Need Help .. 98 Q45 with 2006 M45 wheel?

[BadQ45t]

I was in America' tires today replacing the crappy stock tires on my 05' X-Terra and was talking to the guy about 19" tires (on the possible mounting rather than sale of my 06' M45 sport rims sitting in the garage) and I told him I had to get spacers. He immeidately told me that he did not recommend spacers that they caused problems and that they would not touch a car with them.

Any truth or risks to spacers?

[maxnix]

Well, it is added mass and it stresses the longer bolts because it is a floating non-structural element between the wheel and the hub.

[johngalt]

Interesting read. Gives me some ideas for the future on my car.

[Falkdesigns]

It's true they won't touch a car with them, which is gay, and only to prevent the possibility of anyone blaming them if the installer that has no real education in auto mechanics screws up. They are used by countless people with none of these "problems". As I've said before, if they can handle 7500 HP in a Top-fuel dragster, they can handle anything you dish out with a street car.

Go to an independent shop, I guarantee you won't hear them say anything about them.

[BadQ45t]

Cool, that is what I figured. Okay, it is offical, I'm keeping these rims, people keep flaking out on me to buy them so I'll wait for my current tires to wear out (ES100's starting to get noisy and beginning to piss me off), I'll have to hit you up for you spacer guy again Kev, I cannot wait for lowered stance, 19" M45 rims and please KYB shocks if we get lucky!!!

My guy in LA said he though he could make them work, shoot me an e-mail when you get a chance I'll call your guy in Culver City to buy the spacers and order the tires from the tire rack (I'm thinking SO3 Pole Position in 245/40 19.

[TgduMg]

Not really familiar with the Q45 tire and wheel combo,but would like to learn. Previously,managed successfully to lower an E34 BMW 5 series by partially using Eibachs,but used a 225/50/16(16x8" rim) tire instead of the 225/60/15 tire that came with the car.IF you use a very good rated tire("Z") or better as I did, the extra lowering aspect,AND the safety and handling work well.That car(my 20th BMW ,and 7th track car) was dead steady at 140mph with the cruise control on;didn't even change lanes.The car also ran well on track road courses,as I was a BMWCCA instructor.

Back when a friend of mine owned an 84 733i, I'd direct him to the BMWCCA web site to substantiate things I would tell him about his car. He wanted to upgrade to 15 inch rims and a wider tire. For some strange reason he wanted to put some 195/50-15's on his 7-series. I recommended that he go with 215/60's instead because it would be closer to the OEM spec tire diameter for obvious (to me) reasons. I believe that he was stuck on the on the "50" in the 195 and didn't understand why I was trying to undermine his choice, (forgetting that he asked me in the first place because of my general love for all things automotive).

He would continue to ask "Why 215/60?"

He was blown away when I parked my 88 200 SX next to his Bimmer and my 15 inch tires (stock 195/60), were shorter than his 14's.

I basically pulled my hair out trying to get him to understand that the first three numbers indicated the width of the tire and the next two, the aspect ratio or sidewall height. And so on and so fourth. He and some others I would talk to from time to time just didn't understand that tires came in different heights and widths specific to one rim diameter.

Basically to get the sidewall profile that he wanted he realized that he would have to go with at least 17's. He never got any aftermarket wheels for his 7 (no abundance of cheap wheels in the 5x120mm bolt pattern).

But he and others knew a BMW when they saw one (he didn't know what I meant by "twin kidneys" though).

I doubt that many BMW fans know about the Isetta or what the Roundel represents.

On the day I found and surfed around the BMWCCA site, in the links section I discovered the Powerdog tire size calculator.

It proved helpful as I often would have to get printouts to prove that the numbers on the side of the tire that I just calculated were correct.

Whew! That said RAQ45t, if you didn't correct for your adjusted diameter, you were only going 135.79 mph.

Danisiti 1