bmwe21.net forums

Hi all

Can someone tell us what's the widest with of wheels that can go on the front of standard e21 car, can they go all the way up to 9 j with out rubbing I'm think ong if running 16 inch 9 j all they way round.. Please help me

Thank you

Lee

That really depends on the ET of the rim (offset) , the width of the tyre you want to use and how low the car is.

But this is one of the cars here i know and he runs 8,5" wide BBS in the front.

does depend on the ET - you need to search for a wheel stretch calculator on google.

ET is the only problem on the front, as the wheel hit the ball joint if the ET is lower than 15... I'm currently driving in the front with 8x16 ET25 with 15mm adapters, camber -2.5 degree, rear 9x16 ET20 with 8mm adapters, camber -3.5 degree and the wheels are in line with the fenders to the milimeter.

Thank you this is what I wanted to hear, I'm looking and being inspired buy your car chroma man. Cheers

Also is it true that running spacers mess up the wheel bearing?

Nah not really.

That is a old rumor. Some cars even has them factory mounted. It doesnt mess up the bearing anymore than changing the offset (ET) from the original setup. This can actually be worse in extreme cases. One of my old mate´s had a very widened Manta B (Mantzel evolution) some 10-12 years back. He ran enormous 13x15" rear wheels with 345/40-15 tyres (yeah they are VERY expensive). He messed up the rear bearings every 2-3 months ! So he ended up stockpiling them

You shouldnt worry about putting in a spacer as long as you (if you use very wide spacers) remember to use longer wheelbolts also.

The diference is the steering/cornering forces on the front are far greater so you'll knock out the bearings more quickly than with stock rims. Just use decent hubcentric spacers, regularly check and adjust your bearings and you'll be fine.

croma_man wrote:ET is the only problem on the front, as the wheel hit the ball joint if the ET is lower than 15... I'm currently driving in the front with 8x16 ET25 with 15mm adapters, camber -2.5 degree, rear 9x16 ET20 with 8mm adapters, camber -3.5 degree and the wheels are in line with the fenders to the milimeter.

So you are basically saying that your wheel rubs the ball joint constantly? You are driving with ET 10 in the front? Or do you have ET 40 rims? Its not your ET value alone, but the combination of wheel width and ET