Five lug conversion

[Bimmin'88]

I've been looking at a five lug conversion. I recently read an article that used M3 hubs with the M3 struts and sway bars. Can you do this with just the hubs? Or is there any other options?

[gotKRAUT]

complete waste of money if you ask me...i was talking to a couple people at the track and they said the still run 4 lug on cars upwards of 800 HP and when one breaks they still run the rest of the event on 3....point being....Why would you wanna do it?

[BMW Lover]

most likley to get some jap rims :-/ on the bmw...or for fun? i dunno but 4lug is cool what is the big deal?

[All wheels rolling]

I've thought about doing a four lug to five lug conversion so that I can get some rims for an E36 or E46 on to my car. I've tried adapters but the bolt patterns are way to close to make it work. It's hard to find classy rims for a bimmer in 4 bolt... especially big rims. A lot of companies don't do 4 bolt above 17". I'd like to get some 19's from an E46 5 series or 7 series. The bolt pattern is a 5x120 and the holes are just too close together to make it work... I'd like to do it too if there is a reasonable solution.

Preston

[Oxbrain]

with the strength of todays wheels there isn't much reason to go to 5 lug. 5 lug has a slightly more complicated pattern for tightening than 4 lug, and it takes longer to change a flat when it's pouring down rain and some drunk driver is barraling towards you. and the weight of that extra rod and nut has got to make a slight difference to unsprung weight, kinda.

Only reason I would switch is if I redid the frontend with m3 parts.


I want the one lug style a la indy cars and stuff.

[gotKRAUT]

Originally posted by Oxbrain@Sep 14 2004, 11:42 PM
with the strength of todays wheels there isn't much reason to go to 5 lug. 5 lug has a slightly more complicated pattern for tightening than 4 lug, and it takes longer to change a flat when it's pouring down rain and some drunk driver is barraling towards you. and the weight of that extra rod and nut has got to make a slight difference to unsprung weight, kinda.

Only reason I would switch is if I redid the frontend with m3 parts.


I want the one lug style a la indy cars and stuff.

agreed i recomend nuthing larger that 15 or 16 for an E30 or it will look like a cartoon car LOL not to mention the fact that you will loose SOO much performance, gas mileage, respect from me (haha), and speedo will need to be recalibrated....15X7 or 7.5 is the BEST setup i have used on my e30...dont go 5 lug unless you are doing it for a big brake kit or M3 components(still pointless..)

[BMW Lover]

lol that was funny to read that would be awesome to get some 1 lug rims! wow that'd be cool...i agree thoh, dont get anything higher than 15-16"s thats pretty big for e30's

[gotKRAUT]

Originally posted by BMW Lover@Sep 15 2004, 01:20 AM
lol that was funny to read that would be awesome to get some 1 lug rims! wow that'd be cool...i agree thoh, dont get anything higher than 15-16"s thats pretty big for e30's

[Bimmin'88]

Thanks for the input.

Jap rims....No! Thats sacrilegious! How about a "Batwing"? LOL

Larger brakes and better rim selection....Yes. I do think 16" is the max for this year range.

[parkdave]

HI JUST THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW IVE DONE THE 5 BOLT CONVERSION TO MY 1990 E30 325I
I USED E36 FRONT LEGS AND LOWERED SPRINGS ,E30 TOP MOUNTS, E36 M3 FRONT WISHBONE'S TO KEEP THE WHEEL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT WHEEL ARCH [fender], AND USED E36 M3 FRONT BRAKES,
AND FOR THE REAR I USED THE BACK AXLE OFF THE E36 318TI COMPACT WHICH IS THE SAME BEAM AS THE E30 WITH 5 BOLT FIXING BUT THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE E30 M3
YOU HAVE TO USE E36 ALLOY WHEELS ,AS THE E30 M3 OR E34 WHEELS ARE TO WIDE ON THE OFF SET
I USED E36 16" M DOUBLE SPOKE WHEELS 7/16"
THEY WERE VERY CLOSE TO THE ARCH BUT THEY LOOKED GREAT
THE REAR SPRINGS WERE E30 LOWERED ONES..
AFTER THIS CONVERSION THE BRAKES WERE ALOT BETTER
IT ALSO HAD A M50 2.5 24VALVE MOTOR IN IT AS WELL
HOPE THIS HELPS REGARDS DAVE