tyre rubing on strut

blackbirdxx · Post by **blackbirdxx** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:10 pm

Hi,

I sometimes have a very slight front wheel rub on my 1987 E24, noticeable sometimes whilst driving through a bend where the tyre very slightly touches the strut.
On the front I have 8J 17â€™â€™ style 32 alloys shod with Continental 235/45 tyres fixed using plastic spigot rings. Not sure of the offset but Iâ€™m sure the wheels are less than 20mm. They are supposed to fit an E24 with no spacer rings so Iâ€™m guessing they were from an E39 based on the fact that they require spigot rings.

My question:
I was hoping not to have to use spacer rings but its looking increasingly likely that I may have to on the front. Can anyone help me decide what ring I need? Will a 3mm hubcentric ring be OK or will a basic spacer be enough and still allow the wheel to sit on the hub lip? Also, can I avoid using longer lugs if a narrow spacer is all that I require.

Thanks to anybody who can assist...

Ralph in Socal · Post by **Ralph in Socal** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:39 pm

wfwright2 wrote:I think the issue is a tire that is a bit too wide.

I think a 3mm spacer will eliminate the occasional rub and be thin enough to allow use of original bolts.

Most wheels are marked with the offset (et__) to be sure, some of the stock wheels are et22 - 23 which would give the issue with wider tires.

Very possible as I have experienced the same. A specific brand of tire will rub yet another brand will not - both the "same size at 235/45". Also agree that the 3 mm spacer will not need to be hubcentric but I would consider using 5 mm longer bolts to make sure no problems come up later.

Ralph

GazM3 · Post by **GazM3** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:09 pm

That's very true that some brands are significantly wider than others.

Perhaps just chage the front to 225/45 or use a spacer but with anything less than 12mm you can't get them in hubcentric which will most likey give a high speed shimmy through the front wheels which is very annoying.

Back some time ago I had an e28 that needed 5mm spacers and one I tye American companies (turner Motorsport / vac /Ireland eng (sorry can't remeber) had a hubcentric dust cap specific for running a 5mm spacer. Had no shimmy whatsoever but by the time u buy spacers ad these caps some different tyres would cost about the same. I didn't have that option as it was the rim that was fouling not the tyre.

sharkfan · Post by **sharkfan** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:04 pm

I have 235/45x17's on the E39 Style 32's on my 1985 M635 with no rubbing at all but the tyres are Vredesteins.

I say that as I have just bought some 275/30x19 Michelin Pilot Super Sports to replace the same size Vredestein Sessantas on my E39 Alpina alloys and side by side the Michelins are a good inch wider.

Edit; And you can get hub-centric spacers down to 10mm - I have some.

Chris Wright · Post by **Chris Wright** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:32 pm

wfwright2 wrote:I think the issue is a tire that is a bit too wide.

I think a 3mm spacer will eliminate the occasional rub and be thin enough to allow use of original bolts.

Most wheels are marked with the offset (et__) to be sure, some of the stock wheels are et22 - 23 which would give the issue with wider tires.

Do check the offset .... the 7-Series wheels are ET23 and the tires generally rub.

GazM3 · Post by **GazM3** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:57 pm

sharkfan wrote:I have 235/45x17's on the E39 Style 32's on my 1985 M635 with no rubbing at all but the tyres are Vredesteins.

I say that as I have just bought some 275/30x19 Michelin Pilot Super Sports to replace the same size Vredestein Sessantas on my E39 Alpina alloys and side by side the Michelins are a good inch wider.

Edit; And you can get hub-centric spacers down to 10mm - I have some.

Yes I have had 10's before but there is no meat on the ring section where it connects to the body of the spacer and they snap off. That's why I stated 12mm as min.

Btw what are the super sports like. I need to replace the continental sc3's shortly.

ericono · Post by **ericono** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 1:58 am

I've had the same issue and because of the reasons listed above I wanted to have hubcentric spacers. I also wanted as little offset increase as possible and found these (10mm) from Rogue Engineering and have been very happy with them. They come with the longer lug bolts as well and are very well made. Here's a link:

http://www.rogueengineering.com/rogue/WH/WSPACER.html

Good luck,

Eric

sharkfan · Post by **sharkfan** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 9:32 am

GazM3 wrote:

Btw what are the super sports like. I need to replace the continental sc3's shortly.

Not sure yet - they aren't on the car yet.

blackbirdxx · Post by **blackbirdxx** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:09 pm

Thank guys,
The wheels are def E39 (stamped 1092961) with 20mm offset. I may just try 3mm spacers assuming that the tyres are a tad wide.

blackbirdxx · Post by **blackbirdxx** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:55 am

Hi,
I know nothing about spacers. Do they have to be E24 specific or will any BMW 5 stud spacer be OK. If I am currently using plastic spiggot rings how do these work with the new spacers? Does the spacer central ring size have to match the wheel hub size?
thanks