what size tires for style 44 on my car without issues???

[TTsf]

hello i have an opportunity to purchase a set of bmw 7 spoke wheels i believe its the style 44 (17x8 with et47) with 17 / 45 / 225 tires.

currently my suspension consist of bilstien sports and HR racing springs and borbet 15x7 et47 wheels on 15 / 60 / 205 tires all around.

question is what size tires will fit on my car without rubbing and if i need to roll the fenders both front and rear prior to fitting the wheels? lastly will the different wheel size require me to place spacers for either the front or rear? many thanks for your help.

btw- if your locally in san francisco or the bay area the above 15" wheels with tires will be for sale once i get these to fit if at all...

terry

[Bluebimma]

You can keep the tires or buy some 215/45/17F, 245/40/17 rear. I rarely had any rubbing issues back there with 245/45/17s ET40, and sitting lower than Race. But it doesnt hurt to roll them anyways. If it were me, id just leave the tires on there.

[TTsf]

bluebimma thanks for your reply. does this mean that even with a full load i should have no issues? and you mention that yours are et40 but my wheels are et47 does this have any impact to your reply? thanks again

[Bluebimma]

I stated that my rims were ET40 because the wheel would sit 7mm closer to the fenders than yours would. I didnt have issues, you shouldnt either. What is your idea of full load?

[TTsf]

full load would mean at least 4 adults or 5 people as the car is capable of seating.

[minicoop900]

i run 225/45/17 on ds1s and i had probably close to 1000 lbs extra, looked slammed, didnt rub at all
that 1000 lbs came from me 170
my buddy 220
my dad 270
and a jack, 3 full hand tool boxes
we were goin to pull some parts off a car haha

[TTsf]

i also have an opportunity to purchase a set of style 68 17" staggered.
-wheel sizes are as follows: fronts 17 x 7.5 et 41 , rears 17 x 8 et 50
-tires sizes are as follows: fronts 225 / 45 /17 , rears 245 / 40 /17

the rears are in good shape and the fronts needs to be changed out. it seems from the above post of using 245 rear tires with et 40 offset this should not be an issue and i can use the wheelset as is with the tires specified. or am i missing something?

lastly between the style 68 and style 42 both 17" but the style 68's are staggered (so cant rotate the wheels) which is the harder to obtain and preferred by the group? i like the style 42 because its easy to clean and i can rotate the wheels but the style 68 looks really good but a bit harder to clean.

terry

[Bluebimma]

Its all about what you want to do with the car. Staggered can add a bit of understeer, but honestly, i never noticed it with the 1.X. When you get a LSD under the hatch, more power, then youll notice the understeer. As far as rotation goes, if its a summer tire, youll change them out a bit quicker since theyre on the drive axle plane. If youre not beating on them too often, they should last, but that also depends on the brand and quality of the tire.

Having a vehicle with a squared setup makes for neutral handling, rotations can be made, and usually last a bit longer if not worn on all four corners evenly.

Id honestly say, with bmws alignment spec, and the tis inability to have the rear alignment changed, without extensive mods/money, id go with a staggered setup and just run those until theyre worn out.