275 wide rear tires on '02 330ci?

Oh...should have mentioned the wheels are 18 x 9.

Planar1 wrote on Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:07:39 -0400:

How many times are you going to ignore the replies from people about the largest tyres/wheels you can fit? If I said "yes, they'll fit", will you stop asking?

Dan

I make no representation as to the accuracy of my statement and cannot be held liable for any fitting issues resulting from my flippant term being construed as fact. :P

You're starting to piss me off, Dan. Let me "dumb this down" for you so you (and your simple mind) will understand this: I am not in a position to try as many wheel and tire combos as it takes to determine the widest tire I can use. I figure (perhaps incorrectly) that someone on this planet has done this very thing with their 330 and perhaps they can offer some advice. To the best of my knowledge, no one has replied with the info I need. Only things like "why do you want to do that?" Or "the stock tires are this dimension or that". Or "you shouldn't mix sizes". All I want to know is the width of the widest tire I can use without rolling the rear fender. It's a simple question. The reason my query was started is because I ordered an 18"

255/45 wide rear tire (which should fit) from Tirerack.com. Turns out, it is back-ordered with no delivery date in sight. So I started thinking wider. Maybe a 265 or 275. These sizes are in stock. So, again, has anyone tried these sizes on their '02 330 ci? I think I could accept a slight rub under the most demanding conditions. Others have had the slight rub (on an E36) but are completely satisfied in spite of this. Thanks to everyone who replies with some useful info.

One more thing, Dan. If you are going to flame someone, try to be a little more creative. Don't keep using the same flame again and again.

Planar1 wrote on Wed, 15 Jun 2005 01:31:38 -0400:

This is the first time I've replied to one of your threads. If you'd actually read the replies to your previous posts you'd realise that.

Welcome to my killfile.

Dan

Well, if you didn't reply earlier, you read the reply. You words are almost identical. The problem is this: I ask if someone out there has tried putting

275 wide rear tires on their 2001 330 ci. Then I get answers like "why do you want to do that?" or "that's not the original size" blah, blah, blah. No one actually answers my simple question...has any one successfully done this. That's all I want to know. Is it possible to fit 275s on a 330 without rolling the fenders. Anyone done it? TIA

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 19:25:59 -0400, "Planar1" spewed:

You can try measuring, but it's a pain and not 100% accurate. You don't just need them to "fit" either, they have to fit without hitting the fender while going over the biggest bump you're likely to hit. The problem with figuring that is that the edge of the tire bulges a little, the fender wall isn't straight, and the tire tilts as it goes up due to the independent suspension. Add to that, that it is in fact possible to go TOO wide for a car's weight and axle length. You're never going to hit that on most just because they won't fit, but 275 is getting pretty wide. Unless you're planning on going Dinan Stage 3 with nitrous or some equally huge hp., you're wasting your $ IMO.

Oh yeah, and bare in mind that M3's did have shorter axles to allow for wider rr. tires in the E36, so they may have done that on your body too - so don't assume just because they fit on an M3 that they will on yours. Just a tip, incase that works.

Also, the tires may fit with one set of rims, but not with another. Offset is just as important as width. You do realize that you'll screw up the suspension geometry (not to mention the speedo/odometer) if the tires are not the same overall width, right? You need to calculate it out based on rim width and sidewall height. Dunno how much you know about that, but they figure it screwy. Sidewall is a % of the tire width, and don't forget to x2 on the sidewalls (made that mistake myself :). On the offset, it's in mm. and measured from the back. So, a lower offset will make the wheel stick out more.

HTH, D.

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