staggered vs. non-staggered wheels
40485
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What are the pros and cons of having staggered wheels?
I have staggered on there right now, but I'm in the market for some new wheels and I can't decide what to get. The downside I'm hearing about staggered wheels is the inability to rotate the tires (you don't want to change the direction of a rotating tire). What are the downsides to having two wide wheels on the front and back? I'm looking at at least 9" wheels in the back (love the wide look).
Does it hurt turing radii or anything else if you have two wide tires in the front as well as the back?
:dunno:
I have staggered on there right now, but I'm in the market for some new wheels and I can't decide what to get. The downside I'm hearing about staggered wheels is the inability to rotate the tires (you don't want to change the direction of a rotating tire). What are the downsides to having two wide wheels on the front and back? I'm looking at at least 9" wheels in the back (love the wide look).
Does it hurt turing radii or anything else if you have two wide tires in the front as well as the back?
:dunno:
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Tire rotation is not recommended by BMW regardless of the tires being staggered or not. It is clearly stated in your car's user manual.
Yes, it does increase the minimum turning radius. It also unnecessarily increases the unsprung mass which is not good for dynamics and handling. Plus, you may be facing a rubbing issue if the tire is too wide.
Wider front tires do not change the turning radius. The turning radius is static and determined when the car is designed, it doesn't change just because you put different tires on.
Yes, they do. I could explain it based on pure physics, but you can easily find this on the Internet yourself. The effect may not be that noticeable in everyday driving, though.
The only real performance concern from staggering wheel widths is increased understeer. Decreased turning radius is insignificant for any reasonable (1-2") increase in width. Increase in unsprung mass is only an issue if the new wheels are actually heavier (case in point: Advan RS).
First of all, you can rotate staggered wheels, you just do it side to side instead of front to back. You can always do that as long as the tires are not directional.
Second, BMW does recommend not rotating but many of us do rotate. I have 225/45's at all four corners and rotate every 6,000 miles. BMW's recommendations notwithstanding, that has worked out quite well for me.
Second, BMW does recommend not rotating but many of us do rotate. I have 225/45's at all four corners and rotate every 6,000 miles. BMW's recommendations notwithstanding, that has worked out quite well for me.
Pardon my ignorance, but what are directional tires?
The point of it being? Sure, you can rotate them that way if you happen to have non-directional tires, but what would the gain be, unless your car is part of NASCAR...
I could be wrong, but the wider rears are usually done for more forward traction as a primary consideration which is why Porsche has such big wide rears.
Truth. Fatter rear tires are for better forward traction.....and they look sick.
My outlook on this;
1) Staggered wheels looks great and give me better traction
2) I want staggered wheels for a sporty look and for better tractions therefore i'm prob going to put sport tires on the wheels.
3) Sport tires don't last as long as "non-directional tires" so if tire rotation is an issue for you. the sports tires will prob just wear down before you rotate, so just replace them.
I personally put my NON staggered wheels (stock) on in the winter (cold pavement, rain, left over ice from when its snows) and put my staggered ones on in the nice spring and summer months. Keeps the nice rims nice, and turns the OEM rims into a good set of winter wheels.
My outlook on this;
1) Staggered wheels looks great and give me better traction
2) I want staggered wheels for a sporty look and for better tractions therefore i'm prob going to put sport tires on the wheels.
3) Sport tires don't last as long as "non-directional tires" so if tire rotation is an issue for you. the sports tires will prob just wear down before you rotate, so just replace them.
I personally put my NON staggered wheels (stock) on in the winter (cold pavement, rain, left over ice from when its snows) and put my staggered ones on in the nice spring and summer months. Keeps the nice rims nice, and turns the OEM rims into a good set of winter wheels.
Honestly, I can't answer this question. I know that the tire rotation pattern for my car has been back to front, and then side to side. So, at least according to the Firestone/Bridgestone dealer - there are advantages as far as wear is concerned with moving a tire from one side of the car to the other. I can't really see why that would be the case though because I wouldn't really expect one side of the car to wear differently than the other.
Tires that go in only one direction. With a "directional tire" you are supposed to put them on the car rotating in only the direction specified. So, you can't do side-to-side rotations. With nondirectional tires, like the RFT Turanzas that come on some Non-ZSP, you can put them on either side of the car interchangeably.
My rears wear evenly, but the fronts wear a little differently, especially with RFTs. One side cups the outer tread more, and creates a high frequency buzz in the dashboard after 6 or 7K miles. By swapping the fronts at this time, the cupping seems to reduce for a while as the tires wear a new pattern - no dashboard buzz for the next 7K miles.
so what youre sayin is i could get 9"s or 9.5"s all around and it wont make any noticeable driving difference unless im on the race track?
IMO, that is probably the case.
So, the 335i sedan ZMP or ZSP come with directional tires?
I don't think so, but don't know for sure. I know the tires on the non-ZSP are definitely not directional.
I'm running 245/40/18s up front. So other than the higher effort steering at low speeds, the few tenths of mpg loss due to the higher rolling resistance, the higher cost of a 245 over a similar 225, the minor tire rub when fully cranked over during reverse maneuvers, a bit less understeer characteristics during curves...the answer is no, you won't notice a difference.
A staggered setup makes the most sense for a RWD car. Fat tires in the rear for great acceleration. Thinner tires in the front for more precise steering.
Such setups have been around a long, long time for race cars. So, because of tradition, it's normal to find the look aggressive, fast, mean, great.
People who aren't into cars all that much, won't realize what they're seeing, but they might notice a staggered setup looks faster somehow.
Having wide tires in the front as well at the back will make the car look strange to most people, even if they don't quite know why. Having wide tires in the front will change the steering characteristics some and people who are really into driving will probably notice the difference.
IMHO, tire rotation is over-rated. In fact, there are logical reasons not to do it at all.
So, I use the ZSP staggered setup for summer driving and all four corners the same, and narrower widths for winter.
Such setups have been around a long, long time for race cars. So, because of tradition, it's normal to find the look aggressive, fast, mean, great.
People who aren't into cars all that much, won't realize what they're seeing, but they might notice a staggered setup looks faster somehow.
Having wide tires in the front as well at the back will make the car look strange to most people, even if they don't quite know why. Having wide tires in the front will change the steering characteristics some and people who are really into driving will probably notice the difference.
IMHO, tire rotation is over-rated. In fact, there are logical reasons not to do it at all.
So, I use the ZSP staggered setup for summer driving and all four corners the same, and narrower widths for winter.
That's what I thought, but just checking if I am missing something.
I was pissed when Infiniti sold my wife a tire rotation for $85. She has staggered tires and all they did is swap them left to right. Even the manual says that tire rotation is only suggested on vehicles that have the same tires on all four wheels and allow for a front to back swap.
I was pissed when Infiniti sold my wife a tire rotation for $85. She has staggered tires and all they did is swap them left to right. Even the manual says that tire rotation is only suggested on vehicles that have the same tires on all four wheels and allow for a front to back swap.
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