E9 Wheel size

[JFENG]

My RC090’s felt like cinder blocks with 235 rubber on them

I recently had occasion to remove the wheels from my X5 (255 19's) for some at-home repairs.
Boy, talk about heavy!! Of course my X5 also weights 60% more than my E9, so proportionally I'll bet the X5 setup is about right.

The BBS RS 005 supposedly weighs 17lbs, which isn't bad for a 16" wheel

While I love the look of my staggered 16" Alpina's and my staggered BBS RS sets, every time I see Stan's white coupe those fat tires on 14" rims ... it just looks vintage & right.

John

 

[HonaloochieBoogie]

To me, there are at least 3 considerations that go into the overall “look” at the heart of the question you are asking about. My advice is to consider all 3 while deciding what you want. I believe those factors are a) how the rims look with b) the ride height/ stance, but not talked about as much (but to me nearly as important) is c) the look of the tire. I happen to really love the Pirelli CN36 look. The tread pattern screams VINTAGE! That, with a lower stance and Alpina 14’s was my choice. But I have to admit that 16s look amazing when set up properly. Good luck with your choice.

 

[Stan]

My 2 cents worth. I have been told that 14" wheels are better for the car (especially in the northeast where roads are crap) to preserve the shock towers etc. Also, I have been advised to keep the setup "square" meaning same width front and back. Minimize understeer?
I have BF Goodrich tires, again as advised for better performance especially under wet conditions which is not too uncommon in the northeast. Last, the tires are 225 x 60 x 14 on Alpina 7' rims and the fender lips are rolled. These tires fill the wheel wells nicely.

 

[shanon]

+1 for 225 x 60 x 14s for the road.....but options are limited. I think the Pirellis and BF Goodrich's are the only options these days.
I loved my Yoko's in that size....but once upon a time...

If anybody knows of other options in that size, please share, thx. I have found some 215/60/14s....

 

[shanon]

Then the internet algorithm thangy popped these on my feed....
Forgot about the Cooper's. I've been extremely pleased with their off road tires on my 4x4.
Think I'll try a set of these next.

COOPER COBRA RADIAL G/T​

14​

• • P215/70R1496T
  
  
  • P225/70R1498T
• P235/60R1496T

HTH.

 

[Ohmess]

To me, there are at least 3 considerations that go into the overall “look” at the heart of the question you are asking about. My advice is to consider all 3 while deciding what you want. I believe those factors are a) how the rims look with b) the ride height/ stance, but not talked about as much (but to me nearly as important) is c) the look of the tire. I happen to really love the Pirelli CN36 look. The tread pattern screams VINTAGE! That, with a lower stance and Alpina 14’s was my choice. But I have to admit that 16s look amazing when set up properly. Good luck with your choice.

You've described Stevehose's setup. Here's a picture I took on the way to Hilton Head:

For comparison, here are three coupes with different sized rims. Steve's car is farthest away; 14" Alpina rims and Pirellis as noted. Tom's car in the middle has 16" BBS wheels and Dunlops. My car has 15" Weds with Toyos (which are not great looking tires). All three of these cars are lowered, so this gives a very good idea of how the different sidewalls change the look of the car.

 

[Gransin]

I have found some 215/60/14s....

This is how 215/65R14 looks on a 7x14" wheel.

 

[Krzysztof]

This is how 215/65R14 looks on a 7x14" wheel.

Are your's E9 fenders rolled?

 

[coupedegrace]

Then the internet algorithm thangy popped these on my feed....
Forgot about the Cooper's. I've been extremely pleased with their off road tires on my 4x4.
Think I'll try a set of these next.

COOPER COBRA RADIAL G/T​

14​

• • P215/70R1496T
  
  
  • P225/70R1498T
• P235/60R1496T

HTH.

I've got BBS Mahle 14s on the car, and I like them. The draw of larger diameter wheels for me is mainly broader tire choices at this point. But I'm sticking with the 14s for now at least.

I'm in the middle of looking for new tires. The ones on my car have 2005 date codes. They're also summer tires. Even though the car is mainly driven in warmer weather, we have dry days here in the winter that are above freezing but tickle the low 40s in a way that would probably be too cold for summers.

The Pirellis are certainly beautiful, but there's the whole summer thing.

I had Falken 225/60-14s on my first E9, but that was long ago when tire choices in 14" diameter was still a little more robust.

I just went to the Cooper site and searched for 225/60-14 and it came up with no matches. Perhaps this means they've discontinued that size. As you noted Tire Rack lists them in stock, so hurry up! Actually the biggest problem for me with both the Coopers and BF Goodrich's is that they appear to have white letters on the sidewalls. Great for your Camaro but yuck on our cars. Once upon a time many tires came with white letters on one side and black on the other. Obviously this only works for non-directional tires. Anyway, the description of the Coopers on Tire Rack mentions both white and black letter versions. That's why I went to the Cooper site to try and confirm this.

JMinNJ is running General Altimax's and happy with them. I'm pretty close to going down this road.

 

[Gransin]

Are your's E9 fenders rolled?

No, I haven't done anything to the fenders myself.
The upper part of the front fender lip is pointed a little bit upwards and not quite parallel to the ground, but then again I don't know how they looked from factory.
The car is currently sitting on -40mm H&R springs and fixed negative camber plates.

 

[burky]

I have stuck to the original size with the 205/70VR14 Michelin XWX

And with this tyre on they are big.

OVERALL DIAMETER INFLATED

644 mm / 25.35"

If you go bigger how will you get the spare wheel in the trunk hole as 664mm diameter wheel only just fits?

The previous owner of my car put 225/70 /14 all round , while the spare goes in the hole , the wood floor does not fit.

 

[Ohmess]

The previous owner of my car put 225/70 /14 all round , while the spare goes in the hole , the wood floor does not fit.

I have my spare deflated enough to jam it into place, and carry a portable air compressor.

 

[HB Chris]

I have a stock 14” kidney wheel as a spare and size is equivalent to my 16s in circumference.

 

[coupedegrace]

The previous owner of my car put 225/70 /14 all round , while the spare goes in the hole , the wood floor does not fit.

225/70 or 225/60? I just noticed that a couple of you said 225/70 instead of 60. Those tires would be getting close to 2" greater in diameter than the stock tires. Certainly seems like they would rub on something if not the fender lips.

 

[reedreed]

No, I haven't done anything to the fenders myself.
The upper part of the front fender lip is pointed a little bit upwards and not quite parallel to the ground, but then again I don't know how they looked from factory.
The car is currently sitting on -40mm H&R springs and fixed negative camber plates.

It looks great. I'm about to install -30mm springs from Jaymic and Im currently on 14" Alpina from W&N with Pirelli CN36 205/70/14. Could you give me a link for a proper camber plates for my setup?

 

[shanon]

225/70 or 225/60? I just noticed that a couple of you said 225/70 instead of 60. Those tires would be getting close to 2" greater in diameter than the stock tires. Certainly seems like they would rub on something if not the fender lips.

Hi, I did say 70s. These tires & wheels came on my E3. I put them on my E9 for giggles and speed bump clearance and have had no clearance issues. FYI- my fender lips were 'enhanced' by a PO many, many moons ago.

 

[coupedegrace]

Hi, I did say 70s. These tires & wheels came on my E3. I put them on my E9 for giggles and speed bump clearance and have had no clearance issues. FYI- my fender lips were 'enhanced' by a PO many, many moons ago.

View attachment 134067

Nice, looks very old school rally. I appreciate the roof rack. My first E9 wore one on many an occasion. The old Yakima towers and round bars sit in the garage awaiting their maiden voyage on the new coupe.

 

[Gransin]

It looks great. I'm about to install -30mm springs from Jaymic and Im currently on 14" Alpina from W&N with Pirelli CN36 205/70/14. Could you give me a link for a proper camber plates for my setup?

These are the ones I use on both e3 and e9:

BMW E9 Coupe E10 E12 2002tii Powdercoated Fixed Camber Plate Set - 0.5 Degrees | eBay

These plates are made of steel in the USA and include mounting hardware. The plates are bolted to top of the upper strut bearing, fitting between the bearing and the car. The factory press in bearing studs are discarded.

www.ebay.com

There are adjustable plates on the market as well, but the fixed ones have worked great for me.

 

[reedreed]

Great! thanks a lot!

 

[rsporsche]

16” is fine as 15” tires are very hard to find now

you can buy the pirelli cn36 in 15" ... they are expensive, but available