E36 staggered wheels, negative affects over time?

I have had to replace two wheels, so i purchased some 215/60's 15" for the back and 195/60 15" for the front to give it a staggered effect ( this set was sold like this). I just want to know if it will do any long or short term damage? and whether it would be better to get some 205/60 tires for the front or keep the 195/60's ? as i will need to replace the fronts anyway so id like to find out before hand.

Thanks guys! =)

You won't do any damage unless both rear tires are different. Just don't run different sizes in the rear and you're good.

sweet thanks for that , What psi should i have all around? i have been told multiple figues but based on ur knowledge of e36 and the tyres i have listed above =)

i run 215/40 in the front and 255/45 in the back also my rear wheels are 1.5" staggered ( Wider than the front wheels )..it stances out really nice i run 30-35 psi all the time.

Those tire sizes you listed all have different circumferences...

If you like driving straight, make sure both rears are the same.

Originally Posted by petriej

Those tire sizes you listed all have different circumferences...

If you like driving straight, make sure both rears are the same.

Who? i know my setup drives perfectly straight, and drifts perfectly sideways!

My apologies for being ambiguous.

OP listed the following sizes:
(Circumference)
215/60/15 (2006.8mm)
205/60/15 (1969.2mm)
195/60/15 (1931.6mm)

If your rears do not match each other, you'll have issues.

Otherwise, feel free to stagger the fronts to the rears. BMWs come stock that way to induce understeer, which, according to BMW is safer for the non-experienced driver than oversteer...

oh d[I]ear no sorry i may have miss comunicated ,


The Sizes i have on my my E36 318i are as follows:
Fronts- 195/60
Backs- 215/60

on 15" rims

just to clarify.
So having a size down on the fronts is in reality continuing the same standard setup as the stock set up, just upsized?

Yup. You'll be fine.

Just make sure front tire size match each other, and the rear tire size matches each other.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&t...iw=320&bih=416

Hey,
thanks guys really appreciate the help, i'm a Noob with these beauty cars =P

I have decided to go from 195/60's on the front to 205/60's tires to fill the the space and balance her out more.

So ill have:
2x 205/60's 15" alloys = fronts

2x 215/60's 15" alloys = backs

Let me know if u disagree! =)

i disagree.... why are you so set on having staggered tire setups? seems very stupid to me

If you're able, match the fronts and the rears. It will drive better.

Yeah, there is really no point in having staggered tires. They produce understeer and make it impossible to rotate the tires from front to rear. It's a lose/lose in my book.

#swag

thanks guys,

I will Rethink what sized to push to.

So do you all recommend bumping the fronts to 205 or 215 to match the rears?

What wheels do you have?

Staggered wheels look sharp, but on a car like this with such little power and that's so well balanced, they won't improve performance.

Now, as for staggering the tire sizes but using the same wheels front and back, well, that's just silly and is both bad for performance and aesthetics.

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yes i have heard that above as posted im asking another question.

The 3 series came staggered already as manufactured.
"
Im simply wanting to stick larger tyres on which i have done for the rears.

if im to replace the front tyres is it better to put 205/60's on them or should i match the rears with 215/60 as well?

@ZeGerman i have some original 15" or maybe 16" alloys there "cross spoke 78"

Originally Posted by Phensteel

The 3 series came staggered already as manufactured

Only the '96-99 M3 came with staggered wheels & tires. All other E36s have a "square" setup, meaning all four wheels & tires are exactly the same. Unless you have M3 wheels, which you apparently do not, you should match all four tires.

Originally Posted by Phensteel

@ZeGerman i have some original 15" or maybe 16" alloys there "cross spoke 78"

I'm not sure what wheels these are, but they aren't original to the E36. At any rate, just make all four tires the same and be done with it.

i had m3 wheels on but two got busted.

Thank you for your input, i will probably put 205's on the front as im just comuting with the baby.

It alright to fitt the bigger tyres on isnt it?

Yeah, you'll be fine with 205s in the front.

if you go wider without reducing the aspect ratio you will be running to different circumference tires. it's not much, but will affect the speedometer and not allow you to rotate the tires front to back.

of course if you wanted to drop aspect ratios accordingly, you'd be looking to get a 215/55/r15. good luck with that...


the closest tire size i could find would be 225/50/15.



i'd look for a set of 16" wheels myself...i don't think that even the e30 guys run 15's anymore...



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How can you tuck such wide tires unless you have wheel spacers , 60 indicates width, please correct me if I'm wrong

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Originally Posted by BustedE36

How can you tuck such wide tires unless you have wheel spacers , 60 indicates width, please correct me if I'm wrong

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60 is the height. The first number (205) is the width.

Originally Posted by BustedE36

How can you tuck such wide tires unless you have wheel spacers , 60 indicates width, please correct me if I'm wrong

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The first _usually 3 digit_ number is the tire tread width in mm.

The second is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the tread width.

The third number is the wheel diameter in inches.

Read this link for further details.

http://www.coasttire.com/tires/readsidewall.asp