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Forum Guru
 
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| After much wringing of hands and knashing or teeth I think I have figured out a solution for fitting 16" wheels to my e30. Tire Rack has a sale price on wheels I like (Sport Edition CD) - 16 by 7.5 with a 40mm offset for only 82 Somalians each. My plan is to get spacers to fill the difference between the stock 25mm offset and the 40 offset of the wheels. But here's where I may be getting a little ghetto. I have 1/4" (6.35mm) spacers already and want to stick 10mm spacers to them. Then I slap on 57.1 (hub diameter) to 72mm (or whatever the wheel diameter is) hubcentric ring adapters ($12/set at Jeg's) and bolt the whole assy together w/longer bolts. Sound OK? There's a couple of reasons why I would do it this way. It's the cheapest, as hub adapter/spacers are 200 damn dollars a set. As described above I can take everything off and reinstall the stock bottlecaps if I want. Four to 5 lug conversion spacers may not be viable because the thinnest ones I have found are 20mm. This would give an overall offset of 45mm which is kind of tough to find. And these are even more money than just spacers. In case you haven't noticed, deaux spent is an issue. Please let me know if I should stamp '5150' on my forehead.
Danny Hennarot 325e Lewisville, TX
"If you can't go fast with 90hp, 900hp won't help."
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Forum Member
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Last Login: 7/17/2008 12:36:36 AM
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IMHO 16" and bigger wheels on an E30 looks silly. You sure you want to do that? I'd consider 15x7 or 15x7.5 instead.
Shaun Pamplin'92 318ic Plano, TX
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Forum Guru
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| IMHO small wheels look silly on an e30. From thirty feet you can tell a one inch difference in wheel diameter?? I want to fill the wheel wells up as much as possible, and I want to lower the effective gearing (3.73 rear is too short) which will also make the speedo more accurate (reads about 12% too high). With 16s I can still use a 45 series tire so the ride won't be too harsh. The wheel wells are big enough to run 235/40-17" tires even if you lower the car, so I won't have to worry about rubbing issues. Plus 16 inch tires really aren't any more expensive than 15s, especially when you get the 16s almost free. I ordered 16" wheels this morning from my friends at The Tire Rack, should get them Thursday.
Danny Hennarot 325e Lewisville, TX
"If you can't go fast with 90hp, 900hp won't help."
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 7/21/2008 7:21:49 PM
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Did you get your wheels? What did you order?
///Mike
'86 325es - Zinnoberot
'88 325is - Lachsilber
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Forum Guru
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| I got 16 by 7.5 inch Sport Edition CDs from Tire Rack. Kind of an offbrand, but they look good and were really cheap @82 bucks each. I wish I could post a pic, but they kind of remind me of early '80's VW GTI wheels. Right now only the rear wheels are on the car. The offset of 40mm pushes the assembly closer to the center of the car, but the wheels work without spacers w/205-55-16 skins I got off a Matrix. No, I didn't steal them. In the next few days the fronts will get 205-45s that are currently being softened. These 4 tires will be burned off as I get my autox legs back. I may get criticized for it, but the wheels are 'lug centric' right now as the wheel hubs are 72.2mm. I did this with Jeep wheels I put on my truck w/no probs. I will need to use spacers when I mount the 225/45-16s I plan to get later this year. I do have a set of .25" spacers, we'll see if I need something thicker. Overall I'm really happy with them. The speedo is more accurate and the car is no longer geared so short. Eventually I will lower the car.
Danny Hennarot 325e Lewisville, TX
"If you can't go fast with 90hp, 900hp won't help."
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 7/17/2008 12:12:45 PM
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 Maxxim LeMans 16x7.5", $550/set shipped! Oh, but the weight... yikes... Be careful - most cheap wheels that fit E30s are boat anchors. We bought some 16x7.5" wheels that were supposed to be "only 16 pounds" (which is heavy) but they ended up being "only" 19.2 pounds (anchors).  
We've also had some 15x7" Kazera's that were 13.9 lbs and OZ Ultraleggera 16x7" wheels that were 15.0 lbs. All heavier than advertized on TireRack... and the 16x7 was not "made for an E30", both are Miata wheels pressed into service for the E30. Jack Money/Elephant Motorsports is having a 15x7, 15x7.5" and 15x8" made for an E30. Check out this: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=104599
Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com & www.ast-usa.com
"Alpha" E36-LS1 (XPrepared/G Class "No Class") '97 M3 (STU/F Class), '91 318is (STS/C Class)
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| I have always heard bottlecaps were 16.5 lbs, what e30s were designed around. Why would you say 16lbs. for a 16 x 7 are heavy? If you find a 12 pound 16" wheel then damn you're talking 400+ bucks/wheel! Too rich for my blood, esp since they will likely wind up on a Blood's ride. The wheels Jack is having made are attractive both in looks, weight and price, I may get some if I wind up not liking mine. But if someone thinks they can get a 10lb. wheel for 1 Ben Frank per then I need their names/addresses to forward to the DEA. Even Miata 14 inch wheels weighed what, almost 12 pounds.
Danny Hennarot 325e Lewisville, TX
"If you can't go fast with 90hp, 900hp won't help."
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