Comfort of tyre size

[rubes72]

Hi all ! I just purchased a E38. The first thing my son said was lousy wheels, look old. Now, I contemplating on changing to 18" tyres. My question is1. What will the comfort level be as opposed to 16" tyres2. Do I need any other upgrades to maintain the comfort level.3. How will this effect the handlingMy daily ride is a e36 with 18" and it is quite hard but it is lowered with sports shocks. Hope could get some insights from all the sifus hereCheers

 

[Alex5522]

The most comfortable was the stock size as what i know, bcoz the rubber was thicker the then 18" wheel which u intent to change.

 

[astroboy]

1. dependent on the sensitivity of your butt.

2. Soften your suspension to offset the harder, less side wall rubber 18", or choose tyres with softer compound to improve comfort but with very short life span, wear out fast! i.e. PS2, Adrenalin, etc..

3. 18" since lesser side wall rubber, so lesser body roll on the tyre. Both cornering and higher speed stability improves. But if soften suspension in item 2 above, handling koyak~!

Ooo.. since 18" has less side wall rubber to absorb road shocks, your lower bushing and bearing take harder beatings and life span decreases.. :wink: Not to mention the bengkok rims..

 

[ssmann]

Very good points.

Rubes, congrats on your purchase. I went through the same dilemma with my ride. Here's what works for me, after significant investment on tyres and rims 3 times over to get the right fit.

1. Always use original rims with correct hubsize for e38. Offset should be no more than 25, preferable between 20 - 22

2. When moving from 16" to 18", ensure you keep spec of radius and tyre size. I would recommend the use of 235/50/18 Michelin Primacy LC, the best tyres I have ever used on the 38. Super quiet, supergrippen and supercomfy!! Otherwsie, the next alternative is 245/45/18. I would never use anything lesser than a 40 series on the 38, as in my experience that will severely impact ride comfort, suspension, bushes and lower arms

3. If you choose a staggered option, pls do not go more than 10JJ. You will have serious problems finding a tyre and will be a very costly affair. Staggered set up is super awesome and I love it on my 38

4. As AB mentioned, the moment you go low profile, you will compromise suspension handling. I would recommend if you go down this route, then a proper suspension set up is required to balance compromise on handling. If you choose a Titan set up, you can use your ori springs. If you choose other set ups, I am not so familiar. avoid using a sport/lowering spring on standard shocks. it will again compromise your ride

I find this site very useful as a tyre guide for the 38 http://www.meeknet.co.uk/E31/Timms_bmw_wheel_and_tyre_page.htm

 

[rubes72]

Gee.... I didn't know that much would be involved. I do agree that standard would be the most comfortable.... But are we ever satisfied with standard? FYI my butt takes a lot of the vibration that the shocks can't cope with .....hahah. But I guess the road down apart from comfort would still be superseded by estestics. I'm currently running on 40 low profile on my 36..... My butt constantly aches with our wonderful roads, so I guess I would be going for a 50 series ..... And most probably would go down the Titan road as my shock bus sings are showing some sign of wear.

Ssman, you're using staggered setup, so you have deep dish at the rear? I found one, with deep dish, but was not sure it would fit.

 

[ssmann]

Gee.... I didn't know that much would be involved. I do agree that standard would be the most comfortable.... But are we ever satisfied with standard? FYI my butt takes a lot of the vibration that the shocks can't cope with .....hahah. But I guess the road down apart from comfort would still be superseded by estestics. I'm currently running on 40 low profile on my 36..... My butt constantly aches with our wonderful roads, so I guess I would be going for a 50 series ..... And most probably would go down the Titan road as my shock bus sings are showing some sign of wear.

Ssman, you're using staggered setup, so you have deep dish at the rear? I found one, with deep dish, but was not sure it would fit.

Bro, at the end of the day, it is always a compromise to achieve what you want. If u r into esthetics than there is a completely different route, but generally at the compromise of driveability. If you go for driveability, there is likely a compromise on esthetics for e.g. if u do not wish to go below 40 series tyres, you wont be able to fit anything more than a 18".....

My set up is staggered, no deepdish for me. Deepdish is just an esthetic of the rims and ultimalety what matters is the rim size ie JJ and offset. So no issues using deepdish similar to what Yazmen and Badrul used to have on their rides

 

[rubes72]

Totally agree with you on that..... Everything in life is a compromise Sad but true. I guess 18 should be sufficient. Looks like I'll be visiting Titan too. But first to source out the proper rims. I'm currently on conti. I am however using Michelins on my 36' very quiet and nice grip. Gives you confidence.

 

[alantiong]

i am running on original 18 M-parallel with 235/50/18 front and 255/45/18 rear.. its comfy enough for me.. but my butt still feel painful as the front Michelin preceda is RM1600 per pair.. and today .. just changed the rear Primacy for RM2000 per pair..

for about 60% of that money you can get serious good tires for 17". and my E32 runs on Bridgestone Adrenallin.. and i tell you.. those are serious rubbers..

 

[YaZmEeN]

Go for 18" style 32, got one shop selling at Kota Damansara. The original look will be better, as it'll have the comfort and handling.

Do join us for the TT to get the idea how'll the rims look like to ur car.

cheers bro

 

[mizhan]

if you can live with an E36 with 18", you definitely will find an E38 with 18" more comfortable.

 

[rubes72]

So will see you guys at the TT, and decide.... Cheers guys, and thanks

 

[ssmann]

i am running on original 18 M-parallel with 235/50/18 front and 255/45/18 rear.. its comfy enough for me.. but my butt still feel painful as the front Michelin preceda is RM1600 per pair.. and today .. just changed the rear Primacy for RM2000 per pair..

for about 60% of that money you can get serious good tires for 17". and my E32 runs on Bridgestone Adrenallin.. and i tell you.. those are serious rubbers..

I run Adrenalin's on my 36 and yes they are awesome....but in the dry. In the wet, dont play play....i almost lost control when accelerating out of the smartag lane last week on wet surface....be very careful in the wet. But otherwise, a real performance road hugger in the dry

 

[alantiong]

ooi bro.. in wet.. michael schumacher also crashed lah.. heheh

 

[YaZmEeN]

I run Adrenalin's on my 36 and yes they are awesome....but in the dry. In the wet, dont play play....i almost lost control when accelerating out of the smartag lane last week on wet surface....be very careful in the wet. But otherwise, a real performance road hugger in the dry

Ur 36 is the M3 engine...i guess if u put slick tyres all round also will give the same problem. Too powerful maa!

 

[andrewk]

Bro, I swap the stock 16" to 18" with 245/45/18 all round on stock suspension setting and non staggered BMW rims (style 95). Didn't change the suspension setting after the swap. I'm running Nexun on the front (cheaper lor) and PP2 on the rear. Hardly any road noise, but that has probably got to do with the good sound dampening of the E38 rather than the tyres.

Ride is still comfortable and handling is acceptable for what its used for (daily car, fetching wife n kids around). Wife didn't complain so ride must be still ok. Body roll is definitely there when pushed, but still very well within control (tks to BMW's engineering). But you do lose the "magic carpet" ride that you get on the 16". Can't complain as it's the cheapest option, but only if u dun mind the 'pajero' stance! hahah!!

That's why some of us have the "other car" to do crazy stuff in...