E30 Zone

i have a 1986 325 and i was wondering what size will look the best on the car, i bought it with just 14's but are 17's gonna be to big? let me know what you think.

its been said before but I'll say it again don't go bigger than 16" wheels on an e3o if you want it to ride and handle as it should. 15" bbs can't really be bettered when you factor in cost and availability.

what he said - BTW are you american?

its all a myth. 17's arent to big and dont unduly effect the handling and look much better than little 15's. unless your a woman then just get 15's.

fuzzy wrote:its all a myth. 17's arent to big and dont unduly effect the handling and look much better than little 15's. unless your a woman then just get 15's.

Thing is did your car have 15s when you bought it ? or driven an E30 with 15s?

Not having a go

yes max, my current car and my last touring came with 15's and were promptly binned.theres less roll in 17" tyres as the sidewalls are much smaller so less flexing and rolling on hard cornering .thats my opinion and feel free to have a go if you wish as im not easily offended

fuzzy wrote:yes max, my current car and my last touring came with 15's and were promptly binned.theres less roll in 17" tyres as the sidewalls are much smaller so less flexing and rolling on hard cornering .thats my opinion and feel free to have a go if you wish as im not easily offended

lol might be less roll in the tyre but that dont stop the car rolling

m-dtech wrote:

fuzzy wrote:yes max, my current car and my last touring came with 15's and were promptly binned.theres less roll in 17" tyres as the sidewalls are much smaller so less flexing and rolling on hard cornering .thats my opinion and feel free to have a go if you wish as im not easily offended

lol might be less roll in the tyre but that dont stop the car rolling

added to the uprated shocks,springs and bushes it all helps.whats the point in uprating everything only to be let down by the final weakest link,big spongy cartoon size tyres?

15" BBS and 205x55x15 tyres ............... you are the weakest link goodbye !!!!!!!!

m-dtech wrote:15" BBS and 205x55x15 tyres ............... you are the weakest link goodbye !!!!!!!!

cartoon tyres mikey.that will be one of they innertubes you floated in the sea on when you were a kid 55 profile on a 205 will give you a sidewall of about 110mm, 40 profile will be 80mm ish.best with a 40 profile sidewall or even a 35 if going for 18's

I know about the side wall flex...

I will see the difference if someone would care to lend me some BKs

maxfield wrote:I know about the side wall flex...

I will see the difference if someone would care to lend me some BKs

and the other myth about bk's being much heavier and poorer quality than 15" bbs.iirc there is only about a kg or two in it with tyres fitted and how much quality do you need? they are perfectly round and balanced same as bbs,thats all that matters.my old bk's survived a head on crash with a truck and werent buckled even though it was pushed through the bulk head

My dads council wheels aren't balanced or got proper round tyres

I think it's because BK is just a council type wheel that puts everyone off

maxfield wrote:My dads council wheels aren't balanced or got proper round tyres

what did he hit?

What didn't he hit....

Put it this way Spanish roads are awful

pnd wrote:its been said before but I'll say it again don't go bigger than 16" wheels on an e3o if you want it to ride and handle as it should.

As I've said before, but will say again, it depends on the individual wheel. Not all 17" wheels upset the ride and handling

fuzzy wrote:

maxfield wrote:I know about the side wall flex...

I will see the difference if someone would care to lend me some BKs

and the other myth about bk's being much heavier and poorer quality than 15" bbs.iirc there is only about a kg or two in it with tyres fitted....

there's a minimum of 5kg weight difference with tyres fitted - that's 20kg vs 15 kgs, or a third as much again.

So what happened with you crashing into a lorry - sounds nasty

my reps are 17.5 kg with tyres. i came over the brow of a hill to find a truck on my side of the road about 50m in front trying to overtake someone. i was doing 60 so no chance to stop.

fuzzy wrote:my reps are 17.5 kg with tyres.

you must have scales made for women

Accident = very unlucky.

orangecurry wrote:
Accident = very unlucky.

it was indeed. i was on my way down to drop the car of for the engine conversion. just as well it happened on the way there and not on the way back

um yes i am american and so is my bmw and yes i am a woman so i guess i'll go with the 15's

they are all black and round to me

trevski wrote:they are all black and round to me

thats not a very nice thing to say about the yanks

my 17" bbs nice and light,handles great.

205 50 15 toyo T1* squished onto a BBS Xspoke =
205 50 15's = £Â£Ã‚£'s in pocket
55's are too big sorry m-dtech

Fuzzy do you LF Brake or heel toe (or any playtime for that matter) in the wet or are you the kind that holds motorbikes up greasy roundabouts?

pigeons <---- cat

I think the key here is to get wheels that fit the car properly and don't need spacers or spigot rings.
AFAIK 15" BBS were not an option in the US but you should be able to get someone to post them if you're prepared to pay what could be a considerable cost....