3-Series (E36)Chat relating to the BMW 3-Series from 1992-1999. Autodoodad
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Here's the deal...
my car still feels harsh on bumpy roads (and i mean mild ones) and so far, i've replaced my front struts w/ mounts, rear shocks w/ mounts, both front and rear CA bushings, and even tires. Now, i've driven many cars, i even compared my girl's E36 with mine and hers feels better on bumpy roads.
My question is, does rim size makes a difference in ride comfort? Because the difference from my girl's E36 and my E36 is the wheels (she has 15" stocks while mine came with 17" stocks). Because the other cars that i've driven had smaller rims and this is the first time i had 17". I mean could that make some difference at all in the ride???
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absolutley..the larger the rim size- the lower profile tire used. the lower the profile of the tire the more ride comfort is sacraficed.. plus the 17's weigh more. The upside is obviously for asthetic reasons (improved appearance)..
Why you want to switch!? I have stock 15's in great shape, fairly new tires- with your name on them!
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Another question, since i have 205/50 tires front and back, would it help if i use wider tires? and also is it possible to increase 50 to 55 (heght) on tires, or do i have to do any special modification on the car to do it?
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rim size has A LOT to do with it.
You'll notice luxuary cars have small rims to let the sidewall take most of the impact, and high preformance cars have larger rims for better control of the tire.
17's are not stock for e36's, unless they're M3 rims, in which case you want to keep them, or give them to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes the 17s are a less cushy ride, but they help the car handle much better--which is what BMW's are about.
__________________ 98 328i, black/black, manual, canadian sport pkg, ECIS intake, koni sport adj's, dinan springs, oe/oem clears.
Considering: tms shark,M 17" wheels, larger sway bars.
just a point that i think is important to throw out there, (please correct me if i'm wrong ) mesing around/changing tire sizes is not that easy. if you get bigger(taller) size then you have to readjust your speedo and vice versa, my brother had a 97 lt1(for the unintelligant, 97 police interceptor ex) anyway those cars are like stock 15 or 16s but when he got it, it had 17s on it. his speedo was off by almost 10! so when he was goin 70 we were passin everyone because we were goin 80. and with my bimmer, 92 325i i have 17s on it and when i go 70 i always tend to be passing everyone.
Well, what 'bout if I get wider tires? if i go from 205 to 225, would that make some difference in comfort?
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a little bit maybe..worth doing? no.. since you already replaced many suspension componets and are at 205/50 (already a thick tire for 17's) to get the ride your looking for would be to down size the rims.
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) mesing around/changing tire sizes is not that easy. if you get bigger(taller) size then you have to readjust your speedo and vice versa, my brother had a 97 lt1(for the unintelligant, 97 police interceptor ex) anyway those cars are like stock 15 or 16s but when he got it, it had 17s on it. his speedo was off by almost 10! so when he was goin 70 we were passin everyone because we were goin 80. and with my bimmer, 92 325i i have 17s on it and when i go 70 i always tend to be passing everyone.
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