Hey guys so I’m gonna build my z4 E85 into a track day car and I’m looking for wheels and tires. I wanna go like really wide wheels on 18inch but i don’t know how wide I can go. So has annyone had any experience with really wide tires?
New wheels track day car
- Thread starter kennethvd1997
- Start date
Go to 'willtheyfit.com' - this will give you an idea of the impact different offsets and wheel widths will give. All you then need to do is measure the gap between the tyre sidewall and strut tower.
I used to run 224m alloys (the ones the Z4m comes on) with 10mm spacers at the front and no issues with rubbing. The 224M specs are 8'' front offset et42 and 9'' rears offset et30. In terms of the rear I'd not want to go more than 9" et30, as the wheels will then protrude out of the arches....
Don't take offence but have you done much track work prior to now? And have you tracked the car in whatever its current form is yet?
My belief with these things is try it before you modify it - spending thousands on new bits before you try the car to understand what the weak points are, or what isn't to your tastes is a very expensive way of doing it!
I used to run 224m alloys (the ones the Z4m comes on) with 10mm spacers at the front and no issues with rubbing. The 224M specs are 8'' front offset et42 and 9'' rears offset et30. In terms of the rear I'd not want to go more than 9" et30, as the wheels will then protrude out of the arches....
Don't take offence but have you done much track work prior to now? And have you tracked the car in whatever its current form is yet?
My belief with these things is try it before you modify it - spending thousands on new bits before you try the car to understand what the weak points are, or what isn't to your tastes is a very expensive way of doing it!
Thanks for the help.
And no It’s the first time ever. But the front tires are still the first from 2007 so really worn and the rear are really cheap tires. So I wanna start fresh with good tires.
And no It’s the first time ever. But the front tires are still the first from 2007 so really worn and the rear are really cheap tires. So I wanna start fresh with good tires.
North West Surrey
Well it sounds like you definitely need new tyres anyway!
Just curious, but what size wheels are on it now - and what model is your car?
As Ed suggests it might make sense to just fit some decent branded new tyres to your existing rims and see how it works on track with those before you start buying massive rims and tyres.
The standard BMW 18" wheel options are staggered with 8J fronts and 8.5J rears, but I'm sure I read somewhere that RWD BMWs often handle better on "square" rims - as in same width front and rear.
Have a great time anyway, and let us know how you get on!
Just curious, but what size wheels are on it now - and what model is your car?
As Ed suggests it might make sense to just fit some decent branded new tyres to your existing rims and see how it works on track with those before you start buying massive rims and tyres.
The standard BMW 18" wheel options are staggered with 8J fronts and 8.5J rears, but I'm sure I read somewhere that RWD BMWs often handle better on "square" rims - as in same width front and rear.
Have a great time anyway, and let us know how you get on!
The staggered set up is a good look but a square set up was always my preference for serious track use for two reasons.
1 - can swap front to rear if need be so greater flexibility.
2 - Wider rear and therefore more tyre section and grip on rear promotes understeer which needs to be dialed out with for example some decent amounts of negative camber. Standard suspension is fairly limiting in adjustment.
Personally, I would have a set of road wheels and tyres that suit the car and a second set of “square” wheels with semi slicks for track use. In the long term if you are doing a fair amount of track days imo that is the best option. I run 8.5” all round for a neutral feel.
I would also put decent high temp brake fluid and pads. Also find someone with track experience who can help with track technique. These cars are pretty good straight out of the box.
Good luck
1 - can swap front to rear if need be so greater flexibility.
2 - Wider rear and therefore more tyre section and grip on rear promotes understeer which needs to be dialed out with for example some decent amounts of negative camber. Standard suspension is fairly limiting in adjustment.
Personally, I would have a set of road wheels and tyres that suit the car and a second set of “square” wheels with semi slicks for track use. In the long term if you are doing a fair amount of track days imo that is the best option. I run 8.5” all round for a neutral feel.
I would also put decent high temp brake fluid and pads. Also find someone with track experience who can help with track technique. These cars are pretty good straight out of the box.
Good luck
the current wheels are stock 16 inch with 205 55 tires. And the car is an 2007 E85 Z4 2.0
A further thought on this.
New tyres will have far too much tread for serious dry track use. The tread blocks will squirm about and it will feel like driving on ice. They will also get too hot and the wear will be awful.
Years ago we had to use a control road tyre on the sprite and just about everyone I knew had the tyres shaved to 2 mm tread or thereabouts. They felt much more secure and lasted longer.
A better alternative (at a cost) would be to get some tyres designed for the job. Yokohama A048, or A050 perhaps. Not road legal, but much better on the track. There are others available.
New tyres will have far too much tread for serious dry track use. The tread blocks will squirm about and it will feel like driving on ice. They will also get too hot and the wear will be awful.
Years ago we had to use a control road tyre on the sprite and just about everyone I knew had the tyres shaved to 2 mm tread or thereabouts. They felt much more secure and lasted longer.
A better alternative (at a cost) would be to get some tyres designed for the job. Yokohama A048, or A050 perhaps. Not road legal, but much better on the track. There are others available.
Let's not lose sight of the fact this is a 2.0i - whilst yes track tyres are of course better for track work (quelle surprise!?) the car will feel a lot more fun and 'rear driven' on less grippy rubber - it'll allow the car to move around at not-stupid speeds. 146 bhp and 146 ft-lbs is going to struggle to unstick the proposed larger 18" wheels assuming 8.5" Rears with normal road tyres, let alone if trackday rubber is then fitted!
Also another consideration - I'd be hesitant to stick trackday rubber on a 2.0i before properly investigating whether the sump is baffled (never looked into these engines much), and how recently the timing chain has been replaced. The latter is well known to stretch on the N46 and I'm sure tracking it wont help matters.
Also another consideration - I'd be hesitant to stick trackday rubber on a 2.0i before properly investigating whether the sump is baffled (never looked into these engines much), and how recently the timing chain has been replaced. The latter is well known to stretch on the N46 and I'm sure tracking it wont help matters.
No need to go for a ridiculously wide tyre, not much power from a 2 litre! Id go for standard 8x18 bmw wheels, shod with either 235/40/18 or 245/35/18 tyres. Square set up, so good handling and ability to rotate wheels.
My track car is a 3 litre, i run 245/35 front and 255/35 rears (on a 8.5") with federal 595 rsrs and its awesome. Touch of understeer if youre really pushing on, and rear end is totally locked down once the tyres have some heat in them.
My track car is a 3 litre, i run 245/35 front and 255/35 rears (on a 8.5") with federal 595 rsrs and its awesome. Touch of understeer if youre really pushing on, and rear end is totally locked down once the tyres have some heat in them.
Liverpool