I'm in a massive wheel hunt for my car, and some guy e-mailed me with a set of BMW wheels. He said that the BMW bolt pattern is only 1/10 of an inch smaller than the GM, but that he ahs run his BMW wheels on his Camaro before without any problems. Has anyone else ever heard anything like this????


------------------
1996 Pontiac Trans Am
Full-option package

1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
1 of 200 built in 1986, and 1 of 44 known to be in existence. Sold that one, found the 45th, UNREGISTERED 86 SS Aerocoupe. So, now, 1 of 45 known.

1987 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe, 355/380hp, project car/playtoy!!

 

A co-worker of mine put BMW rims on his '93 S-10, so...

------------------
Webmaster:SETHIRDGEN
GM Tech
ASE Master Auto Technician + L1
1987 Trans Am: 357ci
Ported TFS heads, ZZ4 cam, headers & exhuast and other go fast goodies
13.53 @ 103.77

 

BMW = 5 x 120mm

Camaro = 5 x 4.75" or 116.375mm real close. bend studs tightening down.

------------------
fl-thirdgen.org#0004
moderator @ www.fl-thirdgen.org '86 t/a, 3.27, auto, homemade CAI, hypertech AFPR, comp cams 1.52 roller tip rockers, holley prostrip annililator ignition system, shift kit,
OEM corvette 2100 rpm convertor, lakewood adjustable panhard rod and trailing arms, edelbrock 6872 headers, catco 6007 3" cat, flowmaster 17151 3" single outlet catback. 14.91 @ 90.57 177.7rwhp 356.4rwtq

 

There is someone over seas who has a set of 18's off a BMW on his third gen. I don't know how he did it but man, they looked awsome

 

I really think I'd rather elongate the holes in the wheels before I even attempted to install them. Bending the studs isn't smart, nor is it safe. Slotting the wheels and using flat nuts with washers instead of acorn nuts is probably the safest way to approach this.


------------------
The IROC Homepage
View the Restoration of an 85 IROC
Weekend projects aren't.

 

nor is grinding out the holes that's how you get vibrations that won't go away. mainly high speed vibrations

 

Where did you find the conversion table for the standard tometric conversion for the bolt pattern? 3/4" should be .750, shouldn't it?

------------------
1996 Pontiac Trans Am
Full-option package

1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe
1 of 200 built in 1986, and 1 of 44 known to be in existence. Sold that one, found the 45th, UNREGISTERED 86 SS Aerocoupe. So, now, 1 of 45 known.

1987 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe, 355/380hp, project car/playtoy!!

 

Dude, you math is wrong! 1" (inch) = 25.4MM, so 4.75" would be 120.65MM, conversely 120MM would be 4.72". The difference would be equivalent to three business cards thickness.

G22luvr: 3/4" is .750", just one is a fractional representation, the other is decimal.

------------------
George P. Lara
1984 Z28
2001 SS #0391
SCCA, SC3G, GS3, SCFB, SSOA #M01-0391

[This message has been edited by MRZ28HO (edited June 19, 2002).]

 

If you really want to split hairs there is 0.02559" difference or about 25 and 1/2 thousands of an inch difference. If I were a betting man, the manufacturing tolerances between the two wheels could exceed that in some spots. I'd bet the BMW wheels would slip right on and the stock acorn lug nuts tighten right up..... If this was the case, it would be waaaaaaaay more desireable than bending the studs or egging the holes.

 

Grinding the holes is still the safer way to go (although I'd just find wheels that fit better). Bending the studs is just asking for trouble, but as long as you grind the holes relatively uniformally, the balance won't be off that much, and considering how close to the center of the wheel the weight imbalance would be, wheel weights on the edge of the rim would be more than capable of making up the few gram difference here or there.

I do suppose that if the wheel wasn't hub-centric, then it would be necessary to have a machinist with a milling machine do it to ensure that the holes are all elongated accurately with respect to the center of the wheel. I never thought about non hub-centric wheels, which may well be the case with the BMW wheels.



------------------
The IROC Homepage
View the Restoration of an 85 IROC
Weekend projects aren't.