Fitting 295/30/18 10.5 +22 on E46 M3

[Adeoi]

Recently got a hold of a set of Apex SM10’s in 18x9.5 and 10.5 +22 and I was wondering how meaty tires I could possibly fit in the rear, with Nankang AR-1s as the tire of choice.
I’m planning 265/30 up front and was thinking about 295/30 in the rear. Rears are not rolled or shaved yet, but I do know I have to (at least shave?).

Has anyone fit this size before? Or have any other size suggestions? My other choice is 255/35 and 275/35. I’d prefer 285, but nankang doesn’t produce AR1’s in that size.
Normally I’d just buy the tires and see myself but I’m not spending $1000 on rears just to see that it won’t fit

[Tbonem3]

265/35/18 will fit with -3+ camber, but maybe not a 265 known for being very wide like A052 maybe CR-S.

Rear is the bigger issue. Even with fender modification, a friend still rubbed his 275/35 ps4s on 10.5et22 and that's with aftermarket lower arms for -2.5 to -3 camber.

It's just not a great choice for this car. Yes it can be done, but not easily, and there are drawbacks.

There's a fairly active thread just about fitting 10.5et22 in this section, take a look on this page, maybe page 2.

[Slideways]

With some camber and the rear inner lip cut out, it would probably fit.

[EthanolTurbo]

It will make your car slower and it won't handle any better. A 275 is better suited.

[Slideways]

It will make your car slower and it won't handle any better. A 275 is better suited.

Judging by the intercooler, the car is FI and probably needs more tire for traction.

[bigjae46]

Sub’d…because I want to fit 295/30R18s as well.

I hope to attempt this in Mar/Apr.

[liam821]

I have a buddy with 18x11 et25 with 295 square on an e46m3, no rubbing. The wheel offset has to be perfect, gotta run an aggressive alignment (my buddy's is a time attack race car), and you need to run a short front spring (6") so the damper spring perch doesn't hit the wheel/rim - he runs MCS's.

[bigjae46]

I'd love to get the inner lip on the rear wheel flat. I'm guessing it would need a bunch of relief cuts and heat. Then you can roll the U shaped lip flat. Maybe a little welding to fill in some of the relief cuts. Finish it off with some grinding and then top it off with seam sealer.

I'd also love to paint the car a different color so wouldn't hurt my feelings too much bubbling and cracking the paint.

[Projecte46m3]

Nankang AR1s are a very narrow tire for its size. And 295 AR1 is similar to a 265 A052.

[Slideways]

I'd love to get the inner lip on the rear wheel flat. I'm guessing it would need a bunch of relief cuts and heat. Then you can roll the U shaped lip flat. Maybe a little welding to fill in some of the relief cuts. Finish it off with some grinding and then top it off with seam sealer.

I'd also love to paint the car a different color so wouldn't hurt my feelings too much bubbling and cracking the paint.

Post 22 and 23 on m3cutters - https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threa....203801/page-2

Heres mine taken from my thread...







The next job was to tackle the rear arches as I wanted to run 12mm spacers on the rear. With a square setup the rear track width is exactly 24mm narrower than the front, so running 12mm spacers on the rear makes it perfectly square. TBH, this change was mostly for aesthetic reasons as I always noticed the narrower rear track. With the OEM 18” wheels I could run the 12mm spacers as they are only 9” wide but with the ARC-8 wheels in 10” ET25, I could only run a 5mm spacer with light scrubbing.







Pic to try and show the space (or lack of)…



























I had been thinking of the best way to tackle this job after hours of looking online and discussing this with Steven. While Steven had been doing his own research, another forum member had sent him some sketches of how they had done their own car. I am sorry as I don’t know their name but let me know if it was you!







Here are the sketches…







































































In my mind this method is one of two options, with this one leaving a ‘tail’ on the outer skin and either requiring it to be folded over or welded. I did not want to weld and decided that by folding it allows you to build some strength back into the arch by having the outer skin folded back over the inner skin. Also by using metal epoxy I could pump this in between the two skins and then after folding, could further use epoxy to seal and fill any gaps between the two panels. This method therefore can remove any need for welding and properly bonds the two skins back together after the main ‘U’ shape has been cut away to create the tyre/wheel clearance.







The disadvantages to this method are that the folding of the outer skin will inevitably crack the paint on the edge and it also requires reshaping of this outer ‘tail’ by folding it back round, which I did with a hammer & mallet. It is not for the faint hearted as with the two skins not joined together during the re-shaping, when beating the outer ‘tail’ round, you have to support the outer panel with your hand to avoid getting the whole arch out of shape.

With the cracking of the paint it will also require re-painting which is an additional expense. TBH, when I started this I thought I could get away without cracking the paint but it did and I don’t see how you can do it without cracking it, even with some heat.







The other method avoids these issues as you cut the complete ‘U’ shape off and don’t have a ‘tail’ to bend back round, you can then just seal over the top of the two skins with underseal or perhaps get some metal epoxy in there to set.







Still, I am pleased with the result and managed to keep the outer panel from deflecting during the bending over of the tail. The only downside for me is I will be getting the rear quarters re-painted due to the crack of the paint on the edge, but this does not really matter as due to stone chips from the wide front (sticky) tyres, these quarters need re-painted anyway.







For the cutting of the arch I needed a new tool as my Black & Decker ‘Dremmel’ type tool has burnt out the motor. Bought this from ebay for £20 and it was perfect for the job…









































So after masking off the outer arch with a few layers in case I slipped with the cutting tool and also to protect paint from sparks, I checked out the inner lip prior to cutting. You can see where it has been rubbing…



























Then after taking my time and cutting in line with the tape I had marked for the line, I completed the first step on the sketches and removed the outer part of the ‘U’shape…



























I don’t really have any pics of the folding but these are after I have cut the inner ‘L’ shape (3rd sketch), applied epoxy in between the skins (I pryed them apart a little to push epoxy in there before folding the outer ‘tail’), folded over and then applied more epoxy over the folded lip. In applying this 2nd lot of epoxy I used an old card and just worked it down into the join and between the two skins before then building it up to seal over them. You can see the epoxy (grey areas) here…























































I then left this to set for 48 hrs and it is absolutely rock solid. It is basically the same type of 2 part epoxy resin as ‘JB Weld’ or other similar types you get – extremely tough stuff and will keep the skins from ever moving.

I then etch primered the whole lot and left to dry before adding new underseal over the area…









































You can see from this pic just how much more clearance there is in the arch now…

[heinzboehmer]

Post 22 and 23 on m3cutters - https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threa....203801/page-2

Isn't this what Redish does on a bunch of cars too? I've heard them say that's how the CSL came from the factory, but I've never seen pictures of the insides of a CSL rear arch.

Edit: Ha, all I had to do was open your link to see pics of the arches.

[jet_dogg]

That's some dedication right there 😂

[Adeoi]

Post 22 and 23 on m3cutters - https://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/threa....203801/page-2

thanks, pretty detailed and easy to understand this guide. Might have a go with this then

[Adeoi]

I have a buddy with 18x11 et25 with 295 square on an e46m3, no rubbing. The wheel offset has to be perfect, gotta run an aggressive alignment (my buddy's is a time attack race car), and you need to run a short front spring (6") so the damper spring perch doesn't hit the wheel/rim - he runs MCS's.

Do you know his alignment specs? And what he has done to the rear fenders

[Adeoi]

Judging by the intercooler, the car is FI and probably needs more tire for traction.

Supercharged yeah