i WANT meaty tires....
 

i don't why but i like to compare my Miata with the 318ti. I don't know.... maybe because they're both RWD or maybe because they're both silver i don't know. I like to compare pretty much everything between the two but i know the Miata is a lot smaller and parts are less expensive.

Now i've never been too fond of stretch tires, low offset, and camber. That's not fitment to me and just looks ridiculous. I have meaty tires on a rather small set of wheels on my Miata which i absolutely love. I have 14x7 +19 RPF1's w/ 195-60's. I absolutely adore 14's on Miatas and think 14's belong on them but that's just me. :rolleyes:

So.... i want meaty tires on my 318ti now. I had the E46 style 45's which are 16" but i don't like E46 wheels on an E36. I would like to do 15's or 16's the most with meaty tires. I recently put on a set of style 32's which are 15x7 +47 w/ 205-60's and i didn't get the look i wanted compared to the Miata.

Should i be looking for 15x8, 16x7 or even 16x8 wheels? How big of a tire size can i go with those wheel specs? Things to know are i don't autocross or track. Just weekend cruising so i don't care for the best tires. I have Sumitomos on the Miata. Then i have H&R Sport springs and Koni STR.T's to be installed very soon.

Any advice, suggestions and shared experiences would be much appreciated. Thank you guys.

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/...psec5b6cd4.jpg

here are the E46 style 45 16" wheels the car came with....

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/...psorc4hywt.jpg

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/...pseh033hsm.jpg

and here are the style 32 wheels i picked up. They're 15x7 +47 w/ 205-60's....

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/...psjmgtmtkb.jpg

so if i decide to keep my style 32's which are 15x7 +47.... i'm thinking of either running 205-65-15, maybe even 205-70-15 or 225-60-15 for that meaty look. Which would you consider and why?

i'm gonna guess you guys would go with the 225-60 for more contact patch.

My son's Ti has m3 contour wheels. 245/40-17 on the rear wheels. it looks very meaty.

What do you mean by "meaty"? To me, it means having a wide tire, but it looks like you just want a fat sidewall. 205/55/16 is stock, so a 205/60/15 I think is the right dimension for 15s. You can fit up to a 245 width tire on these cars, so find the right sidewall ratio and you'll find the most "meaty" tire that fits the 318ti. I'm not a fan of changing wheel diameters as that will change the speedometer reading, but a few % one way or another won't ruin it.

yeah since the offset is high on the style 32's, i may go with a 215-60 or even a 225-60. Thank you sir.

i WANT meaty tires....
 

You can fit up to 255s on stock suspension and no roll needed without any rubbing.

255 or 225? :confused:

I think people have fit 255/40/17 on. I'm sure 245/50/17 fit fine, so some 255's that run narrow should fit.

but i'm keeping it 15" and maybe 16" later down the road. Don't want/like skinny rubber. I want/like meaty tires. I know stock is 205-60-15. 225-60-15 may be too meaty and looks more meant for 5 series so i may just go with a 215-60-15.

All you're doing is increasing sidewall height and tire diameter. It will cause fender liner rub if you go too big. What most people are recommending you is to go with wider tires, but keep the same tire diameter. That is what I, and most people, consider to be a "meatier" tire when the sidewalls bulge out past the rim within reason.

i absolutely understand brother. I'm telling all of you i'm staying within 15"-16" the most. The car came with 16" style 45's that i don't like. I don't like newer model wheels on an older model chassis.

i recently picked up style 32's which are 15x7 +47 with 205-60's on them. Do i wish they were 8" wide? Hell yeah i do. On my Miata i have 14x7 with a 195-60. Yes they look big and maybe even alil ballooney but they look just right to me. I want the same affect, look, feel and ratio on my 318ti but on a 15x7, 15x8, 16x7, and 16x8 wheel.

That's why i said maybe i'll just go up one more size and do a 215-60 as oppose to a 225-60 which looks like it's meant more for a 5 series. :wink: