samedi 27 septembre 2014

Answer to 245-40-18 e90 front tire fitment

Hi guys, I have been searching a lot lately for answer to whether a 245-40-18 tire will fit on the front of an e90 sedan. This is my answer: Yes, but it might depend on the tire.



CAR: 2007 335i sedan RWD

WHEEL: 18x8.5 et35

SUSPENSION: OEM Sports

TIRES: Falken 612+ (sold by tires.com; I think same as Falken 912)



MEASUREMENTS: I bought 245-40-18s for my rear wheels a few weeks ago and just today put them on my fronts to see if they would fit. They did not touch anywhere. The closest they came to touching was when the wheel was turned all the way left (or right), the outside tread edge of the tire was about 1mm front the front plastic inner wheel well cover. But it did not touch. As for the lower strut mount, I could almost fit my finger between the tire and the lower strut mount. This is a surprisingly lot of room to me. However, the only reason the tire fits is because of the curvature of the upper outer edge - tires are slightly rounded. The tire itself is actually taller than the lower strut mount and actually goes slightly underneath it (middle section width).



TEST: I went out to an empty parking lot and (had a lot of fun) turning full circle at high speed, even over bumps. I went over speed bumps, even while turning. Did a few donuts. No rubbing anywhere.



CONCLUSION: Falken 612/912s 245-40-18s will fit your e90 sedan with 18x8 or 18x8.5 wheels with et35. I am not sure all tires would fit though. The Falkens have a 8.7" tread width. My Continental DWS are much more squared off and some summer tires are even wider and more squared off. I would not try a tire with more than 9.2" tread width. (My flat finger is about 5mm).



245-35-19s: My bet is that this size Falken tire would also fit with 19x8.5 et35 rims. Again, it depends on how squared off the tire is. Any more square and you may rub on the front inner wheel well liner or lower strut mount. If you rub the strut mount, I think you could solve it with a 3mm spacer. This would be a very close tolerance.



255-40-18: I would not try it. You will definitely rub the front inner wheel well liner. You might rub the lower strut mount as well.



ET: I think any offset et31-38 would fit. Less than 31mm, you risk hitting the fender on bumps unless you dial in negative camber. Any higher than 38mm and I think you are going to hit the lower strut perch.



9/9.5" rim: Too close for comfort for me. A 9" rim might work because it is not really the rim that will hit anything. However, the tire will stretch out further on this rim and could hit the lower strut mount.



LOWERING SPRINGS/COILOVERS: I do not think they would pose a problem. There is plenty of room above the tire. The least amount of room is with the front inner wheel well liner. The next closest touching point is the lower strut mount. Coilovers with a wider diameter than stock lower strut mount would pose a problem.



Hope this helps!



p.s. the 245-40-18 tire looks meaty and fat in the front - I like it a lot. It is actually 1" greater diameter than stock 225-40, which eats up a lot of the wheel well space. It is akin to lowering your car .5" in terms of space. More forgiving on crappy roads too. Not for everyone, but good for me.



Chris




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