18 Inch Wheels On BMW E36

6th May 2008

18 Inch Wheels On BMW E36

posted in Exterior, Photos, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized |

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Hi Guys,

I’ve seen many BMW E36 cars with 16", 17" and 18" wheel setups. I personally like the 17" wheels on BMW E36 cars most. The 16" wheels are too small and they don’t give the BMW E36 car the look it deserves, which leaves your car unappreciated. So, If I were to change my wheels, I would either go with the 17" or 18" setups. Now, if you want to go with either of these, you will have to take into account 2 factors that will help you decide:

1. Car’s engine:- If you’re riding a 318is like I do, then go with the 17". You can’t go wrong because, believe it or not, the 18" setup will put a heavy load on your engine and worsen your car’s performance.

2. Car’s suspension:- If you have a little low ride, like me (I have a stock sport suspension), then you can go with either 17" or 18". The trick is just to make sure you will not have any tire rubbing. For me, I have the 17" and they look fantastic on my car. If you have stock suspension, you can go either with 17" or 18". 18" is preferable unless you’re going to give your car a drop soon.

If you decided to go with the 18" and looking to give your car a little drop, you may either go with the 60mm drop or 40mm drop. The 60mm drop will make the car look cool, but it’s going to have tire rubbing (most likely) and it will definitely be a hard ride.

I’ve prepared some E36 pics with 18" wheel setup for you to check them out. Take a look:

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Exterior, Photos, Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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1 On May 6th, 2008, mark said:

These look cool and give the car a more aggresive look. Tony, how do you think 18″ wheels would look on the convertible?

posted on May 6th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

2 On May 6th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

Hi Mark,

Take a look at setup #10. It looks great!

posted on May 6th, 2008 at 5:26 pm

3 On May 7th, 2008, mgr 328i csport said:

nice pics man number 7 is my fave!!!!!!!! i ride on 17s on lowered sport suspension, i think if i had 18s it would break my back on some of my favourite roads!!!!

posted on May 7th, 2008 at 11:35 am

4 On May 9th, 2008, Brad said:

im looking to get 18s on my 318i. yes or no?

posted on May 9th, 2008 at 5:52 am

5 On May 9th, 2008, Tony Sticks said:

Hi Brad,

I prefer to get the 17″ and lower the car a little bit (if you didn’t do that yet 🙂 ), but if you want to go with the 18″, I think it would be alright.

posted on May 9th, 2008 at 8:38 am

6 On May 9th, 2008, seth wakeman said:

If you’re going to be talking about rim size, it would be good to know that if you’re going to put 18″s on an E36, the rear tires should be no wider than 235’s. When I put them on my first M3 sedan(saloon? to you), high speed turns would cause the rears to rub on the wheel well. Also, if anyone with an E36 wants to lower it AND put it on 18″s, don’t forget the camber correction plates available almost everywhere. Misaligned camber from lowering and big rims will cause tires to angle inwards and wear unevenly, and also cause worse rubbing especially on the front tires.

posted on May 9th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

7 On May 12th, 2008, 17 Inch Wheels On BMW E36 | BMW E36 Blog said:

[…] published the 18 Inch Wheels On BMW E36 which talks about the 18 inch wheels and shows some photos of how they’re supposed to look on […]

posted on May 12th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

8 On June 10th, 2008, Sasha said:

Hey everyone,

anybody know any good websites, where I can get rims, for 1992 bmw 325i, which are pretty cheap, and also something like number 10???

thanks, in advance!

posted on June 10th, 2008 at 6:42 am

9 On July 11th, 2008, luis said:

i just installed on my 1996 328i convertible 18×8 wheels and 225/40/18 tires and it scrapes on both front fenders, can anyone help me and answer why, thank you i need help…

posted on July 11th, 2008 at 7:06 am

10 On July 11th, 2008, seth wakeman said:

Do you have a lowering kit and/or wheel spacers? My first M3 had a coilover kit and 18’s in the front, and both tires rubbed on the fender, and it chewed the hell out of my tires.

I didn’t want to raise my car high enough to stop the rubbing, so I went back down to 235/45/17. I had no more rubbing problems.

Thinking about it now, I imagine the wheel spacers, if you have them, would be the best fix.

Last but not least, if the offset of the new rims is too far in, that will have the same effect as spacing the wheels.

Good luck on not having to take the 18’s off, our cars look hot as hell with them.

All the best,
Seth

posted on July 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

11 On May 8th, 2009, Joe said:

Hi, ive lowerd my car 40mm and my tyres are scrubbng BAD on the inside? they have gone bald on the inside of the rears on a day 😐 is it possible 2 alter that and if so.. how? i only have 15″ wheels?
thanks joe

posted on May 8th, 2009 at 8:06 pm

12 On January 11th, 2011, MPHO said:

HI GUYS!!!
I HAVE E36 320I WITH E46 TI MAGS & STAR, WITH 225/45/17 TIRES. MY PROBLEM IS THE FRONT TIRES THEY CHEW UP THE FENDERS, ANY ADVICE, THE SUSPENSION IS STOCK. ANY ADVISE ABOUT THE DROPPING SIZE.

posted on January 11th, 2011 at 7:26 pm

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