so i got some 16X8 wheels (Style 5's/basketweaves) and im wondering what size tires should go on the front so there isn't any rubbing. I found two sized 245/45 for the rear and now need some front tires. Whats the recommended size?
thanks
Brad

235 is the recommended for 8" rims. i have 235s on mine. no rubbing probs.

so i got some 16X8 wheels (Style 5's/basketweaves) and im wondering what size tires should go on the front so there isn't any rubbing. I found two sized 245/45 for the rear and now need some front tires. Whats the recommended size?
thanks
Brad
When I imported my 80 Euro with Alpina suspension back in 1982, it had 205/55x16 fronts and 225/50x16 rears. Over the years I went wider and kept the stagger by using 225/50x16 on the front and 245/45x16 on the rear. Has worked well for over 25 years.

thanks. Les schwab (a local tire place) said that 205 tires wouldn't be wide enough for 8 in wide rims. Is this ture? and would 245/45 tires be too wide for the front and would rub?

Hi,I need to change all the rims and tires for my 87 635csi. I have the original Michelin metric tires and rims on the car now, but it seems the metric tires are hard to find or very exspensive,the rims are like new but the tires are starting to crack on the sides.I found a place near me that sells package deals. http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/pagePackages.do?vid=011554&yr=1987&rd=17&type=w&c=2&pager.offset=20 Does anyone know if these are worth it or can someone recommend some place for me. Thanks Gig

thanks. Les schwab (a local tire place) said that 205 tires wouldn't be wide enough for 8 in wide rims. Is this ture? and would 245/45 tires be too wide for the front and would rub? I do not think that you should use 205 on 8" rims. My Alpina Front rims were 7" and the backs 8".

Hi,I need to change all the rims and tires for my 87 635csi. I have the original Michelin metric tires and rims on the car now, but it seems the metric tires are hard to find or very exspensive,the rims are like new but the tires are starting to crack on the sides.I found a place near me that sells package deals. http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/pagePackages.do?vid=011554&yr=1987&rd=17&type=w&c=2&pager.offset=20 Does anyone know if these are worth it or can someone recommend some place for me. Thanks Gig
This is a reputable store. When choosing wheels for a BMW Six you should remember that the reason good wheels are generally expensive for the BMW sixer is that it does not run well with heavy wheels. Light weight wheels are usually more expensive than heavy wheels. If you are going just for looks, then the style of the wheel is most important. If you want to improve handling, the wheel weight is more important. You must decide how much weight vs cost and style are worth to you.:)

Hi,I need to change all the rims and tires for my 87 635csi. I have the original Michelin metric tires and rims on the car now, but it seems the metric tires are hard to find or very exspensive,the rims are like new but the tires are starting to crack on the sides.I found a place near me that sells package deals. http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/pagePackages.do?vid=011554&yr=1987&rd=17&type=w&c=2&pager.offset=20 Does anyone know if these are worth it or can someone recommend some place for me. Thanks Gig

gigbit8, Hi welcome to the forum. Discout Tire and TireRack are two places to start (although the selection at TireRack has gotten slim). This is a common question, so do a search and you will find a lot of discussions on this.

If you are looking to save some money, be aware that just about any BMW rim other then the 3-Series rims will fit the sixer. Generally you're looking for a 16"-17"dia., 7.5"-8" wide rim with an offset of around ET20 or less. Here is a listing of all of the wheels BMW made, just click on the picture of the wheel you like and the frame to the right will tell you what cars they came on and in what sizes:

http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/


Oh, and just a word, in the future start you're own thread so as not to hi-jack someone else's thread.

thanks. Les schwab (a local tire place) said that 205 tires wouldn't be wide enough for 8 in wide rims. Is this ture? and would 245/45 tires be too wide for the front and would rub?

If you go to TireRack and look up the tire you want and click on the "Specs" tab, the chart will tell you the range of rims sizes each tire size will fit.

But you don't want 205's on the front, go for 185's on the front and some 20" slicks on the back with the rear raised about 6" and wheely nerf bars out the back ..... Oh wait, I was having a 60's high school flashback ...... Never mind!! :D

235 is generally as wide as most go in the front without a low offset rim or spacers.

Frankly the 225 front , 245 rear stager sounds good. The 255/16" front will be kind to the front suspension and the stager will look nice.

gigbit8, Hi welcome to the forum. Discout Tire and TireRack are two places to start (although the selection at TireRack has gotten slim). This is a common question, so do a search and you will find a lot of discussions on this.

If you are looking to save some money, be aware that just about any BMW rim other then the 3-Series rims will fit the sixer. Generally you're looking for a 16"-17"dia., 7.5"-8" wide rim with an offset of around ET20 or less. Here is a listing of all of the wheels BMW made, just click on the picture of the wheel you like and the frame to the right will tell you what cars they came on and in what sizes:

http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/


Oh, and just a word, in the future start you're own thread so as not to hi-jack someone else's thread.

thanks. but what does it mean if its a larger offset...of lets say around 23??

It means that there is a very good chance that the wheel/tire will interfere with the suspension.

I have E38 16s (ET23) on my E28 based E24...I need at least 5mm spacer in the front to make it clear. I had the same issue with my old E12 based car. I am running 205/55F and 225/50R on 8in wheels all around.

Running staggered Alpina's. The front is 7" & offset of 11. Just installed a set of Toyos that are 245/45/16 and they do clear the front without needing spacers.

Running staggered Alpina's. The front is 7" & offset of 11. Just installed a set of Toyos that are 245/45/16 and they do clear the front without needing spacers. Yep, the offset is the key, Anyting higher than 20 with 245s would be iffy.

the dotted line in below drawing marks the middle of the rim while the red bar is the mounting flange/surface. In case the middle of the rim lines up with the flange the offset would be 0. The lower the offset the more the rim moves to the outside of the car and vice versa. If the outer lip is wider than the inner barrel you have a negative offset.
Or in other words:
large offset = small lip
small offset = deep lip

Cheers
Wolf

http://www.1010tires.com/images/WheelOffset.jpg

Another view.:)

Remember that it is the offset in Combination with the rim width that counts.