I just purchased a 2002 BMW 325XiT (AWD touring wagon) to compliment my S2000.

I did not purchase the sport package because I didn't like the wheels that came with them. The regular wheels/tires that come with the car are 205/55-16 (16 X 7).

I want to upgrade to 17's or 18's and I want to know what are the maximum wheel and tire size that I can put on the car. These are the sizes that I was thinking and please correct me if I'm wrong:

17's:
Wheel: 17 x 8 or 8.5
Tire: 235/45-17 or ?

18's:
Wheel: 18 x 8 or 8.5
Tire: 245/40-18 or ?

Check out a tire calculator: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

What wheel design would you recommend that would look good? There are AC Schnitzers, Breyton, etc...too many to name.

The big question is that by upgrading to a larger wheel/tire package, will it damage the AWD on the car?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

2001 S2000

 

post this question to The Tire Rack's Tire and Wheel Forum on this site. They should be able to help you. But basically, its not going to hurt your car. Each car is setup a particular way with offsets for FWD/RWD/AWD cars that will make them all work.

 

Or I could move this question there for you

 

Go for the mesh wheel look, like on the M5. Get a polished lip if possible.

[QUOTE]
The big question is that by upgrading to a larger wheel/tire package, will it damage the AWD on the car?

 

I hope I answered your questions on the other post. Changing to a larger diameter wheel will not affect the awd system.
Let me know if I can hel[p.

Thank you

Jim 800-428-8355-364

 

So whats the largest tire/wheel size I can get for '02 325Xit if I want to go with either 17 or 18 inch wheels ?

 

You can run a 235/40R17 all the way around on the car or you can do 225/45R17 front and 245/40R17 rear. In 18" you can go 225/40R18 front and 255/35R18 in the rear.
Let me know if I can help.
Thank you

Jim 800-428-8355-364