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[jeremyalan]

New owner of 2011 135i. Everything is great, but noticing some rubbing which is strange to me considering I think I have a stock setup.

The only thing I did was take the wheel setup from a 2013 135i that the dealer agreed to change out for no extra cost.

looks like the wheels are 18s and the tires are 235/40 R18.

I am surprised - is this because someone put bigger rubber on the stock wheels? Do I need to get this rolled to solve the problem?

[ShocknAwe]

Front and rear? That's not stock. Even those 313 wheels come staggered.

[i_love_cars]

agreed. That front wheel looks much larger than stock. If that pic is a 235 tire on the front wheel, it's even more suspect - a 235 tire would almost surely look less stretched than this one does on a correct factory front wheel for the 135i. Looks like there are a couple degrees of stretch on that tire. It's not huge but it does seem noticeable to me.

I'd pull your wheel off and check the stamping on it for dimensions.

[jeremyalan]

Yes, these are on both the front and rear. I made the assumption since they were on a 135i that it would just fit the 135i. I guess I was wrong there.

I am out of town until Friday, I'll pull the wheel then and check the size, I wasn't able to find the marking with it mounted.

Do i just need to find a different wheel altogether?

[MightyMouseTech]

The stock 18" size for the front is 215/40/18. What you have is quite a bit larger in diameter.

And if you have the same size tire front and rear, what are the rims? The rims should be staggered. Did they put the rear, wider rims on the front?

Also, the rear tires should be 245/35/18.

Dealer really messed it up.

I would go back and get them to put the proper tire sizes on to start.

[Esteban]

Stock size wheels and tires:

Front wheels 18x7.5 Front tires 215/40/18
Rear wheels 18x8.5 Rear tires 245/35/18

[jeremyalan]

Thanks for all the additional info. I didn't check all the way around the car, which I should have done - but the wheels may not be mounted in the right spot since it does seem that the rubbing is only coming from one side. I'll check this on Thursday when I return... appreciate all the help.

[ShocknAwe]

+1 to rears mounted on front. You shouldn't rub up there with a 235 width on stock suspension with a 18" (front) BMW wheel.

[jeremyalan]

first of all - i did verify that the same size tire and wheel is all the way around, 235/40 on 18" wheels. I didn't pull every tire, or any tires so i didn't verify the width, yet. also, i am not sure there is lots of stretching here either, but maybe - i'll pull the wheels and take a closer look soon.

It is clear that the rubbing is only coming from one side - and it seems that it is only coming from one wheel after a much closer inspection.

Based on the photos below and the visual inspection, it looks like the rubbing is coming from where the metal meets the plastic bumper only on the drivers side and it appears that joint is pushed in, where it isn't on the other side. So- based on what I am seeing, it appears that the wheels really aren't and issue and this is some body work that needs to be done to sort this out.

Below you can see the left side - rubbing and the right side - not rubbing is pushed in slightly on the left and not on the right. going to check with the body shop on this and get the paint buffed out while there.

[ShocknAwe]

That's not your problem.

[jeremyalan]

So, took all the wheels off. All at 18x8.5 as shown in the photo.

With the tires I have mounted, my diameter is .63 bigger in the front and .65 bigger in the rear than stock. Obviously the front is an inch wider over stock. I guess I don't know if that is truly more than the car can handle.

Went the tape/wax crayon method throughout the underside of the car to see where actual rubbing was occurring and it appears so far to only be in the one spot that I have noted.

So now that I have all the data, should I just give up on these wheels and tires?

[jeremyalan]

lastly, based on the part number on the wheel, this is what looks like is on there:

http://www.bmwetk.info/parts-catalog...81/36116791999

[135]

Your problem starts with the wheel. Those are E9x rear 313 wheels with an ET37 (offset) - denoted by the "IS37" stamping. With the original wheels being 18x7.5 ET49 front and 18x8.5 ET52, there is a 25mm difference in offset for the rear wheels and 22mm difference for the front! That's not to say that an ET52 is the centreline for your rear wheel well - it's probably at least ET58 (which is why you see a lot of aftermarket rear wheels with an offset equal to, or around, this). The increase in OD doesn't help either, although it is no different to a 265/35/18 tyre, which can fit on the rear - it can be more of an issue on the front with clearance of the oil cooler cover/grill and guard/bumper tab when at full lock.
That being the case, it is still possible that those wheels could fit with a 235/40/18 tyre but will depend on a number of factors, e.g. tyre shoulder profile, you may need rolled guards and possibly quite a bit of negative camber dialled in using camber plates. For a standard car, these wheels could be considered an extreme fitment.

What tyres do you have? They look like Continental ExtremeContact DW, which have a section width of 241mm/9.5" on an 8.5" wheel.

You asked if the guards need to be rolled. From that, I take it that your guards are currently unrolled (or you believe that to be the case). Can you measure the lip width, i.e. imagine the guard lip is an "L" where the vertical is the outer facing guard and the horizontal is the lip that extends inwards - measure the horizontal, from the outer face, preferably using a set of vernier calipers.

If you want to persist with these wheels and tyres then you should take (or learn how to take) all the necessary precise measurements to check your clearances (e.g. lip, upper inner guard, inner body and, for the front, struts/coilovers and lower spring perches). It's the only way that you're going to be able to determine if a proposed wheel/tyre combination will fit. Your current fitment issues are going to revolve around the lip and upper inner guard.

Another idea is to go back to the dealer and check the other 135i to see if it had any modifications, e.g. guard rolling, suspension. A wheel/tyre combination that fits one car is only a guide as to whether it will fit another car of the same make and model - there are no guarantees.

If the dealer fitted those wheels to a car that they sold you then I would be making a claim against the dealer for any rectification work as they obviously don't understanding the implications of fitting non-standard, albeit BMW factory, wheels.

[jeremyalan]

Thanks everyone for the help with this, but it seems all things considered, it will be best to just go back to the original setup - which i believe is completely stock. I still like the look of the wheels that are on it... but I am tired of this struggle already.

Attached a photo of the car with those wheels as well. if anyone sees something strange about this, let me know.

thanks again for all the help.