will 245's fit?

[hotdog19d]

Right now I have some 17x8 contours with 245/45/17 tires on. They fit pretty well now with minimal rubbing. The only problem is that I have very negative camber and I'm afraid after an alignment they won't fit at all. Any thoughts?

[grail]

i thought 245 on the rears (even without suspension mods or rolling the fenders)are no problem at all.you don't have 245's all-round do you?

[hotdog19d]

yep 245's all around

[J!m]

I have 245/40's in front (on 7.5 factory forged rims), 275/40's in rear (on 8.5 rims). Rears rub pretty good. Substantial work has been done to the rear quarters, they still rub. 'Kinda scary since I cannot carry a spare...

Front suspension: US and EURO M3 parts
Rear suspension: US M coupe` and M Roadster

I'd say 265's are the limit for the rear of the ti, and even then you may have to mod the quarters. It depends very much on the particular tire- same (numerically) size tires do not always have the same external dimensions and/or profiles.

I'm running Michelin Pilot sports.

[hotdog19d]

so normally 245's should fit correct even with my suspension?

[J!m]

I think 245's on a 7.5 factory rim (Largest possible tire for the rim by the way...) would fit OK, HOWEVER I have the caster tops installed, which alter the relationship between the tires and body (not to mention the control arm trick but I think this is a minimal mod with regards to tire fitment).

225's (factory M3 front size) on the 7.5 rim WILL fit- this is specified in the factory replacement wheel catalogues for front and rear of the ti. This catalogue states the 8.5 WILL NOT fit the rear of the ti ("All E36 [except ti]"). I am quite sure the 245's on the 8.5 rim will fit with no problems at all in the rear of a stock ti in spite of what the catalogue says. The issue may arise under EXTREME compression (or extremely LOW cars- same thing) but should be fine for sport suspension cars not hauling bags of cement regularly.

Also note: My car is not lowered at all. It rides pretty low, but it is stock ride height. If your car is particularly low, it may complicate things...

[2ndBimmer]

I can confirm that 225s fit on stock suspension without issue.

and on J!Ms car, you can barely get your pinky between the rear rubber and the fender... scary.

[J!m]

Actually, it depends where you try- some places your pinky will fit with minimal discomfort. Other places, it won't fit at all.

Needless to say, I have more wear on the side of my tires than the tread at this point. The 'adjustment' (read: beating with hammers) of the rear quarters has reduced the cutting of the sidewalls a great deal. I just drove it down to WV from CT with no major problems (I did have a scare in NY on one of the fabulous roads they have by the city, where the tread caught the inner lip and pulled it down, forming a nice knife for the tread...)

Next rest stop I removed the tire and beat the lip with the towing eye as my girlfriend cringed in horror...

If it can't be fixed with a hammer, it cant be fixed.

AND, after all this, the motor STILL lights up even these monster tires... Maybe I have to tub it out???

What I don't understand is why anyone would want/need more power than this. Short of drag slicks, how do you get the power to the ground?

I think 250 HP is plenty for a ti...

[slacker]

I have 245/40/17 on 8.5 Contour rims on the rear and 225/45/17 on 8.0 Contour rims on the front. All work great with no rub and nice handling. I have Conti Sports with the rears getting thin and am torn between new rears or changing to cheaper Hankooks but they don't make a 245/40/17 only a 245/45/17. I like the staggerd setup but some say it adds to the understeer. Guess it depends on the rest of the setup...I have PSS-9s and it gets loose more than pushes...but that may be due to tread on rears.
Gary