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[tedshuck]

I have been frustrated trying to find used or aftermarket wheels that will fit my e90 330xi and clear the brakes. In correspondence with an online wheel seller, we decided that I should get some dimensions of the inside diameter of my style 159 wheels to see if the wheels he is selling would have sufficient interior volume to clear the brakes too. I thought others my be able to use these also and maybe some could be cataloged to make a list of which wheels should fit these cars.

These dimensions are for the 17x8 style 159 wheels that came with my car. The first measurement is the interior diameter of the wheel at the mounting surface of the hub. Each additional measurement is one inch closer to the inside rim of the wheel. The last measurement is about 3/4 inch from the inside rim.

Position... : Diameter inches : Diameter mm
at hub.. : 15 3/32 : 383
1 inches : 16 1/16 : 408
2 inches : 16 3/8 : 416
3 inches : 16 15/32 : 418
4 inches : 16 9/16 : 420
5 inches : 16 5/8 : 422

I measured these by clamping two 1 foot steel rulers together and slipping them until they exactly fit across the inside of the wheel, first at the hub mounting surface. I measured the distance from one end to the other of these clamped rulers. I then placed a one inch block of wood at the surface and measured again and again with more blocks until I had measurements every inch. It only takes a few minutes to do once you have the wheel off the car.

If we had these measurements for other wheels, we could determine which wheels would and would not fit the e90 330's without a lot of trial and error.

Regards,
Ted

[tedshuck]

The guy selling the aftermarket wheels came back with these measurements:

Distance : Diameter in
0 inches : 15 1/8
1 inch : 15 3/8
2 inches : 15 5/8
3 inches : 16 1/4
4 inches : 16 5/8
5 inches : 16 3/4

There is a *BIG* difference, about 3/4" between his measurements and mine at around 1-2 inches from the hub mounting surface. His supplier said these wheels should fit an e90 330, but had not test fitted the wheels. The style 159 wheels that I have show a rapid transition about 1 inch in from the hub where the interior diameter rapidly expands. It looks like this was designed precisely to fit over the brakes on this car.

So, be careful if buying wheels that have not been tested on an e90 330. Everything other than that bulge in the interior diameter made it look like it should fit.

Ted

[bavarian19]

why not just use tirerack.com where they already have picked out some of the rims that will fit your car... They have quite the selection...