tires and wheels Most "period correct" 15" wheels for my 75

[jim57759]

Just had my fenders rolled and want to get the 15" wheels that have the most period correct look.  Also any suggestions on the best tires for street use?  Thanks in advance!

[jrkoupe]

u had your fenders rolled BEFORE you bought the wheels?....hmmmmmmm

 

street use?....all year round?....rain? snow?..

[Harv]

Einki 92's 195 or 205/50-15.

[markmac]

BBS "Mahle", I am not sure if they made them in 6x15 or just 7x15....6x15 would probably be better unless the offset was just right.  This is what they looked like.......Good Luck.  AlpinA made a one-piece 6x15 wheel that fit (most of the time) on o2's sometimes without fender mods...and they look good as well.

 

 

 

http://www.alpinabmw2002.com

Edited April 1, 2015 by markmac

[jim57759]

I am currently running e21 turbines with hankook solus 185x13 m&s.  From reading other wheel and tire threads I knew I would need to roll the fenders to accommodate any 15" wheel.  Patrick in West Seattle suggested VW Corrado steelies (which are no longer available from VW), but I wanted something more period correct.  I like the BBS suggestions and am shopping for them.  I want to get a set of 15" wheels so I can get stickier tires for spirited mountain driving, but I probably won't be doing any racing.    

[danco_]

15" wheels will be heavier than 13' wheels. The difference in driving feel was noticeable to me, as the 13" set up with 185/60r13 tires felt more agile than the 15" BBS RS wheels with 195/50r15 tires. You will definitely feel an extra 30 pounds of rotational mass that you will acquire through a nice 15" set up.

 

 

Also, don't listen to me. I don't have any real evidence to back any of these claims up, except my own personal experience. 

[thinksound_mike]

15" wheels will be heavier than 13' wheels. The difference in driving feel was noticeable to me, as the 13" set up with 185/60r13 tires felt more agile than the 15" BBS RS wheels with 195/50r15 tires. You will definitely feel an extra 30 pounds of rotational mass that you will acquire through a nice 15" set up.

 

 

Also, don't listen to me. I don't have any real evidence to back any of these claims up, except my own personal experience. 

butt dyno counts.

[John_in_VA]

Many owners like the Panasports (certainly easier to clean than basket-weaves!), and there are more-affordable Rota look-alikes with the correct offset for 2002s.

E30 "Euroweaves" are 15" and work well on 2002s, when you can find them!

 

 

[jrhone]

15" wheels will be heavier than 13' wheels. The difference in driving feel was noticeable to me, as the 13" set up with 185/60r13 tires felt more agile than the 15" BBS RS wheels with 195/50r15 tires. You will definitely feel an extra 30 pounds of rotational mass that you will acquire through a nice 15" set up.

 

 

Also, don't listen to me. I don't have any real evidence to back any of these claims up, except my own personal experience. 

 

This depends on the15" wheels and the 13's your are comparing them to.  As a general rule yes 15s are heavier, but there are some light 15s that weigh less than heavy 13s.  Also most 15" tires of the same width will weigh less because there is less sidewall, so its best to weigh the wheel and tire combo if comparing weights.  I am on 14s and found that the e30 BBS 14s felt more agile than the stock steel 13's.  The 15's I am looking at weigh exactly the same as the BBS RZ 14".  

[Rocan]

Also it's not an entirely fair comparison these days. Tire selection in 13" and 14" is quite small. 15" wheels gives you access to a ton of performance tires, and you won't have to special order them either. Increased sidewall stiffness is a huge benefit to handling as well, but say goodbye to comfort. You simply can't beat the amount of sidewall deflection provided by running 13" wheels and a taller tire profile. 

[Fatherof3]

I haven't driven a 2002 yet but for looks I love 14's. There seams to be some following for 14's with the Miata crowd so hopefully the tire and wheel companies will follow

[Gordon]

Go with the 15" wheels, decent 13" tires have gone the way of the dinosaur in the US market. As John said, E30 15" style 5 "Euroweaves"  are pricey and hard to find but you can order them at your local BMW dealer, part # 36111179066. They go for over $300 each and that doesn't include the center cap which is an additional $70 each. IMHO, basketweave wheels have a look that is close to vintage (E21). Has any ever defined what a 15" period correct wheel is suppose to look like?   Another option is to try to find some 15" Ronal, MSW or BBS basketweave wheels. I recently scored a set of 15" 15x7 ET26 MSW basketweave wheels complete with center caps for less than $200 off Craigslist.  My MSW wheels will probably replace my Rota RB wheels. Here is what my MSW wheels look like courtesy of Keith Kreeger.   http://www.my2002tii.com/july_2001.htm    and here they are on Bo Black's tii. http://www.my2002tii.com/yourtiis/boblack.htm     Trust me, my wheels need some paint, but if they look like Keith's wheels after one can of rattle can spray paint, it will be a good $20 spent.

 

G-Man

[2joejoe2]

Some ideas

-Cheep... avid.1 makes an ok looking THline rep as well as some weaves

-Not as cheep... rota rb there also was a group buy on some custom offset weaves

-enkei 92 hard to find correct offset.

-bbs mahles have nice lip and look pretty good. Euro weaves look ok too. Lots of bbs reps out there

-exip

-ats cup

- ronal turbo

-Schmidt th lines ...crazy money but cool

Go to German eBay and search 4x100. Lots of cool 15" wheels

I ended up finding a set of exip weaves for cheap....sorta period....80's period

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zorac]

i like the rota r20, but they don't come up for sale often and the original vintage (that they are a copy of) is way to expensive for me!

[roadhog0]

Euroweaves look pretty slick, but I'm biased