In the rear you will probably be fine, but may have to cut or foll. Really depends on how low you go and how much camber you have. In the rear, I have the camber set as positive as you can go with OEM, which is 1.5 degrees of negative camber if I remember correctly (don't have paper work in front of me).

In the rear, I had the fender wells cut vs rolling, and also cut the fender liner (may not have been needed). Going this route with the 20x10" and 20mm offset, I have a good 6mm of clearance still...

 

You should be fine. It is a slightly less aggressive offset so you will probably not need to do anything to your fenders or fender liners.

 

Well guys, I went ahead and did it. I bought the 20" Axis Sport XGT's from Tire Rack with 255-35 and 285-30 Hankook Ventus tires. I put them on and I'm seeing some possible problems as you guys mentioned. The front touches the plastic inside well liner turning the wheels all the way left and right. Since it's plastic, I think I'll try to heat up the liner and flex it back to allow a little more clearance.
With the wheels straight, it looks like the tire easily clears the fender. However, when I turn, I'm afraid the tire comes out too far and will hit the fender when the suspension is 100% compressed. I'l really worried about it.
The rears look good. I think when the suspension is compressed, the 285's will tuck in there nicely without rolling my fenders.
What's the easiest way to test for tire-fender clearance for the front and back of these E60's? I don't want to drive on the tires until I know they will work for sure.
Thanks for all your advice!

 

As for the fender liners, I would not worry. Mine touch ever so slightly when turned in full lock, but not enough pressure to harm anything. Not to mention, how often are you turning at full lock (making U turns)...

To test clearance, pull in street then back or pull car up curb onto sidewalk.

Look at pic closely and you will see I am in street but backed up onto the side walk/curb.

 

Good point. Mine are the same thing... when I lock left or right it touches the liner.
Do your front tires touch your fender when the tires are turned and your suspension compressed? I have the OEM sport suspension so it's a little lower to begin with. It's REALLY tight there.

 

I am lowered on coilovers, which sit a little lower than my sports suspension did (tucks a little bit of tire). No issues when turning. Have to remember, when driving with any kind of decent speed where you would cause enough compression to cause issues, your tires will only be turned a good 1-2" as small turns of the steering wheel turn the vehicle. Next time your driving, take a look at cross traffic when sitting at a stop light... You will see the wheels barely need to turn in order to make a 90 degree turn.

When turning sharper like a U turn or into a drive way, you will not have enough speed to cause any issues.

Hope this makes sense,
Dave

 

Makes perfect sense. So basically, as long as my tires are tucked under the fender when I'm going relatively straight, there should be no issues. Looking at the car from the front, the tires tuck in almost exactly like the OEM 245-40-18's with +18 ET.
I'm REALLY happy with how the car looks now. I wanted the 20's but didn't want to go to such low profile tires thus sacrificing the ride and risking bending rims. Doing what you've done gives me the best of both worlds. Thanks for the idea and the help!

Randy

 

Hello again!
I'm thinking of changing out my front 8.5's with 9.5" wheels. I think the deep lip wheel looks great. The wider rims have the same offset so I THINK they should come out 1/2" more in front and 1/2" more in the rear. Right now, I have about 3/4" clearance between the strut and the wheel/tire. So technically, it should work, right? The tire will still be in the same location to the fender but just stretched out at the lip.
Can you think of any reason why this wouldn't work? In your opinion, will it look silly?

Thanks for any advice or comments!
Randy

 

If offset is the same, then yes, it will add 1/2" to both sides of the wheels. This is a hard one... if the tire is stretched enough, it should work. If you have any rubbing, it will most likely be the little triangle mount where the fender and bumper meet. May have to cut off and make a custom mount some how.

 

Last night, I took one of the rear tires off and mounted it in front. Of course, the 285 tire was too big as it projected out the side of the fender. I took a gap measurement near the strut and it came out to be only 1.5 mm near the wheel. On the outside, it appeared that the wheel was coming out from the car but it PROBABLY would work if I mounted 255 tires up front there. There definitely would be more rim exposed using a 255 tire on a 9.5" wheel verses 8.5. I think you are exactly right about the triangular area where the fender and bumper meet. There's a good chance of that rubbing.
I've thought about it and thought about it and I've decided to scrap the whole idea. I want to keep my tires tucked neatly under the fenders where they belong. Plus I want to protect my rims from curb rash as much as possible. Someone on this forum also mentioned that sticking your tires out the side of your car more will beat up the paintwork. I agree totally.
I will leave my 8.5's on front. That's the safest way to proceed.
My next project with the car is too add a lip spoiler and some M5 rocker panels. Fun stuff!
Thanks again for your help and insights!
Randy