[skifaster]

Will 17" wheels fit over the stock brakes on the 340i?

[NYG]

M Brakes require 18" minimum, I think.

[.BMW.]

17" OEM F30 wheels fit over grey standard brakes!

[Skyhigh]

With grey standard brakes - yes.
Question is why.... looks horrible. And that on a 40i...

[Gen13 F36]

Lowrider.... add white sidewall tires

[Machinebuilder]

For winter tire setups it is the recommended size with 225/50-17 square tires. It is usually used for winter or bad road areas but with good quality tires it will work fine and be comfortable.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by skiwhmts

For winter tire setups it is the recommended size with 225/50-17 square tires.

+1. The more rubber and less metal between the car and the road the less the likelihood of pothole damage to both tires and rims. Larger rims with shorter sidewall tires look nice, but they're not practical. Looks sell, practicality doesn't.

[Skyhigh]

Recommended by whom? 👀
The smaller the rims, the more comfortable the ride. But 17" are just too small (aesthetically) for F3x. And the soft ride contradicts a sporty engine.

I drive on 18s in the winter. Wouldn't go lower.
Comfort is good. I am sure it can be even better with non-RFT tires

[Billfitz]

I can pretty much tell the age of the posters by the responses. The first car I had that came with 17s was my 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS. It came with summers, and I was stuck using them for the first winter, because at that time there were no 17 inch winters or even all seasons other than truck tires. That's 17s, gentlemen. 18s were still over the horizon.

[Skyhigh]

I doubt you can, but you can certainly tell how much people (of different ages) care about their vehicles.

P.s. My Audi has 17" for the winter and that's perfectly fine. Different car, different looks. And my colleague's 650i looks a bit silly even on 19".

Bottom-line: don't compare with a 20 year old Mazda please.
P.s. sorry - Toyota.

[Skyhigh]

I stumbled upon some photos of a 3-series with 16". Even more comfortable... I guess 🙄

[MmmmmM2]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

I stumbled upon some photos of a 3-series with 16". Even more comfortable... I guess 🙄

That's....

[Machinebuilder]

Skyhigh........check out Tirerack.com's package 17" Package
Tires: Michelin Alpin A4 ZP
Wheels: Sport Edition F12 or equiv.
BMWNA recommends the same. I totally understand you can also run 18" inch if you prefer but he asked if he could use 17" and yes he can.

[skifaster]

Love the replies, thanks!

Originally Posted by skiwhmts

For winter tire setups it is the recommended size with 225/50-17 square tires. It is usually used for winter or bad road areas but with good quality tires it will work fine and be comfortable.

^^ This. Is the reason I asked about 17's, not because I'd want to uglify a nice 340 Thank you White Mountain skier!

And FWIW, here's another benefit to running smaller wheels in the winter. When you're out drifting and doing donuts in unplowed parking lots the reduced clearance with the brakes means less snow gets packed onto the inside surface of the wheel. I know from experience. Quick tip from a former Subaru driver there...

[Skyhigh]

Go 16" then. You'd be the star of the drift, guaranteed. And no snow on the inside.

[lacrimarum]

Went for 205/60 16 for winter setup. Don't care much about the looks as the car always looks ugly in winter being covered with salt and dirt. Care even less about crappy roads, potholes, prices on new tires etc. Ride smoothness and road noise are much better than on summer 18s, handling is naturally much worse, but I don't need it much on the roads covered with slush and ice.
Narrow tires also provide better grip and traction in snow and on ice.

[Skyhigh]

Originally Posted by lacrimarum

Narrow tires also provide better grip and traction in snow and on ice.

Common misunderstanding. Not true. Narrow tires provide better grip in snow (and mainly fresh snow) only. On ice it is the surface area that matters, hence wider tires, better grip.

[Billfitz]

On ice you're not going to get traction with any width tire, unless it's either studded or you have chains.

[Skyhigh]

If you don't get traction with wide tires, you certainly ain't getting any with narrow ones. Not on hard ice (e.g. ice-covered asphalt)

Try riding a bicycle on ice and see how much traction you get. Or are your ice skates wide?

[skifaster]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

Common misunderstanding. Not true. Narrow tires provide better grip in snow (and mainly fresh snow) only. On ice it is the surface area that matters, hence wider tires, better grip.

My understanding has always been that the area of the contact patch is a function of pressure inside the tire not tire width. Wider tires have a wider but longitudinally shorter contact patch which is why they're better for cornering. Narrower tires have the reverse benefits.

For accelerating and braking on any snowy surface (fresh or compacted), I still think the narrower tire has the advantage. (Within reason obviously - you wouldnt want bicycle tires...)

[skifaster]

Originally Posted by Skyhigh

Go 16" then. You'd be the star of the drift, guaranteed. And no snow on the inside.

Are you sure 16's will fit over the 340's brakes? Im pretty sure even my A4 needs at least 17's. <shrug>

[.BMW.]

Originally Posted by skifaster

Are you sure 16's will fit over the 340's brakes?

No they dont.

17" is needed as mentioned in my first reply in this thread.