I am thinking about putting a set of 19's on my 99 323i, i dont want to lower the car though, would the wheels look good without a large gap in the wheel wells if the car wasnt lowered?

thanks

As your wheels get larger, your tire profile gets smaller. This way the whole wheel (wheel & tire) will stay about the same size. If I were you, I would probably want to lower the car at least an inch. It's not like you have an M3 and would be playing with a tuned suspension. You could get some nice lowering springs that would probably enahnce the handling of the car as well.

i think it would look bad ass because once your wheels get larger there is less BLACK between the wheels and the wheel wells so less of an off-road appearence, just be carful about your wheel width

Hell no... it would look like a misproportioned tractor, and handle like said vehicle, try 17s if you don't want to lower it.. but you really should!

I think you should put it abit lower otherwise it will look abit strange :D

Try to make a photomontage - take a sidepic of your car and of the wheel then put them together and see.

If it isnt lowered, you can make the wheels taller cuz' you wont have to worry about clearance issues as much. Keep them narrow and low profile, so clearance wont be a problem.

I would lower the car a bit, or get a body kit. It would really set off the car.

whoa... if you go w/ a taller tire, it raises the car. if you put a big ass rim w/tiny sidewalls in the stock wheelwells it looks 4wd.
my lude did. i went from the stock 14s (its an 89) to 16s w/ the same height overall w/ the tires and it looked hella 4wd... gotta lower it... you will once you see it.. .trust me...

Pretty narrow wheels and pot-hole fearing low profile would help, but you will need to lower and modify the wheel wells so it wont rub.

I'm sorry but 19's would look phat on the bmw. I don't care what nobody says, put em on. Lower it an inch and you are straight. 18's would look good too.

Is your '99 an E46 body style...which is my favorite BTW. I would lower the car at least an inch like others have said. One of my personal pet peeves is aftermarket wheels without lowering it a bit. I think 19's would be []D [] []V[] []D :D

<-----------drools
mmmmmmmmmm 19's........
damn, i wish i had money.... :)

This was mentioned awhile back on 3geez and it's a good rule of thumb.

To keep your car from looking like a Jeep when adding newer, larger rims, keep the wheel gap equal to your sidewall height. So if the distance from your rim to the tire is 1 inch, you want a 1 inch gap between the tire and the wheel well. This is a gigantic wheel/tire combo but to make it look right, it's necessary.

I agree and disagree. Yeah when you get any rim, you gotta have a good setup for it to look good, but having certain rules of thumb for wheel well gap is a little much. Pretty much up to personal preference. I like having no gap.

The last post was well said. I have a 2000 323i Just purchased springs for it I have 18in lexanis on it now 225/40/18. I plan on selling these very soon. My springs are going to bring the front down 1.4" and the rear .2" I would like to purchase the 19in Alba Bank. for my car. I seen them ona 325I con. Very nice. Attached is a photo of my car. I just purchased clear corner lights for the front, side, and rear.. Also a rear roof wing. and possibly tail lip. I don't know it will be finished in about a month.