which tyres to fit... help!

[benurminge]

hi there,
I have a bmw e30 touring. I am keeping the original bbs alloys which are 6 1/2" wide 14" alloys.
I am fitting 60mm lowering springs to the bmw and want to know what size tyres people recommend? it has ugly 195/65/14 on at the moment.
I was thinking 185/55/14's?
this would get rid of the ugly out bulge on the tyre and maybe a little bit of stretch.
is there anyone out there with a touring who has fitted 60mm lowering springs and kept the original bbs alloys who can send me some photos of how the set up looks!
because arch gap is a NO NO!
but its going to be my daily so has to be practical unlike my mk2 golf which subframe sits 1" of the floor on stiff coilovers!

thanks

[Grrrmachine]

its going to be my daily so has to be practical

I am fitting 60mm lowering springs

Does not compute.

Still, it doesn't matter what tyres you buy, you'll be buying new ones in three months with that sort of drop.

Also, by dropping down to the tyre size you suggest, you're looking at over 8% total reduction in wheel size. That will play havoc with your speedo, your gearing and your fuel consumption.

[benurminge]

I knew someone would reply like this...
-_-

like I said I have coilovers on a mk2 golf with is sitting an inch off the floor with camber all around. those tyres have lasted a year or so, so I think that will be fine.

my golf is never ment to have the 14" alloys I fitted to that and yes my speedo is way out and my gearing etc but it has never bothered me...

maybe im not mr sensible but I did ask for help and you havnt really done that.

and trust me when you have a car an 1inch off the floor which you would feel a bump if you drove over a bug, a 60mm drop on springs is hugely practical and a perfect daily!

if anyone else can actually help me out I would much appreciate it.

thanks

[benurminge]

I looked at a couple of forums and people are suggesting 40mm at the back to reduce tyre wear and 60mm at the front. does anyone have this set up then can send me a picture?

[jmc330i]

H&R cup kit comes with a 60/40 drop option and people seem to rate it.

H&R 60/40....

[benurminge]

Ah thanks mate! Alot of help what tyres are on that? Are they the 14" 6 1/2 wide original alloys?
Cheers.

[jmc330i]

No, they would be the 15x7 BBS. I'd expect 205/55/15s.

195/65/14s are the same diameter (give or take 2mm) as the 205s, the 185/55s your looking at are about 50mm smaller in diameter.

[benurminge]

50mm less in diameter! should give me a bit of stretch then!
maybe I need to look into how tyres work! I thought 195 is the diameter in mm, so 185 would only be 10mm shorter and the tyre wall works the same, so 65 are 65mm high and 55 would be 10mm shorter?
obviously im wrong! teach me please!

so what tyre would you suggest for my 6 and a half wide 14" alloys?
cheers for the help I appreciate it

[Grrrmachine]

Reading back through this thread, I think you need to make a cup of tea, sit down and read this:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... yres#Sizes

And really, comparing a Mk2 Golf to an E30...

[benurminge]

finally you been helpful!

thank you, that did help a lot, now I got to remember percentages! Christ... haha

and I don't get what you mean with your comment about comparing a mk2 golf to an e30... going to ignore it though.

both lovely gorgeous cars.

cheers

[jmc330i]

185 is the width of the tyre in mm.
55 is the profile - height of the side wall as a percentage of the tyre width so 55% of 185mm.
14 is the wheel size/diameter.

It's the width of the tyre that will give you stretch.
I have no idea what tyre width you would need to get stretch on 6.5" wide wheels, but I suspect if you have stretch you will have arch gap.
Small wheels with small tyres is a dub thing, it never looks good on an E30.

[jonny323i]

195 is the width in mm of the tread
65 is the percentage of the width making up the side wall
14 is the diameter in inches of the wheel its mouted too

[benurminge]

right I think I got my head around this, so basically il do some maths and see how it plans out.
think 185/65/14 is the way il go.
and get 40mm lowering springs on the back and 60mm on the front.
thanks for all the help guys!

[Morat]

finally you been helpful!

thank you, that did help a lot, now I got to remember percentages! Christ... haha

and I don't get what you mean with your comment about comparing a mk2 golf to an e30... going to ignore it though.

both lovely gorgeous cars.

cheers

Helpful? without grrrr there would be no wiki on this site. Also lowering a Golf and an e30 is not the same. If you stretch tyres on 15 inch wheels you will have arch gaps.

[kangman]

60 Front & back, wheels 15", tyres 205/55/16

[BenHar]

wheels 15", tyres 205/55/16

Hmm, must be a bit of a gap round the rim. Do you use tubes to keep the air in?



Ben

[kangman]

HAHA took me a while but now i see the typo.

[pac1982]

dont want to get involved in all the crap about should i lower my car or not etc etc its all personal taste at the end of the day.

But when it comes to road tyres i will never buy anything but a toyo, after fitting TR1's to my last E30 i was very impressed

[benurminge]

Seems like everyone is running the 15" bbs alloys. Has anyone got pictures of 14" alloys on lowering springs and if so what size tyres?
Cheers