E36 Snows, suspension, and seat belt sensor

["Jarchow Dennis" <JarchowDennis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I have three problems that have all cropped up on my 96 328i (sport pkg.) in
the last couple weeks so I thought I would combine them all into one post. I
have 56K on my car.

1. I just put on a new set of snows. I got 205 60 15 Blizzaks on Borbet type
B 15x7" rims from my BMW dealer who got them from Tire Rack. I noticed
yesterday that when I turned right out of a parking lot that had a minor
drop-off that my left front tire rubbed pretty badly either on the plastic
fender well or on the fender itself. Since I got the size tire BMW
recommends could Tire Rack have sent the wrong offset for the wheel? What is
the proper offset for 15" wheels for the 328i with the sport package?

2. When I was getting the snows put on I had them check my front suspension
as I had been hearing some minor clunking when going over small bumps
lately. They found I needed new ball joints. They said my front struts
looked OK and were not leaking. Unfortunately even with the new ball joints
I still hear clunking over small bumps. Could this still be my struts? If so
how much should it cost to get them replaced? Isn't 56k a bit early to be
replacing struts and ball joints?

3. Just before I had my snows put on my SRS light come on. The dealer told
me that the switch in my passenger's seat belt stalk was going bad and
causing the problem. They reset the codes and said I should get it replaced
($169 installed) if it caused another error. Sure enough the SRS light went
off again this week. This seems like a lot of cash to replace the whole
stalk when the problem is just a switch. Can the switch itself be replaced
or it the whole stalk my only option?

Thanks again!

Regards,

Dennis
96 328i sport

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