How "wide" are your rims now? (archive)

Chances are the rims are too narrow for mounting 225 width tires (minimum rim width of 6" needed) while 205 tires are very often mounted on 5.5" width standard equipment rims, but you'd have to check on that one.

215/50R15 is not even the right size for your application as the overall tire diameter is shorter than the OEM requirement, yielding an almost 5% smaller in rolling diameter.

Plus I'd like to point out that what you are calling a "plus 2" fitment is not even a "plus 2" per se. Increasing the width of the tire (and lowering the aspect ratio) while using the same size wheel is a "plus zero" fitment, NOT a "plus 2". In your case, a "plus 2" fitment would mean using 215/45R17 which would give almost the exact same rolling diameter as your original 205/60R15 fitment.

Just to put things into perspective, if you are looking to use wider tires on your stock rims, first thing to do is to check your wheel's width. With that info you can determine what wider tires are available to you while giving you the correct overall rolling diameter. If the wheels are too narrow and you still wanan up the size of the tires, the only thing you can do is to buy larger wheels and matching tires...

Sounds bad but I'm merely laying out the facts for you. Seems the tirerack guys are doing the same and you're biased because you "think" they are simply trying to sell you something you don't need. =)

Rgds,

Richard

'92 E32 735i
18x8" BBS RK 235/40ZR18

Hello everyone,
Just wanted to pose a message to everyone. I have a 94 325iCa (e36) and its time for new tires. Recently I began researching the different aspects of tires and sizes. I wanted to do the standard +2 size upgrade. The manufactures recommend size for my car is 205/60/15, however I would like to go with a tire that is 225/50/15 or 215/50/15. I just called Tirerack to get pricing and more tire info and the sales person ended our phone call by stating that the combo is "unsellable" for my application, citing some weight and load issues. Has anyone else experienced this before? Would running a 50 series tire ruin the car and tires like the tirenazi suggested? Anyone else running Dunlop on an e36?, do you like�em

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