RE: <E36> A little confused about my new wheels/tires

[dahermann@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

>In response to my question #2, anyone with 18's on their E36, please get
>back to me and tell me what you think of them.

well, ride comfort is always a subjective thing and you really have to
experience it for yourself.  all other things equal, though, 18" wheels
will have a harsher ride than 17" wheels.  i run 18" BBS RX wheels on my M3
and the ride is more compliant than with my 17" track wheels.  the reason --
tires.  some tires are more compliant than others.  you mention that 
you're running H-rated tires on your 17s.  unless you're not interested in the
potential handling benefits of Z-rated rubber, enjoy the compliant ride you
have now.  if you upgrade to Z rubber, i'm sure certain tire brands will
provide you with the expected harsher ride.  you never mention what tire size
you're running, but given that you have an E36, it's got to be around 235/40/17
or 225/45/17.  i'm kinda' surprised that there's H-rated rubber in that size, 
but then i've never looked for it either.  if you go to 18" wheels, i think the
selection of non-Z rubber will decrease even more and you'll be forced to use
higher rated tires.

the best thing to do is find someone with the configuration you'd like and
get a ride with them.  it's not always easy to do, but anything else is 
subjective at best.

and you're right.  a grand am makes a very poor comparison to an E36. ;)

good luck,

dan
88 325is (great handling. needs better tires)
96 M3 (great handling.  needs nothing)
ex-92 325i (great handling.  would have benefited from better tires)
late model grand am (2-month rental once.  that car sux)

------------------------------