Wheel and tire conundrum

[NYNick]

1974 tii

 

As my project winds down I'm considering wheel and tire choices. Yes, I've read the various threads but quite honestly, the choices are confusing and a bit overwhelming. There seem to be as many choices and combinations as there are owners! Not to mention the rubbing, offset and clearance issues.

 

First off my suspension has been completely rebuilt using ST sway bars, H&R sport springs and Bilsteins HD's. I did the Big Brake upgrade on the front as well, with E21 hubs. I left the rear brakes alone but rebuilt them. Fenders are stock, no rolling or flares. My car will be street only, primarily a fair weather driver but I like performance! Rubber bushings except for the sway bars.

 

The car has lost about 175-200 pounds +/- through various equipment deletions...maybe more, perhaps less...I'm estimating but probably within 25 pounds. It came with some OEM 5x13 steelies and some 5 1/2 x13 steelies, so I have complete sets of both sizes. I have recently refinished the 5 1/2's and put them up for sale, but am having second thoughts. They're e18 offsets date coded early 1980's and I own them. Some people have said to run the wheels that are most original to these cars as the cars were meant to be driven on these sizes, and it performs as it should with them. Based on the Stance Thread and what I've read here, I'm not sure.

 

Blunt has a nice set of black 6x14's E30 wheels ($320) that would look pretty good on my Polaris, but I'm hesitant to do 6x14 inch wheels when I see so many of you guys doing 7's and even 8 x 15! Not to mention I don't gain THAT much size difference going with these 6 inch over my 5 1/2's I already own. Wheels and tire packages aren't cheap (at least $1,000 to $ky is the limit!) so I don't want to have to do this twice or even three times.

 

Can some of you gurus point me in a size, offset and tire size direction? I know styles are a personal choice, but I'm most concerned with clearance and tires sizes. My guess is I may be opening Pandoras box here, but I'm looking for dumbed down choices I don't have to spend days searching or the family fortune to buy.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Nick

[rcf925]

I'm in the same boat as you, I just put in sub-frames and need wheels and tires to make it a roller, I also have stock BBS 13"  but figured to go to 15"x7" 20mm offset which is about 4.75 back spacing, I ordered some of ebay and hope they fit, I also have upgraded calipers and rotors up front, I'm not worried about them fitting, It's the backspacing to me that's critical, I'm running Bilstein coil over front and rear. I'm pretty sure 4.5" backspace is optimum, I'm hoping 4.75 isn't to much. Your right there are so many choices, None seem to be a good fit, Maybe small spacer might be needed with mine but that's what I'm trying to avoid. I guess if they don't fit I'll be sending them back.  I do have a set of some nice steel rims but back spacing is 5.5" which doesn't work at all, I have a guy who would cut centers out and reweld, But they want $100 a wheel, Thats why I went with new ones

[Simeon]

4 hours ago, NYNick said:

 I'm most concerned with clearance and tires sizes. 

 

 

OK, if that’s really true, then go with the 14” e30 steel wheels with a moderate size tyre. 

 

My car came with some e21 steel wheels and fitted with 185/70/13 tyres they used to rub on full lock and in the rear if I carried a heavy load. I got the e30 steels and fitted them with 185/60/14 tyres and never had a problem. 

 

There are are no extra points just for getting wider tyres under the wheel arches if they have offset problems causing heavy steering and rubbing on suspension or bodywork. That’s a wheel that doesn’t fit. 

[7502]

I was in the same boat as you, wheel options were difficult for me to narrow down. My car came with unknown 5x13 5 spoke alloy wheels. I never really liked their appearance, but did perform pretty well. Last week I picked up some 6.5" x14" BMW Basketweave style w/ ET30 that came with older 190/60/R14 tires. No fitment issues on my '75 with H&R sport springs and Bilsteins HD's and IE anti sways. I guess my car may be about about 100lb lighter than stock. Anyway, I can report that this combo should fit fine with no rubbing, the tires being slightly lower profile counteract the taller 14" rims. I'll replace the rubber next week since the tread is separating.

[D Seattle]

15s with Yokohama’s. Love them. 

[xr4tic]

Do not worry about what other people want for wheels, pick what YOU like.  This is your car, not theirs.  If you want to rock Ronal Teddy Bear rims, then do it.

 

Set aside a couple hours and go through the stance thread - https://www.bmw2002faq.com/index.php?/forums/topic/71097-the-stance-thread/

 

That will give you a good idea of what will fit and how it will look.  7" rims will fit in the front and 8" in the rear, but offset is critical.

 

I will say I'm a big fan of BBS RS rims (mine are 15x7)

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by xr4tic

[D Seattle]

Agreed. No right or wrong answers. Just preference.   That, and no tire rubbing. 

[PaulTWinterton]

Other end of the spectrum.  5.5 x 13, 185x70 CN36 Pirellis.

 

When I switched to these I can only describe them as "nimble".  Instantly felt the difference in cornering.  Bordering on over-steer.  No rubbing to worry about.

Oh yeah, another conversation piece as well.  Retro tires! Love 'em.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by PaulTWinterton

[Chris_B]

You should consider which performance tires are available in appropriate sizes for your chosen wheel size. There is a pretty good selection  in 15x7, but not so much in 14" of equivalent diameter.

[jrhone]

For me the look of tires in the wheel well is critical.  I like 15x6.5 et 30 or 15x6 et25.  This gives a little room for variances in tires from different brands and for stock fenders means no rubbing or rolling.  My car is very low and i love the look.  

 

[DaveDel82]

take a look at my car in the stance thread. The Ronal's are 15x7.5 et25 (which is about 5.25' backspace). To me, the 15's are the perfect size for this car (again, everyone has their opinion on this) These hit my coilovers (not the brakes you need to worry about as I have the big brake kit too) so I needed 15mm spacers up front, and 12mm in the rear to clear the suspension. I do have flares, so it buys me a little more room than a non-flared car. 

 

There are several online calculators that are great to determine offset and backspacing (below are a few). That paired with a straight edge and a tape measure you will find wheels/tires that fit the first time and not have to worry about returns or re-buying different parts in different sizes. Measure twice, buy once! 

 

Offset / backspace calculator:   http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Offset-to-Backspace.html

Tire size calculator:  https://tiresize.com/calculator/

 

 

[JohnS]

Someone might have already mentioned this.  The fact that you did the big brake upgrade on the front probably means that you won't be able to fit stock 5x13 inch wheels.  The stock wheels on a tii were 5x13 ET 29.  Those 5.5x13 ET 18 wheels (320i wheels) aren't stock and probably won't fit with the big brakes either.  Just saying,

John 

 

PS, I'm in the same camp as Paul (13" wheels with the Pirelli 185/70 CN36 tires, love um)

Edited December 5, 2018 by JohnS

[Gordon]

Browse this thread from those of us who have been there, done that.

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/articles.html/technical-articles/engine-and-drivetrain/tires-and-wheels-fitment-guide-r116/

 

[Mario Falfan]

I personally like the bottle caps and IMO they look nice !

[PaulTWinterton]

55 minutes ago, Mario Falfan said:

I personally like the bottle caps and IMO they look nice !

 

They look great on that car. Interestingly, I don't think they'd work on an orange car.

 

Polaris is more sophisticated and those wheels complement the look.  IMO :-)