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07-29-2014, 07:33 PM | #1 |
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17 inch wheels too small for a street setup?
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 |
07-29-2014, 07:51 PM | #2 |
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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
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07-30-2014, 12:13 AM | #4 |
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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. |
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07-30-2014, 12:53 AM | #5 |
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Black Wrapped Roof, BFG Rivals, Dinan Camber plates, M3 Steering wheel, Matte Black kidney Grills, H&R Sport springs,
Sparco assetto gara,Pagid sport Brakepads,STOPTECH Slotted Rotors, DISA STG3,EURO BOX Last edited by kobeballer96; 07-30-2014 at 01:24 AM.. |
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07-30-2014, 01:02 AM | #6 |
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Black Wrapped Roof, BFG Rivals, Dinan Camber plates, M3 Steering wheel, Matte Black kidney Grills, H&R Sport springs,
Sparco assetto gara,Pagid sport Brakepads,STOPTECH Slotted Rotors, DISA STG3,EURO BOX |
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07-30-2014, 04:24 AM | #8 |
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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? Last edited by MBan; 07-30-2014 at 04:26 AM.. Reason: Typos! |
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07-30-2014, 06:20 AM | #9 | |
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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. |
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07-30-2014, 09:16 AM | #10 | |
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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...
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07-30-2014, 12:12 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
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07-30-2014, 12:14 PM | #12 |
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07-30-2014, 12:24 PM | #13 |
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07-30-2014, 02:08 PM | #15 |
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17"s look functional, which is always awesome/looks good.
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07-30-2014, 02:11 PM | #16 |
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07-30-2014, 07:11 PM | #17 | |
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And in terms of ride height, I was more referring to having to crab over speed humps, etc. |
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07-30-2014, 07:21 PM | #18 |
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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. |
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07-30-2014, 07:29 PM | #19 |
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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
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07-30-2014, 08:05 PM | #20 | ||
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Coupled with the right tire and suspension you can be a tricycle all day long. Quote:
Worn Z2s on the left, new RS3s on the right. You can see both are almost essentially square: |
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07-30-2014, 08:24 PM | #21 |
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^^ 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.
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07-30-2014, 08:29 PM | #22 | |
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