01-09-2006, 11:05 AM
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Administrator
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: X5world
Posts: 54
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Jacking points on the X5
Contributed by: motorDavid
Message Title: Jacking Points | Posted by: Kevin on 2003-10-29 at 17:28:30 |
Message:
Looking to jack up the X and install my new set of winter tires, I see a square pad to the rear of the front wheels ... similar in the rear. My jack has a pad about 4.5 inches in diameter ... If the jack pad is placed at the center of the jacking square will anything be damaged? Does any one have any experience with this?
Thanks
Message Title: Re: Jacking Points | Posted by: md TheOl'Guy on 2003-10-29 at 18:29:46 |
Message:
Yes, you can use those "pad points", though I don't rec'd working on wheels w/floor jack, as there is some tugging to get the wheel off.
I used a floor jack, (has a nice soft large diameter "puck" on lift point), and aimed it at the suspension arm where it pivots on the frame. I put a piece of scrap plywood between the suspension arm and jack lift puck for extra protection to the suspension arm. I jacked it, (high!), and put a pair of jack stands on those pads you referred. Then I could work on two wheels at each end, at same time. Sounds/reads more diff. than it really is. You will be surprised how high you must raise it to get the tires off the floor as the suspension sags. And, you might Slightly loosen/"crack" the lugs before lifting, so the wheel isn't rotating so much as you undo the lug nuts. Be careful, but it is not difficult. Remember to use a torque wrench and tighten the wheels you put on, in a crisscross pattern, to 100 ft lbs. GL & BR,md
David
Waynesville,NC @5K' in hillbillyheaven
Posted by: C-S-S on 2003-10-29 at 20:35:24 |
Message:
took the measurements of the jack pockets to the local welding shop, and they made up a special "saddle" that fits into the pockets under the X with a pin that fits into the lift arm of the floor jack (my jack has a removable saddle). It was made out of 1" hollow square stock with 3/16 wall thickness. The pin is solid stock that was machined to fit into the lift arm.
Cost is about $30 for parts and labor. Must have IMO for those that DIY alot.
Author: | | KenSF on 2003-12-27 at 03:23:45 | |
| | | | | Subject: | | Jack points for changing to snow tires | |
| Message: | | I recently changed from summer tires to snow tires. Thanks to previous posts (retrieved from archives), i've been able to search snow tire recommendations and how to quickly and safely
change the tires myself. Here's what i've found:
Summer performance tires (especially X5's Diamaris) are really bad in the snow. Made wide to grip a dry road, they float on top of packed snow. Also their thread pattern and rubber compounds do not generate much traction in snow. I saw mixed reviews for stock M+S tires (Michelin MXVs). Some say they work fine in snow; others say they drive like a drunken horse. I guess they are a design compromise between summer and winter performance.
Dedicated winter tires ware best for snow, with some models also offering good dry (non-snow) handling as well. In general, a narrower tire is better for snow than a wide one. Winter tires
most talked about are Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow, Dunlop Grandtrek WT M2, and Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22.
I ended up getting Dunlop 255/55 HR18 on OEM style 69 wheels.
On to changing tires....
I didn't use the jack points recommended by the manual, because the saddle of my floor jack is wide enough to hit the plastic molding around the pads. Also, jacking up the car one wheel at a time requires more work.
For the rear wheels, the most obvious place is to jack up the rear end of the X5 at the rear differential. The differential has a black iron part and a aluminum-looking part (w/ fins).
The aluminum part looked fragile, so i placed the jack under the black iron (front) part of the differential, where there seems to be a semi-flat spot for the jack saddle.
Both front wheels were chocked before jacking up the X5. After both rear tires left the ground, jack stands were placed under rear suspension arms where they pivot on the subframe. The X5
is then lowered to have its weight rest on both the jack stands and the floor jack, giving it 3 points of rear suport.
I also used wheel hangers to make it more easy to align the bolt holes while wrestling with the heavy wheels.
wheel hangers
There is a nice pre-made spot to jack up the front end of the X5. It is located right behind the front plastic skid plate. There is a metal bracket welded onto the tubular suspension
frame, to make for a nice flat jack point. I also placed jack stands at the suspension pivot points to provide some support redundancy in case something goes wrong.
Here is final pic of the 18" Dunlop M2 next to the 19" Diamaris. The X5/M2s performed very well on a trip to Lake Tahoe earlier this week. It felt less bumpy than the Diamaris, but perhaps with slightly more road noise. Handling in the twisties didn't feel much degraded. It felt very confident in the snow storm though i don't have other snow experience on the X5 to compare.
THANK YOU to all previous contributors to this board for sharing their experiences.
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