Is there a negative effect from using non-E30 wheels?

[evilnickwong]

Hi guys, I've been reading the forums here alot, but this is my first post.

Quick intro, my name's Nick and I'm from Malaysia and I have a '91 E30 M40B18 4dr that's pretty much stock at the moment.
I've been looking at upgrading my 14" bottlecaps to a set of 15" or 16" and one of the things I keep hearing is that.. If I get just about any random set of wheels from my local wheel shop, even if the offset is correct and it fits fine on the car, it will probably negatively affect the handling of the car.

So, I'm wondering, how true is this? I mean, are there ACS and BBS rims made specifically for the E30? I thought all rims are pretty much meant for any model unless it's from the factory or something. So assuming I put on some non-branded rim on my E30 that's got an offset of say ET20 and it fits fine, will it be bad in anyway?

Hope you guys can help clarify this for me.

[Ziggy]

If you get a decent rim (from a decent manufacturer) with the correct specs, then it will be fine. You obviously won't get far without the correct PCD (4x100), but the CB (57.1mm) is easier to forget; don't. Offset depends on width, but between 15 & 25mm are generally ok on a 7" rim.

& welcome to the zone btw!

[fuzzy]

welcome. any wheel as long as its the correct pcd and centre bore size will be fine as long as its properly balanced.offsets can vary slightly without any noticable effect.buy what you want then post up some pics

[evilnickwong]

Thanks for the welcome Ziggy and fuzzy!

Oh dang, I had indeed completely forgot about CB (that's center bore size right?).
But as far as I have seen, most wheel shops don't even display what the CB size of a wheel is. I'm assuming if it's not 57.1mm, then it's gonna need hubcentric spacers or something or other?

OK, so this means I don't have to limit myself to (oft time more expensive) E30-specific wheels?

I'm currently looking at a 16x7.5, ET20 Japan made wheel. Going for about RM2300 (which is roughly USD660+).
Might sound expensive, but over here in Malaysia, E30 wheels are rare. A set of ACS could easily sell for about USD800+.

I'm also looking at some 15" ATS wheels, but those might beabit of a small jump from 14".

[ZedOne]

As long as the centre bore is 57.1 or more, you can always use spigot rings to bring it down to the correct size.

It's when the centre bore of the wheel is less than 57.1 that you run into difficulties!

Most aftermarket manufacturers make their wheels with a standard larger c/bore then use spigot rings for each specific application. This makes is easier to produce a large batch of wheels rather than lots of small batches with a different size c/bore for each application.

Hope that makes sense??

Oh - and WELCOME to the zone btw....

[evilnickwong]

Oh OK, yeah it makes sense, that bit about having a larger centerbore, then adjusting the fit for a specific car. ;)

Just wondering if there are any cons to having such a setup, versus a rim that already has a proper 57.1mm cb.
I'll be heading down to my local wheel shop this weekend if I have the time, so I'll pay more attention to all the measurements this time.