( car comfort ) 18 inches Vs 17 inches

[Xander]

Hey Everyone , was driving my E46 the other day and noticed that ride on the car is very stiff as am running on 18" Breyton Magic Racing rims and Michelin Pilot Sport 225 / 40 / 18. When we first purchased the car ( 3 weeks ago ) it came with this setup . Now am realising that it is actually very bumpy and driving on our Malaysian roads can be a rather daunting experience with regards to e potholes everywhere . My question would be , if i were to switch to a set of 17" rims with appropriate size tires , will there be much difference as far as driving comfort ( irregular surfaces noise transferred into cabin , road noise etc ) . I personally believe it will be quite a lot of difference . I dont really see why I actually need to have 18" rims apart from looks actually . But , hey ... it came with the car , what can I say ? But ... if it makes my ride more bearable over our road conditions , I'll gladly change them . BTW forgot to mention its a 330i with M Sport suspension standard. If I have to change them, then I'll have a set of rims up for sale . Any offers ? eheh Feedbacks and advise from all you sifu's out there will be greatly appreciated Xander

 

[safri]

bro, i'm on 18' breyton magic...no problem at all, in fact ride comfort imo better than wifey's 17' mtech rims with eibach/bilstein. you may regret changing to 17'..

 

[burn]

mine original! apa lubang pun gua bantai, except the really big ones. no need slowing down anymore. no need to worry about higher hump. no need to worry about uneven surface. no need to worry about drive shaft. no need to worry about worn out suspension. gua pernah use 18" on my jap car. serupa pening kepala. always kena scratch underneat when going thru higher hump or going thru shopping mall parking lot. then when travelling on uneven road, semua gegar, macam naik lori! now problem solve. no more worries. drive happily. no need gaya especially driving on normal malaysia road. highway, sure nice with 18"!

 

[evangel]

I drove an E36, sports springs, and bilstein (black) shocks. I had 18 inches M3 style rims, and Toyo (225, 40,18). Had it for 2 years.

Before that I had 1 year of 17" TSW and Yoko (225,45,17).

17inches? or 18inches? 17" was hard and 18" was harder. In terms of comfort, there is almost no difference. If you are at 17", you can be at 18". But, if you don't even want 17", well, then, get 15".

I hope you understand what I am saying...

Stick with 18". Just be more careful on humps, avoid all potholes.

Note: Hi y'all. Long time no see.

 

[dumeort]

I know it's bumpy.... but i think change to 17" don;t do anything different. I'm with my E46 18" AC rim. But keep in mind, with the road in our country ... What to expect ?

 

[Bavaria]

Both my beemers are on 18 inches, comfort ? no issues, perhaps u have been akin to driving pick-up trucks with 15 inch wheels. Driving a beemer is a world of a difference from driving a truck e.g a ranger.Get used to it or revert to your origins.

 

[adliz]

i'm on 19'' with bilstein coilover.. even my previous sedan with 18'' was harder.. i can also say my 19'' rides better than another forummer's 17'' with eibach.. even my dad's e60 is on 19'' as well.. ride's comfort is not an issue at all..

i think it all goes down to what suspension setup u have.. i believe tyres do play a part too.. ill be glad to let u ride in my car if we happen to meet up..

 

[dumeort]

Adliz .... I would love to meet u up then .... My e46 sound not as comfort as what u saying.

 

[Xander]

adliz ..... same ere too .... my E46 still seems too stiff to feel like a what a UDM should be like ... I'd love to see what your's is like ... BTW ... what do you all mean by Bilstein Coilover or Eibach suspension / absorbers ? Do you guys actually change your stock absorbers that came with the car ? How do you go about doing this ? And what effect does is have on the car ? A lot of Difference ?

Thanks for all the response thus far ...

Xander

 

[Bailey]

xander,

18" on the highway really good bro, very stable...........

 

[dumeort]

but my udm tyre always kena the car body when meet bump. (accidently)

 

[adliz]

oh, can.. can..

i'm on bilstein pss9.. u can adjust the ride height and hardness..

 

[Bailey]

or u shld check yr tyre size or the absorbers bro

 

[YellowMellow]

i'm on 19'' with bilstein coilover.. even my previous sedan with 18'' was harder..

Bro..

Wanna check with you.. Im sitting on M-Tech and Eibach spring.. I think my ride is hard.. Is that because of M-Tech absorber.

 

[omegaoracle]

my ride's on 18" Breyton Imagine with Blisten yellow and Eibach springs.. and its sitting very very low. the ride's quite stiff, but i like it that way.. just have to pay a little more attention and care to road and humps/bumps along the way..

I had the Mtech 17" on my e46 sedan, but i find my current 18" better suited for my riding style

 

[dumeort]

yo bro... i have one question in my mind.

Maybe i kind of noob.

With 18' rims in our UDM, if we are on the road 120km/h that show on the meter, Actually we are faster or slower than that ? By how much different ? Thankz ya.

 

[ichiwan2]

but my udm tyre always kena the car body when meet bump. (accidently)

Check the offset of the rim - wrong offset could be either way - sticks out more, kena the body, sticks in more, kena the anti-roll bar/suspension or tyre well walls.

Sounds like the offset is not big enuff (I could be wrong)

 

[ichiwan2]

yo bro... i have one question in my mind.

Maybe i kind of noob.

With 18' rims in our UDM, if we are on the road 120km/h that show on the meter, Actually we are faster or slower than that ? By how much different ? Thankz ya.

Use the tyre calculator:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

It will tell you the difference in the speedo readings.

 

[dumeort]

Well, i try to take some picture whether it's too near the body.

Thankz ichiwan for the tyre calculator but seem I still dunno how to use it.

 

[ichiwan2]

I still dunno how to use it.

What you need to know is the original size of your tyres and rim setup. Those who own your model should know what the car started out with.

As an example - from my e21

Standard tyre and rim combination - 185/70 x13

Play with the tyre sizes or rim sizes on the left hand set of figures until you get the combination that you want - need to keep the standard constant.

In your case - you just need to select the rim size first, then the tyre size that you have on now - you will then see the difference in the effect on the lower part of the page.

Good luck!