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[spennyhatch]

Hey so let me preface this by saying i know NOTHING about tires/wheels. I'm a computer guy, not a car guy So, I have read through some posts to try to find what i need, but thought i could just post this here to give me an opportunity to display my ignorance, as well as let someone smart display their brilliance!

So.... I have a 08' 335xi pre lci w/sport package, and I was looking at getting some Wheels, specifically either TSW Nurburgring's or VMR V710's. The Tires are ( I believe ) the stock tires ( although thankfully not the originals ), and should be:

Type 162 (Front: 18x8 ET34 225/40 R18) (Rear: 18x8.5 ET37 255/35 R18)

Again I am very much a noob, so when I look at the VMR wheels they only have either 18 x 8.5 or 18 x 9.5. So... if my Front are 18x8, would that work?

similarly the TSW have only an 18x8 but no 18x18.5 for my rears


So, could anyone break down what that would mean, or suggestions? Thanks in advance

[MonacoBlueE90]

This depends what you want? Do you want the wheels sitting like stock wheels or more flush with fender? Are you going to lower the car or willing to do fender roll to help fit more aggressive wheels?

Since you have xdrive you need to keep the tyre rolling diameter under 1%. Are you going to use same tyres 225/40/18 and 255/35/18?

Most common setup that vendors recommend is 18x8.5 et35 and 18x9.5 et35 with 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 this would work in your car without any issues.

But it doesn't mean you can't put more wider or lower offset wheels to the car. The offset is the key in all cases.

You can use 8, 8.5, 9 and 9.5 or even wider at front if you want and they will fit just need to have correct offset. Rear can fit even wider than front. I would go with VMR wheels because they have better specs to choose. Tsw setup would in my opinion need spacers.

From VMR setups you have few possibilities.

18x8.5 et35 front and 18x9.5 et33 rear.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag...left_front.jpg
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag..._left_rear.jpg
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag...-left-rear.jpg
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag...black-side.jpg
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag...left-front.jpg

18x8.5 et20 front and 18x9.5 et22 rear

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...6&postcount=11
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/DSC02418.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/DSC02422.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/DSC02419.jpg
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...90&postcount=6
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...41&postcount=1

18x8.5 et35 front and 18x9.5 et22 rear

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=619100
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=613831

18x9.5 et33 front and 18x9.5 et22 rear

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...3&postcount=39
http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=40732
http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=19860

19inch and e92 but anyway.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...49&postcount=1

Some of those require fender roll and use of specific tyre size. Not all the examples are exact specs but close to it. Lower offset means that the wheel will be more out but at the same wheel width affects to that. Easiest way to understand how much it will extend compared to your stock wheel is to use that calculator above. It can also tell you the tyre diameter difference.

I would probably go with 18x8.5 et20 front with 225/40/18 and 18x9.5 et20 rear with 255/35/18. Lower it and do little bit fender roll to rear if needed.

[spennyhatch]

Wow, thanks for the info... super helpfull. Honestly i want to just keep the same tires i have on now as they were pricey and dont want to have to get tires as well. Really dont want to get into lowering the car etc. I'm sure It would look better but not really wanting to spend more $ and get into extra steps.

So.... with the stock Tires, what would you suggest would work best? Im trying to wrap my head around all this, but.. So this may be totally dumb question but what is the "et35" is that the offset? So if I am understanding this, the 18x8.5 means the wheels/rims are 18" in Diamater, and then 8.5" Depth wise, but Not sure what the ET corralates to, and then how that would work in conjunction with my Tires..

Thanks again...

[MonacoBlueE90]

Originally Posted by spennyhatch

Wow, thanks for the info... super helpfull. Honestly i want to just keep the same tires i have on now as they were pricey and dont want to have to get tires as well. Really dont want to get into lowering the car etc. I'm sure It would look better but not really wanting to spend more $ and get into extra steps.

So.... with the stock Tires, what would you suggest would work best? Im trying to wrap my head around all this, but.. So this may be totally dumb question but what is the "et35" is that the offset? So if I am understanding this, the 18x8.5 means the wheels/rims are 18" in Diamater, and then 8.5" Depth wise, but Not sure what the ET corralates to, and then how that would work in conjunction with my Tires..

Thanks again...

8.5 is the width of the wheel and ET is offset. Here is good info http://www.flushstance.com/wheel-measurements/ Basically lower offset means that wheel will extend more out and when you start to go low enough offset, you need to have narrower tyre, so it wouldn't rub.

For example compared to your stock 18x8 et34 front the 18x8.5 et35 will extend 5mm more towards the fender and the rear 18x8.5 et37 compared to 18x9.5 et35 will extend 15mm. It will look better as it isn't as sunken in as the stock setup. Basically if you add 5mm front and 15mm rear spacer your current style 162 would extend to same place.

Width of the wheel affects to that also for example 18x8 et34 would extend same place as 8.5 et40, but at the same time wider wheel has less room towards inside in this case 12mm.

I think since you don't want to lower the car you should go with 18x8.5 et35 and 18x9.5 et35 it would look close to this http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...97&postcount=8 You wont need any kinda modifications to fit these and it doesn't deviate too much from stock setup. Those lower (et20) offset possibilities only look good with at least little bit lowered suspension.

It would work with your current tyres it's just little bit more stretched than currently. Not really noticeable tho. Later when new tyres are needed you can go wider if you want.

[bmw325i]

Now this thread needs to be stickied.

[EzequielR]

holy crap, this is probably one of the most helpful threads i have ever read. Thank you @MonacoBlueE90

[spennyhatch]

Originally Posted by MonacoBlueE90

8.5 is the width of the wheel and ET is offset. Here is good info http://www.flushstance.com/wheel-measurements/ Basically lower offset means that wheel will extend more out and when you start to go low enough offset, you need to have narrower tyre, so it wouldn't rub.

For example compared to your stock 18x8 et34 front the 18x8.5 et35 will extend 5mm more towards the fender and the rear 18x8.5 et37 compared to 18x9.5 et35 will extend 15mm. It will look better as it isn't as sunken in as the stock setup. Basically if you add 5mm front and 15mm rear spacer your current style 162 would extend to same place.

Width of the wheel affects to that also for example 18x8 et34 would extend same place as 8.5 et40, but at the same time wider wheel has less room towards inside in this case 12mm.

I think since you don't want to lower the car you should go with 18x8.5 et35 and 18x9.5 et35 it would look close to this http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...97&postcount=8 You wont need any kinda modifications to fit these and it doesn't deviate too much from stock setup. Those lower (et20) offset possibilities only look good with at least little bit lowered suspension.

It would work with your current tyres it's just little bit more stretched than currently. Not really noticeable tho. Later when new tyres are needed you can go wider if you want.

That post kicked so much ass, I might go blind. That's what I was looking for was a simple breakdown of how it works, and then also a confirmation that the setup I was looking at would work out. Proppers to you my man!

Few quick questions... Strongly leaning towards the VMR's, You say go with the 18x9.5 et35 for my rear with the VMRS. But on their site for the 18x9.5 there is no et35, just et33. Guessing that is close enough, but just saying. Also if I am keeping my tires would I need to get the TPMS separate? Lastly lets just say I wanted to throw caution to the wind, and hook up the TSW's instead. Do you think the Front: 18x8 et35 Rear: 18X9.5 et40 would be fairly similar? I understand (vaguely) the knowledge you just dropped, but I like getting the opinion of someone with a really good understanding and that can visualize what it would look like. Thanks again, this thing was really stressing me out

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by spennyhatch

That post kicked so much ass, I might go blind. That's what I was looking for was a simple breakdown of how it works, and then also a confirmation that the setup I was looking at would work out. Proppers to you my man!

Few quick questions... Strongly leaning towards the VMR's, You say go with the 18x9.5 et35 for my rear with the VMRS. But on their site for the 18x9.5 there is no et35, just et33. Guessing that is close enough, but just saying. Also if I am keeping my tires would I need to get the TPMS separate? Lastly lets just say I wanted to throw caution to the wind, and hook up the TSW's instead. Do you think the Front: 18x8 et35 Rear: 18X9.5 et40 would be fairly similar? I understand (vaguely) the knowledge you just dropped, but I like getting the opinion of someone with a really good understanding and that can visualize what it would look like. Thanks again, this thing was really stressing me out

You'll probably want to add spacers with the tsw's. 8.5et22 and 9.5et20 are flush on a prelci e90 with stock camber. You can use the wheel calculator to compare those fitments. For a flush fitment it is necessary to roll your fenders.

[MonacoBlueE90]

Originally Posted by spennyhatch

That post kicked so much ass, I might go blind. That's what I was looking for was a simple breakdown of how it works, and then also a confirmation that the setup I was looking at would work out. Proppers to you my man!

Few quick questions... Strongly leaning towards the VMR's, You say go with the 18x9.5 et35 for my rear with the VMRS. But on their site for the 18x9.5 there is no et35, just et33. Guessing that is close enough, but just saying. Also if I am keeping my tires would I need to get the TPMS separate? Lastly lets just say I wanted to throw caution to the wind, and hook up the TSW's instead. Do you think the Front: 18x8 et35 Rear: 18X9.5 et40 would be fairly similar? I understand (vaguely) the knowledge you just dropped, but I like getting the opinion of someone with a really good understanding and that can visualize what it would look like. Thanks again, this thing was really stressing me out

Yeah my bad the VMR is in fact et33, but doesn't make a difference it's just 2mm more out than et35. If you would have really aggressive setup the 2mm could have some effect.

About TPMS i don't know, because European cars don't have those. I'm not sure can those be reused.

Well with TSW front is going to look same and rear is going to be 10mm more out than your style 162. For that setup i would add 10mm front and rear spacer.

Here is more interesting stuff to read http://www.turnermotorsport.com/t-wheel_guide.aspx

Originally Posted by bmw325i

You'll probably want to add spacers with the tsw's. 8.5et22 and 9.5et20 are flush on a prelci e90 with stock camber. You can use the wheel calculator to compare those fitments. For a flush fitment it is necessary to roll your fenders.

And i would also suggest lowering with those et20 wheels, since it will look weird with lower offset wheels and no lowering, but OP doesn't want to lower it and do modifications if needed. So in my opinion it's better to stay somewhat close to stock specs. Little bit more flush is good tho, especially at rear.

If something like this is the goal then lowering and at least rear fender roll is needed 18x8.5 et15 225/40/18 and 18x10 et17 with 255/35/18

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...74&postcount=1
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=677

Originally Posted by EzequielR

holy crap, this is probably one of the most helpful threads i have ever read. Thank you @MonacoBlueE90

I'm glad it has some help.

[mashimarho]

Could not have said so better myself.

[VMRWheels]

MonacoBlueE90 for mod! He's always super helpful in all his posts. Pretty much summed up all the information you need to know.

In regard to TPMS, our wheels are compatible with your stock sensors, so you can just swap them over without a problem. Alternatively, if you want to just buy new sensors, that's also an option. Either way, the wheels are compatible with sensors.