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[Cozy]

I'm beating myself up over rim choices right now and I have a question.

How high (offset) can you go with...
- 8" Front
- 8.5" Front
- 9" Rear
- 9.5" Rear

...before you rub the shock absorber. Pretty much what I am asking is at what point/offset will the rim contact the strut with these wheel widths?

I notice that most 8.5" wheels at the front with a +45 offset are paper width close to the shock absorber so, is this the very limit? I imagine a +50 would never work. A +45 offset on a 8" rim would surely leave a little more room, maybe even allow a +40 without rubbing the arch too much.

I'm not so sure about the rear. I never hear anyone complain about rubbing the shock absorber there and surely Apex's 9.5" ET58 ARC 8 proves that there is more room?

[Black128i]

It depends on the tire and tire brand, but I think Apex Arc-8 is about as high as you can go for maximum tire width.

My front are 18x8.5 ET45 with 235/40 PSS at stock sport suspension height with no rubbing but barely clears the strut. I have 18x9.5 ET62 rear with 5mm spacer and 275x35 PSS with no rubbing.

[Black128i]

Here's a pic

[Ginger_Extract]

Originally Posted by Cozy

I'm beating myself up over rim choices right now and I have a question.

How high (offset) can you go with...
- 8" Front ~ET45
- 8.5" Front ~ET42
- 9" Rear ~ET70?
- 9.5" Rear ~ET64

...before you rub the shock absorber. Pretty much what I am asking is at what point/offset will the rim contact the strut with these wheel widths?

I notice that most 8.5" wheels at the front with a +45 offset are paper width close to the shock absorber so, is this the very limit? I imagine a +50 would never work. A +45 offset on a 8" rim would surely leave a little more room, maybe even allow a +40 without rubbing the arch too much.

I'm not so sure about the rear. I never hear anyone complain about rubbing the shock absorber there and surely Apex's 9.5" ET58 ARC 8 proves that there is more room?

My approximate answers are in bold. This is considering the use of wide/optimum-sized rubber.

[Stohlen]

Originally Posted by Cozy

I'm not so sure about the rear. I never hear anyone complain about rubbing the shock absorber there and surely Apex's 9.5" ET58 ARC 8 proves that there is more room?

The Arc8 is a +62 offset and the best bet to maximize rubber width without rubbing.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by Cozy

How high (offset) can you go with...
- 8" Front
- 8.5" Front
- 9" Rear
- 9.5" Rear

From our experience, between ET40~45 front, and ET50~58 rear is ideal.

[Cozy]

Thank you all, a wealth of knowledge on here as always

Black128i, your car looks very good!

[GeeRam]

Originally Posted by Cozy

Thank you all, a wealth of knowledge on here as always

Black128i, your car looks very good!

Cozy,

Wibbles on here, has a set of unused Apex ARC-8 for sale as he's now sold his 135i before he even fitted them.

He did have them up for £1200 (there's an ad on here somewhere) but I suspect he might be open to a good offer.

Worth a PM to him, and will be cheaper than importing them yourself.

[yllwwgn]

Originally Posted by Black128i

Here's a pic

WOW that is alot or rear tire, and PSS at that... I am jealous.

[cheshirecat79]

You can run mid 30s front and rear on a 8.5/10'' wheel, respectively, before rubbing the strut. You will need to engage in a lot of fender and liner work if you're looking to run this kind of setup, not to mention work with the camber. Even after you get the wheels and tires on, you will scrape when the springs compress.

I'm not certain about the measurements on a 9.5'' rear.

[Fifty3bags]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

You can run mid 30s front and rear on a 8.5/10'' wheel, respectively, before rubbing the strut. You will need to engage in a lot of fender and liner work if you're looking to run this kind of setup, not to mention work with the camber. Even after you get the wheels and tires on, you will scrape when the springs compress.

I'm not certain about the measurements on a 9.5'' rear.

Mid 30s offset would be closer to the fender on the front than 40s. From what I understand on the front, the highest offset would be 45 on an 8.5" wheel before hitting the strut/shock/coilover. I'm unsure of how far away from the fender that would be though. On the rear I've seen people run +40 on a 10" wheel. That is with the fenders rolled/shaved, but I believe there would be room to go closer to the strut/shock.

I plan to have my car professionally measured to get the widest possible wheels front/rear. My setup will most likely vary from popular opinion (more camber and fender work), but I also plan to get it measured for optimum width/offset on stock fenders/stock camber settings as well. I will post the measurements when they are done.

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by Fifty3bags

Mid 30s offset would be closer to the fender on the front than 40s. From what I understand on the front, the highest offset would be 45 on an 8.5" wheel before hitting the strut/shock/coilover.

At that point, would you be looking to run a 9'' width wheel with an offset in the low 30s instead? (with one inch being about 25mm)

[Fifty3bags]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

At that point, would you be looking to run a 9'' width wheel with an offset in the low 30s instead? (with one inch being about 25mm)

It would be advantageous to do that, I don't know if anyone's tried wider than an 8.5 on the front

[Ginger_Extract]

Originally Posted by Fifty3bags

It would be advantageous to do that, I don't know if anyone's tried wider than an 8.5 on the front

@larryn was using x9 up front with a 255. Required spacers to hit optimum offset, and camber plates.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by Ginger_Extract

@larryn was using x9 up front with a 255. Required spacers to hit optimum offset, and camber plates.

I did have to roll the fronts too, since my car was looowwww.