Widening a set of 14" Steelies

[Nachtycoupe]

So, this is a two part question. I have an extra set of date matching steelies that I want to widen for my E3. I am posting here for greater response and similar results for an E9. What would be the maximum width if staggering a set of steelies for a Bavaria (E3)? And if E9 is different please let people know your experience with and E9 vs. E3 if there is a difference in fitment, offset, etc.

I am told stagger them 7" in front and 8" in rear. But would like to do the max. without having to do any fender rolling and zero rub; especially up front when turning, but zero rub means 0 rub!...... Does anyone have experience with this? So main two questions are; what should the stagger be (these are 14" standard steel BMW factory wheels)? I also want a staggered set that has the most available tires. That is the tricky part I think. I don't want to have just one option of tire.

#1. (7 up front and 8 rear) or (9 front, 10 rear, will this fit with the 0 rub factor????)? Again, tire availability is a factor as well.

#2. What barrels are the most common in terms of quality first and price second to use for this? I was told Scion makes some 14" steelies that work but is there anyone on here that used a set for this purpose that fit like a glove with no issues?

Thank you in advance for the replies..........Shane

 

[Markos]

I think this really depends on how you intend to widen. Most one-piece wheels are widened by adding material to the inside of the wheel, or the barrel as you put it. If that is the case, you would have no need to consider rolling the fenders, as the distance from the outer lip to the fender wouldn't change. If you intend to widen your wheels this way, you can just measure how much room you have to work with on your inner fenders. Anyone with a wider wheel (say 8") can just give you the offset they are running, plus the wheel width and tire of choice. You can calculate the rest.

If you intend to widen the inside and the outside, or just cut your faces off and weld them on new barrels, then that is a much more complicated problem to solve. In that case, I would try replicate some better known BBS RS setups.

At least one e3 owner on here is running 9" rears on coilovers and rolled fenders. Another e9 owner has staggered BBS rc090 wheels, 17x8 front (normal) and 17x9 rear (rare).

 

[lloyd]

Since you are targeting 14" rims, even if you obtain the perfect width, what about over-all tire diameter?

If that is important, you should consider the availability of 14" tire carcasses in an aspect ratio that will maintain the correct tire height. Otherwise, you may end up with an extra-wide footprint with the somewhat untraditional look of a low-rider Scion.

Just because . . .

PS