"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
> In article .com>,
> > wrote:
>>I have a bmw 318 is and I currently have the stock 15" rims on it, I
>>would like to get some 17" factory rims off a 2001 3 series on it and
>>was wondering if I could just do it staright or would i need to lift it
>>at all....If anyone has done this any help would be greatly
>>appreciated.
>
> Short answer: no.
>
> Long answer: you won't be changing the diameter of the wheel, just
> the amount of rubber (less) and metal (more). You have several options
> in tire size there is no single right answer. Just make sure the
> new size is withing 2% of the number of revolutions per mile
>
> Here's a handy dandy calculator I wrote:
>
> http://mbz.org/sys/tires
>
> One thing, if it were me I'd go to 16" not 17". There is
> a penalty in terms of stiffness of ride and comfort and
> wide-ass 16" are enough to give you that HOLY **** slot
> car handling. 17's in my opinion aren't THAT much better
> and he ride is pretty severe. But that's a subjective
> thing and YMMV.
>


While there may be truth to the rumor that there is a penalty to skip the
16s and go directly to 17s, that's exactly what I did on my 325i (and later
my 325iC), and I found no penalty at all. I do mostly freeway driving, and I
found no practical difference in the 15s and the 17s, except that the 17s
are alot cheaper.

I see no reason to go to 16s, make the jump all of the way to 17s if you are
going to make the jump at all.

PS
The 3 Series cars work fine with a 225/45x17. The tires fit well, and the
speedo is dead nuts accurate at 80+ mph.