Jeff, if you have 200K on your car and you don't think you need to inspect /
replace bushings, you are in for a surprise. RSMs are a replacement item by
at least 100K along with lcas and rtabs. I would have them checked out.


"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jim P." > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi All,
>> I have a '96 328i, all stock, with about 96,000 miles. I bought the
>> car
>> in 2002 with 54,000 miles on it. I live in the New York city area.
>> Some questions on a couple of topics:
>> 1- Would there be any suspension components/ bushings due for replacement
>> srtictly based on this mileage? If so, recommendations?
>
> I have a '94 325i that is also stock, except I upgraded the wheels
> recently
> to 17" from an M3. I bought my car at 100,000 in 2000, and now have
> 200,000.
> I put an average of 25,000 miles per year over 4 years. I have no reason
> to
> think I need any bushings or other suspension components.
>
>
>
>
>> 2- I'd like to switch from the original 15" wheel/tire setup to 16"or 17"
>> when I take off my snow tires next spring. I see a lot of aftermarket
>> wheels, at tirerack for example, that are said to fit the car, but have a
>> different offset than the stock BMW wheels. How important is it to
> maintain
>> the exact offset? Is there an allowable difference of a few mm? What
> about
>> the use of spacers? They don't seem like a suitable alternative seeing
> how
>> the stock wheel sits over the center hub.
>
> Let me urge you to go to eBay and do a search on 'BMW OEM E36 17" WHEELS'.
> You can modify the search string, drop OEM and/or E36, or change the size
> to
> 16", and get a different mix of results. If you leave the OEM in the
> string,
> you will cut out the after market rims (for the most part) and get a
> listing
> of factory original rims that are take-offs where somebody is changinf
> from
> the size you are searching on to an even larger size.
>
> I scored a set (all 5) of rims from an M3. The tires that go on these rims
> are 225/45x17. They are within 1% of being the same size as the tires
> (225/55x15) that came off, and are very colose to the 205/60s that you
> probably have today. The 225/45s are nearly an inch wider than the
> 205/60s,
> but they will fit without any modification to your car. The offset of the
> M3
> rim is correct for your car. The wider tires will not allow chains, but
> you
> have a set of snow tires already so this should be OK. Alternatively, you
> can put on a 205/50x17 and then you can use chains if you need them before
> the start of the official snow season and get caught out in the snow.
>
> Check this link for the BMW offerings (I got the Style 22, M3 Double
> Spoke)
> http://www.kalach.easynet.be/bmw_wheels.htm
>
>
>
>> TIA to all!
>>
>>
>
>