Swapping rims between BMW series...

Hello all, first time poster but long time stalker.
I had a 97 BMW 528i for about 2 weeks before selling it out of necessity to our oldest son who was away at college (his Porsche 944 just wasn't reliable anymore.) He has now replaced it with an '08 535. He gave the 528 to his sister who is also away at college. The head gasket gave up the ghost and we purchased a sweet little '95 318 4 dr for her which she LOVES.

My daughter wants the rims off the 528 put on her 318. Aside from requiring smaller tires, the 528 rims appear to be a decent fit however, when attempting to put the 318 rims on the broken 528 (to keep it off blocks) the hub is slightly too large for the 318 rims to fit over.

Examining the 528 rim mounted on the 318, I can see about a 1/16" gap all the way around the hub meaning the rim is supported by the 5 bolts and the hub only providing basic centering services while installing the lugs.

My daughter is a bit of a "granny" when it comes to driving style so I'm not concerned about "spirited driving" in the least.

Is there a risk I'm not aware of concerning the strength of the BMW lug bolts being the sole support of the rim?

They will fit fine on the 3 series but I recommend getting some hub-centric rings so they fit properly and lock the wheels in the center of the hub. This will also help with vibrations while driving, fuel economy, tire wear, etc.

Its worth it to spend $10 on the hub-centric rings though.

Can you recommend a source for the hub centric rings? The last set I purchased were locally machined.

You will have vibration as the wheels do not self center on the lugs alone, they need the hub flange to center.

The 5 is the odd BMW out, it has a 74.1mm hub while most everything else is a 72.6. You'll need 1.5mm hubcentric rings.

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You think that's bad. The X6 apparently has different hub sizes per AXLE.

These will work. With some searching you can find other metal rings for a bit less. You can get molded plastic for around $10.

The rings found HERE will make the E39 rims hub centric with her E36.

Originally Posted by petriej

You think that's bad. The X6 apparently has different hub sizes per AXLE.

Stfu. Just even you think the X6 can't get any worse.....

Wild. It does indeed use different hub bores.

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