[BMWCSRegistry] Wheels, BMWs for the fitment of

[Bill Proud]

This is a pretty good list (either to starboard or port !) of the various 
factory felgen wot phytte sundry BMWs .........it goes on for pages and 
pages !!
http://felgenkatalog.auto-treff.com/.

If you cant find it here , it hasnt been invented yet !!

Remember that BMW changed the centre-hole size on factory wheels in the 
early 90's (E32 and E34 ..7-ser and 5-ser were the first pair ) so when 
fitting to earlier cars they NEED hubcentric rings to enable them to be 
balanced properly  .............or hubcentric spacers if they're a different 
offset . DONT buy cheap non-centric spacers and then wonder why your wheels 
dont balance !! ..and DONT use stock-length wheelbolts when you have spacers 
behind the wheels , you need at least a 'diameter-and-a-half' of bolt 
extending through the wheel and spacer combo . DO torque those bolts too !!

It is a good idea to put a SMALL amount (repeat after me "small =a tiny bit 
not a bloody great glob !!")of wheel bearing grease (good and sticky !) into 
each stud-hole ......preferably before putting the bolts in !! - plus put a 
light smear of it onto the mating faces where the wheel bolts to the 
hub-face and where the stud/bolt taper fits the wheel ......it helps to stop 
corrosion between dissimilar metals, thus ensuring you can get the wheel off 
without resorting to kicking it on a cold rainy night when you're dressed 
for dinner and only have the factory (killer !!) jack and lug-wrench (you DO 
keep a disposable paper coverall suit rolled up in the spare-wheel dont you 
?? .....gloves ? ..cheater pipe that you know fits the factory lugwrench and 
clears those fenders ?) . Remember ...........If the tire-jock puts 200 ft 
lbs of twist into the bolts with his airwrench and you only have a one-foot 
long lugwrench you've gotta weigh at least 200 lbs to even have a hope of 
getting them loose ........on that factory jack ? in the rain ? dressed for 
dinner ?? ..got the message yet ??

The relationship between wheel diameter , wheel width and wheel offset AND 
tyre-width that will fit under various fenders AND clear the strut-leg on 
the inside of the tyre AND allow for full lock motion of the steering is a 
complicated one due to the angle of dangle between the strut-leg and the 
wheel-axle . It is NOT as intuitive as it might at first seem so do be 
cautious when buying stuff you cant test for fit first . Remember , just 
because a wheel without a tire will bolt onto the front strut does NOT mean 
it will when you stick a big fat gummi on it .

CHEEP WEELZ ..........those of you with 5-bolt wheels should remember that 
if you want a set of really cheap wheels -say for a set of track-only 
tires -there are LOTS of Chevy wheels that will bolt onto BMWs !! 
............there's a lot of funny looking camaros at BMW track days 
sometimes . One thing about GM wheels , they may not be pretty but they are 
always hellfer STOUT for when you take an 'off ' ...and they look great 
covered in brake dust !

This note ISNT intended to start a firestorm, just simply to relay useful 
info gleaned from 37 yrs of messing with BMWs . If you dont want to put 
wheelbearing grease on the back of your new wheels , I dont care . If you 
dont know what a smear of grease looks/feels like then you either need to 
learn or not mess with it . If you prefer to use titanium di-bongide or 
scented musk oil I dont care . This note purely and simply relays info 
regarding what I do in the hope it might help you in what you do . Nuthin 
more !!

Enjoy your new wheels .and keep them off the kerbs !!

Bill Proud , 37 yrs messing with BMWs .......and owner of a ton of wheels !!