Aftermarket E46 M3 Wheels on E90 M3?

gimmethemuumuu · 12-07-2012, 08:59 AM

Hey, Guys,

Just made the jump from the E46 M3 to the E90 M3. I have a set of aftermarket summer wheels from the old car. I'm trying to figure out whether they'll fit [well] on the new ride.

The aftermarket wheels are 8.5" F and 10" R. Also, the offsets are 35 F and 20 R. From reading on this forum, I understand that the OEM offsets on this car are 29 F and 23 R, in both the case of the 219's and the 220's. The competition 359's are 31 F and 25 R. So, factoring in these offfsets alone, the new wheels are 6 mm off in the front and 3 mm off in the rear. In theory, the wheels should fit and be spaced fairly well. Yeah?

My question is whether I am accounting for everything I need to in determining fitment and ideal spacing of these wheels on the E90 M3? I plan to test fit the wheels to the car this weekend but I was curious to get people's thoughts on the general approach.

TIA

Chriskm3 · 12-07-2012, 09:12 AM

Did the same jump. And wheels will fit. But u wil need spacers for te front to make the wheel flush with fender.

M3SQRD · 12-07-2012, 09:25 AM

You didn't list the width of your aftermarket e46 M3 wheels. BTW, the Comp (ZCP) wheels are 19x9et31 and 19x10et25.

gimmethemuumuu · 12-07-2012, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

You didn't list the width of your aftermarket e46 M3 wheels. BTW, the Comp (ZCP) wheels are 19x9et31 and 19x10et25.

Sorry. They're 8.5" F and 10" R. (I'll edit the original post to include that info

)

gimmethemuumuu · 12-07-2012, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriskm3

Did the same jump. And wheels will fit. But u wil need spacers for te front to make the wheel flush with fender.

Do you think it'll just be off by the 6 mm difference in offsets? I assume wheel width would be a factor too. I'm not sure what the widths of the E90 OEM's mentioned above are. I wanna say 8.5" F and 9.5" R. If that's the case, the front widths match. Is there yet another factor to consider?

gimmethemuumuu · 12-07-2012, 05:49 PM

The offsets of this type of aftermarket wheel made specifically for the E9x M3 are 22 F and 20 R. Those wheels are 9" wide in the front but still 10" in the rear.

Do you guys think that means I'm off that much more from the ideal spacing for this car?

M3SQRD · 12-07-2012, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmethemuumuu

The offsets of this type of aftermarket wheel made specifically for the E9x M3 are 22 F and 20 R. Those wheels are 9" wide in the front but still 10" in the rear.

Do you guys think that means I'm off that much more from the ideal spacing for this car?

I was able to run a 15 mm spacer with my 219M F 18x8.5et29 with room to spare (wasn't going for a flush fitment). This means you'd have to run at least a 20 mm spacer depending on how aggressive of a fitment you are trying to run. Your rear 10et25 is fine or, for a more aggressive fitment, you could run a 5-10 mm spacer on the rear.

gimmethemuumuu · 12-07-2012, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

I was able to run a 15 mm spacer with my 219M F 18x8.5et29 with room to spare (wasn't going for a flush fitment). This means you'd have to run at least a 20 mm spacer depending on how aggressive of a fitment you are trying to run. Your rear 10et25 is fine or, for a more aggressive fitment, you could run a 5-10 mm spacer on the rear.

Ah, OK. That makes sense, given the numbers. I'm not really looking for an aggressive spacing. Rather, I just want to account for the normal amount of offset I might be missing with standard wheels. I don't want the wheels to be too tucked, ya know?

Good info. Thx.

vdude · 12-13-2012, 03:03 AM

I had the same situation as the OP (using aftermarket E46 rims on my E90). Depending on rim design, front spacers might be necessary to clear the e90 caliper (which is significantly larger than the E46). I ended up using a 15MM spacer for a flush look and caliper clearance.

gimmethemuumuu · 12-13-2012, 05:28 AM

Yeah, I did a test fit this last weekend. I performed measurements before and after switching the wheels from my 220's to the aftermarket rims. With the 220's, there was 3/8" clearance from the outside edge of the wheel to the inside edge of the wheel well in the front. In the rear, there was 7/16". With the aftermarket wheels, the front again measured 3/8" but the rear was dead flush

Performing calculations, I determined that 3/8" is probably closest to 10mm and 7/16" is nearly 12mm. Conservative spacing would then have me put a 10mm spacer in the front with the aftermarket wheels and none in the back. Also, if I wanted, I could run a 10mm spacer up front and 12mm in the back with the 220's. Of course, a more aggressive spacing could change these numbers to 12mm up front with the aftermarkets and 12/15 F/R with the 220's.

So, what do you guys think? Does the more conservative or the more aggressive spacing sound like it would be a better fit/look overall?

TIA

gimmethemuumuu · 12-14-2012, 12:59 PM

I could post up pics if that would help people make recommendations on appropriate spacing. Just let me know

Expert@ApexWheels · 12-14-2012, 07:57 PM

The front can take a 15 or 20mm spacer for the front wheel to be pushed out as much as the rear wheel, otherwise it will be very sunken in in comparison. Since the rear wheel is 10" ET20, it will bolt on and be pretty flush with the rear fenders.

gimmethemuumuu · 12-15-2012, 09:19 AM

Any other thoughts?

15mm might work up front. However, I would think 20mm, being closer to 3/4"+, would cause the front to poke out too far, especially when compared to the rears which are flush (for the aftermarket wheels).

M3SQRD · 12-15-2012, 10:04 AM

Given the 10et20 rear, I'd run a 20 mm spacer with the F wheel so the F and R have a similar "aggressiveness". I'm running 9.5et22 on the F which would stick out almost 0.25" more than your 8.5et15 (35+20 mm spacer).

Radiation Joe · 12-15-2012, 10:06 AM

I run 9 or 9.5 inch wide fronts from an e46. Run 12mm or 15mm depending on which wheel is installed. 18 x 9.5 et35 gets the 12mm and 18 x 9 et38 gets the 15. Basically, it works out to the same set-up as running factory rears on all four corners, which is what I did on the first e90 I had.

gimmethemuumuu · 12-15-2012, 09:32 PM

With the higher offset spacers being suggested for the fronts (rather than the 10-12mm needed to flush 'em up like the rear wheels), I assume the thinking is that the fronts should stick out a bit more from the fenders than the rears to contribute to a more aggressive look?

Otherwise, my question would be: What offset is ideal? Should the wheels/tires be just inside the lip of the fender? Just flush with the outside? My understanding is that "poke" is not generally a recommended or desirable thing. It seems that the 20mm spacer in the front with the aftermarket wheel would result in a bit of poke--yes, no?

Again, thanks for your input

gimmethemuumuu · 04-05-2013, 10:10 PM

About to put the summer wheels on. I'm about to pull the trigger on the spacers I need. More recent thinking is to get square spacers--either four 12mm's or four 15mm spacers. That way, I maintain the factory stance between front and rear.

The only question is: What would be a better square spacer set to match with OEM 220's--12 mm or 15 mm? I know some have had rubbing with 15 mm spacers in the rear. But I don't know how common that actually is.

What do you guys think the best square spacer size would be?

12-07-2012, 08:59 AM	#1
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	Aftermarket E46 M3 Wheels on E90 M3? Hey, Guys, Just made the jump from the E46 M3 to the E90 M3. I have a set of aftermarket summer wheels from the old car. I'm trying to figure out whether they'll fit [well] on the new ride. The aftermarket wheels are 8.5" F and 10" R. Also, the offsets are 35 F and 20 R. From reading on this forum, I understand that the OEM offsets on this car are 29 F and 23 R, in both the case of the 219's and the 220's. The competition 359's are 31 F and 25 R. So, factoring in these offfsets alone, the new wheels are 6 mm off in the front and 3 mm off in the rear. In theory, the wheels should fit and be spaced fairly well. Yeah? My question is whether I am accounting for everything I need to in determining fitment and ideal spacing of these wheels on the E90 M3? I plan to test fit the wheels to the car this weekend but I was curious to get people's thoughts on the general approach. TIA Last edited by gimmethemuumuu; 12-07-2012 at 06:35 PM.. Reason: Fixed incorrect OEM wheel specs
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12-07-2012, 09:12 AM	#2
Chriskm3 Colonel 59 Rep 2,186 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Toronto iTrader: (4)	Did the same jump. And wheels will fit. But u wil need spacers for te front to make the wheel flush with fender.
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12-07-2012, 09:25 AM	#3
M3SQRD Major General 2100 Rep 5,491 Posts Drives: E92 M3,G20 330ix,F22 240iX,F82 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Mid-Atlantic iTrader: (11)	You didn't list the width of your aftermarket e46 M3 wheels. BTW, the Comp (ZCP) wheels are 19x9et31 and 19x10et25.
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12-07-2012, 05:49 PM	#6
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	The offsets of this type of aftermarket wheel made specifically for the E9x M3 are 22 F and 20 R. Those wheels are 9" wide in the front but still 10" in the rear. Do you guys think that means I'm off that much more from the ideal spacing for this car?
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12-13-2012, 03:03 AM	#9
vdude Private First Class 50 Rep 159 Posts Drives: F80 M3, E90 M3, E46 M3, E36 M3 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: LA iTrader: (6)	I had the same situation as the OP (using aftermarket E46 rims on my E90). Depending on rim design, front spacers might be necessary to clear the e90 caliper (which is significantly larger than the E46). I ended up using a 15MM spacer for a flush look and caliper clearance.
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12-13-2012, 05:28 AM	#10
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	Yeah, I did a test fit this last weekend. I performed measurements before and after switching the wheels from my 220's to the aftermarket rims. With the 220's, there was 3/8" clearance from the outside edge of the wheel to the inside edge of the wheel well in the front. In the rear, there was 7/16". With the aftermarket wheels, the front again measured 3/8" but the rear was dead flush Performing calculations, I determined that 3/8" is probably closest to 10mm and 7/16" is nearly 12mm. Conservative spacing would then have me put a 10mm spacer in the front with the aftermarket wheels and none in the back. Also, if I wanted, I could run a 10mm spacer up front and 12mm in the back with the 220's. Of course, a more aggressive spacing could change these numbers to 12mm up front with the aftermarkets and 12/15 F/R with the 220's. So, what do you guys think? Does the more conservative or the more aggressive spacing sound like it would be a better fit/look overall? TIA Last edited by gimmethemuumuu; 04-05-2013 at 07:57 PM..
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12-14-2012, 12:59 PM	#11
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	I could post up pics if that would help people make recommendations on appropriate spacing. Just let me know
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12-14-2012, 07:57 PM	#12
Expert@ApexWheels BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 3511 Rep 6,731 Posts Drives: M3 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	The front can take a 15 or 20mm spacer for the front wheel to be pushed out as much as the rear wheel, otherwise it will be very sunken in in comparison. Since the rear wheel is 10" ET20, it will bolt on and be pretty flush with the rear fenders. __________________ 925-245-0773 /// info@apexraceparts.com Wheels /// Accessories /// Vehicle-Specific Fitment Guides /// Careers
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12-15-2012, 09:19 AM	#13
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	Any other thoughts? 15mm might work up front. However, I would think 20mm, being closer to 3/4"+, would cause the front to poke out too far, especially when compared to the rears which are flush (for the aftermarket wheels).
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12-15-2012, 10:04 AM	#14
M3SQRD Major General 2100 Rep 5,491 Posts Drives: E92 M3,G20 330ix,F22 240iX,F82 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Mid-Atlantic iTrader: (11)	Given the 10et20 rear, I'd run a 20 mm spacer with the F wheel so the F and R have a similar "aggressiveness". I'm running 9.5et22 on the F which would stick out almost 0.25" more than your 8.5et15 (35+20 mm spacer).
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12-15-2012, 10:06 AM	#15
Radiation Joe Veni Vidi Vici 89 Rep 2,750 Posts Drives: '11 JB/BBe-6sp-e90 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Macungie PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2011 e90 M3-Sold [8.50] 2003 RS6 - Sold [0.00] 2009 e90 M3 - Gone [0.00] 2003 M3 SOLD [0.00] old 2002 [10.00]	I run 9 or 9.5 inch wide fronts from an e46. Run 12mm or 15mm depending on which wheel is installed. 18 x 9.5 et35 gets the 12mm and 18 x 9 et38 gets the 15. Basically, it works out to the same set-up as running factory rears on all four corners, which is what I did on the first e90 I had. __________________ Dinan compliment of stuff plus PF rotors and RG63s. Enough for now. Why, yes. I am an abrasive bastard.
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12-15-2012, 09:32 PM	#16
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	With the higher offset spacers being suggested for the fronts (rather than the 10-12mm needed to flush 'em up like the rear wheels), I assume the thinking is that the fronts should stick out a bit more from the fenders than the rears to contribute to a more aggressive look? Otherwise, my question would be: What offset is ideal? Should the wheels/tires be just inside the lip of the fender? Just flush with the outside? My understanding is that "poke" is not generally a recommended or desirable thing. It seems that the 20mm spacer in the front with the aftermarket wheel would result in a bit of poke--yes, no? Again, thanks for your input
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04-05-2013, 10:10 PM	#17
gimmethemuumuu Captain 80 Rep 945 Posts Drives: '17 F80 M3, SO/Bk Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Indianapolis, IN iTrader: (15)	About to put the summer wheels on. I'm about to pull the trigger on the spacers I need. More recent thinking is to get square spacers--either four 12mm's or four 15mm spacers. That way, I maintain the factory stance between front and rear. The only question is: What would be a better square spacer set to match with OEM 220's--12 mm or 15 mm? I know some have had rubbing with 15 mm spacers in the rear. But I don't know how common that actually is. What do you guys think the best square spacer size would be?
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