[kobeballer96]

@humann is loooking for wheels for his e90 335i 2010. we have a fitment question. hes looking for the best of both worlds, concave faces/ track setup.

The wheels specs he is looking at will be 18x9.5 et 22 front and 18x9.5 et20 rear. hes currently on stock suspension but will lower soon on kw coilovers. he said he will roll fenders if it comes down to it no big deal.


Please chime in thank you.

[The HACK]

He's doing it @ss backwards. Lower on the KW, then try and figure out if his wheels/tire combo will fit.

Doesn't make sense to get them now, knowing he's going to lower, then find out the wheels/tires he or she got now won't work at all and have to ditch for new. Especially with low offset wheels. You can't "add spacers" to fix rubbing issues, and shaving the backside of the wheel is not the right way to do it.

This reminds me of when I was looking for a jay-oh-bee last year, and one of the companies that interviewed me 3 times, brought me in to meet with the CEO, CFO, CTO, VP of HR, then leaves me hanging for a month with zero communications, only to come back and tell me that they're rethinking the position and was wondering if I'd be okay with a lower position and pay, on a contract basis. Put the pieces in place, then find out what you need for sure, then go for it. Don't half-ass it and get the wheels/tires up front KNOWING that you'll be changing several parameters that can alter the need for fitment.

[3002 tii]

Whether or not he wants Apex wheels, Apex does put out good info on wheel fitment and you can cross reference their widths/offsets to help figure out what will work for him. My first question is how much tire is he trying to stuff all 4 corners? A 9.5 is ideal for a 265 tread with. Obviously as he tries to stuff more tire he'll need a lower offset which will put him closer to fenders so it's going to be a balancing act.

In my opinion the biggest factor for running square is whether or not he'll use camber plates. Rolling fenders should be the last option because it doesn't matter if rolling fenders allows you to run your choice of wheel/tire. If you don't have enough negative camber, all that tire up front will just scrub and lead to worse turn-in (and premature tire wear).

I actually think a 9.5 et 20 to et22 is too aggressive. Sure it may work and look cool but it won't be ideal. Those fitments seem more suited for the M3. I think he's better off running a 255 square on 9" or 9.5 width with a mid-30 offset and you can gain enough negative camber just by pulling the strut pins but won't need to shell out more for camber plates. My advice is just based on his current stock setup. But as Hack mentioned, it'd be wise to go figure out his suspension plans first (KW, no camber plate, yes camber plate) and then figure out how much space you really have to maximize.

[TSM330i]

We're running 18x9.5 et35 on our race car and they're just too wide. An 18x9 would be much better.
We do run a 265/35-18 R-comp and of course they fit the wheels fine.

The issue for the wheels is there just isn't enough space and we changed coilovers from AST to Ohlins. When we were running the AST we needed a 10mm spacer (net et25), but now that we're running the Ohlins setup, we have to run a 20mm spacer (net et10) so it pushes the front wheels WAY out! See the attached pic.

You should definitely install the coil-overs to figure out how much space you have since the collars vary from setup to setup. Then order the wheels accordingly.

[kobeballer96]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

Whether or not he wants Apex wheels, Apex does put out good info on wheel fitment and you can cross reference their widths/offsets to help figure out what will work for him. My first question is how much tire is he trying to stuff all 4 corners? A 9.5 is ideal for a 265 tread with. Obviously as he tries to stuff more tire he'll need a lower offset which will put him closer to fenders so it's going to be a balancing act.

In my opinion the biggest factor for running square is whether or not he'll use camber plates. Rolling fenders should be the last option because it doesn't matter if rolling fenders allows you to run your choice of wheel/tire. If you don't have enough negative camber, all that tire up front will just scrub and lead to worse turn-in (and premature tire wear).

I actually think a 9.5 et 20 to et22 is too aggressive. Sure it may work and look cool but it won't be ideal. Those fitments seem more suited for the M3. I think he's better off running a 255 square on 9" or 9.5 width with a mid-30 offset and you can gain enough negative camber just by pulling the strut pins but won't need to shell out more for camber plates. My advice is just based on his current stock setup. But as Hack mentioned, it'd be wise to go figure out his suspension plans first (KW, no camber plate, yes camber plate) and then figure out how much space you really have to maximize.

This exactly is what we ended up doing. We ordered Apex EC-7 18x9 et31 square setup paired up with RE-11 255/35/18s last night. he kind of knew what he wanted and i try to help find a happy median. This is his first setup and will mostly be a street car but a fun one if we ever hit up random track events. Now we are narrowing down to TCK coilovers or KWs with a camber plate setup. After that we started looking at K-sport BBK.

[Humann]

If anyone was still interested on how this went. This is it with out the coils on.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Humann

If anyone was still interested on how this went. This is it with out the coils on.

Looks higher than stock. Why? Perhaps the shot angle?

[mike-y]

probably parked on uneven ground? the rear does look lower than stock.

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by TSM330i

We're running 18x9.5 et35 on our race car and they're just too wide. An 18x9 would be much better.
We do run a 265/35-18 R-comp and of course they fit the wheels fine.

The issue for the wheels is there just isn't enough space and we changed coilovers from AST to Ohlins. When we were running the AST we needed a 10mm spacer (net et25), but now that we're running the Ohlins setup, we have to run a 20mm spacer (net et10) so it pushes the front wheels WAY out! See the attached pic.

You should definitely install the coil-overs to figure out how much space you have since the collars vary from setup to setup. Then order the wheels accordingly.

I still don't know how you get that to work without cutting a significant portion of the front plastic fender...

[TSM330i]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

I still don't know how you get that to work without cutting a significant portion of the front plastic fender...

We can't make any sharp turns with the car anyway because of the brake cooling ducts. If we try to turn it to lock, it tears the duct hoses off, so we never turn very far. Makes for interesting maneuvering in the pits.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by TSM330i

We can't make any sharp turns with the car anyway because of the brake cooling ducts. If we try to turn it to lock, it tears the duct hoses off, so we never turn very far. Makes for interesting maneuvering in the pits.

Can you re route the ducts? I would run them under the bumper like on m3 bumpers. That way they won't get smashed by the wires when turning.

[TSM330i]

Originally Posted by feuer

Can you re route the ducts? I would run them under the bumper like on m3 bumpers. That way they won't get smashed by the wires when turning.

We have them coming through the front bumper and tucked into the fender wells as far as we can. It's the wheel that smashes the cooling hose.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by TSM330i

We have them coming through the front bumper and tucked into the fender wells as far as we can. It's the wheel that smashes the cooling hose.

M3 duct kits have the hose run under the bumper, attached to the plastic underbelly trey to the brakes so the wheel will not be smashing the cooling hose. Photos are just for reference only:

[TSM330i]

Thanks for the info Feuer, but I believe the 335 has extra intercoolers etc. in the way that the M3 doesn't have which makes the routing not possible as shown.
My buddy owns a BMW shop (who owns the car) so I'm actually not allowed to wrench on the car since I'm not a certified BMW mechanic!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by feuer

M3 duct kits have the hose run under the bumper, attached to the plastic underbelly trey to the brakes so the wheel will not be smashing the cooling hose. Photos are just for reference only:

I routed my brake ducts in similar fashion at the beginning of the year (i.e. running along the front control arms, but instead of coming below the bumper, I just reused the stock brake duct inlets on the standard e92 bumper). But the duct rubs on the inner wheel barrel at full lock, and chewed right through them in just a few weeks.

Perhaps the M3's higher offset wheel gives more clearance? Dunno...

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

I routed my brake ducts in similar fashion at the beginning of the year (i.e. running along the front control arms, but instead of coming below the bumper, I just reused the stock brake duct inlets on the standard e92 bumper). But the duct rubs on the inner wheel barrel at full lock, and chewed right through them in just a few weeks.

Perhaps the M3's higher offset wheel gives more clearance? Dunno...

If you go true the bumper grill it will have to come out thorough the inner fender liner which is at least 5 inch away from the cars frame. Only down side (on non M) will be low ground clearance.
Please pardon my poor paint skills, Photo is just for reference.

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by feuer

If you go true the bumper grill it will have to come out thorough the inner fender liner which is at least 5 inch away from the cars frame. Only down side (on non M) will be low ground clearance.
Please pardon my poor paint skills, Photo is just for reference.

That's not where it rubbed. It rubbed along the control arm when you turn the wheels. And I was just using 2-1/4" tubing... Not the 3" ones that M3 guys use.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

That's not where it rubbed. It rubbed along the control arm when you turn the wheels. And I was just using 2-1/4" tubing... Not the 3" ones that M3 guys use.

I wasn't expecting that. I assumed the issue is with the hose coming from the inner liner affront t of the wheel. Do you have a photo from your setup?

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by feuer

I wasn't expecting that. I assumed the issue is with the hose coming from the inner liner affront t of the wheel. Do you have a photo from your setup?

Sadly no. But I think you got my idea. If I would do it again, I would suggest routing the ducts from the bottom of the control arm if possible. But I personally wouldn't bother with this anymore, since it is just too much effort for too little effect since the we are still relying on the stock brake shield, which doesn't really direct the air to where it needs to be.

[sirantsE90]

Originally Posted by Humann

If anyone was still interested on how this went. This is it with out the coils on.

I find it funny how you still ordered the wheels without installing the KWs first like everyone suggested. The guys who chimed in are some of the most experienced on this forum. What offset and tire size did you end up running.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by sirantsE90

I find it funny how you still ordered the wheels without installing the KWs first like everyone suggested. The guys who chimed in are some of the most experienced on this forum. What offset and tire size did you end up running.

We men are stubborn. Aren't we?