Going to need tires for my staggered contours, was wondering what everyone else is running? Going to get 245/40 for the rears, but front either 225/45,235/40 or 235/45. These will be used for some autocross as well. Any difference from the 45 vs. 40 ratio? Difference 235 vs. 225? Opinions please! :help

Going to need tires for my staggered contours, was wondering what everyone else is running? Going to get 245/40 for the rears, but front either 225/45,235/40 or 235/45. These will be used for some autocross as well. Any difference from the 45 vs. 40 ratio? Difference 235 vs. 225? Opinions please! :help


I have 235's and 255's

Hmm, 235 and 255 is another option too. It's either going to be 225 and 245, 235 and 245, or even 235 and 255. What about the sidewall though, more flex with 40 vs. 45? All the stock M3s came with 225/45 and 245/40. But i'm looking for the most grip. Is the stock setup the best for cornering?

For increased grip in the front go with a 235 40/17 in the front and 245 40/17's in the rear. That should be your best bet with staggered OEM 7 1/2 inch wheels up front and 8 1/2 in the rear. I believe the 95 M3 came with 17 X 7.5 inch rims and 235 40's all around. You should be ok with that size tire up front. It should give you more cornering grip than the 225's.

Yeah, i was thinking 235/40 for the front. But the tires i want to get are kumho ecsta Mxs, and they only come in 235/45. Is there a difference in handling between the 235/45 and 235/40 or none at all? Also, the other guy said he's running 255s on 8.5". Anyone else run this on their M rears? 255/40 or 255/35?

I have 235/45 and 255/40

Is there a difference in handling between the 235/45 and 235/40 or none at all?
Yeah, the 235/40's will have less sidewall flex. By how much less than the 235/45's I'm not sure, but probly not alot.

I think I'm going to go with 235/45 and 245/40. Thanks for everyone's input on this.

235/45/17s are not the size I would pick. you are looking at tire sizes deisgned for an e39...

235/40/17 and 245/40/17 will be the best bet for staggered rims if you are trying to get the most "balanced ride"

Actually in 95 they had the same sized tires at all 4, but the car was so neutral in handling, most idiots in the USA didn't know how to handle the car. So the lawyers at BMW suggested to build in a little bit of understeer by changing to 225/45/17 245/40/17...

just a lil fyi

Funny, I wanted to do the staggered set up with Kuhmo MX's also. They are such a nice tire for the money. I'm probably going to do the Kuhmo's with 225's up front and the 245's in the rear. I just can't spend sooo much more for 235's with tires that aren't any better than the Kuhmo's. Most people I know have rubbing issues without rolling the rear fender lip when running 255's in the rear. Good luck Oh, also, the Kuhmo's are a bit wider with footprint on the road surface than most other tires of the same size. I believe it is because they are such a squared off tire. Bridgestone S03's are like that also. 225 Kuhmos may be close to lots of 235's from a contact patch(width) on the road.

Funny, I wanted to do the staggered set up with Kuhmo MX's also. They are such a nice tire for the money. I'm probably going to do the Kuhmo's with 225's up front and the 245's in the rear. I just can't spend sooo much more for 235's with tires that aren't any better than the Kuhmo's. Most people I know have rubbing issues without rolling the rear fender lip when running 255's in the rear. Good luck Oh, also, the Kuhmo's are a bit wider with footprint on the road surface than most other tires of the same size. I believe it is because they are such a squared off tire. Bridgestone S03's are like that also. 225 Kuhmos may be close to lots of 235's from a contact patch(width) on the road.
i was in your position for a while, while 235/40front and 245/40/17 rear was the optimal fitment for those wheels, the tires i wanted which were the MXs didnt come in 235/40!!! since its important to have my ideal size, and after some research i concluded that the Toyo T1-Rs would be a good substitute for the MXs since they do come in that sizing. but now im able to run 255/40/17 all around so this no longer applies to me :redspot

go with 235/40/17front with 245 in the back. consider toyo t1-r(s)

Well after hearing more opinions on this, it changes my position on the tire sizes. Since it seems like the kumhos 225s have a pretty comparable tire patch compared to the 235s, maybe i should go with the kumhos 225/45 up front. I guess the 235/45 will have too high of a sidewall = less balanced handling. Definately want the kumhos, good price and good dry grip. Was considering the SO-3s, but now that i think about it, it's way too much, $235/tire. Wish Kumho had 235/40. I'll have to check out the Toyos. And yeah, interesting how bmw made the M3 rims staggered because guys couldn't handle the car. :redspot

Toopercentmlk: Agreed, Toyo T1-R's are a good choice with the 235(F)245(R). Question: How do you get all that 255 meat packed all around???

Just saw the t1-r for the first time,they look sweet. I think i'm going to get the t1-rs especially since they're rated so well for such a good price.btw, toopercentmlk, you going to irwindale this sunday for autox? :D

I just got 235x45's all the way around...No rubbing issues. I have stock suspension, and 17X8 Beyern Mesh all around.

From my research...the 235X45's are about an inch taller than the 235x40's...Not sure how they compared to the 245X40's...but if the 235X45 are taller than the 245X40...you definately don't want to have that type of setup.

For pure balanced handling...go with 235X40's all the way around...that way you can rotate. However, there will be the dreaded gap, unless you've dropped your car. That's essentially why I went with 235X45's all around.

Going to need tires for my staggered contours, was wondering what everyone else is running? Going to get 245/40 for the rears, but front either 225/45,235/40 or 235/45. These will be used for some autocross as well. Any difference from the 45 vs. 40 ratio? Difference 235 vs. 225? Opinions please! :help

I would still try to put 245 to the front... I bought a set of wheels
before from another autoxer that mouted 245/45/17 Victoracers on 17x7.5.
Looked alright to me.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Kumho&model=ECSTA+MX

According to tirerack.. you can mount 245/47/17 on 7.5 wheels.
So IMO, I would hunt down some out of production Falken Azenis 215s.

I have 285's on the car. :devillook

Well,i just bought a set of staggered contours. so i'll be running 245/40 in the rears. as for the front, i think i'm going to stick with 235/40 since it will make the car handle better. i did some research, and the 235/40 has the shortest sidewall compared to the 225/45 and 235/45. The 235/45 actually has the tallest sidewall from the 3. but yeah, with the 235/40, there is a big gap in the wheel well. probably going to get the toyo t1-rs. now i just need to decide on the fronts, 235/40 or 235/45? i don't want the sidewall to be huge either. the 245/45 sidewall is pretty tall, doesn't look as low profile as it should. i want the low profile look, want to fill the wheel well gap as much as possible, but maintain good handling. maybe i'm just looking into it too much? but i love the 1 in. lip on the 8.5s, it's so sweet. :redspot