» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | OMG!OMG! Today 08:53 AM Today 08:53 AM 0 Replies, 151 Views | | My 318ti build 05-21-2024 04:48 PM 05-21-2024 04:48 PM 0 Replies, 1,484 Views | | | | | 01-04-2007, 10:46 PM | #1 | Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3 | performance tire options for 15" wheels I bought a '97 318ti used, and it came with 15" steel wheels and fairly bad OEM tires on those wheels, so I used those steels wheels to mount snow tires on (major improvement!), and I bought a set of 15" BMW alloy wheels from a friend who had them on his 323i, and they even came with ContiTouring CH95 tires mounted on them, in the 205/60 15" size. These tires are OK, but certainly nothing special, and since I have seperate winter tires/wheels, I'm looking to put some higher performance summer tires on my 15" alloy wheels. The wheels have 15x7J stamped on them, so apparently they are 7" wide wheels, which I think is certainly wide enough for something like a 225/50 or 225/55 size tire. My question is, does that size make any sense, or should I stick with the 205/60 size? I have heard that the 318ti sport and/or M editions have some type of steering lock on them to prevent their wider wheels/tires from turning in the whole way and rubbing on the wheel wells, suspension pieces, etc., but I don't have anything like that on mine, so I don't know how large a tire I can get by with without having it rub on things, and I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with these sizes in general. Thanks! | | | 01-04-2007, 11:28 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 234 | 225s on 7" wide wheels is pushing it, and IMO not worth it, as your car doesn't make huge power. 215s are possible, but once again, probably unnecessary. I run 205s on my E30 that makes about 190hp and they are just fine. Just step up and buy better 205s rather than cheaper 215/225s. I have run Conti Extreme Contacts on my E30, and loved them (somewhat noisy on concrete, though.) I ran Kumho ASXs and HATED them. 2nd set of Kumhos that I have loathed. Never again. A friend of mine swears by Hankook tires for his 525iT- a free replacement road hazard warranty is included in the price, apparenty. Don't be fooled, wider tires are not necessarily better tires. Too-wide tires on a rim get distorted contact areas that can actually reduce traction. -Paul | | | 01-04-2007, 11:51 PM | #3 | doesn't care about you. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 3,925 | I run 225/45/15s on 15x7 rims for autocross. __________________ '99 Dinan M3 | | | 02-24-2007, 01:01 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Land of the Vikings Posts: 2,700 | 215 50 15s, thats what we ran on the e30s toyo T1-R cant go wrong with them.... even if you try :P __________________ Vin Number decode and Retrofit Pdfs Available Free ! Just PM | | | 02-24-2007, 02:42 AM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Los Alamos, NM Posts: 344 | I run 225 50 16's. haven't had any problems at all. no rubbing. nothing. | | | 02-24-2007, 02:45 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Los Alamos, NM Posts: 344 | oops, sorry, reread thread, and it's for 15" wheels. my bad | | | 02-24-2007, 09:39 PM | #7 | Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Belarus Posts: 29 | 2momorugger - BTW - What offset are your tires - I mean ET parameter. If your rims are OEM - please, tell me the style number. I'm really interested in 16" rims for summer and choose appropriate tire sizes and rims(offset dependence investigation). Thanks. | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |