bigger brakes/wheels for 325E

[Gordon FAtula]

Was wondering what parts would be involved to change my current rims to 5 bolt 16" ones? And what are some good brake ideas so that I could have bigger ones on this same car?

[Jon325i]

First of all, is your quest for a 5-bolt simply cause you want different wheels? If you answered yes, then you are wasting your money. The cost of doing one of these conversions is not cheap.....there's quite a bit involved. In order to make this work out and function properly, here's what you need....

Option #1 - Going with E36 parts

Front: complete strut assemblies (hub, rotor, caliper, wheel bearing, brake lines, etc.)

Rear: E36 318ti trailing arms with hubs, rotors, calipers, wheel bearing, brake lines, etc.

Option #2 - Going with E30 M3 parts

Front: complete strut assemblies (hub, rotor, caliper, wheel bearing, brake lines, etc.)

Rear: trailing arms with hubs, rotors, calipers, wheel bearing, brake lines, etc.

Option #1 will be trickier since the strut tubes are different when compared to the E30s thus meaning you will need to get different front shocks to make it work. The rear can use E30 parts since the subframe and trailing arms of the E36 318ti are identical to the E30. What's attractive about the #1 option is that there are tons of wrecked E36 cars which have all the parts needed to make this conversion possible. Just keep in mind you will need to address the mastercylinder (larger one needed) and all the associated hardware and bushings that will need to be acquired.

Option #2 will be much more straight forward since everything is a DIRECT bolt on....even your existing strut inserts will fit into these without any issues. The downside is that E30 M3s were a low production vehicle thus making finding parts more difficult and usually a higher price. With this set up you will have some aftermarket wheel options but not as many due to the wheel offset....the E30 M3 uses a 27mm offset whereas the E36 used wheels in the 35mm to 40mm range.....and there are a lot more aftermarket wheels in the latter.

As I mentioned initially, if you want to go with a 5-bolt conversion just for the sake of different wheels, you are making a costly mistake. For what you would spend sorting out this conversion, you could easily go out and buy a custom set of modular wheels to fit your existing 4-bolt pattern and you won't have to deal with all the work involved.

I am presently in the process of doing an E30 M3 suspension/brake conversion to my '89 325i (still gathering parts at this time). But my reasons for doing this are not founded in my vehicles' appearance. I have plans to do some track time in my car and the E30 M3 brakes will give me 1" larger rotors at every corner, plus larger calipers/brake pads and more substantial wheel bearings. A second reason for doing this swap is that I eventually plan on doing a horsepower upgrade in the future. I may do a twin cam E36 motor or build up a stroker M20 (I have a spare M20 in storage that could serve this role). The additional perfromance gained from a more powerful engine will mandate better suspension and brakes to keep things in balance.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Gordon FAtula]

Actually I am wanting similar things. i.e. track tome, bigger brakes, etc. Unless all of these issues can be resolved with just a few bolt-ons I will go with one of your routes. You did a very informative reply. Thanks....