Conflicting info - E38 wheel on E34!?

[DoctorZaius]

Over the weeks I've seen ads for 16" stock BMW wheel, 8x16, 23mm offset, usually from a 740iL or 750iL (1995-2001 I believe). Do they fit an E34?

I searched the net for hours - seriously. Got 16 opinions, 9 say no and 7 say yes. Very frustrating.

Some claim they've tried it and have problems with rubbing. Some say spacers solved the problem. Some say they used spacers but their spacers caused shimmy.

I've seen it here that these E38s fit an E34 TOURING. Is there any reason why it'd work on a touring and not a non-touring E34?

I'm frustrated, frazzled, and freaked. I did my homework and I feel I'm wosre off for it.

BTW, I was thinking 225/55/R16

[winfred]

they will work but you need fairly straight side wall tires, i ran 712 kumhos on mine with no rubbing at all but they don't make them any more (last time i looked), a fat side wall can rub on the strut housing, a little touch here and there is not the end of the world but too much will kill the tire
these are the same as the basket weaves

[Stacy (Sydney)]

No, you're wiser for it - it seems there is a risk of shimmy with spacers/rings, and that offsett is tyre/ride height dependant when ir comes to rub.
I was thinking of a similar upgrade using non-e34 rims, and decided to be patient and eventually found some 17 inch bbs rims designed for the e34. You can take a punt, or eliminate risk by getting e34 oem spec rims.

[Brandon J]

They can and can not fit. The reason there isn't any defenitive answer is because there isn't any. The 2 variations that determine if an e38 wheel can fit is the thickness of the rotor hat and the tire dimensions. Different companies make the thickness of the rotor hat differently and different model brakes also have different rotor hat thickness. So, Brembo could be different from Balo and e31 brakes could be different than the stock 6cyl brakes. As mentioned, different tires have different dimensions and the ones that are more "square" do fitt better. Tirerack's site is helpful with finding the actual cross sectional width for a given advertised size. So, 225 width isn't the same in all tires.

E31 wheels DO work. You can use 225/55 R16 with these wheels. The basketweave ones look very good, are easier to clean than e38 wheels, and are offset wider than stock.

Good Luck.

[SC David]

If you have the 15" stock wheels on your car, then the 16" E38 wheels will work no problem. You just need proper tires in the E34 fitment since the 7 series uses slightly larger tires that will likely give you rubbing issues and mess with your speedometer.

[DoctorZaius]

...As mentioned, different tires have different dimensions and the ones that are more "square" do fitt better. Tirerack's site is helpful with finding the actual cross sectional width for a given advertised size. So, 225 width isn't the same in all tires...
Good Luck.

Interesting. From the Tirerack site I see that Ultra High Perf Summer & All Season 225/55-16 tires (for example) range in "Section Width" from 9.0-9.4 inches. Given the possibility for rubbing, it seems a range of 0.4 inches might be significant in regards to tire selection.

The rest of your post regarding rotor hat thickness went too far over my head for me to respond (noob and all, ya know), but thank you for your input.

[DoctorZaius]

Interesting. So perhaps some (all?) of those negative comments regarding fit/rubbing with this combo of wheel and car were from folks who happened to have fat side walls?

I hate to have to make a tire choice (within a specific size) based on fatness/rubbing...but I guess it goes with the territory if I decide to run a 'non-standard' wheel.

[Dave M]

Are these the wheels? 16" e38 'baskets'



If so, I took Winfreds advice, bought Kumho 712 in a 225/55 R16 and they work fine. Close to the strut housing, but not close enough

And.they're great tires at a good price (with the lower speed rating)

Dave M

[Dave M]

i ran 712 kumhos on mine with no rubbing at all but they don't make them any more (last time i looked),

When did you last look? I sure hope they continue making them. I just bought mine this spring, no problems sourcing them, even in Canada.

Dave M

[DoctorZaius]

Are these the wheels? 16" e38...
If so, I took Winfreds advice, bought Kumho 712 in a 225/55 R16 and they work fine. Close to the strut housing, but not close enough
And.they're great tires at a good price (with the lower speed rating)
Dave M

Yes, that's one I'm looking at, and yes in regards to the advice in this forum; it's pretty dang good.

It looks like Kumho introduced the ECSTA SPT sport in 2005, to "pick up where the ECSTA supra 712 leaves off." I wonder if that means they're phasing out the 712 for the sport? Anyway, I checked their site www.kumhousa.com ant both tires have a "section width" of 9.2 (on 7).

Interesting how other similar tires (size and class) go down to 9.0 in (on 7). So, unless I don't follow all this there are even 'less-fat' sidewall tires?

In any event, I sure do appreciate all the helpful replies to this thread. Much thanks to all.

Dude, in your pic (of your car?) Is that thang 'lowered', and does 'lowering' make the whole rub issue worse??? (BTW, that car looks real good)