17" Wheel/Tire fitment recommendations for E30

[nelsonr7]

Reached out to the folks on R3V and was told I should check with the fine folks over here at Stanceworks for additional recommendations. Here's my current situation:

I'm running 17x8 et10, 17x9 et24 BBS RS, centerbore 65mm. They're filled and drilled to 4x100.

This is on an 87 325is, sitting on C3Motorsport coilovers at pretty much the bottom of their regular adjustment. The highest point of my front fender arch is about 24" off the ground. The rear is maybe 23 7/8" off the ground. Note that I will likely be going about 1/2" by removing the adjusters.

Given the offsets above, my first question is whether I should space these wheels out at all to make the most optimal amount of room for rubber (and if so what size front and rear) - or are the wheels already in an OK location as is. If a spacer is recommended, I'd appreciate any suggestions for who could make a custom spacer that adapts a 57mm centerbore to 65mm, in 4x100.

My next question is what size tires should I run. The primary use will be street driving with the occasional autocross.Typically will not have weight in the back but occasionally I will. Ideally I don't want the rims lips to be exposed; I'd prefer that the tires stretch just flush to the lips.

Current tires are 195-40 in the front, 225-35 in the rear. I personally can't stand how much lip is exposed. They're Yokohama s-drives with maybe 85% tread if anyone is interested in them (have two fronts and one rear... the other rear blew out, hence my desire to change my tire situation)

Suggestions greatly appreciated!!

[nelsonr7]

bump...

BTW figured I'd mention that my fenders are rolled, both front and rear.

Hoping to get my car rolling again. Really appreciate any insight from anyone, particularly those who are intimately familiar with early model E30 wheel well clearance / offsets.

Thanks!

[Rubens]

Go down that bit and opt for a 205/40 tire if you dont like the stretch.

[Stancyeze]

That redrill looks pretty sketchy...

[1badg35]

Well I'm not completely sure I'm understanding all of your questions, but if you like the look of the wheels where they sit on the car right now, I would recommend not spacing them out at all. Just get larger rubber to fill out the wheels and doing that will also lessen the gap to the fenders. if youre running a 195 and don't like the stretch, i would jump up to a 215/40 and a 235 or 245/35 rear tire. that should be pretty square on those wheels and will get more rubber to the ground as well as fill out those arches.

Not sure what spacing the wheels out in this case would do exactly other than make it harder to run larger tires...

other suggestion to get the correct center bore would be to have the center bore opened up from 65mm to 66mm and then you can run hub bore adapters to 57.1/ they are quite common in the 66mm-57mm size

[nelsonr7]

Thanks all for the advice! I'm thinking I'll leave the spacing as is and use 215-40 in the front, 235-40 or 225-45 in the rear.

[nelsonr7]

That redrill looks pretty sketchy...

The redrill was done @ VRwheels (previous owner sent them there).

What are you thinking feels sketchy? How close the lug holes are to the center bore? The fact that the original holes were not completely filled?

[DER E30]

Well I'm not completely sure I'm understanding all of your questions, but if you like the look of the wheels where they sit on the car right now, I would recommend not spacing them out at all. Just get larger rubber to fill out the wheels and doing that will also lessen the gap to the fenders. if youre running a 195 and don't like the stretch, i would jump up to a 215/40 and a 235 or 245/35 rear tire. that should be pretty square on those wheels and will get more rubber to the ground as well as fill out those arches.

Not sure what spacing the wheels out in this case would do exactly other than make it harder to run larger tires...

other suggestion to get the correct center bore would be to have the center bore opened up from 65mm to 66mm and then you can run hub bore adapters to 57.1/ they are quite common in the 66mm-57mm size

GOOD advice here... I would say not to space them as long as you have clearance for a bigger tire between the strut and tire in the front. Spacing them out more won't help the tire clearance unless you are spacing and slamming. My car has 225 on 8 in the front if you look in my thread in my sig. If you look around on r3v there is good info including a 17inch wheels thread somewhere...

[nelsonr7]

GOOD advice here... I would say not to space them as long as you have clearance for a bigger tire between the strut and tire in the front. Spacing them out more won't help the tire clearance unless you are spacing and slamming. My car has 225 on 8 in the front if you look in my thread in my sig. If you look around on r3v there is good info including a 17inch wheels thread somewhere...

I can get maybe two fingers side by side in between the tire and the strut with the 195-40s in the front. That's with the current ride height & curb weight. You think I'll be good to drop another half-inch and step up to a 215-40 without spacing...just based on the pictures I posted, and the offets?

(I wish there were a place where I could test fit tires, but unfortunately I sort of just need to order them and get it done with...so I need to make a decision).

P.S. Your car looks great. I used to have a similar Zender-style raised spoiler with a third brakelight. Eventually swapped it out for the M-tech 1 because it was obviously a needed thing to complete the kit, but I do have a soft-spot for that M3 style wing!

[DER E30]

Yeah I think you can get away with bigger tires if you have that much strut vs. tire clearance. I have maybe 3-5 mm strut vs wheel clearance but my wheels are also 16s so your 17s are further away just because of larger diameter. The strut on mine isn't so much the problem as the spring and adjustment coller.

Your wheels look killer btw if you wanna trade haha