Intro and question about Alloys upgrade

[dalelad66]

Good morning all

I'm a complete newcomer to the forum having acquired my Z3 at the back end of summer. Apologies for the somewhat long-winded first post!

I was really fortunate to have an absolute minter literally fall into my lap!

It's a 2.8 1997 with 12.5 K on the clock, in black, totally original and even came with the correct plate (R28BMW)!

I'm only intending using it for light summer use as I want to keep the miles down and obviously keep it in as original condition as possible.

I've upgraded the stereo but kept the old one for originality purposes, but I'm now looking at upgrading the wheels as I don't think the 16 inch rims look particularly great on the wide bodied 2.8.

I've seen a set of style 400s at a reasonable price which look in decent nick but I can't find much in terms of specs on the 400 style alloy, so I'm wondering if any of you experts out there could advise me as to whether they will plop straight onto my Z3 or whether I'm going to need spacers or hub modifications - in which case I'll probably go for something with an easier fit instead.

It will be a staggered setup with 8J 225/40/R18 on the front and 8.5J 245/35/R18 on the back.

Any advice or suggestions will be very much appreciated! Cheers.

 

[Duncodin]

If you go to https://www.willtheyfit.com and play around.

Key in your existing wheel size, existing ET. Then key in the specs for the style 400's which are, if I'm not mistaken, 8" front ET34 and 8.5" rear ET47

That site shows you how much more or less the wheels stick out/in compared to what you've got.

 

[mikeyH]

to the forum

 

[Dakar Z3]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

If I remember correctly the 400's are a 5 twin spoke, the correct rear tyre size would be 255 35 18, not 245 35 18.

 

[Pond]

Style 400M wheels are standard fitment for the F3x series with offsets of 34 front and 47 rear. They will fit, as the centre bore and bolt holes (PCD) are the same but how they sit will be difeerent to standard on a Z3. As said above, www.willtheyfit.com is best for determining how they would sit.

PS I have an unmarked set of 17" staggered style 18s, which were standard fitment of the Z3, ready for sale quite soon if of interest.

 

[dalelad66]

Style 400M wheels are standard fitment for the F3x series with offsets of 34 front and 47 rear. They will fit, as the centre bore and bolt holes (PCD) are the same but how they sit will be difeerent to standard on a Z3. As said above, www.willtheyfit.com is best for determining how they would sit.

PS I have an unmarked set of 17" staggered style 18s, which were standard fitment of the Z3, ready for sale quite soon if of interest.

Thanks very much for the info, the link is a great tool to use and I think based on that I should be ok. I'm going to stick with the 18s but thanks for the offer.

Thanks also for all the other responses, very much appreciated

 

[RickyBobby]

Thanks very much for the info, the link is a great tool to use and I think based on that I should be ok. I'm going to stick with the 18s but thanks for the offer.

Thanks also for all the other responses, very much appreciated

Sounds like a you've aquired a lovely example with extremely low mileage so well done - I can imagine the black & sand interior complements the Cosmos black exterior very well

Assuming you're referring to the Z Star (style 35) alloys it was originally supplied with I can understand you're desire to change them - on the widebody examples the rear wheels do seem to look lost under the rear arches with them being a 7j square set-up.

I've owned a number of widebody examples and appreciate it comes down to personal preference but I would advise against 2 things - increasing the wheel size above 17" and making any aftermarket modifications.

Appreciate you already changed the stereo but having kept the original it's easily reversible - the original units go for upwards of £200 (tape) or £300 (CD).

In my opinion the staggered style 18's are the perfect wheel for a widebody being 7.5j front and 8.5j rear and the simple 5 spoke design really suits the pre-facelift Z3's.

This is a picture of one of my previous cars on those wheels.

 

[Scooblitz]

Hello and Welcome.

I’d expect the style 400 fronts will just fit and no more. 1mm further out than what I consider the maximum width to offset ratio.

Did you by any chance buy this car in Falkirk, Scotland?

 

[dalelad66]

Sounds like a you've aquired a lovely example with extremely low mileage so well done - I can imagine the black & sand interior complements the Cosmos black exterior very well

Assuming you're referring to the Z Star (style 35) alloys it was originally supplied with I can understand you're desire to change them - on the widebody examples the rear wheels do seem to look lost under the rear arches with them being a 7j square set-up.

I've owned a number of widebody examples and appreciate it comes down to personal preference but I would advise against 2 things - increasing the wheel size above 17" and making any aftermarket modifications.

Appreciate you already changed the stereo but having kept the original it's easily reversible - the original units go for upwards of £200 (tape) or £300 (CD).

In my opinion the staggered style 18's are the perfect wheel for a widebody being 7.5j front and 8.5j rear and the simple 5 spoke design really suits the pre-facelift Z3's.

This is a picture of one of my previous cars on those wheels.

View attachment 324851

Yeah, looks really good that - great colour too! I'm not intending driving the car again until spring (unless my F36 breaks again!) so I've got plenty of time to get some proper research done and find the set-up that I'm totally happy with - I only want to do this once but will be keeping the original style 35s. I tend to keep my cars for a long time (I had a Lancia Montecarlo Spider for 19 years!) so I don't imagine I'll ever be putting the style 35s or the stereo back in to sell it!
Really appreciate your input - clearly someone with a lot of experience of the Z3!

 

[dalelad66]

Hello and Welcome.

I’d expect the style 400 fronts will just fit and no more. 1mm further out than what I consider the maximum width to offset ratio.

Did you by any chance buy this car in Falkirk, Scotland?

No I actually got the car from an old college friend up the road from me in Bury (North Manchester) He'd bought it as an investment and put less than 1000 miles on it in 6 years - it was gathering dust in his garage (with the hood down!!) so in essence I rescued it!! Think he got it from a guy in Cheshire.

I'm going to give the style 400s a swerve for now and do a bit more research into what I really want the car to look like. I need to get this right!
Thanks for your input.

 

[AntStark]

I agree with @RickyBobby on the wheel size. 15/16” are perhaps the most comfy and I would argue give the best handling on a Z3. 17” staggered look the best and fill the arches nicely. Style 18, 32 or 78 are popular 17” choices. 18” tend to degrade the handling and increase the chance of tramlineing…some will say otherwise..but they are wrong obviously
Lots off OEM wheels to choose from..see here
http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/

Mine with 78s

 

[Scooblitz]

If I may, 18s are a little harsh on a z3. 17s are spot on in my opinion.

I spent quite some time picking wheels for mine and settled on 17s with 9 inch rears that allowed a 255/40/17 tyre to chunk up the stance.

 

[Shelly]

 

[dalelad66]

I agree with @RickyBobby on the wheel size. 15/16” are perhaps the most comfy and I would argue give the best handling on a Z3. 17” staggered look the best and fill the arches nicely. Style 18, 32 or 78 are popular 17” choices. 18” tend to degrade the handling and increase the chance of tramlineing…some will say otherwise..but they are wrong obviously
Lots off OEM wheels to choose from..see here
http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/

Mine with 78s
View attachment 324897

Very nice, I do like the look of those 78s
Cheers

 

[Mint]

Hi and to the forum from me too in Stafford. I'm on 78s as well, great looking but a PITA to clean

 

[hard top]

to the Forum.

 

[dalelad66]

If I may, 18s are a little harsh on a z3. 17s are spot on in my opinion.

I spent quite some time picking wheels for mine and settled on 17s with 9 inch rears that allowed a 255/40/17 tyre to chunk up the stance.

View attachment 324903

Seems like the wise money is on 17"ers. Yours looks quite similar to the 78s sported by @Mint and @RickyBobby but the split rim suggests otherwise.

Do they have a style number?

 

[AntStark]

The 78s came as normal cast or a split rim. The split rim were more expensive. Both are actually made by BBS

 

[Peter1450]

Really like the look of the 78’s, are yours staggered Ant?

 

[Scooblitz]

Seems like the wise money is on 17"ers. Yours looks quite similar to the 78s sported by @Mint and @RickyBobby but the split rim suggests otherwise.

Do they have a style number?

They do indeed. They are style 42s made by bbs for BMW. These were an option on the Z3 with the standard spec 17x7.5j et41 and 8.5j et41. 225/45/17 and 245/40/17 however a 255/40/17 is also fine for a little more rubber.

Mine are marginally different. I use the 8.5j on the front and sourced an e39 era 17x9j et26. The rear has an inch more 'dish' but unless you are a wheel nerd, hardly noticeable and not worth the time spent searching the worldwide web for a pair of rears. 225 and 255 tyres.

There are a few 17x9 inch options such as style 18 and style 32. This is as wide as you can feasibly go, limited in the UK by 255 tyres unless you live elsewhere with wider tyres available.

Depending on your level of commitment to the wheel cause, wider wheels can fit with some reasonable mods.

Stevie