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Originally Posted by DSCPLN
I've searched the 1M forums for hours on end for the past few days.. with no luck. The topic of ideal Tire/Wheel setups seems to be a never-ending debate among the 1M community here.
This is somewhat of a unique inquiry/objective, so let me clarify:
Objective: I know I'm really limiting myself by staying OEM, but I want to maintain the BMW 1M OEM look as much as possible - keeping the Style 359 19" wheel setup - while giving the car better grip when putting power on turns. I can entertain the idea of ordering an extra set of rear OEM wheels to replace the front, but I'm not sure about its fitting.
Current Setup:
(2) Front Wheels - 19x9" ET31 (25.4 LBS, 31mm offset) - BMW Part # 36-11-2-284-055
(2) Rear Wheels - 19x10" ET25 (26.6 LBS, 25mm offset) - BMW Pat # 36-11-2-284-060
on Michelin Pilot Super Sports: Front 245/35-19, Rear 265/35-19
What are your recommendations?:
Staggered vs. Squared? Tire Size Setup?
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I have run the following setups.
A- stock 19" - 20 mm OE staggered setup (245 front/265 rear)
B- stock 19" - 30 mm staggered setup (245 front and 275/30/19 rear
C- 275/35/18 square setup
D- 285/30/18 square setup
E- aftermarket 18" - 30 mm staggered setup (285/30/18 on 18x10 front and 315/30/18 on 18 x10.5 rear)
From my experience using the above.. (IMHO) unless you are competing, a square setup is best for the following reasons
1- chassis has inherent understeer - more tire and/or camber plates needed up front
2- rotating wheels and tires at all 4 positions helps trememdously with wear
3- if you do swap tires, being able to grab any wheel and put it on any corner is always nice
The OEM wheel and 265/35/19 tire from the rear WILL fit on the front of the car. The tire will rub the front fender liner in parking maneuvers... not sure about with the revised inner fender liners. It's a minor rub. I didnt drive this way for a long time, but i did drive more than a hundred or so highway miles. If you wanted to remove any rubbing issues you could perhaps use the 10" wheels from the rear and run a little narrower tire like a 255 up front.
As a matter of fact.. I really wonder why BMW bothered to put different wheels and tires on the car... ?
My ANSWER (to my own rhetorical question) - A: to create understeer so that less drivers crash the car!
Owners of the E36 M3, E46 M3 and E90 M3 and have been taking apart staggered setups to make them into square setups for the last several decades. Most commonly.. drivers of these other M3 models would buy a set of stagered wheels and sell off the set of four " fronts" giving them a setup with 4 "rear" wheels. And of course, the original M3.. ( the E30 M3) came from the factory with a square setup.
The only reason that I can think of for a wider rear tire is to reduce wheelspin at the rear. On the E30, E36, E46 and E90... there is never really an issue of the motor completely overpowering the rear tires. However.. with the torque from turbos in the 1M and now the new M4... Stock cars can still spin the rears easily... let alone cars with a tune.. so a 285 or even 295 tire can help put the power down. If you are competing for time... then you likely will want to maximize grip.. therefore a larger rear tire will help.
A big reason to go with aftermarket wheels is that you can fit a larger tire up front.. A 275 or even a 285 will fit on the car on an apex ARC-8 wheel (18x 10, ET 22) Not sure about 19... but a 275/35/18 or even 285/30/18 can fit all around.
A second big reason to go with aftermarket 8" wheels is that more " R" tire sizes are available in 18" sizes, and they are cheaper than their 19" counterparts. mattm has fit 19" hoosier tires... and Petevb has fit 19" Michelin pilot Sport cup 2.... the pirelli Trofeo R is an option outside the US.
Aside from minor fitment issues.. there's no reason to not do do the same as many E36 and E46 owners and source OEM rear wheels and put them on the front.