Wheel Offset

doubledutch

doubledutch

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I purchased some Alpina-ish... wheels (14 x 7 e11) on Craigslist that i like to install but i am pretty sure that i need spacers to make them fit. I found some threads regarding wheels spacers and offsets but i am still somewhat confused. Can somebody enlighten me and tell me what size spacers i need to use for the front and rear (if different) Currently my '71, 2800cs has stock wheels. ps i am going for an original look, not fender rubbing look
 

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Centers

Thanks for the advice Stan, I did paint the centers as you suggested. The problem now is to get the damn wheels on the car. The shop is telling me that they don't fit, i called Bavarian auto sport for their advice and they told me that they should fit without any spacers. I guess will have to take elsewhere for a 2nd opinion
 
Spacers will make things worse. Your issue is that ET11 7's stick out further than the stock wheels....spacing them out even more won't help.

That being said, they should fit. What size tires are you using?

Here's my car with ET11 14x7's with 195/70/14 tires. In the front I had to roll the fender lips and I'm also running camber plates to tilt the wheels in at the top. My rideheight is pretty low, I'm using a coil over in the front.

coupe%20005.jpg
 
Was the tire shop concerned with wheel offset, or the bolt pattern? BMW should be 5x120 pattern - your wheels look correct, but without measurement it's dificult to verify. A simple test fit (no tires required) will allay this concern.
 
Fitting spacers on an E9 is problematic due to the fact the wheel mounting studs are press fitted from behind the axle wheel hubs. Not terribly difficult to change them out to longer studs, but it is bit of an undertaking. Also, if using finished (capped head) rim nuts in place of just regular nuts, you will have to measure the exact length, then cut, to accommodate the "capped" nuts. Fitting spacers on the later cars is a lot easier since wheel mounting bolts are used...all you need to do is to buy longer wheel bolts and bolt them on.
 
studs

I have 205/70/14 tires, i think the problem lies with the studs being too short as Bert and others have mentioned, i think i found replacement studs that hopefully will take care of the problem. Thanks everybody for all your input

http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/E9-E3-brakes/12x57wheelstuds.html

'69 2800cs said:
Spacers will make things worse. Your issue is that ET11 7's stick out further than the stock wheels....spacing them out even more won't help.

That being said, they should fit. What size tires are you using?

Here's my car with ET11 14x7's with 195/70/14 tires. In the front I had to roll the fender lips and I'm also running camber plates to tilt the wheels in at the top. My rideheight is pretty low, I'm using a coil over in the front.

coupe%20005.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I promise--you will have to roll your fenders running 205/70-14 tires on your 7" rims--
if not--be prepared for BENT FENDER(S) AND CUT TIRES!!!




Originally Posted by '69 2800cs

Your issue is that ET11 7's stick out further than the stock wheels..HEED THIS GOOD ADVICE!!!

That being said, they should fit. What size tires are you using?

Here's my car with ET11 14x7's with 195/70/14 tires. In the front I had to roll the fender lips and I'm also running camber plates to tilt the wheels in at the top. My rideheight is pretty low, I'm using a coil over in the front.
 
Other points that many people tend to overlook besides the more obvious clearance / rubbing problems is that rims with more positive offset tend to swing the tires instead of rotating them on their contact point. This results in more road feedback in the steering, harder to turn steering, decreased wheel bearing & suspension parts life and more road dirt thrown up on the sides of the car. Obviously with a wee bit of extra offset these effects are hardly noticeable but it is something to keep in mind, more so with the front wheels because they are the wheels that steer. Wider wheels with the factory designed offset are more desirable however they may not work with strut suspensions because the tires may end up rubbing the side of the struts. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
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