Advice on wheels / tyres choices

[meitme]

I've got an E86 on OEM 17" Star Spoke wheels and just got a nail in one of my run-flat tyres, so I thought it might be time to finally swap for some normal tyres as apparently no one will repair a run flat; and anyway I understand non-RFTs are likely to ride/handle better. I was also considering swapping out for some CSL-style wheels if any appear (ideally 18") but I've been reading up about the specs and the offsets are confusing me a bit. As far as I can tell the standard wheels are 8Jx17 ET46 on the front and 8.5Jx17 ET50 on the back, is that right? So if I went 18" what would I need? I see some out there are ET35- is that too much? I've been looking at willtheyfit.com and I'm still a little unsure!

Or do you think I should stick with the original wheels? They do need a refurb but it might still be better value/simpler than a new set; I'm thinking the Goodyear Asymmetric 6s are looking a good choice so perhaps I'd be wiser to spend on tyres than wheels.

And is the consensus that a space saver wheel is the way to go or do you go with a tyre sealant kit? I found an old thread on here from a few years back about it but just wondered if anything had changed since! One thing is the E86 is blessed with a pretty generous boot so maybe a space saver might be wise. Any help glady received!

 

[Zedebee]

Not quite.
The standard 17” wheel is 8Jx17 et47 all round
The standard 18” wheel is 8Jx18 et47 and 8.5Jx18 et50 staggered

very broadly speaking, anything down to an et34 is fine. Some members run a 20mm spacer with et50 rears, which takes the effective offset down to et30.

A good website to play around with different wheel sizes is www.willtheyfit.com.

If you are thinking of carrying a space saver, remember you will need a jack and brace too, and you’ll have to carry a full size wheel back home.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I think most of the tyre chains won't repair a run-flat because they would rather sell you a new tyre!

I had a run-flat repaired by my local independent tyre place on my 123d and ran it for more than another 10K miles without a problem.

Years ago I had a set of 18" CSL Reps that were 8J and ET40 all round and sold them on here to someone who ran them on his E85 for years.

If you get a space-saver it will need to be a 17" one to clear the front brakes on a 3.0Si. The downside is you are limited to 50mph and 200 miles IIRC so if you go further afield a full size spare might be a better idea.

I have sealant, a compressor and RAC membership, but my full size spare might hopefully be the best solution!

 

[meitme]

I think most of the tyre chains won't repair a run-flat because they would rather sell you a new tyre!

I had a run-flat repaired by my local independent tyre place on my 123d and ran it for more than another 10K miles without a problem.

Thank you; I think the official explanation is that they can't judge the amount of damage a run-flat may have incurred or how long you've driven it for because they keep their shape, and I guess they don't want to be liable for it. Truth be told I would quite like to change them out as the wheels aren't in great shape and the tyres are hard, so will probably use this as an excuse!

Years ago I had a set of 18" CSL Reps that were 8J and ET40 all round and sold them on here to someone who ran them on his E85 for years.

That sounds good; I was looking at these Rivas someone linked to in another thread and they seem pretty good. I presume there's no issue with the different offsets:

NEW 18 INCH RIVA FOX DTM CSL ALLOY WHEELS FINISHED IN SILVER WITH DEEPER CONCAVE WIDER 8.5" REAR 5x120

New set of four 18" Fox Riva DTM CSL alloy wheels finished in silver with deeper concave look to the rear.These are 18" x 8" et34 front and deeper 18" x 8.5" et37 rear with 5x120 pcdThese are perfectly suited to the E46 3 Series and E85 / E86 Z4 c...

www.bmautosport.co.uk

8x18 ET34 and 8.5x18 ET37

I'm guessing the centre caps can be got for less than the £65 they want?

Regarding tyre sizes, I had a look around the forum and found this thread and saw that although 225/40 R18 (fronts) & 255/35 R18 (rears) is standard, a few people were recommending 245/40 R18s for the rear. Anyone else have a preference?

If you get a space-saver it will need to be a 17" one to clear the front brakes on a 3.0Si. The downside is you are limited to 50mph and 200 miles IIRC so if you go further afield a full size spare might be a better idea.

I have sealant, a compressor and RAC membership, but my full size spare might hopefully be the best solution!

Thanks, yeah I have AA which is probably for the best. A full-size would fill the boot too much for me I think; hopefully I can find a space saver although it's a worry making sure it's the right size- I can't seem to see the specs anywhere. And a cover would be essential.

 

[Mr Tidy]

You can get centre badges for less than a tenner on Ebay. They may only last a couple of years but at that price I just replace them!

As those wheels are 8J front and 8.5J rear the same as OE 18s I'd just stick with the OE tyre sizes unless there might be an issue with the rears rubbing because with ET37 those Riva rears will sit 13mm further out in the wheel-arch than the OE 18s.

When I had my 3.0Si I got a space-saver from an E46 3 Series as I knew it would fit. But it has to be a 17" one to clear the front brakes on a 3.0Si so it needs to be from a 330i or 330d. All the other E46s only had a 16" space-saver.

 

[meitme]

When I had my 3.0Si I got a space-saver from an E46 3 Series as I knew it would fit. But it has to be a 17" one to clear the front brakes on a 3.0Si so it needs to be from a 330i or 330d. All the other E46s only had a 16" space-saver.

That's really useful, thank you.

 

[meitme]

I went with the 18" Rivas from BM Autosport in the end, with some Continental Sportscontact 7s; also got an E46 space saver and found a bag for it on Amazon which fits it perfectly. I haven't driven it much yet but can already tell the ride is much improved, and the steering even feels a little sharper, plus I think it looks much better. Thanks to everyone for your advice.

(Yes it needs a wash!)