Introduction and winter tyres questions

J

jonno

Member
 N Herts/S Cambs
Hi all,

Picked up my sterling grey 2005 Z4 3.0i SE a few weeks ago, and have been enjoying myself hugely while the weather's been so good with the top down as much as possible! Have also been browsing through this site, which seems like a fantastic resource of knowledge and experience. Glad to have found it!

One topic I've been reading avidly is PawnSacrifice's excellent winter tyres summary
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30740

There were new tyres on the car when I bought it (225/40/18s on the front and 255/50/18s on the rear) and, although it's fine in good weather, it did skip around a bit the couple of cold mornings we've had recently. Thus, I'm seriously considering winter tyres. From what people have said, it sounds like 225/50/16s on all round is a good option. I've seen some cheap 16" alloys, but they have the code 7J - not sure what that means. Sorry for the dumb question, but will these be ok on my Z4 or will I need spacers or something?

Thanks so much for your help!

Jonno.

Some pics:
6294149767_9692ba8eed.jpg
6294675186_b44a76edcf.jpg
6294675048_6365c16aba.jpg
6294674896_8bf39f456b.jpg
 
7J is the width of the wheel. Fitment depends on the offset etc of the wheels you have seen - have you already spotted some, if so what are they?
 
i personally wouldnt bother with winter tyres, unless you live in an area that has excessive ice/snow each year for weeks on end - or have a job where you need a car to run 24/7, 365 days of the year.

I live in the midlands and only had 3 days last year where it snowed and meant the z was garaged.

Use the money on other mods for your new car, such as clear headlights

PS very clean z - enjoy mate :thumbsup:
 
Wondermike said:
7J is the width of the wheel. Fitment depends on the offset etc of the wheels you have seen - have you already spotted some, if so what are they?
Click to expand...

Ah, that makes sense - thanks. The offset of the wheels I've seen is apparently 34. Does that help? Sorry for not having more of a clue about this - I'm new to all this!

ranski said:
i personally wouldnt bother with winter tyres, unless you live in an area that has excessive ice/snow each year for weeks on end - or have a job where you need a car to run 24/7, 365 days of the year.
Click to expand...

I live in North Herts/South Cambs, so probably similar winters to you. It wasn't so much snow and ice I was thinking of as much as frosty roads first thing in the morning. The feeling on PawnSacrifice's thread seems to be that grip is substantially better on winter tyres as soon as the temp drops below 7 degrees - regardless of the actual weather conditions. But, maybe I'm being too cautious...

ranski said:
PS very clean z - enjoy mate :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks, very kind! Am very much enjoying it so far!
 
Welcome aboard jonno - that second pic is a cracker, I love the way everything but your Z is out of focus, looks stunning :thumbsup:
 
I've just found this: http://www.1010tires.com/wheeloffsetcalculator.asp

As mentioned above, the wheels I've seen are 7J width with 34mm offsets. Assuming my current 8J (F) and 8.5J (R) wheels have the standard offsets of 47mm (F) and 50mm (R), would someone more knowledgeable be kind enough to confirm that my calculations are correct:

Front: 26mm more inner clearance, the same outer clearance
Rear: 35mm more inner clearance, 3mm more outer clearance

Thus, the new wheels should be fine and won't need spacers or cause any other problems?

Thanks!
 
jonno said:
I've just found this: http://www.1010tires.com/wheeloffsetcalculator.asp

As mentioned above, the wheels I've seen are 7J width with 34mm offsets. Assuming my current 8J (F) and 8.5J (R) wheels have the standard offsets of 47mm (F) and 50mm (R), would someone more knowledgeable be kind enough to confirm that my calculations are correct:

Front: 26mm more inner clearance, the same outer clearance
Rear: 35mm more inner clearance, 3mm more outer clearance

Thus, the new wheels should be fine and won't need spacers or cause any other problems?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have a set of TSW Spa 16" alloys I used on my Z last winter, up for grabs, if you are interested. They are imaculate, any reasonable offer considered.
 
Just to say thanks so much to bat1959. Alloys have just arrived, as immaculate and well wrapped up as promised! Really happy to have found this site and all the good people who use it. :D
 
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