E 36 1997 M3-winter tires

[peterj02460]

I have a 1997 M3 4 door sedan. I have 17'' summer tires, looking to go to 16" winter tires. I found a set of 1 year old Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 205/55R16 on 16" Ronal rims. The seller confirmed it is a 5 lug nut rim. On Tirerack, they recommend this size tire for the 1997. Since Tirerack recommends this tire size (they recommend the Pilot Alpin PA3, same size), is there anything about the rims specifications I have to confirm to make sure they will fit my car?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Gary@Tirerack]

Negative. Brake clearance is most dependent on the spoke design/pattern of the wheel so there is no way in advance to determine if they will clear the brakes, sorry.

[LMC]

I have a 1997 M3 4 door sedan. I have 17'' summer tires, looking to go to 16" winter tires. I found a set of 1 year old Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 205/55R16 on 16" Ronal rims.

The optimal winter wheel for an M3 would be 17-inch. 205/50R-17 or 225/45R-17 tires.

There are 16-inch wheels that fit the E36 M3 -- but not many. If you found somebody selling a set of winter 16s that have been on an E36 M3, fine. Otherwise, I would stick to 17s.

And five holes are not enough to know it will fit a BMW. Centerbore, offset and bolt circle all have to match.

[peterj02460]

If I have the seller bring the tires by and I put one on, and it clears and does not rub, is that how I will know the rims fit? I am new to this so thanks for help.

[LMC]

If I have the seller bring the tires by and I put one on, and it clears and does not rub, is that how I will know the rims fit?

That would be a good start, but not quite enough. You really need to put all four on and drive the car around the block, while making sure you don't have any horrible rubbing noises or anything.

[Gary@Tirerack]

That would be a good start, but not quite enough. You really need to put all four on and drive the car around the block, while making sure you don't have any horrible rubbing noises or anything.

Normally that would be excellent advice, but in this case the only issue we're concerned about is brake clearance as there is no other chance for interferance with the 205/55R16 setup on an M3.