Hi there this is my 1st time posting on here. i,ve just purchased a set of e46 m3 alloys for my e36 328i saloon which has been lowered. the alloys i bought have 225 40 18's on the front and 255 40 18's on the rear, i tried fitting the rear one first this afternoon but when i lowered the car off the jack the wheel arch came down onto the tyre.
do i need to change the springs or is there any other solution to fit the alloys?????? please help!!!!! thanks all tony.

...is there any other solution to fit the alloys??????

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212579

ok thanks got a independent bmw garage up the road and he suggested taking off the spax springs i got on there now and fitting standard springs. but it feels like a backward step to me.

Hi there this is my 1st time posting on here. i,ve just purchased a set of e46 m3 alloys for my e36 328i saloon which has been lowered. the alloys i bought have 225 40 18's on the front and 255 40 18's on the rear, i tried fitting the rear one first this afternoon but when i lowered the car off the jack the wheel arch came down onto the tyre.
do i need to change the springs or is there any other solution to fit the alloys?????? please help!!!!! thanks all tony.

Your issue could be one of two things, it could be that the tires are just too wide in the rear, or that the offset is incorrect for your vehicle. I know that M3 wheels have a much different offset in the rear than those on the 328i. You might want to consider this. If that is the case, there might not be much you can do but to put the standard springs on to get the rear back up.

That's not going to help you. Every time you go over a bump or curb the same problem will occur and eventually the fender is going to slice your tires wide open.

Buy another set of M3 rims and put the second set FRONT on your rear. That is the only solution.

>>the alloys i bought have 225 40 18's on the front and 255 40 18's on the rear, i tried fitting the rear one first this afternoon but when i lowered the car off the jack the wheel arch came down onto the tyre. <<

It doesnt bother you having rear tires that are a full inch larger in total diameter than the fronts? (25" front; 26" rear). Lets compare to original.. I dont know what size it took, but Tirerack has the 1997 328i stock with 205/60-15 tires which carry an overall diameter of 24.68". If thats true, then your rears being 26" in diameter are an inch and a third larger than stock, and thats considered a pretty big departure.. Your fronts at 25" are close enough to not make a difference, but I would think a car originally setup to run the same size tire all around, now being outfitted with one carrying an inch larger rears than fronts would have significant impact on handling. The OBDII e36 M3 for instance came stock with a stagger which gave you a front tire that was a third of an inch larger than the rears, and they were a size thinner, and the reason bmw did this was to increase Understear which was the handling characteristic they wanted it to have... the OBDI model had 235x40-17 all around, giving it neutral handling.

Going from a stock setup like your car had, to a highly modifed one that youre now using is going to have a significant handling impact, with possibly some fitment issues as well.

hey thanks guys. got the car booked in the garage thursday and he,s got another set of front m3 alloys with 225x45x18 tyres. gonna try that with the lowered suspension if that fails then stock suspension it is. will let you guys know how it goes. thanks allllllllllllllllll
p.s cant help laughing when i see the hacks pic

The problem is the offset.

The tire goes thru the same path regardless of the springs used. The suspension arms control the path not the spring.

Think about that.

The Spring Is Not The Probelm!

The Spring Is Not The Probelm!

I see you are in Dallas like me. Are you in our local BMWCCA chapter?

E46 M3 rear wheels are a +26mm offset and will not fit on E36s without pulling the guards (fenders to usa peoples)

with 18s you should use 225/40 18 tyres not 45 series they're too tall.