OEM E46 19's vs CSL's

[ali_b]

Hi Guys,
I've got a set of e46 19's on at the moment, the rears look great. The fronts however sit too far inwards of the front wings. I was wandering if the oem 19's have the same offset the original CSL's as I've read a few posts with peeps dropping the CSL's on with no need for spacers etc.

I've got some 15mm H&R TRAK+ spacers on order so I'll see what they look like before deciding to either move them on or not (May have a fully refurbed set up for grabs) ... Pity cos the like I said , the rears look mean :evil:

Does anybody know if the offsets are different ? And how far you can (safely) move the fronts out without running the chance of wrecking wheel bearings every other week...
Seems a shame not to use the 19's.......

I've tried working it out using offset calculator, can anyone confirm these are correct for me :

Z4M
F : ET42
E46 M3
F : ET47

Thanks a bunch
Al

 

[davidch]

Yes the front M3 19" E46's sit in a tad more than stocks.

15mm spacers up front will be fine. I will be running a 8.5J ET35 on the front. So in theory you could put a 25mm up front and still be fine. :evil:

Ps, where are some pictures????

 

[Piano]

U can check my pic .. I hv E46 M3 wheel on my MZ ... I love it ..

--> http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7515

Rear is perfect .. ( even nicer fitment then stock, slightly wider )

I put 10mm spacer in front.

 

[davidch]

Yes I see your pics but they are not the best Have you got any more?

 

[Mr Whippy]

Just as info.

Altering the offset and so narrowing or widening the track width will change the weight of the steering feel and also the tendancy for the car to steer itself on cambers.

Go smaller offset and the steering will get lighter, large and it'll get heavier. The difference in 10mm can be quite marked on the weight/feel. It might be worth trying it out somehow with some borrowed spacers.

I'm guessing the M3 wheels are a bit narrower anyway, as they only appear to sit in 5mm vs the Z4M ones? Or is that 5mm that noticeable?

 

[Mr Whippy]

Hmmm, just had a look

The M3 CSL 1518mm front track
(f/r)
8.5J X 19 ET:44
9.5J X 19 ET:27

M3 CS 1508mm front track (iirc)
(f/r)
8J X 19 ET:47
9.5J X 19 ET:27

It looks like the M3 CS and M3 CSL have the same rears, but different fronts. The M3 CSL (specific) sit both further out by 3mm and also are then 6mm further out because of the extra half inch of rim width. So the wheel will appear about 9mm further out if it's a CSL wheel on there (vs a CS wheel or OE 19" M3 wheel), and have almost exactly the same track width as the MZ4 wheels (similar weight to the steering)

I'd assume the M3/CS 19" wheels are the same at the front, so your 15mm spacers will be almost twice as further out as genuine CSL's, but the track width will be 15mm wider too, not 3mm-5mm. The steering could be a fair bit heavier...

Still, best thing is to try it out and see

Dave

 

[davidch]

Hmmm, just had a look

I'd assume the M3/CS 19" wheels are the same at the front, so your 15mm spacers will be almost twice as further out as genuine CSL's, but the track width will be 15mm wider too, not 3mm-5mm. The steering could be a fair bit heavier...

Still, best thing is to try it out and see

Dave

I had 15mm spacers on my M3 with the 19's and they where fine, the car felt sharpier up front and it made it look so much beefier.

As you say on the Z try it out and see give me a couple of weeks when I pick up my Z and I will try loads of different set ups.

David