Wheels for 74 2002

[Fraidknots]

I have some ugly wheels on my 74 2002 that I want to swap out.  I saw bottlecap wheels with the following description on Ebay, does anyone know if they fit?  "4 x OEM BMW E30 14" Bottlecap Rims Wheels 4x100 84-91 318i 325e 325i 325ix"

 

Also, any recommendations on where to find wheels if not Ebay?  Thanks all

[bergie33]

Bottlecaps are the most common E30 wheels, and a good fit for '02s.  Many people use them with good results.  For a little more money, you can usually find E30 basketweaves which have a little nicer look than the bottlecaps.  Craigslist is a great place to find wheels, other than ebay.

[Leucadian]

1 minute ago, bergie33 said:

Bottlecaps are the most common E30 wheels, and a good fit for '02s.  Many people use them with good results.  For a little more money, you can usually find E30 basketweaves which have a little nicer look than the bottlecaps.  Craigslist is a great place to find wheels, other than ebay.

 

I have E30 basketweaves on my 74.  They look period on the car, and they work until I can get my hands on a set of the Kooglewerks wheels...

 

 

As far as finding the wheels.  If you see something you like, you could start with a WTB ad here.  Especially with something like basketweaves or bottlecaps, you're bound to find a set on the boards.  

[visionaut]

Those e30 bottlecap wheels are 14x6 et35. They should fit OK.

 

No idea of your budget. You can obviously get many different 4x100 wheels new. But if you’re hunting for used vintage wheels, besides eBay, check out the classifieds on popular car forum sites for cars that use 4x100 wheels.

 

Lots of different 4x100 wheels here for example:

https://www.vwvortex.com/forums/4x100-classifieds.800/

 

 

[Mike Self]

If you're going for 14" wheels, another option are the steel wheels as used on some of the base E30 models.  They have round slots and a small stainless steel center cap.  Painted silver, they look very period, and similar to Alpina steel wheels. 

 

Surprisingly they're more difficult to find than E30 alloys, because the only US spec E30s to come with steel wheels were the 90-91 318i sedans and convertibles, and even then many were ordered/sold with optional alloys.  But they are available new from various sources.  

 

And as I'm sure you know, early Mini wheels have the same lug pattern as an 02 (4x100), just not sure about the offset's correctness--same with 4 bolt Honda and VW wheels.

 

mike

[Russell74Fjord]

VW 14" x 6" ET 38 with 1/4" spacers to make them clear all around, and some modifications for center caps. 

 

The old Tire Rack sold these as snow tire rims, back in the day, likely available still? 

 

These are off the car, I now have Rotas, 

 

[Stevenc22]

Bottlecaps are awesome.

[landon]

3 hours ago, Fraidknots said:

I have some ugly wheels on my 74 2002 that I want to swap out.  I saw bottlecap wheels with the following description on Ebay, does anyone know if they fit?  "4 x OEM BMW E30 14" Bottlecap Rims Wheels 4x100 84-91 318i 325e 325i 325ix"

 

Also, any recommendations on where to find wheels if not Ebay?  Thanks all

Bottlecaps for most of the E30's work well but the ones for the 325ix have a large offset due to the all wheel drive system. They may not work well.

[Fraidknots]

Thanks all, really appreciate the input.

 

[jscaptura1]

E30 basketweaves with a small (5mm I think) spacer, no problems.  Found all 5 in a local junkyard and paid 20 bucks for each!

[Leucadian]

1 hour ago, jscaptura1 said:

E30 basketweaves with a small (5mm I think) spacer, no problems.  Found all 5 in a local junkyard and paid 20 bucks for each!

 

Your basketweaves look better than my basketweaves...

[jscaptura1]

1 hour ago, Leucadian said:

 

Your basketweaves look better than my basketweaves...

Ha ha ha!  There is a reason why I did not post close up pictures of those wheels!  They are truly junkyard wheels.  I had to sand, grind and polish for ages just to get them to pass the 50 mph test.

[JohnS]

too bad you're on the east coast.  Otherwise if in California, I'd give you a descent set of of the E30 Bottle Cap wheels  for local pick up.

 

[Gordon]

+1  on E30 bottlecaps being a cheap upgrade. Recommend 195/60-14 tires for a 2002. Standard E30 tire size (195/65-14) is not a good fit for a 02. I routinely see E30 bottlecaps for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.  Recommend you buy them without tires since most ads of bottlecaps with tires have an E30 tire fitment.  To see what other wheels are out there that will fit a 2002, check out this data base of wheel eye candy.

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/wheels/bmw2002/

[bergie33]

1 hour ago, Gordon said:

 Recommend you buy them without tires since most ads of bottlecaps with tires have an E30 tire fitment. 

 

Plus, shipping is 1/3 the price without the tires.