wheel size preferance

[mic1]

are 17" wheels bad for these? seems most threads ive read people prefere 14" or 15" why is that?

mic

[stuartgallafant]

17" wheels tramline, put the handling out, make loads of noise and shag wheel bearings!

16" is the maximum to go. i got 16"s on mine and i love the way it handles, compared to the 15"s i had on it too. but its personal preferance at the end of the day

[mic1]

didnt realise thered be so much difference in handling in 15" and 16". interesting

[stuartgallafant]

its all to do with the profile of the tyre. theres a lot of technical knowledge behind it, im sure someone will explain it!

[hammoj28]

I have never tried 16's but would be tempted if i upgraded my wheels. Im happy with my 15's as i had 17's and did not like them at all!

[BIGTKB]

I had 17"s for 2yrs and found them ok but now i've got another car on 16"s i'm reluctant to put the 17"s on. If 16"s are good enough for the M3 then they're good enough for my 325!

[Simon13]

16, 15's

[MikeeMiracle]

Just taken off my 17" Alpina Reps this morning and put on some BBS 15". I have got tons more feedback through the steering wheel and everything feels "right" which it didn't do with the 17". I knew the 17" buggered the handling, I just couldn't believe how much.

[iDreamBeemer]

16" all the way!

[eko]

16" are the way forward

[Hyperion]

i like my 17"s. but then again i only have experiance with 14" bottle tops and my 17" alpinas. I think 17" look really good on my car, i think it would look odd if i had smaller wheels, if i do go smaller i would have to go to 15" but then i would take my front spoiler off, (car will look odd otherwise). Another thing guys forget about is how much of a difference tyre pressure makes to a cars handling. Always try different pressures to see which one will give you the best ride. I tried 2.3 bar,2.2 bar, 2.1 bar and in the end settled on 2.0 bar.
I dont have a issue with Tramling, tramling will be affected by road conditions, state of the tyres and what type of tyres you have on. I am running Toyo Proxes (205/40R17) and these puppys are great no problems

[Blitz]

Best of both worlds like the looks of the 17's but ride, handling suffers, 15's like the ride, handling, but maybee its too small, then your arswer is 16's.

[Jay07]

Overall - 16" are the best option. (generally speaking)

I went into this topic in major detail before getting my rims. You get better handling with 16s as described above but not as many of the problems come up that 17's TEND to give.

There is a lot of bad experience above with 17S but i have heard from many others who have had NO probs at all with 17s, even with 18s. It doesnt take an expert to feel the difference but expriences do vary.

I Personally prefer a larger wheel in the arch so the 17's sit better for me. Thats why i bought 17" alp reps! Im no expert but this is what changed from my 15" bottle tops;

The handling is exceptionally better - i can throw myself into a corner and she'll stick to the road - cudnt do that before and i'm loving my car now. Tramlining was a concern of mine before hand but i haven't had a problem. Even the ride wasnt as hard as expected. So it works for me, like i said before i prefer a larger wheel but 18s were a little too much for me.

However, without balancing i had vibration problems at 80mph - 84mph then again at 90mph... That was a real shame at first...but its almost sorted. I wouldnt go smaller again as the look alone makes me

I found myself looking at 16s thinking they were a little small! 17s sit right for me when i look at them in the arch - regardless of the ride(which in my case like many others is great!) That was the deciding factor!!

All the best
Jason

[mrLEE30]

to my knowledge it has a lot to do with the tyres and the tyre pressures. Tyre pressures are one of the greatest influences on a cars handling, ask anyone who races a Kart or a Car and they will probably agree.

But if you put 17inch rims on an E30 you must choose a tyre with a smaller aspect ratio in order to achieve the correct outer tyre rolling diameter, so a bigger rim means a smaller side wall (for a 17inch rim an AR of 45-40 is necessary) the effect of this is is means the tyre will have less flex and this will make the tyre feel less communicative at the steering wheel, it will also have the tendancy to break suddenly rather then progressively (this is also the reason these sort of tyres ''tramline'' in actual fact tyres with an Aspect Ratio of 40 do not move on the road any more than a trye with a AR of 60, but they will flex less and thus they feel like they move more.)

Back to my first point, tyres with a smaller AR will require different pressures, probably a lower pressure to allow more flex (see Hyperions experience above) but if you run the same pressures on a 14inch rim with 65's and a 17inch rim with 40's then there can be little doubt the car wil handle differently.

16inch seem to be a happy medium on the E30, big enough to look good, small enough to allow an AR of 50 and thus the tyre can flex and produce progressive feedback at the steering wheel.

so experimentation is the name of the game, play with your tyre pressures and see what difference they make, note a normal race set up will have the fronts 5-10% lower than the rear pressures, but this is not a gerneral rule. and the bad point... lower tyre pressures will alllow more flex, thus generate more heat, thus lead to premature tyre wear.

hope that helps anyone


mrlee

[tregzybmw]

nice post/s

17's for me...being realistic, i drive my car to work, the beach, the gym and to my missus house....who gives a toss if the handle is slightly worse, my e30's no track slag....

[mrLEE30]

17's for me...being realistic, i drive my car to work, the beach, the gym and to my missus house....who gives a toss if the handle is slightly worse, my e30's no track slag....

Very good and Very honest , i am sure this is true for 99% of zoners (myself included) again realistic my car is an auto cab 320, i have no desire to drive it fast!!! And i couldnt if i tried its super slow

i drive one of these to go fast....



and if you want to see me drive it....

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=40504

mrlee

[JAMZ]

Exactly that..15/16's look shyte IMO .. 17's look nice.period

Depends on what you want...maybe your get a slightly better ride with 16 or 15's on but does it make that much difference to your enjoyment of the car... 17's with good tyres on are as good as 16's with budget nasty tyres on..thats a fact..so like anything you got to spend a bit more with 17's but they look much much better..dont think i could go smaller than 17's on a e30,just dont look right in fact it was that sole decision that picked my new rim for me..couldnt get what i wanted in 17's so i scrapped the idea and got something else

[iDreamBeemer]

my car told me that it disagrees with you, it tells me to drive fast and it fookin' loves corners, in the end it all makes a difference, its the whole set up the car for a good ride. Optimise those parts and the car will drive good (assuming you can too!). Cheap is often not crap either, tyres have the price of F1s does not mean half the performance.

Yes, I love the look of a slamed E30 with 17"s, the look well plus bootyman's are all SUPERPIMP and he has huge dish 1800" deep

BUT

I drive my car 1st and foremost. No-one can stand up to arguing with Alpina and Hartge for their performance changes to BMW. It started off good, they made it better and they BOTH put on 16s. Optimal performance design is around 14-16 sticking 13s on would mess with the car in equally messy ways. But it'll still drive I bet!

Pick what you want for your car it depends on whats right for you.

[cass1_5503]

17's are the way to go my personal preference is bigger is better the e30 is gona handle well wotever size wheels it got on it i have 17" pinas with toyos and i havent ever had any problems and the ride isnt that harsh to ne honest no different than the 14s i used to have

[Bob_S]

15's! It was the past it's the present and will be the future!!! lol

[Rosc0PColtrane]

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... highlight=

Here's the can of worms I opened when asking this question. My point was that if 15's and 16's were so good, why did the e30 touring car run 18's?? I know it enabled increased brake diameter but f1 gets amazing brake performeance from a limited size.

I run 17's and love them. I've also adjusted my suspension set up. I don't believe there is a definitive best size. Too much other stuff needs to be considered too, ie brakes, suspension, tyre width, pressure, compound. Can't say my car has ever tramlined. I'm sure as the overall diameter of the wheels isn't greatly adjusted from moveing 15 to 17's, the width would have more impact on tramlining than the size of the alloy???

In conclusion, ultimately it's down to your own personal preference, on your own personal car. No one can tell you what's right for your own set up so try different sizes.

[iDreamBeemer]

Only problem with the touring car vs f1 is technology cost (for instance) f1 development and manufacturering is horrific, touring cars whist still not cheap does not share the same budgets.

Maybe 18s were the best way they had to get the performance and braking with the technology knowledge they had.

But I agree, so many factors this is one only of....

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Only problem with the touring car vs f1 is technology cost (for instance) f1 development and manufacturering is horrific, touring cars whist still not cheap does not share the same budgets.

Maybe 18s were the best way they had to get the performance and braking with the technology knowledge they had.

But I agree, so many factors this is one only of....

Quite right, difference in budgets. Just trying to demonstrate both angles!!

[MikeeMiracle]

I'm sure as the overall diameter of the wheels isn't greatly adjusted from moveing 15 to 17's,

I just have changed wheels from 205/45/17 to 205/55/15's and the difference when I placed the wheels on top of each other was around 1cm difference. The tyre's wallow more now but it feels better to drive. So far the 17's cornered better but I have some really pants rubber on the 15's.

Overall I think the reduction in weight will make a difference but were talking about on limit driving here. For most people I do not think they will notice any difference and if your not that way inclined to push your car hard then I agree you might as well stick with whatever you think looks best.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

I'm sure as the overall diameter of the wheels isn't greatly adjusted from moveing 15 to 17's,

I just have changed wheels from 205/45/17 to 205/55/15's and the difference when I placed the wheels on top of each other was around 1cm difference. The tyre's wallow more now but it feels better to drive. So far the 17's cornered better but I have some really pants rubber on the 15's.

Overall I think the reduction in weight will make a difference but were talking about on limit driving here. For most people I do not think they will notice any difference and if your not that way inclined to push your car hard then I agree you might as well stick with whatever you think looks best.

Quite right mate, the weight will depend on quality of wheels too.

[orangecurry]

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... highlight=

Here's the can of worms I opened when asking this question. My point was that if 15's and 16's were so good, why did the e30 touring car run 18's?? I know it enabled increased brake diameter but f1 gets amazing brake performeance from a limited size.

running a car on a track is COMPLETELY UTTERLY and TOTALLY different from running a car on the road - that is why you see track-racing versions or 'Touring' cars running larger wheels with smaller tyre sidewalls

[Falkster]

Having had M parallels on my M3 for just over a year now I know what people are saying when they say it shafts the handling. It looks awesome but I think anything over 16" is just shite but what wheels will suit my M3 in that size other than original pinas?

[iDreamBeemer]

what wheels will suit my M3 in that size other than original pinas?

16" hartges of course! mmmmmmm

[Falkster]

And they will cost me a fortune!!! Im from Yorkshire and thrifty

[iDreamBeemer]

'pinas ain't exactly cheap either! I'm from Scotland and I'm tighter than a midgy's arse!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... highlight=

Here's the can of worms I opened when asking this question. My point was that if 15's and 16's were so good, why did the e30 touring car run 18's?? I know it enabled increased brake diameter but f1 gets amazing brake performeance from a limited size.

running a car on a track is COMPLETELY UTTERLY and TOTALLY different from running a car on the road - that is why you see track-racing versions or 'Touring' cars running larger wheels with smaller tyre sidewalls

Exactly my point. We're talking about improving handling and performance. Which is the sole feature of every modifaction seen on a touring car. Hence me using it as a benchmark.

I would say it's different, significantly different, but completely different? The fundamental dynamics are the same, chassis, layout 4 wheels etc etc

[orangecurry]

no no no you misunderstand

a track is COMPLETELY different from the ROAD because (and these are just the main reasons other wise I would be typing for hours)

1) a track is flat; here I mean in cross-section - a road is shaped like an arch, to allow water to drain off to the sides
2) a track is made flat and here I mean there are no bumps/undulations.... - a road is deliberately made bumpy/gaps in the tarmac to aid with water dispersal
3) tracks are made to very high tolerances - roads are not
4) track surfaces are relaid whenever any hint of a problem is reported (except for the 'Bomb-hole' at Snetterton!!) - roads are relaid when the council is about to be sued

Because of the HUGE difference in surface, this means you can put very low-profile tyres (with no flex in the walls) on race cars because the track surface is 'flat' and predictable - you cannot do this on a road car as you would be thrown off every corner on a wet day.

There is no comparison and wheels/tyres cannot be used as a benchmark.