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[LaxIan55]

The weather finally broke and I had a chance to fit my new shoes and snap a couple of quick pics. Excuse the iPhone pictures as it was impromptu and I forget my DSLR. I will do a proper shoot when I put my M rep bumper on next week and give it the spring detail.

This is definitely the best wheel/tire setup I have ever ran and these tires truly are as good as everyone's reviews.


The setup:
Apex ARC-8 - 18x9.5"
Michelin Pilot super sport - 255/35/18
5mm spacers in the front.

Major kudos to Ryan at Apex and Zach at Discounttiredirect for some great pricing and even better customer service.

Total weight is 44.4 lbs vs. my stock 287's with my Nokian Hakka R2's that weighed 57.2lbs. I haven't noticed anything definitive in the weight from driving yet but I dropped a significant amount of rotating mass so I am sure there will be some benefits.


Camber:
-1.3 front
-2.2 rear
Just slightly more aggressive than stock m3 specs.


I started with 3mm in the front and just barely rubbed my coilover so I switched to a 5mm and have no rubbing at all with no roll or shaving.


The rears need a spacer in my opinion but the 10mm rubbed pretty bad on compression dips without a roll. I am still undecided if I want to go with a slightly smaller spacer or if I want to roll them.

[MonacoBlueE90]

Looks really good and you should fit the rear spacers too, maybe just 5mm. So are these wheels et35 both?

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by MonacoBlueE90

Looks really good and you should fit the rear spacers too, maybe just 5mm. So are these wheels et35 both?

ET 34 and thanks!

My buddy has a set of 5mm's I am going to fit them and see if they rub before I decide I think.

[tke344]

I wish I had just put winter tires on my stock 18s. I want this exact setup but it's hard to justify 3 sets of wheels.. Looking good.

[iturbo_bmw]

nice! i think i need to get a another 18x9.5 wheel so i can throw the concave wheel up front too

[PR3CI5N]

The front has to rub no?

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by PR3CI5N

The front has to rub no?

It must be super close because it hasn't rubbed once. I must have just enough camber that it isn't catching the fender as I have hit some decent bumps and dips and haven't rubbed yet.

[gilly22]

Nice look! Love these ARC-8's! Just put mine on the other week. Love shaving an average of 15lbs. off per corner!

[PR3CI5N]

Originally Posted by gilly22

Nice look! Love these ARC-8's! Just put mine on the other week. Love shaving an average of 15lbs. off per corner!

I agree shedding about 60lbs of rotational mass is no joke and it's definitely noticeable.

[wknddrivr]

Those look incredible!

Cant tell from the pic are they anthracite or satin black?

Also, what's your suspension setup. I've got a 328xi and wanted to drop it a bit, really like your setup

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by sfs244

Those look incredible!

Cant tell from the pic are they anthracite or satin black?

Also, what's your suspension setup. I've got a 328xi and wanted to drop it a bit, really like your setup

They are anthracite, I have ran black wheels on a black car and hate it unless everything is perfectly clean.

Thanks, appreciate the compliments!

The suspension is BC Racing coilovers, the extreme low version. This is about as low as they go. It rides really nice. On full soft you can't tell that it has coilovers, turn it stiffer and it handles like a completely different car. I have had them installed for about six months and I am very pleased.

[DrRobert]

What tires were you running before on your 287s? Square or staggered? Can you describe how the car steers/handles differently w/ 255 square? My car is RWD w/ 287s (18x8 225 front, 18x8x5 255 rear PSS), I'm thinking of going square but don't want to go narrower in back.

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by DrRobert

What tires were you running before on your 287s? Square or staggered? Can you describe how the car steers/handles differently w/ 255 square? My car is RWD w/ 287s (18x8 225 front, 18x8x5 255 rear PSS), I'm thinking of going square but don't want to go narrower in back.

Both actually. My summers that came on the car were the same setup as yours. My winters are 245/40/18 square. Being RWD I would definitely want to keep the 255 out back. Maybe try to find a set of cheap rear 287's to run 255's on the front?

[TorqueAddict]

Hey, Do you have front camber plates, or M3 control arms or such? I am planning to replicate this same setup, but i am being told that 255/35/18 on a 18x9.5 et35 would not fit in the front. I am lowered on KW V2's but plan to raise it a bit as i am tired of scraping everywhere.

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by TorqueAddict

Hey, Do you have front camber plates, or M3 control arms or such? I am planning to replicate this same setup, but i am being told that 255/35/18 on a 18x9.5 et35 would not fit in the front. I am lowered on KW V2's but plan to raise it a bit as i am tired of scraping everywhere.

The BC racing coilovers I have come with camber plates so yea. That is the only suspension related mod so far. How far negative can you go without them?

[TorqueAddict]

Originally Posted by LaxIan55

The BC racing coilovers I have come with camber plates so yea. That is the only suspension related mod so far. How far negative can you go without them?

if you pull the alignment pins, maybe 1.6-7

[Eagle1oh7]

Just remove the bike rack! Nice setup otherwise! Time to do an MSport rear with a nice diffuser!

[LaxIan55]

Originally Posted by Eagle1oh7

Just remove the bike rack! Nice setup otherwise! Time to do an MSport rear with a nice diffuser!

Thanks! I will probably snap a couple pics without the rack but I actually like the look a lot and am mountain bike too much to not have it on there. And I definitely prefer to not put my dirty ass bike inside after rides.

[SeanS54]

Originally Posted by TorqueAddict

Hey, Do you have front camber plates, or M3 control arms or such? I am planning to replicate this same setup, but i am being told that 255/35/18 on a 18x9.5 et35 would not fit in the front. I am lowered on KW V2's but plan to raise it a bit as i am tired of scraping everywhere.

It also depends on your coilovers. When I had Ohlins, the strut body is fatter than most other coilovers and my 18x9.5 Arc-8 needed larger than 5mm spacers to clear the strut.

[xxirish83x]

Noob here - would this same setup work on a 335i coupe?

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by xxirish83x

Noob here - would this same setup work on a 335i coupe?

18x9.5 et35 will be a tough fit on a stock E92. At the minimal, it will need more than -2 degree of front camber (M3 control arms and/or camber plates) for that to fit. You might also run into problem with strut clearance depending on the shock or coilover setup.

Get 18x9 et31 instead, they will be easier to fit. But still need some neg. camber up front to prevent rubbing.

[xxirish83x]

Originally Posted by Cloud9blue

18x9.5 et35 will be a tough fit on a stock E92. At the minimal, it will need more than -2 degree of front camber (M3 control arms and/or camber plates) for that to fit. You might also run into problem with strut clearance depending on the shock or coilover setup.

Get 18x9 et31 instead, they will be easier to fit. But still need some neg. camber up front to prevent rubbing.

What offset /rim size would i want for easy on and easy off with my winter tires (stock rims with 225/45/17). I dont want to really get into messing with my suspension at all (as of yet)

end goal is to get on 18" APEX ARC-8 best fit w/o suspension mods