Jeff Strickland wrote:
>
> "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.

Last I looked, the 16" tires were the cheapest of all.