Valueguy

I want to lower my '08 GS 350 with Tanabe springs NF 210 and get new 20" wheels from MRR. The 19" wheels don't look as good as the 20" ones.

The MRR set-up is staggered. The usual set-up is 245/35 for the front and 275/30 for the rear.The front wheels are 8.5" and the rear are 9.5" The offset is 35 for the front and back.

I want a decent but firm ride. I am willing to tolerate a rougher ride for the 20" look but don't want any rubbing issues. My understanding is the GS 350 will rub with the Tanabe springs and 20" wheels with 245/35 front tires.

What are my options besides going with a 19" wheel? Someone suggested going with a 245/30 front set-up. Will this look weird? I want a very mild staggered look as I prefer my GS 350 to look "classy" and not "boy-racer."

I know very little (?nothing) about after-market tires/wheels. My bet is that I am not the only one with questions about this.

For example why are the rears 275/30 and not identical in size to the front tires? How does one decide on tire dimensions for this car?

I do not want to "roll the fender" (whatever that means) on my new GS 350.
I simply want a more sporty look to the car like my colleagues BMW 5 series and E class vehicles. The fender gap and overall height of the GS is unaccceptable.

Mesca

iTrader: (28)

The rears 275/30 are not identical because in the rear you have an extra inch of width. Using the same 245/35 for the rear would be really stretched or wouldn't fit at all. You are about in the same predicament I am, I think you should check out BobbyT01nc. He has 19's and NF210's. It looks really nice. However, I'm going to get 20x8.5 with Nitto NT555 235/35/20 and 20x9.5 275/30/20 with no drop. Hopefully there's only minimal rubbing or none at all. Take a look at the modification thread and base your thoughts on those pictures. Haha that's what I've done for the past 2 months =P

Valueguy

I have looked at thread for hours. This thread is about the tires/wheel issues.
I was thinking about going with BobbyT01nc's set-up but don't understand the tire choice. Why 245/35 vs. 245/30 vs. 235/35? It seems the rubbing is mainly up in the front. Someone suggested I could use 245/30 20" wheels in the front with Tanabe springs and have no rubbing issues. What would I use in the rear so the car looks classy?

It seems a few on this thread have used/seen many diff. set-ups as far as tire size and wheels. What set-up looks best in 20" with no rubbing? The car looks better lowered regardless of wheel size. I would rather have a 19" wheel with Tanabe than a 20" set-up with NO tanabe.

Now, why the 275/30 in the rear with the 245/35 in the front? This is the most common set-up for 19" and 20" wheels. I assume the 275 gives the rear more width for the 9.5" wheels and matches up well with the front. Any advice on this?

Can the MRR wheels be purchased non-staggered? Some web sites sell the fronts and rear wheels separately so I could purchase 8.5" width for all 4.
On the other hand, I don't want skinny tires for this car or a "weak" look.

RufRidn

iTrader: (5)

I got 245/35 on the front and 275/30 in the rear lowered with tanabe nf210. I never experienced any rubbing in the rear even with full capacity. The front rubs here and there off of dips and turns.

Mesca

iTrader: (28)

"Someone suggested I could use 245/30 20" wheels in the front with Tanabe springs and have no rubbing issues. What would I use in the rear so the car looks classy?

Well you would want to match the overall diameter as close as possible with the front and rear. So 245/30/20 matches well with 285/25/20. But then your tires are fairly thin. So if you can live with that, that set-up is pretty nice and will probably have minimal or no rubbing. Or you can always go with no staggered and even width rims all around and just get 245/30/20. Another choice is 235/35/20 275/30/20. It matches better than the 245/35 in the front but limits to your tire choices to only the Nitto NT555 I think.

Valueguy

I could live with that. Ever thought about 245/30 or 255/30 in the front to stop the rubbing? How do you think those would look with your rear of 275/30?

Valueguy

I appreciate the reply. Yes, you were the wise one that suggested the 245/30 in the front. I am really concerned my tires wouldn't hold up well with 285/20 in the rear. I suspect rim damage and tire failure is much more likely at that size (from what I have read).

A club member from Arizona posted that his dealer used 255/30 all around with a nice look and no rubbing with 20" wheels (non-staggered set-up). I prefer a staggered set-up so what would you rec. for the rears if I had 8.5" wide wheels up front at 255/30? 295/25 on the back with 9.5" wheels? Would that work?

Perhaps, 19" is the best compromise but the 20" looks so much better.

Mesca

iTrader: (28)

You can run 245/30 and 275/30 because its only a minimal difference in overall diameter of the wheel. However, the front would be a bit larger than the 275/30 in the rear. What you wanna do is take the first number, and divide it by the second. That is how thick the tires will be in millimeters. I mean alot of ppl use 245/35 and 275/30 because a lot of brands have both of those sizes. But in reality 235/35 and 275/30 matches better.

ek9vboi

iTrader: (3)

255/30 in the front will rub more. it is wider...

why not just get a custom set made for your car since you are so worried about rubbing. fronts 20 x 8 and rears 20 x 9. the front tire width will be like stock, so there should be no rubbing unless you are running some crazy offset and the rear should be fine with the exception of the offset once again.

I8ABMR

Stick to the stock diameters and you shpuld be fine. I ordered my asanti wheels with the request that they customize the offset by 4-6 mm bec the car would be lowered. The rep at asanti told me they have two different offset set ups for the car based on ride height. The most ideal sizes would be 245/30 and 285/25. I am going to run this set up with the tein springs which give a milder drop than the tanabes. I may try 275/30, but I think the 285/25 will look better. If you check out any of the BMW forums they all tend to use this set up as well and they run the same stock tire sizes

RufRidn

iTrader: (5)

The shop told me to get 245/30 in the front so It wouldn't rub, but they said it might be a rougher ride and that I can bend the front wheels easier. The rubbing is not that bad, Im already used to it.

Valueguy

Thank you all for the reply. The information was VERY helpful. Now, at the sizes mentioned what is the risk of wheel damage or tire failure for real world application? It seems that the aspect ratio lower than 35 is prone to tire damage and wheel failure at the the 235 or higher number on 20" wheels. Is this correct or am I missing something?

If I spend more than 3,000 on wheels and $1200-$1500 on tires I would like to get at least a few years out of them (the wheels anyway). How much tire wear are we talking about due to the Tanabe springs, negative camber issue and 20" wheel? What about alignment issues? Is this a 6 month ordeal like a teeth cleaning?

If I go "conservative" with 19" wheels (245/35/19" in the front and 275/30/19 in the rear) will tire wear, ride, wheel damage and alignment issues, etc. be less of a concern?

I appreciate the advice.

Valueguy

Based on my limited understanding of this issue 235/35 in the front (20" wheel) will have less rubbing issues than 245/35. Is this correct? Will the tire still appear "beefy" with this set-up? Thanks.

Mesca

iTrader: (28)

Yes that is correct, and no it won't appear beefy. when you get into XXX/40 it looks beefy, so you're good. If you go conservative with the 19's the only real difference i see is positively no rubbing(the overall diameter will be a bit smaller than the stock wheel, like a few mm). Tire wear will be the same i believe, ride would be a smidge better, and everything else should be the same. That's the only reason why I'm going with 20's. If i go with 19's the overall size is smaller than stock and i wanted to fill out the wheelwell more.

Valueguy

So what size tires are you planning with the 20" wheels? I will DEFINITELY drop the car with Tanabe springs or Eibach. Why go with one vs. the other? What about DF210 vs. NF210? More of a drop with the former?

Are you front tires going to be 245/30 or 235/35? Are your rears going to be 285/25 or 275/30?