Fitment guide

BMW E30 M3 Wheel & Tire Fitment Guide

Originally published | 01/23/2020
Updated | 02/07/2024

Are you looking for wheels built for the 1986-1991 BMW E30 M3? Our E30 M3 fitment guide has you covered with wheel and tire recommendations for stock cars as well as those with aftermarket brakes and suspension. This guide is applicable to all E30 M3 models including Evolution (EVO 1, EVO 2) and Sport Evolution (EVO 3). Whether you’re looking for aggressive concave fitments oriented towards a stanced aesthetic or practical track-oriented options built for brake clearance and meaty tires, Apex has you covered. Our Flow Formed ARC-8s were originally designed specifically for the E30 M3 and are still available for this rare chassis today. These wheels are made in 2 unique wheel widths in a 17” diameter that allows E30 M3 owners to run modern tire sizes that are more readily available. If you’re looking for fitment information on the standard non-M3 E30 models, head over to our BMW E30 3 Series Wheel & Tire Fitment Guide.

Available Wheel Designs

Flow Formed Designs

Bolt Pattern

5x120mm

Center Bore

72.56mm

Lug Seat

60° Conical

Lug Thread Pitch

M12x1.5mm

Performance Street and Track Wheel Fitment

Wider fitments for enhanced performance

  • Silver BMW M3 - ARC-8 in Hyper Black
  • Black BMW M3 - ARC-8 in Hyper Silver

Whether you enjoy spirited street driving or you are a weekend track warrior chasing lap times, these wheel & tire configurations are ideal for E30 M3 owners looking for a performance oriented wheel fitment. They are typically paired with performance-oriented summer tires or track oriented R-compounds.

The suspension type, alignment settings, and tire brand/size can be changed accordingly to set the car up for either environment. While some of these ARC-8 wheel fitments can be ran with the factory alignment, if you plan to track the car we highly recommended dialing in negative camber to improve handling and to extract the most performance and longevity out of your tires. See fitment notes under each tire configuration below to see if modifications are required.

Square Configurations

Recommended for enthusiasts that want to mitigate understeer and rotate tires front & rear for extended life. Square configurations may compromise rear-end grip when compared to staggered configurations.

Wheels

  • Front Wheel Size: 17x8" ET20
  • Rear Wheel Size: 17x8" ET20
    • Available in Profile 1 (non-concave) ARC-8 design only.
    • Clears most big brake kits with rotors up to 355mm. Some kits may still require spacers. Contact us to confirm.

Tires

  • APEX Staff Pick:
    • Front Tire Size: 215/40-17
    • Rear Tire Size: 215/40-17
    • Direct fit.

  • Wider Alternative:
    • Front Tire Size: 235/40-17
    • Rear Tire Size: 235/40-17
    • Additional negative camber required up front
    • May require rolled rear fenders depending on tire brand and compound.

Aggressive Street Wheel Fitment

Aggressive fitments focused on appearance

  • Silver BMW M3 - ARC-8 in Hyper Black
  • White BMW M3 - ARC-8 in Hyper Black

These fitments are ideal for the E30 M3 owner who wants to fill out the wheel wells with perfectly flush offsets. These fitments are sometimes direct bolt-on, but oftentimes require small spacers, negative camber, or rolled fenders for the sake of dialing in the perfect blend of function and form.

Narrower tire sizes relative to wheel width are more common here to help move the tire sidewall away from the fenders with more aggressive offsets. Street-oriented all-season and summer tires are popular options.

Square Configurations

Recommended for enthusiasts that want to mitigate understeer and rotate tires front & rear for extended life. Square configurations may compromise rear-end grip when compared to staggered configurations.

Wheels

  • Front Wheel Size: 17x8.5" ET20
  • Rear Wheel Size: 17x8.5" ET20
    • Available in Profile 3 (deep concave) ARC-8 design only.
    • Will not clear big brake kits.
    • May require front spacers to clear certain aftermarket coilovers.

Tires

  • APEX Staff Pick:
    • Front Tire Size: 215/40-17
    • Rear Tire Size: 215/40-17
    • Direct fit.

  • Wider Alternative:
    • Front Tire Size: 235/40-17
    • Rear Tire Size: 235/40-17
    • Significant additional negative camber required up front
    • Requires rolled rear fenders

Wheels

  • Front Wheel Size: 18x8.5" ET35
  • Rear Wheel Size: 18x8.5" ET35
    • Available in ARC-8, EC-7, SM-10
    • Front and rear 15mm spacers are required.
    • May require larger front spacers to clear certain aftermarket coilovers.

Tires

  • APEX Staff Pick:
    • Front Tire Size: 215/35-18
    • Rear Tire Size: 215/35-18

Staggered Configurations

Recommended for enthusiasts that prioritize rear end grip/traction. Wheels and tires cannot be rotated front to rear and large staggers may induce understeer.

Wheels

  • Front Wheel Size: 17x8" ET20
  • Rear Wheel Size: 17x8.5" ET20
    • Mixed Concavity fitment (profile 1 front, profile 3 rear).
    • Rolled rear fenders are required

Tires

  • APEX Staff Pick:
    • Front Tire Size: 215/40-17
    • Rear Tire Size: 235/40-17

Additional Resources

Concavity & Face Profiles

Each of our wheel designs is available in two or three different levels of concavity, which we call Profiles. The Profile is dictated by the width and offset, meaning wide lower-offset wheels will have more concavity, while narrow higher-offset wheels will have less concavity.

Identifying Suspension Types

If you’re using coilovers, see the image below to identify which type of coilover spring you have, as it may effect your wheel fitment.

About Camber Plates

Adjustable camber plates do more than just aid in wide wheel and tire fitment. They provide increased grip and reduced tire wear by spreading the load evenly during cornering. Learn more in our blog article, The Positives of Negative Camber.

Still have questions?

Fill out our Fitment Recommendation form Call us: 925-245-0773 Email us: support@apexraceparts.com