Choice of tyre size for RC090's on M3 - HELP!!???

[m3-cab]

Hi All,

Hope you can be of some help. I bought a set of RC090's last year and I've not really bothered to look for any tyres as the car's in storage until the weather starts picking up.

However, I'm struggling to make my mind up on what size tyres to go for. The wheels i have are not staggered as far as i know and i think are 8 or 8.5 all round. I know 245/35/17 is the choice for the back, but a couple of people have told me to go for narrower tyres for the front as 245's may rub?

Ideally, i'd like to stick to the same all round to give the wheels some protection against accidental kerbing. The car hasn't been lowered but I do intend on fitting a KW coilover kit and lower it when finances allow!!

All advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Aky

p.s. I'm new to this forum but really gotta say from reading various threads, it sounds like there's a really good E30 community on here!!

[HenryM3]

It doesn't matter whether your wheels are 8 or 8.5 wide the biggest tyre you'll get on the front is 225 assuming we're talking M3 here. You can get 245 on the back. If you're going that route then you'l need 225x40x17 front and 245x35x17 on the back. Hope this helps.
Cheers
henry

[m3-cab]

Hi Henry,

Thanks for your advice. Is there no way I get 245's on the front of the M3?

Ta,

Aky

[HenryM3]

well you can but you would have to reduce your steering lock considerably, otherwise the inside wall will catch. The added problem is that your negative offset is exagerated which will give serious wear on the inside edge of the tyre, especially if you have or intend to lower. You will still end up with the same problem that the front looks great but the back always looks like it could do with that bit extra. You can see what my car looks like with the same all round [18 x 8.5] if you look on Jimbob's thread on BMW chat. Hopefully later this year when my tyres are done I'm going for 8x18 front with225x35's and 9x18 rear with 255x30's to try and fill that rear arch. At the moment with the engine I've got it spins up the rear's in second.
Cheers
Henry

[harry_p]

i'm using 215 45 17 front and 235 40 17 rear on my m3 with 8in fronts and 9in rears, there are a few pics in the gallery section. mine slightly scuffs the plastic arch liners on full lock with 2 people in the front, but its fairly low.

you might find you need to put a spacer on the rear to push them out a bit so they don't look lost. what suspension the car ison can make a difference too, mine's slightly nose down which makes the rears look a bit smaller than they actually are

[m3-cab]

Cheers Guys,

After talking to you guys and a few others I reckon 215-40-17 at the front and 245-35-17 at the back. Henry, I can't seem to find a 225-40 for the front, on mytyres.co.uk it says it's an incorrect size? I think they're available for 18's (like you've got) but not 17's.......... bummer!!

Harry, do you reckon i'd still need a spacer at the back with 245's on? If so, what thickness would you recommend??? I've also been told i might need a spacer at the front to clear the brakes when fitting the BBS wheels, is that right??

Ta.....

[kundiboy]

I'm running 215-40-17 at the front and 235-35-17 at the back.

In my experience 225-40 are really hard to come by. I get a slight rubbing on the rears on heavy cornering so I would be cautious about using 245s on the back.

HTH