E36 wheel fitment comes down to two bolt patterns:
- Six-cylinder cars (320i-328i) and the M3: 5-lug 5x120.
- Four-cylinder cars (316i/318i/318is/318ti): 4-lug 4x100.
That 4-lug pattern is exactly why a 5-lug conversion is the classic 318i upgrade — it opens up M3 brakes and the whole 5x120 wheel catalogue.
The numbers:
- Hub bore 72.5-72.6mm (use hub-centric rings if the wheel is bored larger).
- 12x1.5 bolts.
- Factory offsets around ET40-47; a practical aftermarket window is roughly ET35-47.
A common 17x8 clears stock fenders at about ET35-40, and that's the setup I point most people to. Go much lower than ET15 and you're into fender-rolling. Final clearance always depends on tyre width and how low the car sits.