Wheel advice, please...

[BoxClever]

Hello hello

I have a thing for wheels and my cars change theirs quite often - my E46 in my 8 years of ownership is now on it's 7th set, I totally feel like it's the same as me having a few different coats!! So i'm thinking about different rims for my Z3. I buy and sell wheels as a side hustle but as this is my first Z3 I'm still learning what is possible or not.

Mine is a 1997 narrow body 16V car with 18's on it at the moment. I don't know the width or offset as I haven't taken them off to check but I have 225/40's all round. My question is how wide can I go? And what offsets can I run? I know tyres and suspension make a massive difference but the car is on standard suspension and I can work out tyre sizes later but just looking at wheel options at the moment.

I've found some wheels i like the look of but they are wide - will these fit under the arches? They are the right bolt pattern and PCD for the car but what about these sizes?

REAR 17x10J ET17
FRONT 17x8J ET10
72.6

Is anyone running 10J rims on the rear? I can't be doing with any rubbing whatsoever, I'm not a teenager so want things to work as they should... just with fatter wheels/tyres!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Scooblitz]

Hi @BoxClever

Those would be some mighty rims on a z3 narrow body. Sadly, neither the front nor rear will fit.

The offsets are just too dished or concave to get underneath the arches, they will stick out massively. The fronts by around 25mm beyond what would be the limit. The rear 10js are also going to be waaaaay out there.

Even with modifications, I don't see these fitting, sorry to say.

There are camber plates, tyre stretching and a few other ways of getting dished or concave wheels on.

As a rule of thumb - 8J et 35 which is the 'same' as 8.5j et 41 is the maximum front limitation before wheels will protrude the arch.

Fattest tyre for a 17 is a 255/40/17 and tbh it's not that fat either.

Out of interest, what wheels where you looking at?

Willtheyfit.com is a decent indicator to compare offsets and get a feel for how wheels will sit.

Above is a reference fitment I use for working out if things will fit. A forum member who had a 2.8 widebody ran 265/35/18 with 9.5 et 33 - This is almost as far as you can go for the rear on a widebody and 10j x et17 is also 22mm too far out for a widebody, never mind the narrow body car.

 

[BoxClever]

Hi @BoxClever

Those would be some mighty rims .....

Thanks mate, this is exactly the knowledge I was looking for. And to be honest I didn't hold out much hope! They are Schnitzer rims with a lovely dish on the rear and if I still had my E46 touring they would fit nicely under the rolled arches!

I need to whip my current wheels off to see the exact sizes I'm running now then I can do some comparisons with differing offsets and widths.

Thanks again, @Scooblitz

 

[Scooblitz]

I have spent too long down the rabbit hole of wheel fitment so happy to share my findings.

I suspect some AC 'Schnitzel' type 1's or so.

One thing I would suggest is that there may be a combo of front and rears that might work. German wheels manufacturers usually do a few fitments in each wheel style that work for E36/Z3, e34-e39, E38 7 series etc. The combo might not be as dished but still have the wheel combo on the car.

Usually, the front is the limitation more than the rear. The rear can accommodate some silly wheels especially with a few mods. A few narrow body cars have been converted to wide body rears by switching the rear quarter fenders out (also needs rear bumper). This will give more tolerance for fat rims.
If you want to go wild, further mods could include swapping the rear hub, parking brake shoe, rear disc brake, caliper and carrier from Z4/E90. Both these mods would perhaps get a 17x10j et 17 on the rear. A 255/40/17 will go on a 10j wheel bit will have a semi stretched look to it. Not wild but at the limit of 'recommended', tyre fitment.

One bonus would be that the rear drive shafts of a narrow body are not as long as a widebody car so combining these mods should get some fat boy wheels on.

Good luck.

 

[BoxClever]

Thanks ever so much, mate. I too have spent far too long working out what fits and doesn’t on pretty much all my E30s, 36s, 46s and most lately my E92.

I just need to get my wheels off the Z3 to see my current sizes before buying anything new.!!

 

[BoxClever]

So @Scooblitz - a question for you.

I'm about to sell my E46 and I have some nice wheels on that and am thinking to switch them over with the ones on the Z3. I still haven't taken the Z wheels off yet to check exact sizes but they are 18s running 225/40s all round. I'll find the widths and offsets tomorrow or monday.

The E46 wheels are Bola CSRs in 18x8 ET40 front and 18x9 ET45 rear and on 225/40s all round too (the 46 is low so I didn't want to run a larger size on the rear and the slight stretch looks nice). I think they'll fit, but I was wondering what you thought in advance of me actually having to bend my old knees and get a wheel off to check!! If they look compatible I have a mate at work who will do the heavy lifting and help me change them over

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Scooblitz]

So @Scooblitz - a question for you.

I'm about to sell my E46 and I have some nice wheels on that and am thinking to switch them over with the ones on the Z3. I still haven't taken the Z wheels off yet to check exact sizes but they are 18s running 225/40s all round. I'll find the widths and offsets tomorrow or monday.

The E46 wheels are Bola CSRs in 18x8 ET40 front and 18x9 ET45 rear and on 225/40s all round too (the 46 is low so I didn't want to run a larger size on the rear and the slight stretch looks nice). I think they'll fit, but I was wondering what you thought in advance of me actually having to bend my old knees and get a wheel off to check!! If they look compatible I have a mate at work who will do the heavy lifting and help me change them over

Thanks,
Rich

These will fit no probs.

 

[BoxClever]

These will fit no probs.

Thanks for the confirmation, mate. Hoping to get them switched over this week and will post some pics

 

[Scooblitz]

Thanks for the confirmation, mate. Hoping to get them switched over this week and will post some pics

Rear could take a 10mm spacer to push out a bit and return it to where a stock oem 17x8.5j et 41 would sit.

 

[BoxClever]

Rear could take a 10mm spacer to push out a bit and return it to where a stock oem 17x8.5j et 41 would sit.

Thanks dude. I do have a few sets of spacers on hand to make some adjustments so it can sit more flush at the rear