OK, this might be a little different to the normal question we get here on wheel/tyre sizes. 

My recently acquired 328i Touring is running on Style 44 17" wheels and 225/45/17 tyres.  Firstly, these wheels are kerb magnets and secondly, with road conditions around these parts, I find the ride a little more harsh than necessary and they can tramline a bit.  I don't mind giving up a little bit of ultimate grip for a better ride

So, I'm thinking of changing the wheels to 16's (not the usual change we discuss here!).  As it happens I have a set of e36 style 30's that I bought with the intention of putting on Mrs D's old 323i but never did. 

I've always liked these on the e36 but looking for feedback on what people think about the visuals on an e46?

Second question, has anyone done this direction of change? 

Third question, the Style 30's normally run 225/50/16 tyres giving a close enough rolling radius to the 225/45/17.  But this doesn't really give me a whole lot extra sidewall to soak up bumps (although the difference between 45 and 50 was noticable when comparing Mrs D's old 318Ci against my old 330). To get better I'd need to go to 205/55/16 to keep the rolling radius correct.  Since both will fit a 7" wide rim I don't see this as a problem technically but might this be an insurance issue since its not a BMW std tyre size for this wheel? 

If anyone isn't sure which wheel the Style 30, is, see link below.

http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_030.htm - http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_030.htm

Dusting off an old thread here.

I picked up a mint set of Style 55 16" wheels (often fitted to Z3 but sometimes e46) running 225/50/16 with great tyres on fleabay for a favourable price as an interim measure and popped them on the car this evening.  Only had a short run but it looks like they have yielded the improvement I hoped for.  First impressions on the visual side is that they may leave a bit too much space in the wheel arches, but need to see in daylight to decide.

I will run these for a while and see how I get on.  If I decide the 16's leave it a bit under tyred I'll either refurb the Style 44's or replace them with a set of Style 73's, either of them running on 205/50/17's.

Amazing what a little bit of extra sidewall achieves. 

On a similar note, a colleague replaced the runflat rears on his Z4 coupe with non-RFT's and is now ready to throw away the RFT's on the front because of the difference the rears make.

http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_055.htm - http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_055.htm

http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_073.htm - http://www.kalach.easynet.be/style/style_073.htm