Fitting E39 528i Style 32 wheels to an E36

blaze94

///Member
I know someone on the forum has this set up. I can get these wheels finally after a year of searching. Will i need to make any modifications to fit them?

bmw_wheel_032.jpg
 

Uber Soldat

///Member
Those are kick ass wheels.

Some problems when putting 5 series wheels on a 3 series are:

Offset (how far the wheel sticks out) - The offset of the E39 wheels are in the 20-25mm range whereas the E36 starts at about 40mm.

Centre bore - The E39 has a 74.2mm while the E36 is 72.6mm. You will have to get a hub centric ring so the wheel will sit flush and not wobble.
 

SlowMo

Active member
Uber Soldat said:
Those are kick ass wheels.

Some problems when putting 5 series wheels on a 3 series are:

Offset (how far the wheel sticks out) - The offset of the E39 wheels are in the 20-25mm range whereas the E36 starts at about 40mm.

Centre bore - The E39 has a 74.2mm while the E36 is 72.6mm. You will have to get a hub centric ring so the wheel will sit flush and not wobble.

Agreed, its not a direct fit. Why not get the E36 style 32's? E46's also came with them, but I think in 16" IIRC. E46 style 32's will also work nicely I would imagine.

The correct wheels for the E36 in 17" is ET41 offset and these come in staggered as well, 7.5j front and 8.5j rear.

Awesome awesome wheel.

a pic of mine...

116owgm.jpg
 

Gizmo

Banned
Fronts are 8Jx17, rears are 9Jx17. You gotta roll your rear fenders and run stretched tires. But it looks DOPE!!!

blaze94 said:
What would the effect on the tachometer be?
None if the tire diameter stays the same.
 

nazzeem

Member
Nightmare

I bought 4 of these rims. I think they are Storm Racing Alpine. The mechanic I got them from said it came off a E36.

They were damaged a bit with many pavement pounding etc. I had them fixed up at the local mag repair.
Then I managed to find 4 good used Conti Sport Contact 2 225/45/17.
It was time to fit the wheels. Then I discovered the center bore is to small. It was not 72.6mm. I was recommended to get some spacers. After trying this I found the wheel bolts was too short. Then the tyre experts mentioned that spacers is not really a good idea and the proper way to do it was have the center bore in the mag made bigger. I took the rims to the local engineers and they made it bigger according to the spec.
Then I had the tyres fitted and balanced (again). As they tyre guys were busy fitting the wheels, it was discovered that the holes are slightly off. So the PCD was not 5x120 (E36). The mag is slightly smaller maybe 5x112 (Audi A4, A6, A8). So I am assuming for now that the mags cam off a Audi.
The engineers told me they can make new holes on my hubs with the correct PCD.
I am now thinking about if I should spend more money on making these mags fit. I am a bit concerned of what my next problem will be. Maybe wheels touching fenders etc.

Any advice would be appreciated

image-D335_4E896AC5.jpg
 

Raybimmer

New member
Better to sell , holes can be welded closed and new holes drilled -will welding be safe at high cornering speeds ?
 

ver328i

Well-known member
the wrong offset one looks better but you sacrifice ride comfort. Ask me how i know. Im rocking 9J rears with et22 and 8J fronts with et20 ALa 5 series fittment on my 328. Even after rolling the inner arch lips, it rubs, the wheels are never properly centered because of the larger bore and it rubs...lol

still looks good though:thumbs:
 
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