quick wheel question

[peks]

are the 15 inch basketweaves found on a 740 the same as those on a 535? I know the center cap is different, but the wheel looks the same. are the dimensions different?

[mholbrook]

Better take a better look at those 740 wheels. I believe they are 16x8's, basketweave with a flat cap versus 15" 535 with a hex style cap.

The 16" are a nice upgrade for E34's maintaining a stock look but giving a little better performance. They are hubcentric to our cars as well so there is no need for rings. Be sure to get the special tool to remove the caps.

[Qsilver7]

Also, you must remember that there are 2 740 models...the e32 and the e38 740i/iL...and the e32 came with two styles (style 5 & style 7) 15" Cross Spoke wheels. The e38 came with 16" wheels...so you can confuse people by not being specific to which "740" you mean. :p

Here is a link to the e32 Style 5 & Style 7 15" cross spoke wheel:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=GD43&mospid=47362&prod=19930500&btnr=36_0088&hg=36&fg=15
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=GD43&mospid=47362&prod=19930500&btnr=36_0029&hg=36&fg=15

Here is a link to the e34 15" (Style 5) Cross Spoke wheel:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HD23&mospid=47408&prod=19900600&btnr=36_0086&hg=36&fg=15

[John B.]

Are the E38 740 wheels hub centric to the E34 or just the E32?

[Derek A.]

e34 and e32 use the same hubs up front - so they are hubcentric to both.

[peks]

so i checked out those oems that qsilver7 put up..
this 15" is supposed to be from a 98 740i. or is it?


http://www.bimmer.info/bmw/peks/98740i.gif

[Qsilver7]

the wheel in your pic "looks" like a 16" e38 cross spoke wheel...I can tell by the center hub cap. The e38 16" cross spoke has slots in the center hubcap and there's a slotted tool (in the trunk tools) used to remove it.

If you go back to the online parts database and look up the e38 wheel info...you will see what I mean. (the tool, the ctr hub cap, and the 16" wheel size)

[peks]

that was an ebay seller.. advertising 15" wheels.. evidently didnt own a tape measure..

[peks]

by the way, thanks qsilver. is that what was on your e38 originally?

[Qsilver7]

all modern 5/6/7/8 series wheels have the same hub size (72.5mm) except the e39 5 series which has a 74.1mm hub.

BMWs w/72.5mm hubs
e28/e34/e60 - 5 series
e24/e63/e64 - 6 series
e23/e32/e38/e65/e66 - 7 series
e31 - 8 series

[Qsilver7]

and upgraded to the 18" M-Pars. I have 16" Michelin Arctin Alpin snow tires mounted on them now and use 'em on the Touring (as my snow sled). :D

You never know exactly what folks have or what they've pieced together...I wonder if the ebay seller has somehow fitted the ctr hub cap from an e38 on to 15" cross spoke wheels?

There is a way to tell the size of the wheel, though...if the seller removes the ctr hub cap...the wheel size and wheel off set is in raised letters (see pic below).

This is an archived pic I had of my e38 OE 740iL spare wheel/tire...you can see that the wheel is 8 x 16 and the offset is 23mmhttp://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/433000-433999/433594_196.jpg