PDA

View Full Version : 265/295, 275/295, or 275/305 on 9.5/10.5" rims?


kloh
03-25-2010, 11:22 PM
I posted this over at M3Post (where I usually hang out) but didn't get a ton of response there. Was wondering what you guys might think?

--

Been reading a ton of the wheel and tire threads the past couple of days and have definitely picked up a bunch of new information. Thanks everyone for contributing to this forum...it's a valuable service!

I've settled on the following:

- Volk VR.G2 19x9.5 et22 fronts, 19x10.5 et25 rears
- Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tires
- No drop, Stock hardware.

Tire sizing still remains undecided, but I've narrowed it down to the following:

- 265/30/19 front 295/30/19 rear
- 275/30/19 front 295/30/19 rear
- 275/30/19 front 305/30/19 rear

So here's my dilemma:

- I want to have a wider stance
- I want to avoid rubbing
- I want to minimize any negative impact on performance

Those three kind of fight against each other from what I've been able to gather:

- Any change to tire widths can have a negative impact on performance (understeer). This can be mitigated with some adjustments to driving technique though. My wheels are wider already, so I'm going to live with this.

- 265/295 may be the optimum size for no rubbing, but can leave a wider gap on the fronts (especially without a drop) as well as cause the speedometer to report faster than actual speed.

- 275/295 will have a better wheel gap on the front so the look is more proportional, but there may be rubbing issues on the fronts. Speedometer will read too fast still, but not quite as bad as the 265 fronts.

- 275/305 will be the widest, and have the least effect on speedometer settings, however, there is a potential for rubbing on both front and back.

Am I obsessing too much over millimeters? I suppose I can also do 265/35 on the front, but I don't want the side walls to be taller in the front than the rears. I would have to go with 305/30 on the rears and they would still be shorter than the 265/35 fronts

Decisions, decisions.... I'm leaning toward 275/305 but given that I will be using this set for street driving as well as AutoX, I'm really concerned about the rubbing.

What would you guys do?

John Beckham
06-11-2010, 02:46 AM
kloh,

on a 9.5" wheel you should be running 275,

as for the rears 295 will be fine but 305 will result with a straight up tirewall which will ultimately help you in the corners.

the only thing that affects your spedo is the tirewall height. look at the normal dimensions for the e92 stock 19"s and use those as your guide, but just use a wider tire such as a 275/305 setup on your wheels. then you should be fine. as for rubbing, just take a good look at your fender-liner and worst case scenario is that you either raise your car a bit, shave off the inside of your wheels to adjust the offset, or dig into the fender-liner.

I hope this helps,

John