18" Wheel Thread

[elmerzasty]

Front 10mm, rear 12mm:

[Booster]

Originally Posted by sraj

Nice pics, nice car...thanks! By any chance, do you also have any from the side with spacers? I'm curious to see if bringing the tires out reduces the appearance of the fender gap, especially in the front. If the tires have a rounded shoulder, as I have heard, then it certainly could make a noticeable difference (I don't have my car yet).

Much appreciated...

I do not have any other pics with the spacers... I just had 12's and 20's lying around from my X1 and threw them on...

I kept the 12's up front and will be ordering 15mm for the rear...

[Vectors2final]

Anyone add bigger rubber to their 18s?

Not having luck with my wheel search, so I'm thinking about getting some stickier tires.

[Dshady]

Anyone have pictures of tanzanite with 18s that they could contribute to the thread? I cannot find this combination anywhere.

[JoeFromPA]

I'm going to be putting 265/40/18 and 285/40/18 continental DW tires on - sometime in the spring though as my michelin PSS still have good life left on them and winter is almost here.

I can't wait to see how they look and will be adding some 12 or 15mm spacers at the same time.

18s look a tad small on this car BUT the car doesn't look right with ultra-thin rubber either. I really like either 18s with beefy rubber or 19s with upsized tires running a more significant sidewall.

Just my taste

[W///]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

I'm going to be putting 265/40/18 and 285/40/18 continental DW tires on - sometime in the spring though as my michelin PSS still have good life left on them and winter is almost here.

I can't wait to see how they look and will be adding some 12 or 15mm spacers at the same time.

18s look a tad small on this car BUT the car doesn't look right with ultra-thin rubber either. I really like either 18s with beefy rubber or 19s with upsized tires running a more significant sidewall.

Just my taste

I actually prefer the styling on the 18s myself, they look great and are super concave. Will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the upsized tires, not sure who else has done it.

Personally, I'd go 15mm all around. Some guys in the Swift spring threads did that and it looks amazing.

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by W///

I actually prefer the styling on the 18s myself, they look great and are super concave. Will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the upsized tires, not sure who else has done it.

Personally, I'd go 15mm all around. Some guys in the Swift spring threads did that and it looks amazing.

Thanks. I'm also working off the theory that because the car hooks up better in comfort suspension mode, that a slightly taller sidewall/more compliance in the tire will lend itself to hooking up better as well.

I reallllyyyyy want more traction. I don't know what others are talking about - I break traction ALL the time. And I'm not talking DSC intervention, I'm talking I feel/hear the tires spinning or my rear end steps out a few feet - and that's in MDM mode.

However, I'm in PA and I drive in 40 degrees and wet roads all the time, so an extreme summer tire isn't the right choice for me either - needs to be able to handle 40-100 degrees + rain.

[JTO24]

A guy I met at bimmerfest east had 275 and 295 (forget if 295/30 or 35) on his oem 18s, lowered that looked really good. He's a member here I just forget his user name lol

[JTO24]

Originally Posted by Dshady

Anyone have pictures of tanzanite with 18s that they could contribute to the thread? I cannot find this combination anywhere.

I will in about 2-3 weeks I have four oem rear 18x10s with 255/40 snows on them waiting to be mounted when it gets a little colder.

[W///]

Originally Posted by JTO24

A guy I met at bimmerfest east had 275 and 295 (forget if 295/30 or 35) on his oem 18s, lowered that looked really good. He's a member here I just forget his user name lol

I'd be curious to see how that looks. Can't decide between 18 and silver 19s at the moment

[JTO24]

Originally Posted by W///

I'd be curious to see how that looks. Can't decide between 18 and silver 19s at the moment

M3ANOXGREEN I think it was his car that was rocking this set-up.

[W///]

Originally Posted by JTO24

M3ANOXGREEN I think it was his car that was rocking this set-up.

In my limited research, I don't see many tire choices when it comes to going with wider tires. Would love to see what people are doing

[Hedoniste]

I put PA4 on my 18". Ready for winter!

[BeamerandBimmer]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

I'm going to be putting 265/40/18 and 285/40/18 continental DW tires on - sometime in the spring though as my michelin PSS still have good life left on them and winter is almost here.

I can't wait to see how they look and will be adding some 12 or 15mm spacers at the same time.

18s look a tad small on this car BUT the car doesn't look right with ultra-thin rubber either. I really like either 18s with beefy rubber or 19s with upsized tires running a more significant sidewall.

Just my taste

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

Thanks. I'm also working off the theory that because the car hooks up better in comfort suspension mode, that a slightly taller sidewall/more compliance in the tire will lend itself to hooking up better as well.

I reallllyyyyy want more traction. I don't know what others are talking about - I break traction ALL the time. And I'm not talking DSC intervention, I'm talking I feel/hear the tires spinning or my rear end steps out a few feet - and that's in MDM mode.

However, I'm in PA and I drive in 40 degrees and wet roads all the time, so an extreme summer tire isn't the right choice for me either - needs to be able to handle 40-100 degrees + rain.

If you're looking for more traction don't go with the DW. I put a set on my 19s and they are nowhere near as good as the PSS.

I'm picking up a set of 513s in a week or so and am investigating what tires I want to put on.

[Worm25]

[stranger]

does anyone know if forgestar f14 in 18" will clear standard calipers?

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by BeamerandBimmer

If you're looking for more traction don't go with the DW. I put a set on my 19s and they are nowhere near as good as the PSS.

I'm torn on this as well and it's a valid point. The problem is that there is only one tire available in 265/40 and 285/40 18". Conti DW.

My previous experience is that it's 95% of the dry and wet traction of a standard PSS. I am assuming - assuming - that it would actually be better than our stock PSS when taken into account the substantial increase in width and rubber-on-the-road.

FWIW, there ARE PSS available in 275/295 35 18" but that's a much wider tire on the same size rim. It's also 6mm shorter (1/4") of a tire than stock front and back - so it's going to create more gap in the wheel wells and increase gearing slightly.

IDK, might be worth it....

[Lojs]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

I'm torn on this as well and it's a valid point. The problem is that there is only one tire available in 265/40 and 285/40 18". Conti DW.

My previous experience is that it's 95% of the dry and wet traction of a standard PSS. I am assuming - assuming - that it would actually be better than our stock PSS when taken into account the substantial increase in width and rubber-on-the-road.

FWIW, there ARE PSS available in 275/295 35 18" but that's a much wider tire on the same size rim. It's also 6mm shorter (1/4") of a tire than stock front and back - so it's going to create more gap in the wheel wells and increase gearing slightly.

IDK, might be worth it....

Sorry, but what "substantial increase" are you talking about? +3,6%?
275/295 are still a safe size for stock wheel width, however i would not go any wider.
And 6mm shorter tire? are you kidding me? that is 3mm of additional (vertical) wheel gap. Given that a wider tire fills the gap sideways more, you must be a fighter pilot or some brain surgeon to notice that.

[Lojs]

Here is my track setup.

Square (i.e. 4x) rear 18x10 OEMs with 285/30R18 Michelin Sport Cups.
The tire is significantly shorter than stock (49mm on the rear axle), which means a 1 inch lower ride height and a 1 inch bigger wheel gap. I have no ESP issues either on the street or on the track (where I drive either in MDM or fully off, depending on my level of experience on a particular track). The speed reading is obviously off (~8%), as is the cars mileage after a while.
The short sidewall and the wider front tire is a tremendous improvement in handling and braking. The possibility to rotate is another obvious advantage. The particular size is popular with Porsches so the tire choice and pricing is good here in Europe.

The rear sits pretty much the same as stock (after all it is a stock rear tire), tire width increase is insignificant. The fronts required a 15mm spacer to clear the struts. I have a feeling you cant go any other size of spacer, as on the inside the little whiskers on the tire sidewall already leave a mark on the strut (i.e. less than 5-6 mm clearance) and the outside is perfectly flush. Also at full steering lock there is a comfortable ~0.5 inch of clearance to the wheel well. A 285/35 sidewall tire would probably have trouble clearing.

Sorry for the crappy pic, but its the only one I have, and now the wheels are off for the winter.

[W///]

Originally Posted by Lojs

Here is my track setup.

Square (i.e. 4x) rear 18x10 OEMs with 285/30R18 Michelin Sport Cups.
The tire is significantly shorter than stock (49mm on the rear axle), which means a 1 inch lower ride height and a 1 inch bigger wheel gap. I have no ESP issues either on the street or on the track (where I drive either in MDM or fully off, depending on my level of experience on a particular track). The speed reading is obviously off (~8%), as is the cars mileage after a while.
The short sidewall and the wider front tire is a tremendous improvement in handling and braking. The possibility to rotate is another obvious advantage. The particular size is popular with Porsches so the tire choice and pricing is good here in Europe.

The rear sits pretty much the same as stock (after all it is a stock rear tire), tire width increase is insignificant. The fronts required a 15mm spacer to clear the struts. I have a feeling you cant go any other size of spacer, as on the inside the little whiskers on the tire sidewall already leave a mark on the strut (i.e. less than 5-6 mm clearance) and the outside is perfectly flush. Also at full steering lock there is a comfortable ~0.5 inch of clearance to the wheel well. A 285/35 sidewall tire would probably have trouble clearing.

Sorry for the crappy pic, but its the only one I have, and now the wheels are off for the winter.

You must have been on that Nurburgring video at that gas station. I was wondering what your setup was. This is good info, thanks for sharing.

[M3ANOXGREEN]

Originally Posted by W///

I'd be curious to see how that looks. Can't decide between 18 and silver 19s at the moment

275/295 on 18 lowered hR SS

[Lojs]

Originally Posted by W///

You must have been on that Nurburgring video at that gas station. I was wondering what your setup was. This is good info, thanks for sharing.

Nope, never been to N-ring. Hockenheim, Lausitzring, yes.