Tire size and suspension height

[iszekeres]

I recently picked up a 91 318i and need some advice on tire sizes that will fit the lowered suspension that the PO had installed.  

Sport Bilsteins with HR sport springs (29664)

I had the car in my hot little hands for three days before I managed to rip out the lower pan, crack the upper pan and, lucky for me, cracked the lower timing case on a steel construction plate in the road!  Lots of work, but on the plus side I discovered that the timing chain/sprockets were very worn....something I probably wouldnt have looked at until the timing chain assembly exploded and done signifigantly more damage.

Now that I am putting things back together, I am looking at alternatives to raising the pan some without replacing the shocks/springs.  I will see if I can add spacers at the engine mounts to raise it a bit if at all possible.  I was hoping for something around 1/2"  I also want to fit winter tires, which leads to my question....

Now I am running 14" wheels, and they do not seem to rub.  I was wondering if I might be able to go to a 15" wheel with this suspension setup.  Or overall, how large of a wheel would I be able to fit without rubbing?

Any other advice on how to raise the pan without swapping shocks/springs would be greatly appreciated......

As an aside....I love working on this car!  I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of pulling the front of the engine off, but it has been no trouble at all...no cursing...no impossible to reach fasteners...and just all around smiles at the job

[rfritz]

That sounds like a bunch of unnecessary work to me. Just be more careful. The problem is not the height of the car, I have the same setup. I just watch where I am driving and avoid spots that look like they could cause damage.

Also - the tire size will be the same if you do it right. 15" wheels should probably havr a 205/50 or 55R15 to match a 14" wheel with a 205/60R14.

[D. Clay]

Tirerack.com gives the diameter of tires in the spec section. The springs lower the car 1.3" per the adds.  Easiest solution may be adding extra pads between the springs and their seats - top and bottom.

[Alpine003]

The most economical and easiest would be to run taller tires but you'll be affecting the over final drive which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking for.

I have the exact same setup and hope I don't run across your situation around here.

[D. Clay]

How much cleartance do you have between the pan and the ground. With those springs it shouldn't be excessively low. Maybe the strut mounts are old and collapsed.
http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AF93&mospid=47305&btnr=31_0211&hg=31&fg=10
They are #1 in the above illsutration. Price about $30 online.