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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Posts
    2,202

    Question Apex Arc 8 Decisions and Fitment

    Hey everyone,

    It's time for me to ditch the Style 135's and get some new rims and tires. The 135's that came with my car were beat up heavily from the previous owner, and one of them is bent from me hitting a pothole shortly after a big snow storm a year ago. I'm also running Michelin Pilot Sport AS3's and I'm honestly sick and tired of losing traction so easily. All seasons are great for a daily but now that I have the money to get a dedicated set of summer and winter tires, I'm really looking forward to the increased performance with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. (I've never owned summer tires)

    I've decided to go with Apex arc 8's as I have seen everyone else on here with those wheels and I really love how light they are and how great they look.

    I'm looking to go with a square setup so that I can rotate tires, but I want to make sure that whatever I get, I will be able to fit without crazy adjustments. I think right now I'm running -1.2 or -1.1 camber up front and -1.5 or -2.0 in the rear. I'd like to keep the stock camber settings. (Some threads I've seen on e46f have guys running -4 or -5 degrees camber for fitment and thats really extreme for me)

    I currently have an H&R Touring Cup Kit, so the car is lowered a bit, but it is not slammed. I have also never rolled my fenders and have never had any rubbing with stock wheels and tires.

    So here's the part that I'm torn on and really need help with,

    I'd like to run 18x8.5 with the widest tire I can, will I be able to fit 255's in the front and rear without issues? A common thing I see with the square 18x8.5 setup is running 235's in the front and rear for fitment. I feel like 235's would be too narrow and I would miss out on performance.

    If I decide to go with 17x8.5 all around (Derbo if your reading this I love your setup and what you have done with your car) is it even worth going deep concave? ET20 seems like its going to be hard to fit right without doing some more work. Fitting 255's on a 17x8.5 setup seems like it doesn't need much adjusting and I know the tires are cheaper along with rims.

    Bottom line is I want as much performance out of the car as I can get while still being practical. I don't track the car, and have been doing a lot of city driving. I do like to drive it hard when I can and don't really care about how harsh the ride is. I'm still young.

    Thanks for reading,
    2005 Jet Black 6MT ZHP "Family First"
    ~Rob~

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    3,130
    There's a lotttt of open ended questions here. Offsets will determine how wide you can go. Some go as far as 9.5 et35 square with 235 tires, while others play it cool with 8.5 et42 with 255 tires. Really depends on what you're looking for.

    Anyway, here's a used set of 17x8.5 et42's that you can probably get for a great price since the clear coat is peeling:
    https://www.panjo.com/buy/fs-apex-ar...x9-et42-348286

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    10,243
    I don't think Apex made any 17x8.5" in a ET42 fitment, only ET40. They make a 17x9" ET42 though.

    I went with a square 17x8.5" ET40 w/ a 245/40R17 tire and quite enjoy the setup. I'm no expert on wheel/tire fitments, but I think you could sneak a 255 on there without much issue. I don't know that you really need the 255 section width though. I really get on it and barely break the rear end loose. The car becomes quite neutral with a square 245 setup. But that's just my experience, others might say otherwise.

    EDIT: In terms of looks, 17s look small in pictures but for some reason look bigger/correct in person.
    Last edited by BMWCurves; 06-09-2017 at 05:22 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Posts
    2,202
    Sorry that my questions have been all over the place. I knew I wanted Apex Arc 8's but besides that I've been back and forth on a lot of ideas for fitment. I realize now that getting concave is not going to happen without stretching tires or doing some weird stuff that I don't want to deal with. Running ET20 is not happening.

    So that leaves me down to either square 17x8.5 255's ET40 or square 18x8.5 255's (Apex makes two different offset 18x8.5's - They make an ET38 and an ET45 - Does anyone know if there is any difference between the two besides the offset? Is one more concave than the other?)

    Am I being dumb trying to fit 255's all around instead of 245's? It's only 10mm but I still like the look of wider tires.

    Leaning towards 17's for cost, performance and longevity (We have some big potholes in DC) - but I sure like the look of 18's...
    2005 Jet Black 6MT ZHP "Family First"
    ~Rob~

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    588
    Totally agree... I have a square set-up of 17x8.5 ET40 Arc-8's with 245/40 PSS's on a 2005 330xi (sport) and a square set-up of 18x8.5 ET38 Arc-8's with 245/40 PSS's on a 2004 ZHP (wanted to go a tad bigger for multiple reasons). I love 'em both. The ZHP has stock suspension, and there's plenty of room all around. I wanted to ensure fit by sticking with 8.5's, and 245's are ideal for 8.5's. The fit is pretty perfect--I'm not sure I'd go any wider, although I'd say there's plenty of room. I don't understand it, but tramlining is significantly less than with the stock ZHP wheels/tires.

    330xi with 17 x 8.5...
    Name:  17 x 8.5 APEX Arc-8.jpg
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Size:  997.6 KB

    ZHP with 18 x 8.5...
    Name:  New Wheels Apex Arc-8 18x8.5 Medium.jpg
Views: 9618
Size:  1.41 MB
    Last edited by Reasoned1; 06-09-2017 at 04:30 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    242
    Call APEX, they will tell you whatever you need to know. Matt will likely pick up the phone.

    As for the tire width and missing out on performance, you won't notice a difference between 235 and 245, I promise. If you want grip, get a sticky tire, so no Pilot Super Sport.

    Josh

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Branford, CT
    Posts
    16,055
    PSS tires are a great in-between, but their price makes them less practical, though this totally depends on your driving style and how much you drive. With your alignment settings, you shouldn't have a problem getting at least 15-20k out of a set. My 255/35-18 PSS tires on my BBS wheels are at 15k with somewhat regular rotation (try to do every oil change, 7.5k) and they still have plenty of life left. I reckon I'll get 25k out of this set.

    I also have Apex ARC-8's in 17x8.5 et40 with 245/40 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R's (track set). The wheels fit fine, but I wish they were 18's as they look so much better in 18" fitment IMO. 17's do look fine though; I'm just really picky.

    Here's a couple of pics for reference. This is on PSS10's with the ride height adjusted more up, and can tell you that fitment is not a concern. I could probably slap 255's on these and still not have any issues with rubbing, though my fenders are rolled.

    0623161953 by botond.pal, on Flickr

    From some angles, the 17's look just as big as the 18's, like this pic:

    0522161913 by botond.pal, on Flickr



    Ultimately, if you're okay with 17's, then I think you'll be very happy with your purchase. Even 18's aren't that much more and don't weigh much more, so you have options.

    BTW, deep concave wheels will be out of the question since you don't want to do modifications. The offsets are far too aggressive for a non-M E46 without making modifications.
    BP
    2005 330i ZHP / 6MT
    Imolarot / Naturbraun
    2003 330iT / 6MT
    Orientblau / Naturbraun




    It's not the car you drive, it's how you drive it.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Kitchener, ON
    Posts
    6,034
    Quote Originally Posted by Newjack View Post
    So that leaves me down to either square 17x8.5 255's ET40 or square 18x8.5 255's (Apex makes two different offset 18x8.5's - They make an ET38 and an ET45 - Does anyone know if there is any difference between the two besides the offset? Is one more concave than the other?)
    both 18x8.5" ET38 and ET45 have the same face profile. apex told me they recommend the ET38 for the front of the E46 chassis, but i can't see a problem with running the ET45 ones as lots of people run 18x8.5" ET50 135M rear wheels on the front without issue.

    for me, the ET38 is a pretty aggressive fitment up front on the E46 non-M, and you must run at least -1.5* negative camber with a 245 or 255 tire, otherwise it's going to stick out past the top of the fender, which in my opinion looks a bit off.

    i've got 18x8.5" ET38 square with 245/35/18 PSS, and i'm thinking of going to the 18x8.5" ET45 and 18x9.5" ET58 (with 5mm spacer) setup with 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 PSS.

    i've run staggered and square, and ultimately i prefer staggered for it's overall feel on the road - narrower tires up front definitely help with steering feel.
    peter

    2004 330i ZHP
    2005 330iT ZHP
    2010 328iT M Sport

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Posts
    2,202
    Thanks for the input everyone, very helpful. I'm not tearing my hair out between 17's or 18's. Gonna sit down and price out the cost of both and see if the price difference will sway my opinion a little bit.

    I really like the 18's and that's what I'm leaning towards right now. The ET45 makes me feel like I would have a much easier time running 255's up front with these wheels.

    The 17's are practical, and can probably sustain a bigger pothole without damaging the rim than the 18's can, but I can't decide if I like the look or not. Some pictures look amazing and others make me crave the larger rim. Fitting 255's on ET40 might be a bit of a challenge as well.


    Are Pilot Super Sports not the go to tire anymore? Everyone has been raving about them for years now and they are rated really high on tire rack and everywhere else I've seen them. Should I be going with a different tire? (I daily drive my zhp and put maybe 15k miles per year on it)
    2005 Jet Black 6MT ZHP "Family First"
    ~Rob~

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Kitchener, ON
    Posts
    6,034
    i love PSS. they are the best balance of wet + dry grip, low weight, long life, steering feel, and quiet ride, that i have tried. that said, the new PS4S is out, albeit in limited sizes, and that is supposed to be even better than the PSS, of course.

    i've been fortunate to try all sorts of different tires, and only run michelins now on both E46s for both summer and winter use - PSS for summer on the red Touring, PS A/S 3 on the black Touring, and X-Ice3 for winter on both. everything else has been 'compromised' in some way or another... i just feel most confident and secure on the tires i'm running.
    peter

    2004 330i ZHP
    2005 330iT ZHP
    2010 328iT M Sport

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