17s or 18s

[Sunshine]

I am trying to decide whether I should get 17s or 18s for my '94 325i sedan...it
is black and stock...can't decide...please help!

 

[frolf]

17" 18's look humungo on an E36, not to say that is bad, but the 17's look more natural, also you won't have that added 5lbs unsprung weight that i would assume comes with your everyday 18" wheel.

 

[epj3]

BTW he means 5 pounds per wheel.

 

[carcus]

I have 17" on mine, was thinking about 18", had the money, personally, they look a bit nicer, but you end up spending more on tires. I do not think that for a daily driver, the "extra unsprung weight" is much of an issue. Just my 2 cents. Now, for a daily driver, you will feel the pot holes alot more on the 18".......check the status of the pavement where you drive, then make a decision.

 

[jpizzle36]

18's look to big for the e36's. 17's seem to fill out the wheel wells perfectly, though it depends on what style of wheel your getting.
My friend has 18's and they just look odd, and very unnatural

 

[jpizzle36]

Also, depending on your suspension type, you may have some problems with the 18s

 

[frolf]

Carcus is right, unsprung weight (unless you put like 20"s on) doesn't really come into play for daily driving, unless you got an ultra heavy 18" wheel, then you would notice your braking performance decrease, as there would be much more weight away from the center of rotation

 

[bmw4life13]

you may want to think about lowering your car and upgrading the suspensiosn while your at it. the problem with upgrading wheels size is that they exaggerate the fender gap.