widest tires on '01 330ci

Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing or
on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe more
if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!

I think the 235/40x17 is the most you can get on the front rims, I would
guess that the rear should be limited to the 255/35, give or take a little.

I have the 225/45x17s on all four corners of my car ('94 325i), but I am
confident that I could have stuffed the 235/40s under it and been fine. The
front rims are narrower than the rear, by an inch, so the rear rims will
hold a wider tire than the front. If you get a wider (235, 245, 255, etc.)
then you want a lower aspect ratio (50, 45, 40, etc.) to keep the overall
diameter the same.

You can calculate the overall diameter by multiplying the Width X Aspect
Ratio / 24.7 X 2 + rim size (17, in this exercise). So a 245/40x17 would
have a diameter of 245 X .45 = 110.25 mm / 24.7 = 4.46 in. X 2 = 8.93 + 17 =
25.93 inches. (The division by 24.7 converts the metric measurement to
inches. You have to multiply by 2 because the width X aspect ratio only
gives one sidewall, but the diameter of the tire includes 2 sidewalls.)

I pulled a width and aspect ratio out of my ass to provide numbers that
illustrate the formula. You can adjust the numbers as needed to find tire
sizes that ultimately give you the same overall diameter as you have now.
Work out the formula for your current tires, then adjust the width higher
and the aspect ratio smaller to see where you end up. You want an overall
diameter to be within a half inch or so of the stock tires or you will run
into troubles with the gearing and speedo calibration.







"Planar1" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
or
> on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
more
> if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>
>

If the width of your mag is not different front to back, ie, if they are all
17" x 8" then all tires should be the same size.
when you see staggered wheel sizes (like my 540i 235/255) it is because the
wheels are also different sizes, 17x8 and 17 x 9"
I would expect the car to handle poorly if you stagger tires when they
should not be.
go to http://www.bimmer.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
and get their input, that is the BEST site for BMW, 5 series in particular
Sharkmanbmw

"Planar1" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>

Yes. I kind of already knew that but wanted to see what others thought of
the idea. So, all four the same size. How wide can I go? TIA!


"SharkmanBMW" > wrote in message
...
> If the width of your mag is not different front to back, ie, if they are
> all 17" x 8" then all tires should be the same size.
> when you see staggered wheel sizes (like my 540i 235/255) it is because
> the wheels are also different sizes, 17x8 and 17 x 9"
> I would expect the car to handle poorly if you stagger tires when they
> should not be.
> go to http://www.bimmer.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
> and get their input, that is the BEST site for BMW, 5 series in particular
> Sharkmanbmw
>
> "Planar1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
>> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
>> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
>> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>>
>
>

I think the widest you can put on a 17 x 8 is a 235/40. I know for certain
that the 225/45 fits well, but there appears to be plenty of room for a
235/40, and the overall diameter is equivelent.




"Planar1" > wrote in message
...
> Yes. I kind of already knew that but wanted to see what others thought of
> the idea. So, all four the same size. How wide can I go? TIA!
>
>
> "SharkmanBMW" > wrote in message
> ...
> > If the width of your mag is not different front to back, ie, if they are
> > all 17" x 8" then all tires should be the same size.
> > when you see staggered wheel sizes (like my 540i 235/255) it is because
> > the wheels are also different sizes, 17x8 and 17 x 9"
> > I would expect the car to handle poorly if you stagger tires when they
> > should not be.
> > go to http://www.bimmer.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
> > and get their input, that is the BEST site for BMW, 5 series in
particular
> > Sharkmanbmw
> >
> > "Planar1" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on
a
> >> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not
racing
> >> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255
(maybe
> >> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
> >>
> >
> >
>
>

the stock mags on the 330 are 17 x 7"

whcich should carry no wider than 225/45 17's
you need an 8" width to go wider

handling and comfort are better with 225/45 than with 235/40 anyway





"Planar1" > wrote in message
...
> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>

If you are only looking for appearance, and aren't concerned with how badly
the car will handle, or how terrible the ride might be, you should check
out:

www.idiotsandtheirdumbtires.com


"330xi" > wrote in message
...
> the stock mags on the 330 are 17 x 7"
>
> whcich should carry no wider than 225/45 17's
> you need an 8" width to go wider
>
> handling and comfort are better with 225/45 than with 235/40 anyway
>
>
>
>
>
> "Planar1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
>> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
>> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
>> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>>
>
>

I borrowed this from a Bimmer E46 M3 web site:

The M3 sits on 18-inch M-style alloy wheels (8.0-inch wide front and
9.0-inch wide rear), with appropriately sized high-performance tires (225/45
ZR - 18 front and 255/40 ZR -18 rear).

Will I be able to successfully install this combo on my 330ci? Is there a
reason why it won't fit? ie different diff larger/smaller wheel wells,
different suspension width? I'm not saying I want to run this combo, but
since I will be buying these wheels and tires via mail-order, getting it
wrong would be expensive. I don't have the luxury of trying out different
sets. I have to get it right the first time! The E46 M3 runs different size
wheels and tires in the front and rear. Is there a reason why doing this on
my car would mess-up my handling and not mess-up the M3 (as another said
earlier)?

I appreciate your indulgence while I get my feet wet with a BMW.


"330xi" > wrote in message
...
> the stock mags on the 330 are 17 x 7"
>
> whcich should carry no wider than 225/45 17's
> you need an 8" width to go wider
>
> handling and comfort are better with 225/45 than with 235/40 anyway
>
>
>
>
>
> "Planar1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
>> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
>> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
>> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>>
>
>

"Planar1" > wrote in message
...
> I borrowed this from a Bimmer E46 M3 web site:
>
> The M3 sits on 18-inch M-style alloy wheels (8.0-inch wide front and
> 9.0-inch wide rear), with appropriately sized high-performance tires
(225/45
> ZR - 18 front and 255/40 ZR -18 rear).
>
> Will I be able to successfully install this combo on my 330ci? Is there a
> reason why it won't fit? ie different diff larger/smaller wheel wells,
> different suspension width? I'm not saying I want to run this combo, but
> since I will be buying these wheels and tires via mail-order, getting it
> wrong would be expensive. I don't have the luxury of trying out different
> sets. I have to get it right the first time! The E46 M3 runs different
size
> wheels and tires in the front and rear. Is there a reason why doing this
on
> my car would mess-up my handling and not mess-up the M3 (as another said
> earlier)?
>
> I appreciate your indulgence while I get my feet wet with a BMW.
>

An M3 also has wider arched to accommodate them. From experience on a host
of 3 series the best combination for me was 225x45 ZR 17. Wider on rear lost
traction in the wet and on the front caused tramlining.

I borrowed this from a Bimmer E46 M3 web site:

The M3 sits on 18-inch M-style alloy wheels (8.0-inch wide front and
9.0-inch wide rear), with appropriately sized high-performance tires (225/45
ZR - 18 front and 255/40 ZR -18 rear).

Will I be able to successfully install this combo on my 330ci? Is there a
reason why it won't fit? i.e. different diff larger/smaller wheel wells,
different suspension width? I'm not saying I want to run this combo, but
since I will be buying these wheels and tires via mail-order, getting it
wrong would be expensive. I don't have the luxury of trying out different
sets. I have to get it right the first time. The E46 M3 runs different size
wheels and tires in the front and rear. Is there a reason why doing this on
my car would mess-up my handling and not mess-up the M3 (as another said
earlier)?

I appreciate your indulgence while I get my feet wet with a BMW.



"330xi" > wrote in message
...
> the stock mags on the 330 are 17 x 7"
>
> whcich should carry no wider than 225/45 17's
> you need an 8" width to go wider
>
> handling and comfort are better with 225/45 than with 235/40 anyway
>
>
>
>
>
> "Planar1" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi All. What is the widest 17" tire I can use on the front and rear on a
>> 2001 330ci? The car will be used for normal, everyday driving. Not racing
>> or on the track. I'd like to do a 225/235 in the front and 245/255 (maybe
>> more if it will fit) on the rear. TIA!
>>
>
>