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[mtechnik3]

Hopefully this clears up some questions, or concerns you might have about running OEM 219M wheels on a E90 (non LCI or xDrive). You're more then welcome to shoot me a PM, or post a question here. Tire, and wheel experts/vendors please chime in.

Info

Car Specs:
2008 E90 328i, lowered on Eibach Pro-Kit Springs, all 4 fenders are rolled to the max, and alignment is done to factory specs.

Wheel / Tire Specs:
OEM Style 219M wheels made by BBS Germany. Taken directly off of a 2008 E92 M3. Michelin Pilot Sport tires.
F: ET29 18x8.5 245/40/18
R: ET23 18x9.5 265/40/18

1. The front tires have never rubbed, regardless of how hard I drive, stop, or corner.

2. The rear tires rub only over large dips, expressway bridges major uneven road surface changes or when going up inverted driveways at an angle. (This is worse with 4 passengers.) When it's just me in the car driving on relatively flat roads, and expressways, it rarely rubs.

3. I don't have experience running this set up on the E92 or LCI E90 (rear track was incresed by 18mm overall - 8mm per side), so I can't answer questions about fitment. It may be best to contact a board sponsor, or other member to discuss fitment.

My plan to make this set up work>>

Sumitomo HTR Z III
F: 245/40/18
R: 265/35/18
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=HTR+Z+III

I'm going to miss how the Michelin PS tires handle, but these Sumitomo tires have been well praised by the BMW community, and are a good value.

1. Change only the rear tire size. I'm going to 265 width, but go with a lower aspect ratio (265/35/18). Right now the outside diameter of a Michelin Pilot Sport 265/40/18 tire is 26.35 inches. By going down to 265/35/18 the outside diameter drops about 1 inch to 25.3 inches. That one inch should give me just the right amount of clearance so I won't rub.

Also, the tires look a bit too chunky, or bulky in the rear for a non-M E90. While running 265/30/19 tires I used to have about a 1.5 finger gap in the rear. Now it's about a quarter of an inch gap.

2. Keep the same size front tires as the Michelin Pilot Sport 245/40/18 tires. Even with the increased outside rolling diameter, the car handles well, and feel planted under hard cornering.

3. Just for comparison - My stock OEM Style 161 17" front wheels with 225/45/17 tires have an outside diameter of 24.97. The new tires increase the outside rolling diamter by about .75 inches. Stock OEM Style 161 17" rear wheels with 255/40/17 is 25.03. The new tires increase the outside rolling diameter by .27 inches. This isn't too bad, and won't throw off the transmission at all.

Updates:
Post
#11: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...p;postcount=11
#17: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...p;postcount=17
#32: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...p;postcount=32
#49: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...p;postcount=49

Pics with new tires mounted:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307334
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359254
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416259

Pics of my E90 with stock Michelin tires


















You can see what the fender liner has done to the tire. Rubbed a good portion of the tire away. This is after about 3 weeks of driving. These tires have about 15% tread life left.

[teleopti]

awesome! thanks Misha!! what do you think about a 255 tire instead of 265? you would def not have an issue if you went that route.

[mtechnik3]

Originally Posted by teleopti

awesome! thanks Misha!! what do you think about a 255 tire instead of 265? you would def not have an issue if you went that route.

I don't think it's so much the 265 width that poses a problem, but rather the tall sidewall aspect ratio. I jumped from a 30 aspect ratio to a 40. Many here run 265 width tires with 19" aftermarket set ups and have no problems. In fact you might see some that choose to run a 275 width rear tire on 9.5" wheels. A 255 width tire is better suited for a 8.5" or 9" wheel, (i.e. the OEM 18" style 162 wheels, 8.5" rear wheel with 255/35/18 tires) and might appear a little stretched on a 9.5" wheel.

[teleopti]

Very cool. So the setup to go with is:

F: 245/40/18
R: 265/35/18 ( you have 19 up there)

What about those who don't have a fender roll? Will the Rears listed work or is a fender roll a must?

[SV Concepts III]

That came out real well, thanks for documenting the specs on your setup. I think the next step are upgraded brakes to work with the more aggressive wheels.

[Kennedy]

Excellent write up...but won't the Sports work in a 35 profile in the rear instead of a 40?

[mtechnik3]

Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW

That came out real well, thanks for documenting the specs on your setup. I think the next step are upgraded brakes to work with the more aggressive wheels.

Thanks - That would look really nice!

Originally Posted by Kennedy

Excellent write up...but won't the Sports work in a 35 profile in the rear instead of a 40?

Yes. The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires do come in 265/35/18. I only want to go with another tire to save money. These Mich PS2's are the best, but cost a lot to run.

[Kennedy]

Originally Posted by mtechnik3

Yes. The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires do come in 265/35/18. I only want to go with another tire to save money. These Mich PS2's are the best, but cost a lot to run.

Gotcha!!! Thanks for clearing that up....just purchased a new sparkling graphite 07 335i and looking to do the exact same thing...thanks for the inspiration!

If I went with the 35 profile think I'd still need the fenders rolled?

[mtechnik3]

Originally Posted by Kennedy

Gotcha!!! Thanks for clearing that up....just purchased a new sparkling graphite 07 335i and looking to do the exact same thing...thanks for the inspiration!

If I went with the 35 profile think I'd still need the fenders rolled?

No worries. Yes, rolling the fenders is a must. If the person knows what they're doing, and uses a professional roller (ex. Eastwood) it will not hurt the car. Hopefully you have a sedan. This set up is hard to pull off with the coupes (less room to work with in the fenders.)

I look at it this way - Right now the outside diameter of a 265/40/18 tire is 26.35 inches. By going down to 265/35/18 the outside diameter drops about 1 inch to 25.3 inches. That one inch should give me just the right amount of clearance so I won't rub. When I was running my 19" VMR V710s ET22 wheels with 265/30/19 Falken FK452 tires I never rubbed (even with passengers.) The outside diameter of a 265/30/19 tire is 25.26 inches. My only concern is the Falken's rounded shoulder versus Sumitomo's square shoulder. Hopefully I'll get the tires soon so I can report my findings. We shall see...

[Kennedy]

Originally Posted by mtechnik3

No worries. Yes, rolling the fenders is a must. If the person knows what they're doing, and uses a professional roller (ex. Eastwood) it will not hurt the car. Hopefully you have a sedan. This set up is hard to pull off with the coupes (less room to work with in the fenders.)

I look at it this way - Right now the outside diameter of a 265/40/18 tire is 26.35 inches. By going down to 265/35/18 the outside diameter drops about 1 inch to 25.3 inches. That one inch should give me just the right amount of clearance so I won't rub. When I was running my 19" VMR V710s ET22 wheels with 265/30/19 Falken FK452 tires I never rubbed (even with passengers.) The outside diameter of a 265/30/19 tire is 25.26 inches. My only concern is the Falken's rounded shoulder versus Sumitomo's square shoulder. Hopefully I'll get the tires soon so I can report my findings. We shall see...

Yep Sedan it is!!! I'm going to try and find a reputable person in the NJ area will do a sound job on the rolling. When you talk about dropping the profile by an 1" you are talking about the other tires not the PS2's correct?

[mtechnik3]

I no longer rub after installing the new Sumitomo HTR Z III tires (size are in post #1.) My next test will be to drive around with a full load, and passengers. This afternoon I drove around town on some bumpy uneven roads - could not get the rears to rub...at all. My hunch is it will not rub will passengers.

In addition the tires also look much better. The rear tires lost that "fat" beefy look. These tires are super quiet and handle well. Overall I'm very pleased.

Pics coming soon.

[David9962000]

You can go here to calculate your tire size from stock. http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

[remmib]

Those OEM Michelin tires looked huge in the e90.

[Kennedy]

Originally Posted by mtechnik3

I no longer rub after installing the new Sumitomo HTR Z III tires (size are in post #1.) My next test will be to drive around with a full load, and passengers. This afternoon I drove around town on some bumpy uneven roads - could not get the rears to rub...at all. My hunch is it will not rub will passengers.

In addition the tires also look much better. The rear tires lost that "fat" beefy look. These tires are super quiet and handle well. Overall I'm very pleased.

Pics coming soon.

Glad to see everything worked out as you had expected!!! Looking forward to pics and an updated report with a full load and some spirited driving! Job well done!

[Donia330i]

any pics yet??

[Kennedy]

Pics!

[mtechnik3]

Happy to report there is no rubbing, even with 4 passengers. I'm really impressed with these tires. The performance levels are not too far off from the Michelin Pilot Sport tires.

Here are some updated pics with the new tires installed.

[turbologist]

Very nice write up... What does a set of clean OEM 260M with tires go for?

[mtechnik3]

Originally Posted by turbologist

Very nice write up... What does a set of clean OEM 260M with tires go for?

Thanks.

I'd say between $15-1800 with OEM Michelin tires - depending on condition. Check the M3post classifieds section. For whatever it's worth you will have to get new tires though.

[turbologist]

Originally Posted by mtechnik3

Thanks.

I'd say between $15-1800 with OEM Michelin tires - depending on condition. Check the M3post classifieds section. For whatever it's worth you will have to get new tires though.

Update: Most go between $1100 - $1400 complete with TPMS and good tread on the tires.. Just grabbed a perfect set locally for that much...

[jkkh]

Absolutely gorgeous! Any chance the 260M's would fit without rolling fenders with the stock ZSP (sport pkg) springs? I'd assume the Eibachs dropped the car .5" or so from the stock ZSP height?

[mtechnik3]

Originally Posted by jkkh

Absolutely gorgeous! Any chance the 260M's would fit without rolling fenders with the stock ZSP (sport pkg) springs? I'd assume the Eibachs dropped the car .5" or so from the stock ZSP height?

Thanks.

Correct. Eibach Pro-Kit drops the Fr 1.2" and Re 1.0" on non ZSP cars. With ZSP its about .5".

They would certainly fit if you use the same size tires I did - rolling would not be necessary either. If you use the OEM Michelin tires, your rears might rub.