what size are 98 stock wheels?

[bmw4life13]

anyone know what size wheels come on a 98 328i? i have the five spoke wheel style. thanks.

 

[Beemerworld]

225/55/R16

 

[bmw4life13]

do you think upgrading to 17" wheels would make a big difference in handling/performance? or should i get 18"wheels?

 

[Beemerworld]

Hi

For E36 definetly go with 17inch. 18 is oversized and will add more weight. 17 are great and will look perfect. You wont notice much more difference in ride quality. With 17 inch rims you have to go with 45 series tires.

Are you thinking of using wider in the back?

 

[bmw4life13]

i'm not sure about using wider tires in the back. what advantage will that provide? is it better to go wider in the back as opposed to staying the same size all around? sorry for the questions but i'm still learning about wheels and tires. thanks.

 

[frolf]

actually they are 225/50-R16s not 55.

 

[Beemerworld]

Yeah

Yeah sorry. I got it I just wrote it bad they are 50. Hes right.

 

[Beemerworld]

Wider tires in the rear provide better grip at high acceleration and also when accelerating to the corner at high speeds. It depends how you drive your car and consider. Many people say that all same are the best because they can rotate it but BMW has high quality suspension setup so when your alignment is 100% and all balljoints, bushings and other suspension - steering parts in Perfect condition you don't have to rotate tires and than you can go with wider in the back.

 

[bmw4life13]

thanks beemerworld for shedding some light. now if i could only figure out which wheels to buy. i feel like my heads about to split open...i mean there are so many different brands for wheels. how do you know which ones are good? i'm now actually thinking about just putting on a set of e46 17" wheels.

 

[Beemerworld]

No Problem

No Problem man. There are too many thats true. If I would be in your situation I would definetly get the Forged M wheels from E36. See the picture. Original BMW wheels are very nice. What about AC Schnitzer?

Oh I cant find a picture of those rims.

 

[frolf]

one thing to consider is unsprung weight. some wheels are heavy, some are light. some are good, some are bad. BBS is an awesome company, i really like the RK-II's. but they are hella expensive. SSR makes sick wheels too, also super expensive, but super light. konig makes relaly light wheels as well.

having heavy wheels will affect your suspension and your braking abilities. www.tirerack.com has weights for more of their wheels ifyou just clikc on "view close up"

 

[Beemerworld]

Thanks

Yeah thats true. Thats why you should definetly go with Forged.

 

[Beemerworld]

I got it

There you go. This is what Im talking about.

But this ones look like replicas. Because they do not have the small M sticker.

 

[bmw4life13]

yikes i didn't know that bmw wheels are CAST!!! yep that's right i could pay ~$300-400 per wheel for a cast wheel! the bmw e46 style #44 (the ones carcus has) are ridiculously priced for cast wheels. what do you guys think?

 

[brahtw8]

SSRs are a good value.

OZs are as well. You could get the Superleggeras

BBS, Fikse, HRE, Volk, ACS, RD, Dinan, Mutec, Breyton, etc. All nice wheels, but more expensive.

 

[frolf]

whoa, those superleggeras are nice, how much are they?

 

[brahtw8]

whoa, those superleggeras are nice, how much are they?

Tirerack has the 17x8s for $280 and 18x8s for $350, (as well as some 19s,) in the 5x120 bolt pattern and offset for your E36. Wait till you see the Superleggera 3pc. wheels, but those are $740 for the 18x8s.

 

[frolf]

$740/wheel? well i guess i have until spring to decide what wheels to buy. but i am going to be 17 or 18inch wheels in a few months, any other recommendations? I like "clean" looking wheels, 5 spoke or multi.

 

[bmw4life13]

$740/wheel? well i guess i have until spring to decide what wheels to buy. but i am going to be 17 or 18inch wheels in a few months, any other recommendations? I like "clean" looking wheels, 5 spoke or multi.

frolf check out the 17" hamann hm3. they might be to your liking.[fake]

 

[brahtw8]

frolf check out the 17" hamann hm3. they might be to your liking.[fake]

Not if you don't like $740 a wheel for OZ SL (Superleggera) 3pc. Hamanns are not inexpensive wheels.

Frolf-you don't have to get the 3pc. wheels; regular one piece SLs would be just fine. If I were you, I would get the OZ SLs or some SSR Competitions or GT1s, also available at www.tirerack.com for similar coin, approx. $250-350/wheel.