel much more balanced on a matched set of tyres (but obviously bmw are protecting themselves from numpties, and it does look good with the fat rears (on a sport so they nestle nicely in the arches ;-)

[Gunk]

Max_Torque said:

i have to say with only a 2.0 up front i'd stay away from the 255 rears myself! (even on my 3.0d it makes the car a bit to understeery as std) it would feel much more balanced on a matched set of tyres (but obviously bmw are protecting themselves from numpties, and it does look good with the fat rears (on a sport so they nestle nicely in the arches ;-)

the biggest disadvantage with the 255 rears are that they are an unusual size and bloody expensive, I have just replaced the lot and it was over £700 for all 4

[ANOpax]

Gunk said:

the biggest disadvantage with the 255 rears are that they are an unusual size and bloody expensive, I have just replaced the lot and it was over £700 for all 4

No they're not. You can get Goodyear F1s right now for £135 inc VAT and that was from the first website I looked at.

I replaced all 4 of my 330ci sport tyres less than a year ago for £475 (Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas - which are subjectively better than the F1s and as good as Pirelli P Zero Neros).

Edited by ANOpax on Monday 7th February 17:40

[charge]

I will be selling my MV3's in the next week or two if you are interested.
the car has only done 3,500 miles so they are unmarked and as new,as are the tyres.

do you want me to PM you when they are free?

[charge]

Hello, where has everyone gone.
Have I pis*ed on someones fire here?
I thought MV3's were wanted?