[AZ325Ci]

i went to the local wheel specialist to look around and see the available wheels for the bimmers. i told the sales person that i was looking for different kinds of wheels but i basically wanted to get 18x8.5 all around. the sales person was trying to get me to purchase 9.5 for the rears since i will be getting 18's. won't the 9.5 for the rear stick out?? i have seen 9 width and they almost were flush, but i haven't seen 9.5. i am not sure if i want wider wheels for the rear, but i do know that i don't want them to stick out. should i stick with the 8.5?

 

[GreenDragon]

Knowing that the 8.5s don't stick out, and the 9's are flush, and you don't want them to stick out I would suggest sticking with the 8.5 or trying the 9s. I'm sure that really help ya out :lol:

 

[cam540]

I doubt 9.5 in the rear would stick, but that would depend on offset, tire size and other factors.

 

[woobiee]

i think it wont stick out.

 

[Guest]

dude, dont goto a tire specialist...goto a BMW TIRE SPECIALIST or goto tire rack, they know what they're doing, and i dont believe a 9.5 would fit anyway? ive seen 9's barely squeezed in, be safe, and just go 18x8.5 all around with 225's in the front and 255's out back

 

[woobiee]

yeah AZ and do what I do, add some spacers to to rear to make it look nicer (with 8.5 all around)

 

[nosuchsol]

Going with a wider footprint in the back will dial in a little bit of understeer - many of the car co's will go with a staggered setup for their sports cars for this. In the case of my Z32TT one of the earliest mods was to get TT rims up front and run 235/245 all the way around... nice stiff sidewall, small footprint difference, and an extra inch of rim(helps with flex).

I also like the idea of rotating the tires front to back. My Z went through tires way too fast.. stock height and width had enough camber change to cause the inside of the front tires to take the brunt of abuse. Rotating would have given me another half a year(maybe more). And if you're really a stickler then you can remove the tires from the rims and swap diag. =)

Anyhow, my main point was just about the understeer... seems that with a car so evenly balanced that it might change the driving dynamics a little more than on some of these other cars(although it felt different on my Z even with the huge weight difference)

 

[AZ325Ci]

thanks guys for your input,

speed- the wheel specialist i went to was referred by the local bmw dealer. they deal with wheels for all german cars.

i am going to stay with the 18x8.5's as i do not want to have to roll my fenders. when i had the acs type III on before, they were 18x8.5 all around and i never had any problems with them. damn, i miss having them.

i am still going to shop around as i do not know exactly which wheel i would like to have. there are so many nice wheels for the bimmers and find it hard to decide. originally, i had planned to get the 19's, but they are out of my price range, and also i wanted better performance out of the wheels, so i decided to stick with the 18's.