tyres and spacers

nas80 · Post by **nas80** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:20 pm

struggling to find info and need opinion.

Whats the stock size tyres that e21's need for 15 inch alloys?

Also i take it I want to run the stock 13mm offset - so these wheels I bought have 25mm offset - so i need 12mm spacers to run standard offset -

but as these arnt that common can I run 10 mm offset without problems if i bought 15mm spacers??

can anyone help me with thier experience?

DrGonzoPOW · Post by **DrGonzoPOW** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 6:52 pm

You should be able to run anything up to around 18 offset without spacers. Not sure what standard 15'' tyres would be but i have 185/70/13 on stock turbines. Handy calculator here
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Madhatter · Post by **Madhatter** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:33 am

195/55 or 205/50.

How wide are the wheels? a 10mm spacer will be more than enough, 15mm offset will fit fine.

nas80 · Post by **nas80** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:05 pm

the are 7" wide.

your right a 10mm spacer will be adequate - will give me a 15mm offset -

i think i might go for some 195/50/15 its 2.2% smaller than stock which is well within the rolling radius limits.

Cheers for the help fellas.

Madhatter · Post by **Madhatter** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:36 am

why do people insist on using 195/50's when they are vastly undersized? they actually look smaller in the guards and increase the wheel gap. I reckon they look ugly.

e21-Mark · Post by **e21-Mark** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:11 am

Alpina ran 195/50's @ the front and 205/50's @ the rear to try and balance up the grip and make the cars less prone to oversteer. Nowadays though I guess tyre technology and choice has improved. If I want to run 205's up front I'd need to get my arches rolled as they rub, ever so slightly, on hard cornering. I'm going to go up to 205 on the rear once these tyres are finished.
I used to run a turbo arched 2002tii with 235/50's and it was bloody awful unless you were on a track. On the road it might have looked the bollocks but it tramlined really badly and just went with the rad camber. It was horrible to drive.
I guess it comes down to personal choice but what might look best isn't always what handles the best.

thetomc · Post by **thetomc** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:11 pm

I guess it comes down to personal choice but what might look best isn't always what handles the best.

Agreed.
I swear by 195/45/15's but then my car is a long way from standard and only ever gets driven hard.

I'll also agree that it would be nice if the wheel tyre combo filled the arches a bit more but theres no way i'd sacrafice the feel of the car for looks.

Madhatter · Post by **Madhatter** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:08 am

RetroBeemer wrote:Alpina ran 195/50's @ the front and 205/50's @ the rear to try and balance up the grip and make the cars less prone to oversteer. Nowadays though I guess tyre technology and choice has improved. If I want to run 205's up front I'd need to get my arches rolled as they rub, ever so slightly, on hard cornering. I'm going to go up to 205 on the rear once these tyres are finished.
I used to run a turbo arched 2002tii with 235/50's and it was bloody awful unless you were on a track. On the road it might have looked the bollocks but it tramlined really badly and just went with the rad camber. It was horrible to drive.
I guess it comes down to personal choice but what might look best isn't always what handles the best.

It wasnt that, it was because 195/50 was the next size down from 205/50. Some sizes have only come about in the last 10 or so years, 195/55 being one of them. I can assure you, nothing at all to do with handling, no difference at all between a 195/55 and a 195/50.

e21-Mark · Post by **e21-Mark** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:13 am

Staggered rims were introduced because of the e21 being notoriously tail-happy. Alpina preferred and catalogue Pirelli P7's with 195/50 up front and 205/50 rears.
It was when Dietel Enterprises built the 333i, that the greater weight of the engine altered weight distribution and the battery moved to the boot. The new weight balance came out @ 56% front and 44% rear and so there was no need to stagger tyre sizes and 205/50's were fitted all round. They did fit wider rims though, with 6.5J up front and 7.5J on the rear.
There might have been some slight variations in the USA though?

Madhatter · Post by **Madhatter** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:00 am

Did I say to run a 205 on the front anywhere? I said the only reason they ran a 50 profile is because the 55 wasnt around then. I never once said to run anything other than a 195 on the front, i was commenting about the 195/50 being undersized vs the 195/55, thats all.

But since you bought it up, as for handling, well, id debate that it made any difference too and was even the reason for the different sizes. For me, I reckon they ran the narrower wheels and tyres on the front because an issue of fitment without rubbing with 205's. The combination of a 7 inch wheel, lowered suspension and a 205 tyre is just too much on the front of an E21, ends up rubbing on the guard. Cant have vehicles going out with tyres rubbing and damaging the sheet metal (and/or tyre), so they reduced the width and the tyre size to fit them under. The backspace of the 6's is different along with the offset, helps keep the tyre off the guard, I reckon its that simple.

e21-Mark · Post by **e21-Mark** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:11 am

Whoooooah there, I'm not suggesting you've said anything about anything! I thought we were just chatting about tyre sizes, pros and cons etc?

It was Alpina who gave their reasons for staggered rims. They went up to 205's all round when the big six was fitted because the change in weight distribution and balance supposedly made e21's less prone to oversteer.

nas80 · Post by **nas80** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:03 pm

hahah

relax everyone - i chose this size because i can get a full set of toyo t1r tyres for only £125 pounds delivered!

Also 195/50's is much better than going for this new fangled stretched look - i.e 175/55/15 on 7" rim!

My peugeot runs 195/55/15 and the tyres are a bit balloon-ish - so 195/50's arent really that low a profile.

195/50 all round will allow to me to rotate my wheels.

e21-Mark · Post by **e21-Mark** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:00 pm

Sorry to bump up an old thread but how wide can we go without fitting arches? Is anyone running 8 or 9J x 15's? If so, what spacers, tires etc are you running?

murran · Post by **murran** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:15 pm

Madhatter wrote:why do people insist on using 195/50's when they are vastly undersized? they actually look smaller in the guards and increase the wheel gap. I reckon they look ugly.

old thread, but incase anyone new is reading this.....
one reason, cost.
same make......
195 55s start at like £55.
195 50s start at like £35.

also the car will go, handle and stop ever so slightly better. i think 55s look a little balloonish tbh.

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