How can I find out if these wheels will fit?

welsh

Member
Hi

I've found a company that is manufacturing the wheels I want with this setup:

Front - 19x8 ET 34
Rear - 19x9 ET 34

He says he's fitted Z4's with a different set of wheels that have the same setup except they were an ET37 on the rear.

I've got a 2003 2.5i Sport Z4 but am not the brightest at working out whether these wheels will fit the thing.

Is there some sort of formula I can use to work it out for myself?

Or failing that, does anyone know if the 3mm difference will stop them from fitting?

Cheers guys
Al.
 
Thanks ducks

I've used that wheel offset calculator (based against the stock front 18x8 ET47 and rear 18x8.5 ET50) to show me how far the wheel would stick out, here are the results:

Front - Inner Clearance 13mm MORE, Wheel EXTENDS an extra 13mm
Rear - Inner Clearance 10mm MORE, Wheel EXTENDS an extra 22mm

Now if I've got this right, what i'm actually wondering is..what is the biggest margin I could extend the wheel setup before it is put under the fenders on a Z4?

If it's 22mm or more then I guess they will fit, but if it's less than that, then I guess they won't.

It would be useful to know because then I can stop nagging folk on these forums every time I see a different setup :D

Also, what has the inner clearance got to do with anything? does this mean I would need spacers for these wheels?

Cheers again for trying to help guys, much appreciated
Al
 
That's a pretty nice set-up for the Z4 and it'll work just fine. You shouldn't need spacers if you still have stock or stock sized brake kits. Inner clearance has to do with giving you an idea of whether a set-up would rub the struts/shock housings; sometimes with wider tires and certain offsets (and lowered ride height / camber settings), people might run into problem with the inner sides of tires rubbing the strut/shock housings. In your case you wouldn't need to worry about that.
 
Thanks for the info GP20!

That's great news, i've been looking everywhere for this style of wheel in a staggered fitment that will fit the non-M Z4.

I'll get them on order later today and put some pics up when they get fitted so you can see it :)

Cheers again
Al
 
Due to the dealer looking a bit dodgy on eBay (he's located in Spain with only 2 feedback) i've decided against buying these wheels for the moment.

However, I have found another, more reputable dealer in the U.S. that is selling the same style wheel with this setup

Front 19x8.5 ET35
Rear 19x9.5 ET40

I've put those figures in the wheel offset calculator and I get:

Front Inner Clearance 6mm MORE, wheel EXTENDS an extra 18mm
Rear Inner Clearance 3mm LESS, wheel EXTENDS an extra 23mm

Will the fact I have 3mm LESS clearance on the rear give me any problems (rubbing etc.)?
Will the fronts extending an extra 5mm and the rears an extra 1mm over the previous set I was going to buy make it look better or worse? or maybe not even fit...?

I guess I could just go measure the distance from the outside edge of the wheel to the wheel arch to see how much I have to play with.....

Any advice is well appreciated :D
Cheers
Al
 
welsh said:
Rear Inner Clearance 3mm LESS, wheel EXTENDS an extra 23mm

Will the fact I have 3mm LESS clearance on the rear give me any problems (rubbing etc.)?

I've just put my hand in the gap between the rear wheel and inner arch with room to move, so I doubt 3mm less clearance will give you any problems.
 
no fit state said:
I've just put my hand in the gap between the rear wheel and inner arch with room to move, so I doubt 3mm less clearance will give you any problems.

Hey cheers for doing that buddy but I think the inner clearance is the gap between the inside of the wheel and the strut housing as GP20 mentions above...

My guess is that it will be 3mm closer to the struts, which should be OK as I would imagine there is a bigger gap than that as standard.

If I'm not mistaken the gap between the outside of the wheel and the inner arch fender is the distance I can extend the wheel, so if that's 23mm or less we're good to go! :D

If you can fit your hand in there, chances are they will be fine.

I think the setup will be quite nice because the front and back wheels are being extended by near enough the same, there's only a 5mm difference.

What does everyone else reckon?
 
welsh said:
no fit state said:
I've just put my hand in the gap between the rear wheel and inner arch with room to move, so I doubt 3mm less clearance will give you any problems.

Hey cheers for doing that buddy but I think the inner clearance is the gap between the inside of the wheel and the strut housing as GP20 mentions above...

My guess is that it will be 3mm closer to the struts, which should be OK as I would imagine there is a bigger gap than that as standard.

If I'm not mistaken the gap between the outside of the wheel and the inner arch fender is the distance I can extend the wheel, so if that's 23mm or less we're good to go! :D

If you can fit your hand in there, chances are they will be fine.

I think the setup will be quite nice because the front and back wheels are being extended by near enough the same, there's only a 5mm difference.

What does everyone else reckon?

The gap between the strut and wheel was an even bigger.
 
wow, nice one, thanks again for checking that out for me! :)

I'm just waiting for the guy to confirm the wheel setup and if I can have a set of yoko's put on them before I purchase :D
 
welsh said:
Due to the dealer looking a bit dodgy on eBay (he's located in Spain with only 2 feedback) i've decided against buying these wheels for the moment.

However, I have found another, more reputable dealer in the U.S. that is selling the same style wheel with this setup

Front 19x8.5 ET35
Rear 19x9.5 ET40

Rear is fine. Front would rub the plastic liner behind the front bumper when you drive aggressively if you have the sport suspension. Regular driving should be fine.
 
I have the sport package on the car so yeah, have the sport suspension.

I guess I could live with that, if the plastic liner can't be adjusted to accomodate.

It sets me up for another question though...how would I lower it!

I'll get the wheels first and then see how much room I've got to play with.

Thanks for your help again GP20, much appreciated.
 
8a47_1.jpg

They are basically the new 2007 M3 wheels...i think they'd look HOT on a Z4.

I can only find one manufacturer of this type of wheel, Exclusive Alloys in California and they only make them in a 19x8.5 ET35 (front) or 19x9.5 ET35 (rear).

I did contact the manufacturers to see if they will fit but they claim the rears are "too aggressive" and suggested using a non-staggered setup (I was a bit dubious of this).

They informed me that a 19x9.5 ET45 is what I would want on the rear, but they don't produce them and have no intention of doing so unless I order 10 sets of wheels.......erm no ta!

However, I have seen a wheeler dealer (lol) advertising this set with a 19x9.5 ET40, which, having spoken to people on here, look like they would squeeze in with no trouble.

So there ya go :) the full history of my painful wheel experience :P
 
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