Re: <E28> Wheels off other cars for 535i

["Ron J" <ron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Alex,

So you are saying that Chev wheel pattern and hub would work on a 5 or 7
series?  The reason I ask is that I got rid of my TRX's and my 14" steels
with the winter tires and hub caps arent doing the car esthetic justice,
yet, everytime I price out wheels, here in Canada, they think BMW means that
I am very wealthy, and the wheel price goes up.  Seems to be a phenomenon
that is more prevalent here, north of the border.  Cars considered elite,
like BMW, Porsche,  Audi, Jag, etc, seem to make prices inflate, even if its
just a different offset, and bolt pattern, on an identically designed wheel.
So If I can find a decent looking chev wheel, that is either used or priced
very competitively, then I would go for it, and get a better overall look to
the car.

I know from my American Muscle car days, that Chev (GM) wheels are
interchangable from the F Body (Camaro Firebird) Vette, and even S10 pickup,
so the wheel selection is pretty good, and lately I have been seeing some
really nice looking euro style stuff for those cars, that is not the typical
loud american look, that was dominant in the 80's

So if someone could confirm that the chev bolt pattern for camaro, vette,
works, then I would have a broader range of wheels, with a better price
range as well.  (Recently returned University Student budget constraints).
I also know that there are a lot more used aftermarket wheels for chevs like
the camaro and vette around, than used bmw wheels.

Thanks
Ron Jordan
85 535i
73 911s 2.7

- ----- Original Message -----
From: alex.fadeev@domain.elided
To: bmwuucdigest@domain.elided
Cc: Gary Derian ; Ron
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: [uuc] <E28> Wheels off other cars for 535i



"Gary Derian" <rlicolumbus@domain.elided> wrote:
>
> No other car has a 120mm bolt circle.  The closest is GM (Camaro and
> Corvette) which are 4.75 inches (120.65mm).  Audi and Mercedes have
> 112mm circle.  BMW wheels come in a greater selection than GM wheels.

Gary, are the GM wheels close enough to fit on a BMW hub?

FWIW,
Some (most?) Porsche wheels also have the 120x5 bolt pattern.
Though Porsche wheels are hardly bargain priced.

Than there is an issue of the hub bore.
3-series have a 72.5mm bore.
5 and 7? have 74mm bore.
You could center a wheel with a larger bore using a hub centric spacer.
Drilling a bigger hole in a wheel may or may not be a good idea.

alex f


> Hello All,
>
> I was wondering if anyone has ever experimented with wheel fitment off
> of other car makers for E28 cars.  I would suspect that other vehicles
> out there aside from BMW might use the same offset, and bolt pattern as
> them. I.E. Mercedes, or Porsche, AUDI, etc.  This may open me up to
> buying or finding wheels for my car using a broader range of sources.
>
> If anyone knows of any cars, or a source for the info on the web, please
> let me know
>
> Cheers
> Ron Jordan
> 85 535i
> 73 911s 2.7

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