Staggered for a reason???

[mfan]

I have an '01 BMW M Roadster with original wheels and tires. BMW used a "staggered" configuration for the car in which the rear wheels and tires are wider than the front wheels and tires.

I thought that I might beef up the front end by putting a set of standard BMW rear wheels on the front so that all four wheels/tires would match. IF the rears would fit on the front in terms of clearance (don't know yet), is there a downside in terms of handling, steering, or something else in putting the wider wheels/tires on the front? In other words, is there a performance or engineering reason behind the staggered configuration?

[alphalanos]

personally i would not do that unless it was approved by a BMW tech. a wider rear wheel is used to increase grip in the rear. if you increase grip in the front by going wider, you will be changing the handling setup that the car was designed for. it could lead to problems

[CapriRacer]

As a general rule, the reason for the larger tires on the rear is to reduce full throttle oversteer when coming out of a turn.

There may not be enough room in the front for the wider tires. Because the rears don't have to steer, the rear wheelwell can accomodate wider tires.

I think you ought to stay with the staggered setup. BMW spent a lot of time figuring out what works - tires, springs, shocks, and sway bars - and second guessing them is not a really good idea.

[Grant@Tirerack]

alphalanos and CapriRacer are correct. The car is much more stable with the large tires out back. Running the same size front/back will make the car's handling more neutral. You will see that more on a track setup on these cars. At higher speeds it requires a lot more skill to keep the back end where it needs to stay (behind the front of the car). The same size front/back will make the car more of a demanding machine and will make it easier to get into trouble.

[mfan]

Thanks all. Guess I'll keep the staggered config. -- have enough trouble keeping control of the back end as it is.