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[MBan]

Hi everyone,

As the title says, what do people think about using 17 inch wheels as a street setup on a 1-series coupe, from an aesthetic perspective?

I know a few people on these boards use 17s as their track wheels where the look / proportions are less important but what about on the street?

I've long been a fan of not using huge wheels but my worry with the 1-series is that the slab sides of car might make 17 inch wheels look disproportionately small. I'm running standard M Sport ride height and at this stage I'm not keen to go much lower.

I've found a rather nice set of 17s with pretty good offsets but I'm hesitating because of the size issue.

Any general thoughts would be welcome but pictures would be great!

Cheers
MBan

[chris82]

I think 17" wheels look fine. I have winters that are 17" (pictured below), and I thought they looked better than my normal 18"s. I wish Apex made a 17" wheel for us

[ShocknAwe]

I suspect Apex is done making wheels for us.

[John_01]

People who like bling wheels probably don't approve, but I'm very happy with my 2 sets of 17's (road + track).
I think 17" is fine because the wheel arches aren't so big. It looks like a factory stock 125i so its even more of a sleeper.

[kobeballer96]

My 17s





















Stock 17s

[kobeballer96]

@kgolf31 apex arc 8 17s

[Indo Rider]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I suspect Apex is done making wheels for us.

more info please, I'm waiting for apex arc-8s to be back in stock...

[MBan]

Thanks all for the replies, much appreciated

Kobeballer - seeing your car was one of the things that made me think 17s might be fine. Your car looks great! What are the specs of those wheels BTW?

But... Your car and kgolf31 are both pretty low. Smaller diameter wheels - in my humble opinion - look particularly good on a slammed car.

I'm reluctant to go much lower than how it is now. I've had low cars before and they were a pain!

Chrisar82 - is your car stock height?

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by MBan

Thanks all for the replies, much appreciated

Kobeballer - seeing your car was one of the things that made me think 17s might be fine. Your car looks great! What are the specs of those wheels BTW?

But... Your car and kgolf31 are both pretty low. Smaller diameter wheels - in my humble opinion - look particularly good on a slammed car.

I'm reluctant to go much lower than how it is now. I've had low cars before and they were a pain!

Chrisar82 - is your car stock height?

Well, couple things.

They aren't smaller diameter. They are a 245/40/17 Tire (aka proper OEM dia.)

Second, the car is low, but not slammed. It is low for a reason to reduce COG and roll center. I have higher spring rates paired with this so running a lower car doesn't have negative effects.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Indo Rider

more info please, I'm waiting for apex arc-8s to be back in stock...

Well, I wasn't implying they would stop making wheels altogether, but they seem to not be making new designs with our offsets in mind. Asked them about their new PS7 design and they said they have no plans for the 1 series.

I HOPE they continue with the ARC-8 and EC-7, but who knows? Not much money in supplying for 1 series enthusiasts anymore with the car out of production...

[chris82]

Originally Posted by MBan

Thanks all for the replies, much appreciated

Kobeballer - seeing your car was one of the things that made me think 17s might be fine. Your car looks great! What are the specs of those wheels BTW?

But... Your car and kgolf31 are both pretty low. Smaller diameter wheels - in my humble opinion - look particularly good on a slammed car.

I'm reluctant to go much lower than how it is now. I've had low cars before and they were a pain!

Chrisar82 - is your car stock height?

It's actually a little higher in that pic. I had just had it up on jacks

[chris82]

Originally Posted by kobeballer96

@kgolf31 apex arc 8 17s

KGolf did you roll your fenders? What specs of tires and offsets are they?

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Chrisar82

KGolf did you roll your fenders? What specs of tires and offsets are they?

Fronts and Rears are rolled.

Tires are Dunlop Z2s - 245/40/17 (now RS3s on same tire spec)

Wheels are APEX ARC8s 17x8.5 ET40 squared

[Fifty3bags]

I will defer to the other pictures in this thread as you aren't going for the look I am. I have 17s on the front, and I feel they are a bit small

[TheSt|G]

17"s look functional, which is always awesome/looks good.

[BrokenVert]

They dont look too small at all. in fact, I think they look great. Ive been exclusively on 17s for 3 or 4 years now

17" Summers



17" Winters

[MBan]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Well, couple things.

They aren't smaller diameter. They are a 245/40/17 Tire (aka proper OEM dia.)

Second, the car is low, but not slammed. It is low for a reason to reduce COG and roll center. I have higher spring rates paired with this so running a lower car doesn't have negative effects.

Sorry, I meant the wheel diameter. Again, it's just my opinion but there's a 'tipping point' where the diameter of the wheel with respect to the tyre height and the car starts to look out of proportion. For me, this is true of too small AND too big wheels. But of this has to do with the car as well. For instance; an NA MX5/miata looks great on 14 or even 13 inch wheels. Perhaps this is related to the side profile of the MX5 being relatively low?

And in terms of ride height, I was more referring to having to crab over speed humps, etc.

[MBan]

Chrisar82 and BrokenVert - thanks, both reassuring examples that I'm not going to regret going down the 17 inch path

Kgolf31 - do the tyres you're using run true to size or are they wider than other 245s?

My next consideration is whether the offset/width of these wheels might be a little aggressive. Fronts are 8 inch ET 40 with 225 tyres, which I think should be okay, but rears are 9 inch +45 with 255s.

[BrokenVert]

My summers are 245/40R17 Direzzas on a 17x8 et40 wheel. The Dunlop star spec is a notoriously wide tire and I rub the front inner fender on high compression bumps

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by MBan

Sorry, I meant the wheel diameter. Again, it's just my opinion but there's a 'tipping point' where the diameter of the wheel with respect to the tyre height and the car starts to look out of proportion. For me, this is true of too small AND too big wheels. But of this has to do with the car as well. For instance; an NA MX5/miata looks great on 14 or even 13 inch wheels. Perhaps this is related to the side profile of the MX5 being relatively low?

And in terms of ride height, I was more referring to having to crab over speed humps, etc.

Sorry, I'm function over form. The tires are for track and track only. The wheels are light, which results in lower rotational inertia which thus equals faster acceleration.

Coupled with the right tire and suspension you can be a tricycle all day long.

Originally Posted by MBan

Chrisar82 and BrokenVert - thanks, both reassuring examples that I'm not going to regret going down the 17 inch path

Kgolf31 - do the tyres you're using run true to size or are they wider than other 245s?

My next consideration is whether the offset/width of these wheels might be a little aggressive. Fronts are 8 inch ET 40 with 225 tyres, which I think should be okay, but rears are 9 inch +45 with 255s.

They are much wider than a typical 245. RS3s and Z2s have a square profile to them so typically a good rule of thumb is that a 245 RS3 tire equals really in reality a 255 size.

Worn Z2s on the left, new RS3s on the right. You can see both are almost essentially square:

[John_01]

^^ Those are great tires for autocross, but for road use and especially in heavy rain / wet weather, you will be better off with a more typical road tire. Most road tires will be a lot narrower for the same size which is a help to make them fit since you don't want that much front camber unless its really needed.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by John_01

^^ Those are great tires for autocross, but for road use and especially in heavy rain / wet weather, you will be better off with a more typical road tire. Most road tires will be a lot narrower for the same size which is a help to make them fit since you don't want that much front camber unless its really needed.

My summer street tires have been Z1 Star Specs for the past three years. I have 105k miles on my car and about 25 on the tires. Trust me, theyre fine in the rain if you take it easy.