Thanks! That's some great input! L/R clearance... (archive)

...seems to be an issue on every E28, and a while ago I said that the left side was the tight side in every case I'd seen. One responder said that his right-hand-drive E28 was tight on the right, which is the only case I've heard of.

That's a good tidbit on the spare. When I had my 15x7 bottlecaps w/ 215/60-15 tires, the spare was too tall, so I made a "mat spacer" out of 5/8" particle board cut to the exact profile of the floor and glued a circle on the center stud "hat." Man, that particle board was heavy! However, it was a good place to put stuff during an autocross if the "pit" happened to be on dirt.

Here's what I've installed on my '83 533i w/ stock suspension and the measurements I've taken.

Wheel Type: Alpina Open Lug staggered setup

Front: 16x7 et11

Tire: Bridgestone RE730 205/55/16

Approx Mounted Section Width: 8.7"

No interference problems have been noticed with the fender lips. Strut tubes aren't an issue

Rear: 16x8 et24

Tire: Bridgestone RE730 225/50/16

Approx Mounted Section Width: 9.6"

I have noted very slight interference on the left side only. My 533i has very wide 3/4" unmodified fender lips at the rear. I made measurements of both sides by putting a framing square up against the tire above and below the rim, centered over the hub. Measuring from the side against the tire to the inside of each fender lip reveals that my 533i has the dreaded offset.

Left Side: 11/32"

Right Side 7/32"

The rear suspension is offset approximately 1/8" to the left side, which is the side that rubs.

I'll be rolling the lips in the next couple of days.

FWIW: The 5th Alpina rim for the spare fits just fine in the tire well "LOL". It's the same setup as the front wheel/tire.

HTH

Rich "Euro Bumper'd & Lighted the Euro way" '83 533i

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