wheel size on E36 M3 hubs with brakes

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:22 pm

hey guys, i've been lookin through here a couple of 1000 times
loadsa guys talkin bout max tire size and et25 this with 16x9 that, i'm going puttin M3 evo front shocks and brakes on my E30
and i was just wonderin has anyone on here put 16's on them or is 17 the min? i've bmw bbs style 15x7's on it now, i wanna know can i get away with putting 16's on it?

I think 17's will be too big and also its a track car so wanna keep the handling as best as possible!!!

cheers

Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:37 pm

Are you doing a 5 stud with the evo setup?

Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:18 pm

I think you will need to run 17" min to clear the brakes if going with the E36 M3 Evo set-up

Proper 17" will fit fine with the correct offset, i.e. E36/E46 wheels.

Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:01 pm

yeah i'm goin to use 5 stud setup e36 compact trailing arms etc. What i was thinking of doin was offering up a 16'' wheel i have from an e46 i think, see if it'll rotate, it wont sit on the hub flange as the evo one is much larger.

if i don't use these brakes i'll have to go find 285mm big brake kit or similar which is money money money, i'd like to use these brakes as i've got them already...

Guess i'll have to use 17's then!!

Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:52 pm

i think some 16in wheels will fit over them, but theyll be tight and will be aftermarket motorsport type wheels designed for clearance. i very much doubt any oem e36 or e46 16s will clear them.

not sure what you mean about the e46 wheel not sitting on the hub flange, e36 and e46 use the exact same front wheel bearing / hub.

i also don't think you'll find a smaller brake setup that will fit the evo kingpins, the calliper position and spacing is unique to the m3, so normal e36 stuff won't fit. i'm sure you could engineer something with brackets and different disks and callipers but it's not going to be cheap!

Tue Nov 29, 2011 7:07 pm

nice advice harry what i mean is the centre hole of the wheel i have spare is smaller in diameter to the centre hole of the evo alloy wheel,
can't think of da name of them they are twin 5 spoke style wheels generally found on the m3 evo...
i'm just thinkin it would be a cracking car if i could get wide borbet A's on to the brakes and callipers. if not i'll have to aftermarket as you suggest...

cheers
colin

Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:10 pm

Some 16" OEM wheels will fit some won't. I know the Style 6 and Style 15 both being 16" will clear and rotate fine. I think it depends on the style of wheel and how the spoke curves on the inside as well. There was a thread on another forum showing what 16" wheels OEM included fit over this setup.

Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:20 pm

colin325 wrote: I think 17's will be too big and also its a track car so wanna keep the handling as best as possible!!!

cheers

17" wheels will fine on a track car, but you have to use decent suspension

iirc, i saw a discussion on e36 m3 evos and wheels, and deffo require 17" to clear the brakes, but i could be wrong. it all depends on the shape of the wheel, offset etc.

can i ask why you want a 5 lug set up ? just to use what you have ? if this is the case, i'd consider staying 4 lug and invest on good suspension and different brakes

look up ""demlotcrew" and look at his car.

Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:16 am

Kos wrote: iirc, i saw a discussion on e36 m3 evos and wheels, and deffo require 17" to clear the brakes, but i could be wrong. it all depends on the shape of the wheel, offset etc.

16's do clear but as mentioned depends on the wheel more than anything. I already have a set of 16's that are ready to go on when I do get my finger out and do the 5 stud

Here's a sticky thread with loads of examples.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=132194

and a thread for 16" wheels only

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=139231

Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:44 am

some of those 16" wheels are hard to source

but most people using e36 5 lug set up are on 17's

quite a few of the 5 lug set ups on there were on e30 M3 suspension

Fri Dec 02, 2011 12:24 am

thats what good ol' ebay or german ebay is for Kos!

Fri Dec 02, 2011 11:01 pm

thanks guys thanks oh my god the response is very informing, i thought for sure i would be left with one or two replies.

@kos: yes i'm goin to try 5 stud merely because i've bought an M3 Evo for the engine 'box and diff, was told by a very good bmw entuiast that i work with out the conversion and he told me the Evo front suspenion will swap over giving big brakes (which is a must) and change the trailing arms for compact E36 arms that have disc brakes and bobs your uncle...

P.S. how do i look at a particular member's car when i click on their profile i can't see anywhere to look at their car or history of their car? I'm a Noob on this forum stuff! it says i can PM or add as friend or somethin else their profile?

@gouki thanks for the links i'll have a look at them asap! thanks again
German ebay you say... hhmmmm????

Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:13 pm

Diff will be no good to you.. It's a large case. E30's need a medium case.

Tue Dec 06, 2011 10:34 pm

can i not just swap internals and keep the E30 rear cover?
have an LSD in the 325 already its a bit soft tho...

Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:33 am

Nope. Large case vs. medium. 210 vs. 188.

Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:35 pm

his brakes

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... 00&start=0

some of the car

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&start=50

Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:49 pm

jhonno ya it seems i need a large case with 8 bolt rear cover and it will transfer over, cheers for da info.

Kos cheers for finding them i'm still trying to figure out the forums to find da different builds, i'm getting there slowly!

thanks again to all!

Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:10 am

are you sure?

i was always led to believe that there were 3 'normal' sizes of bmw diff. small, medium and large case.

as the e30 was a baby bmw it only ever came with small, and medium case diffs, but because there are only these choices, in e30 circles they get known as small and large, but the 'large' e30 diff is only the same size as the rest of the ranges 'medium'

the e36 m3 evo is the only e36 to use a (proper) 'large' diff, with internals similar to the v8 5 series'. it also needs an evo specific rear subframe to hold the diff.

the 3.0 e36 m3 used a 'medium' diff, with internals which i believe can be fitted into a large e30 case. i'm fairly sure the evo internals won't work.

i'm certainly no expert and it's not something i've tried, just bits and bobs picked up from hanging around e30 and e36 forums for far too long!

also be aware that info from US based sites might not always be the same as european ones. i know their e36 m3s varied considerably and not sure their 3.2s would have used the full fat large case diff as they had a lot less power than the euro motors.

Fri Dec 09, 2011 12:19 am

colin325 wrote:jhonno ya it seems i need a large case with 8 bolt rear cover and it will transfer over, cheers for the info.

Kos cheers for finding them i'm still trying to figure out the forums to find the different builds, i'm getting there slowly!

thanks again to all!

The large case WONT fit an e30 without fabrication work.

A medium case 3.0 diff would swap guts into an e30 casing.

People wrongly refer to the medium case e30 diff as a large case.

PM recieved btw.. Will reply tomorrow.

Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:25 pm

Harry thanks for the info i'll look into it and get a definite answer, if i could keep the rear setup more or less mainly E30 i will because if or when it breaks somethin I'll be able to swap E30 bits into it to get it back runnin rather than modifying everytime etc.

was lookin at BTB Exhaust manifolds there too... i'll attempt to modify the standard one, my friend is a fitter nearly 45yrs now so i'll get him to have a look, but for time saving and heart breaking i might just invest in a BTB item? thoughts?

Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:54 pm

If one of your main reasons to go 5 stud is the bigger brakes, it might make more sense to stick to 4 stud - but you don't need to find AP Racing money, see: http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=209737

Also being a track car, the weight of the brakes has a big effect on the handling, worth bearing in mind as I suspect the 5 stud OEM big discs/calipers are not exactly light?

Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:54 pm

The definitive answer is it wont fit fella.

BTB IS the way forward. The exhaust manifold is very important to making power on these engines! 'Bodging' a standard one, regardless of fitting experience is not good for it.

Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:55 pm

keri-WMS wrote:If one of your main reasons to go 5 stud is the bigger brakes, it might make more sense to stick to 4 stud - but you don't need to find AP Racing money, see: http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=209737

Also being a track car, the weight of the brakes has a big effect on the handling, worth bearing in mind as I suspect the 5 stud OEM big discs/calipers are not exactly light?

The evo disks are two piece with alloy bells so not that heavy tbh, although the callipers aren't exactly light

Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:19 pm

I've seen those Evo discs - they are a pretty cool design! Not sure if everyone forks out for gen BMW ones again when it's time to replace them, you have to effectively buy the alloy bell again each time which must be expensive.

Some guys near me were trying to skim a pair for a customer of theirs, apparently it was a nightmare (or not possible at all maybe) due to the movement induced by the floating design.

Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:53 pm

They're around £250 a pair from various specialists which isn't that absurd.