Wheel & Tire Replacement

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joeguzman10

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
6
Any thoughts on using the tires listed below?

BMW i3 Tires & Conversion

Standard [Size Diameter Width]
Front 155/70R19 27.56 inches 6.10 inches
Rear 175/60R19 27.28 inches 6.89 inches


Compatibale Tires [Size Diameter Width]
F&R 195/65R16 25.98 inches 7.68 inches

F&R 205/55R17 25.87 inches 8.07 inches Ideal?

F&R 225/55R18 27.76 inches 8.86 inches

F&R 225/55R19 28.74 inches 8.86 inches
 
The wheel wells are not wide enough for those tires. The i3s "sport" model uses 195/50 R20 in the rear, and a conventional i3 needs modification to put those wheels/tires on.

Handling is pretty damn good with the stock tires, even though they're "thin," because they are very tall, so the contact patch is about the same size as a smaller-but-wider tire.

Also, I don't think even the i3s has much wider front tires, so you'd need to do major modifications to fit anything wider than a 175 up front. (Yup, 175/55R20 up front.)
 
CharonPDX said:
Handling is pretty damn good with the stock tires, even though they're "thin," because they are very tall, so the contact patch is about the same size as a smaller-but-wider tire.
In fact, the contact patch is identical in area to that of a wider tire because contact patch depends only on the weight being supported and the inflation pressure. However, the contact patch shape is longer and narrower than that of a wider tire which must have some affect on handling, etc.
 
All I can say is that my i3 with the 155R20s up front and 175R20s in back handles *WAY* better than my last "sporty" car that I put 205R16s on front and rear. Also, I can't imagine how extremely strange an i3 with smaller wheels/thicker tires would look. The giant wheel-to-tire ratio is one of its defining visual characteristics.Waiting
 
Also, I don't think even the i3s has much wider front tires, so you'd need to do major modifications to fit anything wider than a 175 up front. (

Yup, definitely. Someone with an i3 posted that a tire shop accidentally mounted his new rear tires on the front, and the new front tires on the rear. He was picking the car up in the evening, and didn't notice. Totally destroyed the tires on the front, rubbing on the suspension,
 
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