style 71

Hi All -


I very much like the style 71 rims for my 2004 330 Vert...but...

1) A lot of sites I have gone to say they are not compatible (17") although others say they are...I have seen pics on this site with this style, but am thinking maybe they did a lot of mods top use them...

2) I would like to put 18" on her, but do not want to do any alterations - Can I run 18's without rubbing or restricting performance?

Soo - will the 17's work as an easy replacement, and if yes, will the 18's work as well?

Thanks for you help.
S

Why wouldn't the 17's work. Caliper clearance?

2002 BMW 330i

Originally Posted by DonaldE

Why wouldn't the 17's work. Caliper clearance?

2002 BMW 330i

Got me - I went to ebay for example to bid on 17" style 71 and was told they were not compatible - no idea why. Hoping the collective experience here in the forum can point me in the right direction.

I am thinking this guy was misinformed, but given I am new to BWM ownership I want to make sure...

I'm not incredibly familiar with hub bores. But I'm fairly sure they should work

2002 BMW 330i

I have 18" OEM 71's on my car.

I also have 18" 71s on my car. My car has been dropped about .75 inch, so you shouldn't have any problems.

Thanks guys - no problems rubbing? I assume the speedo is off because of the stock calibration to 17"...

I think the rims look fantastic- are they staggered like the 17's?

Outside tire diameter remain the same, speedo remain the same

17" Style 71's deep dish rep's on a 03 325i... with no issues

Originally Posted by 2003 325i

Outside tire diameter remain the same, speedo remain the same

does the outside diameter remain the same? Seriously, if i go from 17 to 18 i would think that would change...if not i guess i slept though too many classes...perhaps I wrongly assumed I would need larger tires (and have changed the diameter) or maybe just lower profile tires on the 18's...sorry my mechanical skills suck, but I am fairly adept at math.

Like I said, trying to figure all this out.

a link to speedo rim/tire size calc

http://www.web-cars.com/math/tiresize.html

enter wheel size, tire width and aspect ratio and it will provide the speedo differential

Originally Posted by csa714

does the outside diameter remain the same? Seriously, if i go from 17 to 18 i would think that would change...if not i guess i slept though too many classes...perhaps I wrongly assumed I would need larger tires (and have changed the diameter) or maybe just lower profile tires on the 18's...sorry my mechanical skills suck, but I am fairly adept at math.

Like I said, trying to figure all this out.

You offset the difference in the wheel diameter with a difference in the aspect ratio of the tire.

Lets say you had 225-50-17 stock tires and replaced them with 225-50-18 then yes you would have issues with the speedo because the outside diameter of the tire would be larger. If you replaced them with 225-40-18 then the outside diameter would be the same and no issues with the speedo. These sizes were hypothetical and used only for explaining the concept.

- I thought i was going insane when the one coy reply came back, I know school was 20 years ago but damn! I understand and thanks for the explanation.