************************ DISCLAIMER*********************
If you don't like spacers or advise against them or anything close to that please do not post at all in this thread. I am a grown man and with multiple cars and have read the opinions of some regarding spacers on the E31 and other cars. I want spacers on my car and am aware of the POSSIBLE consequences.


Now, I have aftermarket wheels and have no idea what the offset is on these particular wheels. I'm sure I need to know the offset before I can determine what width spacer to install, correct? I pulled the rim off and this is all the different stampings on the back of the wheel.

ET 20

192 13

26 Y

9JX17H2

MMII - 17 SPECIAL

On the front of the rim its stamped " 1000 MIGLIA "

Here is the rims
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15022_.jpg


so question is: How do I know what my offest is?
ans once offest is determined how do I know what width spacer to get to get my desired look?

The ET number is the offset.

ET20 is your offset. That's as far as I can help you since you are already aware with the extreme sensitivity E31 has when it comes to spacers. I'm sure others will chime in with some more info.

Like Terry said, ET and offset are synonymous.... ET is the short form of the German word 'Einpresstiefe' which literally translates as 'insertion depth' In this case you have Milli Miglia brand 9" (9J) wide, 17" diameter wheels with an offset of 20mm (ET20). You need to read through tdotbimmer's thread (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1141266) which is related to a desired look as well. He's doing custom offsets, you're doing spacers to achive the same thing.

Like Terry said, ET and offset are synonymous.... ET is the short form of the German word 'Einpresstiefe' which literally translates as 'insertion depth' In this case you have Milli Miglia brand 9" (9J) wide, 17" diameter wheels with an offset of 20mm (ET20). You need to read through tdotbimmer's thread (http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1141266) which is related to a desired look as well. He's doing custom offsets, you're doing spacers to achive the same thing.


OK. Crap. I read the first post of that thread and realized that my offests are prolly different on the front from the back. I pulled the back rim only. I will pull the front tomorrow.

OK. Update. I no longer have the Milli wheels, I now have the E38 Sport 18's, I think they are called the M Parallels? I should be getting my H&R springs any day now. So my question is twofold. What depth spacers do I need to flush mount those rims on my car and with the car being lowered AND having the spacers is it gonna rub the fenders and quarters excessively during normal driving?

OK. Update. I no longer have the Milli wheels, I now have the E38 Sport 18's, I think they are called the M Parallels? I should be getting my H&R springs any day now. So my question is twofold. What depth spacers do I need to flush mount those rims on my car and with the car being lowered AND having the spacers is it gonna rub the fenders and quarters excessively during normal driving?

None - they will work fine as long as you mount the correct tire sizes.

None - they will work fine as long as you mount the correct tire sizes.

Huh?

I want them to fit flush with the outside of the car and right now they ( really the fronts) are sucked inward.

What you can do it wait until you install the rims with the recommended tire sizes then measure how far back it sits in the tire well. That should give you an idea as to how far out you want it and its corresponding spacer depth.

Otherwise, the front will always sit a bit in because of the body lines.

Greg, you are asking a question that can't be given a proper answer to really at this point. Unless I missed something above you've never said what the offset of those front wheels are. E31 uses a low front offset, but there is a range of offsets that will work fine. For instance the MK E31 specific front offset is ET-5, but I've had ET-13 fronts on mine with proper tire sizes and no issues. Look at the pic of Tom (Wuffer's) car in his sig..... those are ET-5's and 245/40/18...do you want it more flush than that? You're using M-Parallels from an E38, adding lowering springs, and want a very specific look. If the ET of those front M-Pars is high, then you'll have to 'offset' that with spacers to even get to the starting point of what 'E31 specific' would have been. Lotta variables for you there.

the front ET on those M-Parallels is 13mm.
This is what E38 M-Parallels look like on an E31 without the spacers.

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/TxGr8White/Esmerelda/MVC-892F.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/TxGr8White/Esmerelda/MVC-890F.jpg



As stated above, mount your tires on the wheels and install on the car. Then you can do the simple math to find out what works best for you AND what will not cause problems when you turn the wheel (would hate to rip that fender off on a turn...)

10mm spacers would bring the edge of the tires (245/45/18 I presume) to about the same spot as wuffer's, being 2mm toward the fender.

As the offset is measured from the centerline of the wheel, the edge of the tread pattern is not dependent on the rim width (8.5 on your parallels and 9.5? on wuffer's car). This should give a reasonable approximation. Of course your tire sizing is no longer dependent only on static conditions when you start going really low or stretching tires onto wide wheels.

try getting a big poster board and cutting it to the height of your tires. put this against the tire top and bottom so that it is flush and goes across the centerline of the wheel. From there you can mark how far away your fender's edge is from the widest point of your tires. This should give you a good approximation of the thickness spacers you'd be able to fit comfortably, certainly a better estimation than we can give you sight unseen.

What you can do it wait until you install the rims with the recommended tire sizes then measure how far back it sits in the tire well.

OK, This has already been done. Thats why I am posting.

Greg, you are asking a question that can't be given a proper answer to really at this point. Unless I missed something above you've never said what the offset of those front wheels are. E31 uses a low front offset, but there is a range of offsets that will work fine. For instance the MK E31 specific front offset is ET-5, but I've had ET-13 fronts on mine with proper tire sizes and no issues. Look at the pic of Tom (Wuffer's) car in his sig..... those are ET-5's and 245/40/18...do you want it more flush than that? You're using M-Parallels from an E38, adding lowering springs, and want a very specific look. If the ET of those front M-Pars is high, then you'll have to 'offset' that with spacers to even get to the starting point of what 'E31 specific' would have been. Lotta variables for you there.

I didn't state what the offest to the M's were because I don't know and because they are a very common wheel on the E31 and I assumed quite a few people would chime in on what they were and then we could determine what size spacers. Frankly, I presumed that with all the E38 M rims on E31's that someone may have already experimented with spacers and would be able to recommend which size spacer so I don't end up with multiple sets.


This pic is a perfect example. This is how mine looks and I want the fronts to come out closer to the fender without damaging them.
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp25/TxGr8White/Esmerelda/MVC-892F.jpg

OK, got the 245-40's on and the H&R springs installed. I had intended to cut the rear springs but after looking at the car decided to leave it as it is for the time being. So here it is with the correct size front tires and the fronts springs installed.
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15313_.jpg

http://myfiero.com/uploads/15314_.jpg

http://myfiero.com/uploads/15315_.jpg




Where do I buy the BMW center logo sticker and the "M" stickers that go on these wheels????

Nice ride! You can get the stickers on eBay or http://www.bavauto.com/

Are your wheels staggered or 245/40 all around?

Nice ride! You can get the stickers on eBay or http://www.bavauto.com/

Are your wheels staggered or 245/40 all around?

255 45's on the rear


and thnx for the link. I got 4 new BMW wheel logo emblem's ordered and 4 of the lil "M" logo's ordered. Thnx again.

I got the H&R 20mm spacers. Here are some of the before and afters.

BEFORE
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15379_.jpg

AFTER
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15380_.jpg



BEFORE
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15381_.jpg

AFTER
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15382_.jpg



http://myfiero.com/uploads/15383_.jpg



BEFORE
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15384_.jpg

AFTER
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15386_.jpg


Here is the other side without the spacers
http://myfiero.com/uploads/15387_.jpg