[vteec]

Hi

i am considering putting Alpina 18inch classic alloy wheels on my 330i SE 2006 E90.

my standard wheels are 17x8" ET34 with 225/45/17 and i am considering to put the alpina with 18x8" ET34 with 225/40/18 front and 18x9" ET36 rear with 255/35/18.

do you think that i will have a big gap between the tyre edge and the wing/fender edge, i.e. car will look like 'jacked-up', bearing in mind that my car is the SE without the sports suspension option? i have been searching for some pictures of a similar car with the alpina wheels fitted but did not manage to find any.. i would appreciate if anybody can direct me to a site with pictures ....

Also do you think i might have rubbing issues and will need to modify the arches for this setup?

thanks a lot

[Aiders]

I would expect the Alpina 18" wheels to fit fine and you shouldn't need to modify the arches. If you look at images of the Alpina D3 you should be able to get a feel for how the car would look. For example in the UK the Alpina D3 comes with 19" Wheels (235/40R18 or 245/40R18 Front, 265/30R19 Rear) and to my knowledge rides on standard SE springs. Some images are available here: http://www.thealpinaregister.com/inc...es/d3/2/07.jpg

In Europe the Alpina D3 is supplied with 18" wheels (235/40R18 or 245/40R18 Front, 265/40R18 Rear). Some images are available here:
http://www.alpina-automobiles.com/fi..._327226_.1.JPG
http://www.alpina-automobiles.com/fi..._327226_.3.JPG

If you stick with the size combinations used by Alpina I would expect it to be a fairly simple bolt on change. That said you need to be aware of brake clearance issues due to you having a 330i that probably has larger brakes than the D3. For example my D3 and B3 both have 19" wheels however the offsets are different on the B3 to clear the larger 335i brakes as opposed to the smaller 320d brakes. Perhaps look at the wheel sizes used on the D3 Bi Turbo as I believe that has larger (discs are definitely bigger, but not sure about the callipers) brakes than the D3. Alternatively look at the B3 Bi Turbo wheel sizes.