Stumped, 225/50/16... still rubs inside fender

[Reguile]

I'll start by saying I'm new to the BMW scene, this is the first BMW I owned, and my 2nd car. I bought this car about a week ago.

Anyways, this is the rim that is on the car atm..






Here is the inside of the fender well on the passenger side.vvvv



Driver Side vvvvvvv


I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, it rubs when I take a tight turn, or pulling out of the driveway at the slope (Atleast it sounds like it does.) I looked everything up and I think it's supposed to be able to take 225/50/16, so any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the noobacity.

[bullmand]

You're right about the tire size. That's what came stock on the sport package cars, but from the looks of your pictures the offset on those wheels is not correct for the car. While it's close enough, it's probably the source of your rubbing. Having said that, it appears that the rubbing is very minor and probably won't cause any actual problems. The offset for E36 BMW wheels is in the mid forties. Those look like they might be 23 if that's what the "15 23" marking means.

[Reguile]

Passenger side gouging is actually pretty bad, the engine bay parts are pretty much exposed, and I'm unsure on how water friendly they are, don't really want water constantly getting in there anyways..
And the "15 23" you see actually appears to be IS 23, lol.

[bullmand]

That makes it even more likely that 23 is the offset. From what I can find that wheel would have originally been on an E38 7 Series. If it's really worrying to you, I'd find something in the correct offset and then replace the damaged parts of the fender liner. Craiglist is a good source for wheels, especially if you're looking to stay in the 16" range. There are probably a few sets for sale here as well.

[slow_ti]

Put a 45 series on there. and a 215 baha

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by slow_ti

Put a 45 series on there. and a 215 baha

that would fix the rubbing, but it would look weird unless you lower the car quite a bit, you could probably check craiglist and see if anyone has any 3 series rims, those would fit perfectly

[Jean H.318TI]

thats weird cuz i run 245/40/17 all around and they barely rub and my car is lowered too, but on the good side it looks pretty sick tho, if it was me i would keep it as is and maybe even lower it a little bit more (no wheel gap) and it would look soooooo sickkk just my opinion

or i will trade u for the stock 16s from the sport TI, no rubbing problem at all

[slow_ti]

I already pm'ed him and asked for that trade^ too late to the game haha

[Phil Marx]

That's "IS 23" and it is the offset. Meaning what you have on there is nearly one-inch the wrong-way in offset for what your Ti should have, plus these are 8-inches wide. Original Ti wheels are 7-inches wide with a 46-inch offset on the 16s. That puts you nearly one-and-a-half inches the wrong way!

Get the right wheels.

[Reguile]

What's the widest wheels you can put on the 318ti w/ correct offset without having rubbing problems? I'm looking into 17''s.. already went around many junk yards to see if they got the 3 series rims, no luck.. "BMW's are 'rare'"..

And to ship rims back and forth is expensive it seems so trading them seems out of the question.. I'm surprised they would rub on the inside when the offset is making them point more outwards.

[slow_ti]

Guess shipping was too expensive?

[Reguile]

^I PM'ed you a few times, did you get any messages from me?
Wasn't sure what time would be a good time to text you.
I wanted to know if it was possible for you to just sell me the rims and for how much lol

[slow_ti]

my pm's are full. just text me whenever, i am a high schooler so anytime works for me. i dont really have a life haha, just schoool and my work, and at work i can text cause im bored at the valet podium.

[bullmand]

Originally Posted by Reguile

I'm surprised they would rub on the inside when the offset is making them point more outwards.

The outside edge of the wheels are further out from the hub than they should be. When the wheel is straight that makes them stick out past the edge of the fender lip. When you turn the wheel, the edge is still too far from the hub and now it's too close to the front of the wheel well liner. It's the outside shoulder of your tire that's rubbing, based on the pictures.

[Reguile]

Alright, I believe I found new rims, finally.
They're 18 x 8 w/ an OE of 38mm (on a different webpage, they say 45..) I see alot of the tire sizes are coming in 225/40 and 235/40..
I just wanted to double check to see if I'll have any fitment issues w/ any of these options. You guys have been super helpful, thank you all.

And Sorry, Slow Ti if you feel as if I wasted your time, I felt I have, and I did kind of leave you hanging there. So again, I apologize for being a nuisance.. If you want, maybe you have other parts you want to sell that you think I may be interested in? Anyways, been going on with a few hours of sleep for the past few days.