Since the wear is significant and on the inside...and very localized, I have only one observation. Are the rims offset, out? From the pictures I'd venture a guess that you're rubbing against the shock perch or the spring. It appears that the damage is slightly "dippled", sort of like a round object is actually riding on the tire.
Oh, may I assume this is only in the front? Have you ever smelled rubber after parking? I've had some nasty wear on occasion and it's either alignmnent, camber or lack of offset. (Got a really polished spring under there?) Hope this helped. T.
Have a look at Felgen-Katalog - BMW-Treff - der Treffpunkt für alle BMW-Fans und -Fahrer for the details of your original wheels (& tires). The offset is usually stamped into the inside fac of the wheel and should appear like +20ET (ET or IS). If your car had its stock wheels on it originally they should have been around +18 to +24, a lot of rims for BMW are up around +40 to + 45 so if the person your purchased the rims from weren't aware of the requirements of the 5 & 7 series BMWs they may have set you up with the incorrect offsets.
Good luck
bc, I believe the other poster hit it on the head and provided a good resource to check out the offset. I haven't bought a set of rims beyond the stock type in years so I probably wouldn't have been much help there.
As to my tire wear issues, bad shocks caused one problem in the rear, mostly the issues went to worn out tie rods or rubber bushings (I used to track my cars, a lot! That'll make that rubber flex!) or other suspension problems, like bent lower arms (that was back in the day when they were steel).
I race with a couple of guys in Chumpcar and they decided that the chunked out outside edges would be fixed with a whole lot of camber and the alignment was not a problem....yeah, and pigs fly. Numbers on the alignment rack computer didn't even register that high!!! Problem solved.
You did mention that you had rolled the fender edges. I'm sure someone (hmm, Bimmerworks, perhaps?) has inserts that can get the offset back and away from the suspension. But you may have to look at those fender edges again. Good luck, ciao, t
brettski - my 2005 545i had wheels that came with the sport package. I had my rims custom made from DPE and they know what kind of car I have. How can I check the offset of my DPE rims? Will it be stamped somewhere or can it be measured now?
turks_kid - my bimmer only has 48k miles, and I don't drive very aggressively. Can it be the shocks?
I rolled the fender because there was rubbing before. There's less now but I don't think the problem is fixed since the insides are rubbing. Maybe it is an offset problem?
DPE forged you a set of rims, hmmm. They should be well aware of the limitations of the offset for your car.
(Pointed question, sorry, did you specifically ask for the largest rim that could fit? Or, did you ask for something else? And did they advise you on your choice? The widest rim is not necessarily the best choice....I'll take a low aspect ration over width, IMO.).
May I offer this, if you still have the original rims/tires put them back on. Before you do, chalk mark the inside face/edge of the tire down the sidewall about an inch at the quarter points. Take it to your favorite twisty road and enjoy the ride, this gets the tire patch moving side to side a bit. When you get back check out the chalk marks. If you do have evidence of rubbing at the point of the flat meeting the sidewall then the offset isn't the issue. (While you're under there look EVERYWHERE for a highly polished surface)
Now, if you find no rubbing. It's got to be offset.....I was almost going to say that you may have a suspension component that isn't where its supposed to be but if you have this condition at each corner....well. forget that. And forget the bad shock(s) theory....unless they all went simulateously.
And, and, you haven't made any other changes under there? Lowered, stainless steel brake lines, etc....I'm not castin aspertions just looking for solutions. later, t
What size tires were on your car from the factory? Have you confirmed that the rolling diameter of the tires isn't dramatically larger than that of the original setup? From my basic research it looks like you are fairly close to the original, and in all honesty you shouldn't have needed to roll the fenders at all unless the suspension was lowered from standard, or some sort of camber setting issue.
On a standard wheel, imagine a line drawn through the center width of the wheel. Offset is how far forward, or back from that line the hub that mounts the wheel to the car sits. Its measured in MM. Negative offset is how far back the hub is, and positive offset is how far forward the hub is.
Now your tires are clearly rubbing on something. But what i cant tell from the first picture you posted is which wheel came from what location? Is the rubbing on the inside of the wheel, or the outside?
If the wheel is rubbing on the outside edge of the wheel then you clearly have fender rubbing issues and more rolling, stretching or modification must be done. If it is rubbing on the inside edge of the wheel then you are rubbing on your spring perch. The only two ways to solve this, are new shocks with a higher spring perch (usually coilovers), or get smaller wheels/tires.
I run 225/40R18 up front and 245/35R18 in the rear. I thought you said in your first post these were 20" rims?
Hard to say, as you need to look for something with a higher spring perch. Maybe KW, or Bilstein. Ground Control are my favorite. The thing with your shocks now, is no matter how big a rim you get, the spring perch remains the same height. This leaves two options, either your camber is seriously messed up, or your rubbing. Have you taken the wheel off and physically looked at the strut to look for tire wear?
Looking at the pictures you posted it does look like the only reason this is occuring is rubbing. Its a sharp wear pattern. Too much camber would make it more even on the edge. The cheapest option i can see right now is to run wheel spacers, and roll your fenders some more if needed. The wheel spacers should give you that little extra to clear the spring perch.
Lord_Vader - the factory tires are 245-40-18 front, but I am using:
Current Front tires: Falken FK-452 245/30/20
Current Rear tires: Falken FK-452 285/25/20
with my 20" DPE rims. The car shop says there are camber issues with some bimmers and benzs. How should the strut look like with and without tire wear?
Where can I get wheel spaces and how much do they cost? Are they safe if I drive and corner fast?
Some Bimmers can have camber issues when lowered, but when stock they are usually fine. The picture you posted is hard to tell if you have a camber issue, but based on the pictures of the tire wear I dont think you do. They appear to be wearing fine apart from the obvious part on the inside.
ECS Tuning, Turner Motorsports and Bimmerworld should all carry wheel spacers. They are safe to use with everyday driving. You have 20" rims so I wouldnt advise "cornering fast". 20"s are not a performance wheel, but its your car. With wheel spacers you can get a stud conversion kit to make it easier to put your wheels on. It replaces the factory bolts that screw into the hub with studs that a lug nut screws onto. Measure the width of the worn part on the tire. Judgeing by the picture id say you need at least a 1/2" spacer.
You dont *need* the studs, but it makes it a lot easier to put the wheel on should you take them off frequently. Rather then holding the wheel and trying to thread the bolt, you put the wheel on and the studs hold them in place. With spacers you need longer bolts either way, so most just upgrade to the studs out of convience. My 18"s weigh 45lbs each, so i cant imagine trying to lift a 20" in place and holding it while I thread in the lug nuts.
The spacers come in mm widths so just convert the it over to find the one you need. Spacers are cheaper then coilovers so start with those.
From the Turner website:
A wheel spacer helps by moving the wheel away from the caliper, wheel spokes, or suspension that is causing the clearance issue. If your wheels have the wrong offset (too high an offset, causing the wheels to be too far inward) a set of wheel spacers can correct this by pushing the wheel out to the correct offset.
Lord_Vader - the front tires have around 1/2 inch from the outside of the tire to outside part of the fender. The rear tires have 3/4 inch from the outside of the tire to the outside part of the fender.
To prevent the tire from rubbing on the inside, I would have to install 1 inch spacers. This means the front tire will stick out 1/2 inch, and the rear tires will stick out 1/4 inch past the fender. Does this mean that rolling the fender will no effect now? I already rolled my fenders, but since the tires would be past the fender won't they rub on the outside of the tires no matter what now?
That's the price of running 20"s I suppose. The wheels will stick out but more fender rolling should help. As long as your not wearing your tires out so fast it's worth it.
Since the wheels stick out "past" the fender, I don't think rolling the fenders more will help. If I roll more, the paint on the outside car panel may get damaged. Can anyone chime in?
I have to replace my Falken tires every 17k miles and they are supposed to last up to 35k miles. Do you think I can double my mileage on the tires if I got the spacers or coilovers?
If I get coilovers, do they replace the BWM factory sport suspension?
When rolling them it is critical heat is applied to ensure the paint doesnt crack. Hard to say how much you can roll em without the paint cracking through.
Start with spacers. Way cheaper and most likely will solve the issue. The spacers *may* cause the wheel to stick out far enough to rub on the fenders, but thats easy to fix.
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