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[john970]

Will a tire 245/45R18 fit on the rear stock 18" rims on the 135i? I know they will fit on the wheel, but is the slightly larger tire ok?

Trying to avoid buying new wheels. The hankook W300's don't come in 245/35R18

http://www.hankooktireusa.com/product/W300.pdf

edit: they don't make the right tire size for the fronts either, i give up...

[mikeo]

John, go with 225x40-18 (or 225x45) at all four corners with the stock wheels, it'll work fine. 245x45 is too tall a tire for the rear.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by mikeo

John, go with 225x40-18 (or 225x45) at all four corners with the stock wheels, it'll work fine. 245x45 is too tall a tire for the rear.

Its slight % increase in diameter...

It will most certainly fit. Yes, his speedo will be a little off, his acceleration a bit slower...but these are winter tires, so performance isn't really an issue.

If you're on a budget, and like the tires, there's no reason you can't go with them.

[mikeo]

I would disagree with you there, PrematureApex. The diameter delta between a 245x35-18, the OE size, and a 245x45-18 is +1.6 inches. Not a trivial amount. From experience with another model BMW I can state that increasing tire diameter by over one inch could lead to interference with the wheel well or fender liner.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by mikeo

I would disagree with you there, PrematureApex. The diameter delta between a 245x35-18, the OE size, and a 245x45-18 is +1.6 inches. Not a trivial amount. From experience with another model BMW I can state that increasing tire diameter by over one inch could lead to interference with the wheel well or fender liner.

Not to mention it might interfere with the traction control, since the rear wheels would be spinning at a different rate than the fronts...

[BMWeber]

Originally Posted by mikeo

I would disagree with you there, PrematureApex. The diameter delta between a 245x35-18, the OE size, and a 245x45-18 is +1.6 inches. Not a trivial amount. From experience with another model BMW I can state that increasing tire diameter by over one inch could lead to interference with the wheel well or fender liner.

same experience here. especially on the front the way the spring perch is(especially on smaller BMWs) you have very little room for increased diameter. I had an 88 325ix where you had less than a 1/4"

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by mikeo

I would disagree with you there, PrematureApex. The diameter delta between a 245x35-18, the OE size, and a 245x45-18 is +1.6 inches. Not a trivial amount. From experience with another model BMW I can state that increasing tire diameter by over one inch could lead to interference with the wheel well or fender liner.

I thought we ran 40's out back. I"m still in 17" world over here. My apologies.

That's a lot to deal with.

Further, I of course would assume he'd be sizing the fronts up as well. But anything over 1" makes me nervous.

[mikeo]

Agreed.