[trilax59]

Hey fellow 2ers,

I am looking to upgrade my summer wheel/tire set up on my 2015 M235i with xDrive. I daily drive the car in NJ, so the roads are not perfect. About every weekend though, I take the car on back roads and drive it hard, so I'm looking for something that'll also give me good grip around turns and acceleration.

I am trying to figure out the pros and cons of 18's on the car vs 19's. As well as whether I should go with a square set up or staggered set up. Also trying to figure out what dimensions to go with. Don't know whether having smaller rims and bigger tires or bigger rims and smaller tires are better.

The suspension is stock and I would prefer to avoid having to use spacers or any other modification for fitment if possible.

Overall, I don't mind a harsher set up as long as it's still tolerable for daily driving. Really looking to find the best set up for performance while still being able to daily drive it.

Any and all help/advice is appreciated.

Best,
Ryan

[Maynard]

just my opinion: 18" square is best if you are replacing wheels, but not worth the cost if you have staggered wheels you want to keep. I think that 19's are more for looks, somewhat worse for performance (heavier) and much less durable on bad roads (and to me, a bit too spindly looking on a 2'er). Square vs. staggered depends a lot on whether you are definitely buying new wheels - the potential benefits of either are modest, and don't seem to be worth the cost of new wheels. I'm skeptical that an extra 20mm of section width is significant other than in full track use, where you will be eating front tires for lunch (thus replacing rears before fronts are worn). If you are buying wheels, then for x-drive a square setup has the advantage of permitting rotation to even out wear, since you replace worn tires in sets of 4. FWIW, I'm running stock staggered wheels w/ Conti extremes for summer, 17" square winters, and contemplating 17" square track set.

[wntrsnowg]

19" are going to be too harsh and if your roads are bad you are much more likely to get tire/wheel damage, more expensive tires, lower performance because more weight and bad weight distribution.
I'm considering running 17" all year because of better ride quality, square 235 wheel setup (possible 245) for rotation compatibility, better handling and acceleration performance, cheaper tires, quieter. Seems like all pluses with the only minus being subjective on appearance.

[NOT2DAY]

I personally fall into the camp that prefers a square setup for closer to neutral handling characteristics & the ability to rotate tires.

Assuming I keep the stock suspension, I've been eyeing the OZ Leggeras in an 18x8 ET45, 245/35/18 PS 4S square setup for awhile now. There's a handful of people I've seen run this both with and without spacers on on stock suspension. The Leggeras are the second lightest 18" rims (Ultraleggera at 18.6lb vs 18.9lb without the tire) available in a square setup from TireRack that I've seen.

17" opens up a whole new world in terms of lightness and sidewall protection but I think they look just a bit too small on the 2.

My vote goes for the 18" square. Personally I think 18s are perfect for the two in terms of both form and function. Although at 8" wide, you'd be committing yourself to 245/35 at the max width of that rim size.

Hope this helps!

PS if anyone knows a 18x8.5 square fitment that's optimal for stock suspension, please let me know!

[wntrsnowg]

Originally Posted by 2thless

PS if anyone knows a 18x8.5 square fitment that's optimal for stock suspension, please let me know!

18 x 8.5 ET 35? Another forum member has the APEX FL-5 wheels that size square setup on an m235i lowered with springs and has reported some light rubbing I think.

[trilax59]

Possibly considering at square set up of 18x8 with 235 40 18.

Or

A staggered setup with:
F- 18x8 with 225 40 18
R- 18x9 with 255 35 18

Any thoughts on this performance wise?

[NOT2DAY]

Originally Posted by wntrsnowg

18 x 8.5 ET 35? Another forum member has the APEX FL-5 wheels that size square setup on an m235i lowered with springs and has reported some light rubbing I think.

Hmm, is this f22_shayan ? The fitment / aggressiveness is PERFECT imo, but not very practical for me in NY. His square setup, or cxp213 staggered setup have the best fitments I've seen so far on this forum. But I'm looking for a square setup that works at stock height and gives me room to lower and put a bigger tire on down the road.

I've been back and forth between LCA + TS, dinan spring / bumpstop vs. coilover & camber plates. The goal is just to get to a 245 or 255 square street setup, it's just a matter of the suspension bits that'll get me there. Ideally, I'd keep the camber to the minimum required, since I'm not going to see track for awhile.

I'm not going big power or lap time hunting, just want a well balanced car.

I'm just going to keep running the current wheels (VMR 810 18x8.5 ET35 225/40, 18x9.5 ET? 245/35, Michelin Pilot A/S 3+) and adaptive suspension into the ground, and cross that bridge when I get to it.

Originally Posted by trilax59

Possibly considering at square set up of 18x8 with 235 40 18.

Or

A staggered setup with:
F- 18x8 with 225 40 18
R- 18x9 with 255 35 18

Any thoughts on this performance wise?

XutvJet has a thread on 18x8 ET43. Verified that the 245/35 stock setup will fit up front on 18x8s. <- definitely check out this thread as he's got a ton of great information on tire size differences between 235/40 vs 245/35

slipp3ryching runs the exact square setup I've been eyeing as well - 18x8 ET45, 12MM spacers wrapped in 245/35s.

From what I've read, square gives you a more 'neutral' handling characteristic. Staggered allows to shove the widest possible tire in the back for off the line grip. Since you have x-drive AND like to hit the twisties, my suggestion is still square.

I think i read somewhere that going staggered on x-drive can give you a little more rwd bias feeling though, but don't quote me.

Or you can shove all that money towards an LSD . Though I actually haven't looked into how that works on xdrive.

Lol, as you can tell, i've read ALOT about the fitment / wheels / tire combos on this forum.

Good luck!

[WolfGTI]

I am running I have VMR Wheels V810 18x8.5 ET 35 with 235/40 18 in front and 18x 9.5 ET 45 in the rear with 255/35 18. I have no rubbing issues or road issues with this on stock suspension. I am in South NJ.

[VMRWheels]

Having just returned from NJ, I'd definitely recommend sticking with 18" wheels. If you're looking for something with similar specs to what's mentioned above, we offer an 18x8 ET42 V804 that weighs in at 18.5 lbs! The square setup will definitely give you a more neutral handling characteristic for performance driving.

Here are a few pics, but you can see many more F22's on VMR Wheels here!

[RotorOver]

Originally Posted by trilax59

Possibly considering at square set up of 18x8 with 235 40 18.

Or

A staggered setup with:
F- 18x8 with 225 40 18
R- 18x9 with 255 35 18

Any thoughts on this performance wise?

I'm on a similar custom set-up, wider with Dinan springs/bumps and no issues.

F- 18x8 et40 235 40 18 MPS4S
R- 18x9 et 50 265 35 18 MPS4S

That and an LSD and I don't spin tires anymore.

[trilax59]

Originally Posted by RotorOver

I'm on a similar custom set-up, wider with Dinan springs/bumps and no issues.

F- 18x8 et40 235 40 18 MPS4S
R- 18x9 et 50 265 35 18 MPS4S

That and an LSD and I don't spin tires anymore.

Are you using any spacers?

[RotorOver]

Originally Posted by trilax59

Are you using any spacers?

No spacers and no rubbing with this fitment.

[saadams95]

Hi all! I’m in the same boat, looking to upgrade from the stock wheels (18x7.5.) I was wondering if I’m it’s possible to do a 18x9.5 ET35 with the Apex sm-10 satin black wheels on a stock 2016 M235i? Someone told me that I can’t go that wide. So I also considered the Apex sm-10 in 18x9 ET30.....is this possible?

I’m looking to get either a nice flush look or slightly past the fender. No height adjustments and not looking to have any rub. What are my options as far as width goes with ET?