[ApexWheels]

As many of you know already, we recently released VS-5RS fitments for the G2X 3 and 4 series. While we’ve focused on OEM+ direct fit options with our square and staggered fitments, we’ve also seen questions about running a 19x9.5 square setup on the G2X platform. With more and more of these cars being sold with xDrive and the added benefit of full front to rear wheel & tire rotation, an aggressive square fitment would be perfect for track rats looking to increase front-end grip and save on tire costs. The video above showcases our latest test fitment of just such a setup. Read on for a full breakdown on this setup and the modifications required.

The issue has always been making these wheels fit. The rear of the car has a significant amount of room for wider wheels and tires, but requires higher offset fitments to take advantage of the available room without rubbing against the factory fenders. Up front, space is more limited because of the front strut assembly both on the factory suspension and with certain aftermarket coilovers.

We brought in a G20 with stock suspension and the factory alignment early on in our wheel development phase to test our 19x9.5 ET25 Supra fitment. That test fit is documented on our development thread here, but we've included some images as a refresher of what this fitment looks like on stock suspension:

G20 Stock Photos: 19” SM-10s

No spacers used.

Our conclusion after this testfit was that while the setup could work, it would need a car with more camber dialed in especially in the rear to prevent poke. With that in mind, we set out to find a modified car for our next test.

VS-5RS Test Fitment

Thankfully our friend and customer Chris (saoblow) volunteered to help us test this new fitment. His G20 recently had Ohlins installed and with a fresh alignment dialed in his M340 was the perfect candidate to validate this square fitment. All of the final photoshoot photography and video featured the following specs.

Modified G20 Specifications:

Suspension: Ohlins Road & Track Coilovers + Vorshlag camber plates

Alignment/Camber: -2.5° Front & -2° Rear

Spacers: 12mm front spacers used for strut clearance

Wheels: VS-5RS in Satin Bronze

Front & Rear: 19x9.5 ET25

Tires:

Front: Falken RT660 - 265/35-19

Rear: Michelin Pilot Sport 4s - 265/35-19
Different tires used F&R to validate clearances and for future staggered testfits.

Front:

The Ohlins coilovers required a 12mm front spacer to move the wheel and tire away from the lower spring perch. This is common from what we’ve seen with Ohlins and other coilovers like KW and Bilstein. Even with the front spacers and lower effective offset, the tire is nearly flush with the front fenders. Falken RT660s run quite wide as well so other narrower tire models in the same listed tire size wouldn’t poke quite as much. Chris purchased a set of these wheels after the test fitment and mounted Yokohama AD08Rs on them in the same 265/35-19 size. He recently ran at Laguna Seca with no rubbing at a slightly higher ride height than pictured.

Additional negative camber around the -3° range could be dialed in for particularly wide tires if you’re using 12mm spacers. Alternatively, other coilover brands may offer more compact spring and perch assemblies with a slimmer silhouette or shorter front stack height springs that would reduce the width of the front spacers via improved clearance.

Rubbing against the fender liners was noted when at full steering lock, particularly in reverse thanks to caster arm bushing flex. This is normal with wider front wheel setups and generally only occurs during parking manouvers at low speeds.

19x9 ET25 notes:

We also tested the 19x9 ET25 wheel with this setup and a narrower Michelin front tire. While the narrower wheel and front tire buys you additional inner clearance, you’ll still need a 5mm front spacer with this Ohlins suspension.

Rear:




​​

The rear fitment has less overall notes. At -2°, the tires tucked into the rear fenders by a thin margin. Wider tire compounds may need additional camber beyond -2°. No spacers were used on the rear. Overall the additional camber tucked in the rear wheels significantly at the fender edge compared to the initial SM-10 testfit. There is plenty of room on the inner edge unlike the front fitment.

Tire Notes:

While 265/30-19s could be used front and rear for a slightly easier fit, the tire model availability is far better in 265/35-19. A solid selection of track tires is available in this size making it the obvious choice for someone that tracks their 3 or 4 series. 255/35-19 has even better availability than 265 although most of the tires in this size are street oriented. Get the full tire breakdown including recommended models on our G2X fitment guide.

Availability and Finish Notes:

This 19x9.5 ET25 setup is available on our website in both the new Forged VS-5RS that you’ve seen featured as well as the Flow Formed SM-10s. Most finishes are currently in stock. We know many of you are also interested in our bolt on 19x9 ET25 and 19x10 ET38 wheels that are arriving soon. If you’re loving the look of the VS-5RS on this car but want an easier purpose-built fitment, you can pre-order the direct-fit wheels on our site as well with a discount that runs through the end of October. Please note that the Satin Bronze finish featured here is currently only available on the 19x9.5 ET25 wheels, but let us know if you’d like to see us bring Satin Bronze to the direct fit VS-5RS wheels in the future!

A Deeper Dive:

VS-5RS /// SM-10 /// Chassis Specific Guide

[ApexWheels]

He liked them so much he had to pick up a set!

saoblow's personal 19x9.5 ET25 VS-5RS with 265/35-19 Yokohama AD08Rs:



A huge thanks goes out to Chris and everyone else that has submitted a response to our volunteer form. These testfitments and photoshoots are powered by the BMW community. Without volunteers willing to help us showcase and develop fitments like this we wouldn't have the huge range of chassis-specific fitments and photoshoots you see today. If you're interested in a discount on a set of wheels along with photos featuring your car, please complete our online webform here. Show us what you've got!

If you'd like to take an inside look at what the photoshoots involve, our good friend Blake made a video detailing the process of an 18" photoshoot on his F82 M4 recently:

Another look at the process of shooting an E46 race car with our Creative Director Yo!

Lastly, thanks to everyone who's been patiently awaiting this new content and article. Let us know what you think of the VS-5RS on the G20!

-Tom

[bimmerstar]

Thanks for doing this write up. This is very helpful to see. This is great info for the forum.

This confirms my suspicion, the 9.5 is just too aggressive for this car on the front for a daily driver. I tried multiple times to fit but on stock suspension its just not going to work. Pokes too much. If someone likes a very aggressive look maybe it works for you but for me it did not look OEM+.

9" front provides enough width for daily situations and plenty of room.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by bimmerstar

Thanks for doing this write up. This is very helpful to see. This is great info for the forum.

This confirms my suspicion, the 9.5 is just too aggressive for this car on the front for a daily driver. I tried multiple times to fit but on stock suspension its just not going to work. Pokes too much. If someone likes a very aggressive look maybe it works for you but for me it did not look OEM+.

9" front provides enough width for daily situations and plenty of room.

It's certainly not what I'd call an OEM + fitment. To me, the front looks ok with the 19x9.5 et25 and no spacers ie the blue car featured on the SM-10s but then you run into the rear offset not being ideal if you're trying to run the wheels in the rear with stock alignment. 9" wheels are definitely the easier option and I'm glad we offer both.

-Tom

[KyK]

Is it safe to assume that a 19x10 with a 285 tire would poke in the rears? I'm running a similar setup as saoblow.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by KyK

Is it safe to assume that a 19x10 with a 285 tire would poke in the rears? I'm running a similar setup as saoblow.

It's really going to depend on the offset of the wheel, not just the width. Part of the reason this 19x9.5 setup is so aggressive is the lower offset of the wheels which lets you run them both front and rear.

If you're only running the larger wheel in the rear, the G20 has quite a bit of space for a wider rear wheel and tire provided the wheel has an appropriate offset. Our purpose-built 19x10 is an ET38 and would work well with a number of 285 section tires. Here are some photos of the 19x10 ET38 with a 275/35-19:





This fitment does not poke because we specifically designed it for the rear of the car. If you had a 19x10 ET25 or other wheel fitment with a much lower offset, it would certainly poke in the rear and cause fitment issues with a 285.

One thing to note, a 19x10 will be harder to fit up front or prohibitively difficult with an unmodified car. The rear fenders/ wheelwells of the G20 offer much more room for a larger wheel and tire than the front, again provided you run a higher offset fitment.

-Tom

[KyK]

Great, thanks for the pictures! Looks like I'll be making an irresponsible financial decision soon.

[AddictedTo///M]

Excellent post! Those Satin Bronze VS-5RS wheels are absolutely perfect. I will be scooping a set as soon as the holidays are over!