I just got my car back from my mechanic, and i was talking to him about replacing my oem rims to a bigger size. i told him i wanted to go 18" and he adviced me that 18" is too big and it will shake, and he said that i should go 17" rims. this will give me nice ride and good gas mileage as my mechanic mentioned. So, should I take his adviced and go for the 17" or i should go for 18"? anyone that had replaced their wheels, please any information would be nice and appreciated. THANKS. Joel 95, 530i
18's suck on those cars. The tires are too low profile. It kills the ride, the wheels are much heavier which increase stopping distance, decreases fuel economy, and increases 0-60 time. 17s are the largest I would put on it. I have a friend with some nice 2 piece BMW 540i rims for sale. Big, wide, and already have tires. $700OBO + shipping. Let me know if you want pics. Even if you don't want them, I still seriously mean that 18s are bad bad bad on an E34.
Ditto He's right about the 18 inch wheels. The 17 inch wheels look good on the car, and won't kill it. I'm looking at some alpina style wheels at the moment. The basketweave's are classic, but so are the alpina's. http://bdweb6847j.bluedomino.com/kopi.htm
I've had 15", 17", and now 18" on my Touring and prefer the 18's. They look great and ride fine. No wheel balancing problems (but I do balance them myself). I had 17" M5 Throwing Stars on this car for a year but always thought they looked a little small. Changed to these Style 59's and like the look better with no real loss in the ride quality. You have to choose the right tires though. Really it all boils down to what YOU like and not someone else. Like most of us you'll probably change wheels more than once before you find the combination you like. If you've haven't lowered the car yet then you might want to do that first because 17" & 18" wheels look a little strange on standard height cars. Good luck! Paul
I too have 18's on my E34 touring and have been very happy. They are OEM style 37's and I haven't had any balance or ride issues since I put them on about 18 months ago.
Paul: This has nothing to do with this thread, but I see you are an independent mechanic and in Charlottesville. Do you work on Mini? My sister lives in Charlottesville and will for at least the next 6 years. She hasn't bought a Mini yet, but she probably will in the next year. If you do work on Minis do you have a recommendation on which one she should buy? If you do work on them, I will certainly send her your way. For me I like the first generation Minis, the new ones seem to have lost some of the enthusiast edge to them. Also the body panel fit and finish seems less quality. Your thoughts? Thanks, Grant
From 15s to 17s I agree that 17s are a big as you'd want to go. I finally put OEM Style 21s on our E34. View attachment 1060 View attachment 1061
