[bmw] Re: 318i wheels on a 528i?

[ben keyes <bkeyes1@xxxxxxxx>]

you are likely out of luck for two reasons :

1) as Mike K noted, the offset on the 16" E36 wheels
are likely to be higher than the '97 E39 is looking for.
you _can_ reduce the offset of the wheels by adding
spacers, but you have to also add longer lug bolts
to maintain thread engagement.  unfortunately this
tends to cost in the range of $125+ per axle so
it's a bit expensive & can cause hassles when you
have to change tires.

2) the hub on the E39 is unique as compared to
other BMW's.  it's a larger diameter, which means
that you _can_ use E39 wheels on other BMW's
with a small centering ring, but _cannot_ use non-E39
wheels on an E39.

there is a potential combination solution here
where you'd use a spacer with a different centerbore
on it to allow the smaller centerbore E36 wheel to
work with the E39's hub, but that seems like an awful
lot of work.   you can also look into custom stuff like
having a machine shop enlarge the centerbore on the
E36 wheels, but you're still in the same boat with the
offset issue noted above.

take a look at what sort of 16" or 17" wheels you can find
on eBay which will fit the E39 and see what you can
expect to get for the 16's you have now & then make
your decision.



Ben


Bob wrote:

> I've got a fairly new set of 16" alloy wheels with summer rubber
> purchased for a '97 318i.  I'm selling the 318i because it has been
> replaced with a '97 528i.  I'd love to move these wheels over to the
> fiver, especially since it has the standard 15" BMW alloys on it now.
>
> The bolt pattern appears to be the same.  How can I check if the
> offset is correct?
--
to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided