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Rear wheels also fit on front? (Z4 Coupe 3.0si)
- Louv
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- Location: Das cats, Cali
Rear wheels also fit on front? (Z4 Coupe 3.0si)
Apologies if this has been asked before... I looked, but couldn't find the answer)
Can the Z4 [Coupe 3.0si] handle 18x8.5 wheels on the front? I want to balance out the understeer for the track, and want to get rid of the staggered 8 vs 8.5 wheels.
I know I can go to all 8" wheels, but can I go to all 8.5"?
Thanks.
(if anyone has an inexpensive set of lightweight wheels, I'll be in the market for a 2nd set really soon now! )
Can the Z4 [Coupe 3.0si] handle 18x8.5 wheels on the front? I want to balance out the understeer for the track, and want to get rid of the staggered 8 vs 8.5 wheels.
I know I can go to all 8" wheels, but can I go to all 8.5"?
Thanks.
(if anyone has an inexpensive set of lightweight wheels, I'll be in the market for a 2nd set really soon now! )
- Wondermike
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- Louv
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- Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2007 6:31 pm
- Location: Das cats, Cali
Increasing the front tire width decreases understeer, and increases oversteer. (it gives you a little more traction in the front)
BMW builds in a certain amount of understeer in all their cars, because it is "safer" for most drivers on most roads. Oversteer in most people's hands will only get them in really serious trouble.
But I want more neutral handling on the track. So I want to get rid of the staggered wheels.
--- But now I need to change the question... Further investigations shows me that there are no R-Compound tires in size 255/35 R 18. So I either need to go to 265/35 R 18 or drop down to 225/45 R 17 tires on 17" wheels.
Question #2: Will 265's fit in the Rear (and front?)
BMW builds in a certain amount of understeer in all their cars, because it is "safer" for most drivers on most roads. Oversteer in most people's hands will only get them in really serious trouble.
But I want more neutral handling on the track. So I want to get rid of the staggered wheels.
--- But now I need to change the question... Further investigations shows me that there are no R-Compound tires in size 255/35 R 18. So I either need to go to 265/35 R 18 or drop down to 225/45 R 17 tires on 17" wheels.
Question #2: Will 265's fit in the Rear (and front?)
- Curtis
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My Alpina has 265/30/19 rears as standard and I recently changed to 275's so I/m sure they should fit yours ok. My suspension is very low too but it still hasn't created any issues. I've had to leave the fronts as 235/35/19's because of clearance issues but I'm sure I could go wider if I lifted the suspension a little. Not going to though!
Have you removed the dowel on the top of the front strut turrets and pushed the struts inboard yet? This gives you about 1.5 degrees negative front camber and greatly improves front end grip on cornering. Costs nothing too.
Have you removed the dowel on the top of the front strut turrets and pushed the struts inboard yet? This gives you about 1.5 degrees negative front camber and greatly improves front end grip on cornering. Costs nothing too.
- Wondermike
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- Louv
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- Location: Das cats, Cali
Thanks for the info.Curtis wrote:My Alpina has 265/30/19 rears as standard and I recently changed to 275's so I/m sure they should fit yours ok. My suspension is very low too but it still hasn't created any issues. I've had to leave the fronts as 235/35/19's because of clearance issues but I'm sure I could go wider if I lifted the suspension a little. Not going to though!
Have you removed the dowel on the top of the front strut turrets and pushed the struts inboard yet? This gives you about 1.5 degrees negative front camber and greatly improves front end grip on cornering. Costs nothing too.
No I haven't done the camber adjustment yet. I'm not quite ready to track this car, I'm just getting all the ducks in a row.
I'm still running my '88 M6 as a track car. The Z4 will be its successor.
- tehdarkstar
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- Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:13 pm
The problem with putting wider tyres in the front is that steering will be less imediate, which may make harder for you to be smooth in your steering inputs.
What I found with my M is that driving through corners at high speed it tends to understeer, but it is very throttle sensitive, so giving a bit more throttle you can get power-oversteer and the car seems to grab the line you want to follow.
I can't say how this will work in the track, as I haven't done a trackday in my car yet, but I have tested in some roads that I know well and found the handling to be very adjustable (albeit not neutral), so I will take it to the track and get a proper feel of how it goes before changing anything.
What I found with my M is that driving through corners at high speed it tends to understeer, but it is very throttle sensitive, so giving a bit more throttle you can get power-oversteer and the car seems to grab the line you want to follow.
I can't say how this will work in the track, as I haven't done a trackday in my car yet, but I have tested in some roads that I know well and found the handling to be very adjustable (albeit not neutral), so I will take it to the track and get a proper feel of how it goes before changing anything.
Last edited by tehdarkstar on Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Z4M Coupe!