The reinforcement plate is an integral part of the suspension and is there for performance and safety.

The bolt torquing sequence in the manual is that of TTY bolts. TTY bolts should not be reused as the torquing sequence takes them to the point they begin to stretch. While they may reach torque specs when re-used they will be stretched further, causing the bolt to weaken and reducing the clamping capability.

Reading posts of many threads here and in other forums, I see pricing of the bolts driving the question of re-use, individuals having no problem with re-using the bolts posting that as verification that it is fine to re-use the bolts and folks that do not have the appropriate education to state it is not necessary to replace the bolts.

The Bentley BMW service manual clearly states that the bolts are one time use only. There is also a warning statement.

I've been tempted to re-use the bolts because of the cost but I always think of a time on the Dallas Tollway when there was an accident in front of me and I had to jerk the wheel and fly across three lanes at near 80mph. I expected I would slide into the outside barrier but I corrected and all was well. The hit would have been on my wife's side. I don't know if re-used bolts would have broken and the suspension collapsed but---

My only point is the price of the bolts is small in comparison to injuring myself, certainly a member of my family or people in other vehicles. I don't expect this will change anything. I think those seeking justification for not re-using the bolts to avoid the cost are the ones wearing blinders. At least don't let the cost be your reason for re-using them.

I think the prudent course of this discussion should be to find a source for the exact bolt from OEM or some other manufacturing source to lower the cost and end the debate.

__________________
X5 4.6 2002 Black Sap, Black interior. 2013 X5M Melbourne Red, Bamboo interior
Dallas