8J wheels on an E85?

[JamieIsf]

Hi all,

Firstly apologies, new to this, and not quite sure if I’m doing this right! Also hope everybody is safe and well during these times.

I’ve had a search through but can’t seem to find the answer I’m looking for.

I have an E85 with rather disappointing 16 inch wheels on it, and looking to upgrade.

I’ve seen some very nice 8J BM054 wheels, which I believe (please correct me if wrong!) are from a 5 series E60. Does anybody know/use if these wheels would fit my E85? Still fairly new to the sizings, etc on BMW. I think they may do, but second opinions/ telling me I’m crazy, would be extremely handy!

Thanks,

Jamie.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to Z4 ownership, and to the forum Jamie.

Don't be shy, we do like to see photos of New Members' cars - it's pretty much the law on here!

Anyway Z4s can easily run 8J wheels. The popular Style 108 and MV2 wheels are staggered 18" rims, 8J x 18 ET47 front and 8.5J x 18 ET50 rear.

But the ET is the critical part as that determines the offset, so in simple terms how far out into the arches the wheel sits (BMW call it IS rather than ET on their wheels).

So you need to find out what that is - I couldn't find a listing of a Style 054 on a quick search. And I think E60 wheels have a slightly larger diameter centre than Z4s so you'd probably need some hub-centric rings to get them to sit right on the hubs.

Assuming you can find the offsets, this site will tell you how they will sit in your wheel-arches compared to what you have:- https://www.willtheyfit.com/

 

[JamieIsf]

Thanks very much for that Mr Tidy, just confirms how much I don’t know! I’ll go back and ask for those details, and work out what I currently have, I’ve got no idea!

My pride and joy, is hopefully attached. Has developed the nickname ‘Ron Burgandy’ as I’m sure you can guess for obvious reasons!

 

[Mr Tidy]

That looks great - I think Merlot Red is probably the best colour for an E85.

Looks like you were in the New Forest - lucky man!

Anyway from your photo it looks like you have Style 104 wheels, so 7J x 16 ET47 based on this:- https://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/bmw_alloy_wheels/z4_e85_alloys/16_bmw_104_wheel_1424

There are plenty of E46 3 Series, E9* 3 Series, F3* 3 Series, E8* 1 Series and E89 Z4 wheels that would fit without any hub centre issues, although the offsets differ.

To give you an idea of the difference here are a couple of photos of my 2nd E86. The first is with 108s the 2nd with E89 wheels of the same sizes but different offsets. 18mm further out on the front and 10mm further out on the rear.

 

[enuff_zed]

Hi and welcome.
I recently bought an E85 for my wife and had some confusion with the wheels as they didn't seem to sit in the arches the same as others I'd seen.
It turns out that the fronts are standard E85 items, 8J x 18" with an ET of 47. But the rears are off a 5-series E60. These are 8J x 18" ET20.
I believe ([ref]Mr Tidy[/ref] will confirm), that the rear ET should in fact be 50, with a wheel size of 8J x 18 1/2".
However, as you can see from the photo, they do fit ok, with 245/40 tyres.
I can't tell you what they'd look like on the front though.
I can however, tell you that these particular 5-series wheels do fit ok on the hubs, with no need for any centring.

NB. The picture angle makes it look like they stick out from the arch, but they don't.

 

[kis]

This link will help too 8)

 

[JamieIsf]

Thank you all, for your very helpful answers, no doubt, there will be a few more questions.

Looks like the ones I am looking at are style 135, Mv2’s, so hopefully with the right ET value, they should be ok!

Mr Tidy, thanks, yes and was in the New Forest, some amazing roads, if you’re ever down there, check out the Rhinefeld ornamental drive, a fantastic road. Haven’t seen another Merlot one (yet!) so quite lucky, although yours in that blue, I also haven’t seen and that looks fab!

I’ll keep you all updated r.e. Wheels

 

[Number5]

Standard 18” Z4 wheels are
front 8Jx18 ET47
Rear 8.5/9Jx18 ET50

E60 wheels have quite a low ET somewhere in the 20’s I believe, where as the lowest you want to go is low 30’s.
Be ware though as they did make MV2’s for the 5 series but the ET will vary

Mr Wilks (our resident wheel expert) may be along later to confirm or correct

 

[enuff_zed]

Standard 18” Z4 wheels are
front 8Jx18 ET47
Rear 8.5/9Jx18 ET50

E60 wheels have quite a low ET somewhere in the 20’s I believe, where as the lowest you want to go is low 30’s.
Be ware though as they did make MV2’s for the 5 series but the ET will vary

Mr Wilks (our resident wheel expert) may be along later to confirm or correct

Yup, to make it exactly clear what my earlier post (with photo) meant:

Front - standard E85 - 8J x 18 ET47 with 245/40 tyres (I believe these would more normally be 225/40?)
Rear - 5-series E60 - 8J x 18 ET20 with 245/40 tyres.

This set up fits, no issues, and looks good to my eye.

If the price was right, and you could find another interested owner, you could potentially pick up the set you've seen, which I assume are all the same size? These would provide back sets for two cars, but then you'd need to find fronts.

Here's a better picture of how they fit:

 

[JamieIsf]

Thanks v much.

The seller has no idea what ET value the wheels are. Does it show on the wheel, or is it a measuring job?
From my limited knowledge, something like half the width of the wheel, minus the distance between the centre and edge of the wheel.

Thanks, (Again!).

 

[Number5]

The ET number is stamped on the inside of the wheel. usually on the back of a spoke, sometimes around the hub.
The ET number is also often shown as an 'IS' number An Mv2 will say "8Jx18 IS47"

This is from a rear G29 wheel as an example

 

[JamieIsf]

That’s incredibly helpful!

So heard back from the supplier, and he has come back with IS20, so assume that’s ET 20.

I’m guessing that would be crazy for an E85, and they would poke too far out of the bodywork?

Any ideas? Such a shame as they are really nice wheels at a steal...

 

[enuff_zed]

That's what the rear ones are on mine. Too far out for the front though I'd guess?
[ref]Mr Tidy[/ref], can you advise?
In my head, if the rear should be 50 and I've got 20 on, then would the front, that should be 47, be ok with 20 as well?
Not forgetting of course that I've replaced the original 8.5" rears with 8" widths.

 

[JamieIsf]

I am more than happy to admit I’m a complete novice, you may have noticed. I tried using Mr Tidy’s helpful calculatorr, but as I’m not 100% on my own details I can accurately guess if they would fit.

 

[enuff_zed]

I am more than happy to admit I’m a complete novice, you may have noticed. I tried using Mr Tidy’s helpful calculatorr, but as I’m not 100% on my own details I can accurately guess if they would fit.

Same here with this wheely complicated stuff
Our E85 came with those wheels on and it was only comparing with others that made me realise they weren't standard.
I do prefer the way they fill the arches though. A much better stance on the road, but without using any spacers.

 

[Number5]

ID say that ET 20 is far too low for an E85 however, dropping from an 8.5J to an 8J gives you a little less issue with rubbing but obviously you're losing a little rubber and therefore a little grip too. I've know people put 20mm spacers on standard wheels (rears) and get away with it though

Using 'willtheyfit.com' Here's the front wheel difference taking an 8.5J ET47 (orange) and replacing it with an 8J ET20 (green)

 

[enuff_zed]

ID say that ET 20 is far too low for an E85 however, dropping from an 8.5J to an 8J gives you a little less issue with rubbing but obviously you're losing a little rubber and therefore a little grip too. I've know people put 20mm spacers on standard wheels (rears) and get away with it though

Using 'willtheyfit.com' Here's the front wheel difference taking an 8.5J ET47 (orange) and replacing it with an 8J ET20 (green)

CE542A97-5E72-4FAD-BDDF-E54E83C580DA.jpeg

Well the proof, as they say..................

Wheels fit perfectly on our one (rears). No sign of rubbing and very good handling. Certainly no grip issue.

The fronts, as your illustration shows, will be possibly too far out to allow for turning without rubbing.
But I thought the correct fronts were only 8" width too?

 

[JamieIsf]

So based on all the info above, I think I have the following.

Currently, wheels/tyres I have on all 4 corners are 225/50/16.

Thanks to the info from Mr Tidy, my current wheels have an ET of 47.

The wheels I am considering have an ET of 20, with tyres on currently; 225/40/18 on one wheel, and three with 245/40/18, why 3 and 1 I've no idea!

Taking the 225/40/18 as the front and the 245/40/18 as the rear, using the calculator, I have the two results attached?

I'm worried about the rear, as it protrudes nearly 40mm more than my current 16's... Altough people have strongly suggested I put spacers on my current 16's.

Opinions? Am increibly grateful for all info/discussion so far!

 

[enuff_zed]

I'm worried about the rear, as it protrudes nearly 40mm more than my current 16's... Altough people have strongly suggested I put spacers on my current 16's

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I refer you back to the photos of my wife's car.
The rears fit nicely, almost flush with the arch but not protruding.

It is the fronts that I would be suspicious of, as they may catch the arches when turning?

 

[JamieIsf]

I'm worried about the rear, as it protrudes nearly 40mm more than my current 16's... Altough people have strongly suggested I put spacers on my current 16's

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I refer you back to the photos of my wife's car.
The rears fit nicely, almost flush with the arch but not protruding.

It is the fronts that I would be suspicious of, as they may catch the arches when turning?

I missed the note about the 20's on the rear, apologies, learning as I go along!
That is interesting, thanks for that, yes the front worries me actually, 40mm is quite significant..