[Solidjake]

Just had my Michelin Ice XI3 winter tires just mounted onto my staggered wheels. 8" front, 8.5" rear.

You can see the stretch is minimal.

The 8" is the top wheel in the first pic, then the first of the set

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

Same staggered setup on my wheels with 225/45/18 all around, no issues and minimal stretch. It's a nice alternative.

[Solidjake]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

Same staggered setup on my wheels with 225/45/18 all around, no issues and minimal stretch. It's a nice alternative.

Yup yup. This is what everyone with 18" wheels should be running.

[XxThe_RemedyXx]

Originally Posted by Solidjake

Yup yup. This is what everyone with 18" wheels should be running.

You think this setup would be OK all year round?

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

You think this setup would be OK all year round?

The stretch here is really minimal, I wouldn't forsee any issues if it was run all year with any tire of your choosing.

OP, those X-Ice look excellent, enjoy.

[wdeerfield]

Looks good. Im running 235/45/18 on 8.5's all around.

[Solidjake]

Originally Posted by wdeerfield

Looks good. Im running 235/45/18 on 8.5's all around.

That's my summer setup

[N420i]

Originally Posted by XxThe_RemedyXx

Same staggered setup on my wheels with 225/45/18 all around, no issues and minimal stretch. It's a nice alternative.

This is what I drive year round on UHP summer tires albeit on 8" rims on all four corners. Love the combo and more than enough grip at the rears. I do wish the front end more grip. I can only imagine this situation gets worse with a staggered setup...

[doncarlyon]

Same size setup on mine for Winter. Dont even notice the slight stretch. No reduction in grip at the rear wheels either.

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by N420i

This is what I drive year round on UHP summer tires albeit on 8" rims on all four corners. Love the combo and more than enough grip at the rears. I do wish the front end more grip. I can only imagine this situation gets worse with a staggered setup...

Upsizing to a 245 section summer tire makes a big difference in front end grip and also increases steering weight nicely. 245's also fit comfortably on 8" wheels, I had them on my 397's before getting Apex wheels.

[N420i]

Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB

Upsizing to a 245 section summer tire makes a big difference in front end grip and also increases steering weight nicely. 245's also fit comfortably on 8" wheels, I had them on my 397's before getting Apex wheels.

Interesting... My current tires are shot so I'll be replacing them soon. I'll definately consider throwing something wider in the front than the rear...

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by N420i

Interesting... My current tires are shot so I'll be replacing them soon. I'll definately consider throwing something wider in the front than the rear...

Just to clarify, I'm suggesting upping the front AND rear size from 225 to 245.

[N420i]

Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB

Just to clarify, I'm suggesting upping the front AND rear size from 225 to 245.

I know that running wider tires at the front than the rear is weird as heck, but if I go to 245s all around wont I just be gaining overall grip and maintaining my currently understeery balance?

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by N420i

I know that running wider tires at the front than the rear is weird as heck, but if I go to 245s all around wont I just be gaining overall grip and maintaining my currently understeery balance?

The whole suspension setup on our cars has a lot of measures specifically to give it understeery performance. Bigger rubber up front is no magic cure, it'll still understeer when overdriving the tire, but it will push the threshold where that starts a great deal higher and provide better warning when it's gonna let go. The amount of benefit will be decided by how high performing a tire you install and can be enhanced marginally by upping the rear pressure.

I do get what you mean with your question, I would caution that there could be unintended consequences stemming from general stability or braking or introduction of snap oversteer.

To change that fundamental balance you need to make mechanical changes which are unfortunately more costly. Our cars suffer from a lack of negative camber up front and even worse it's not adjustible. You either need to 1) lower the car 2) Install -.5 correction hubs or 3) install control arms or camber plates.

I went for a combination of 1 and 3, coilovers and control arms. Now that my camber up front is about even with the rear it has a very neutral balance. Camber is not the be-all-end-all on this of course, but tire width and camber are two of the most direct ways to up your front grip.

[N420i]

Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB

The whole suspension setup on our cars has a lot of measures specifically to give it understeery performance. Bigger rubber up front is no magic cure, it'll still understeer when overdriving the tire, but it will push the threshold where that starts a great deal higher and provide better warning when it's gonna let go. The amount of benefit will be decided by how high performing a tire you install and can be enhanced marginally by upping the rear pressure.

I do get what you mean with your question, I would caution that there could be unintended consequences stemming from general stability or braking or introduction of snap oversteer.

To change that fundamental balance you need to make mechanical changes which are unfortunately more costly. Our cars suffer from a lack of negative camber up front and even worse it's not adjustible. You either need to 1) lower the car 2) Install -.5 correction hubs or 3) install control arms or camber plates.

I went for a combination of 1 and 3, coilovers and control arms. Now that my camber up front is about even with the rear it has a very neutral balance. Camber is not the be-all-end-all on this of course, but tire width and camber are two of the most direct ways to up your front grip.

I know, from stock most cars are set up to understeer so that people don't kill themselves...

So far I've lowered the car, but it's dropped less than I expected. The Eibach Pro-Kits are known for not droppping all that much but I was hoping for at least an inch... I got about half of that. However paired with Bisltein B8s the ride and handling have improved dramatically.

I know lack of camber on these cars is a major issue. It also causes my car to EAT the outside of the tires even though I'm running very little toe-in... I'm considering camber plates but those are expensive as hell and while looking into them I've read that most options actually tend to RAISE the car... Which isn't that bad with coilovers but it's a death sentence with fixed length strut and spring combos...

You did the M3 LCA conversion? Is the wheel sitting very far forward in the arch? This is something I've been wanting to do really badly but I'd rather keep the wheel centered...

As it is, the car drives great, I mean this is just a lowly 420i with springs, struts, ECU flash and Msport blue brembos and the thing goes, turns, stops and even drifts if you really go for it despite the lack of an LSD... But we're always looking for that little bit extra aren't we?

[MacklinUSOB]

Originally Posted by N420i

I know, from stock most cars are set up to understeer so that people don't kill themselves...

So far I've lowered the car, but it's dropped less than I expected. The Eibach Pro-Kits are known for not droppping all that much but I was hoping for at least an inch... I got about half of that. However paired with Bisltein B8s the ride and handling have improved dramatically.

I know lack of camber on these cars is a major issue. It also causes my car to EAT the outside of the tires even though I'm running very little toe-in... I'm considering camber plates but those are expensive as hell and while looking into them I've read that most options actually tend to RAISE the car... Which isn't that bad with coilovers but it's a death sentence with fixed length strut and spring combos...

You did the M3 LCA conversion? Is the wheel sitting very far forward in the arch? This is something I've been wanting to do really badly but I'd rather keep the wheel centered...

As it is, the car drives great, I mean this is just a lowly 420i with springs, struts, ECU flash and Msport blue brembos and the thing goes, turns, stops and even drifts if you really go for it despite the lack of an LSD... But we're always looking for that little bit extra aren't we?

Ahhh I see, yeah a half inch drop won't really add much camber. I installed my KW's before the LCAs and only gained about -.5 with it sitting pretty low. The B8's are solid performers it's definitely a pain you're not happy with the spring combo/height, that exact concern is why I went with coils.

Absolutely a big problem. I've experienced the tire eating you're talking about with three different stock F30's at autocross. One of them had OE RFTs with only a few thousand miles on them and it had to retire early because the outer shoulder wear made the sidewall split and start peeling back down to the belt. I have also seen camber plates raise the front end but the main reason I stay away from plates is noise, they'd definitely allow some healthy camber, though.

Yes and yes. The wheel shifted forward around half an inch. If you do the Tension struts at the same time it would shift it about half as far than with LCAs alone. It was a very worthwhile mod for me, the difference on track was very pronounced and I cut seconds off my times not having to worry about shredding the outer sidewalls.

I'm sure it's driving well with all that, but you're right, we're always looking for that next improvement.

[bqik]

Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB

Upsizing to a 245 section summer tire makes a big difference in front end grip and also increases steering weight nicely. 245's also fit comfortably on 8" wheels, I had them on my 397's before getting Apex wheels.

this is my current winter setup...

245 / 40 alpin pa4 on 8" 397 wheels.

I m surprised how well the 245 fit on the 397.

[luke1990]

Would there be any difference in 19" wheels? Running say 235/40 on OEM 403s 8" front and 8,5" back? Or is that fine as well?