Spec X5 Overland Build

[Henn28]

Well, not really aux, but maybe an extra 70 or 80 highway miles. I installed the 6 Monkeys jerry can (20 liter) holder on the spare tire holder. Nicely crafted piece of work by them, and a cool design. Its all made for Jeeps, so I had to do a bit of work with the grinder and drill to get bolt holes to align, etc. It's hinged at the top and the two halves lock at the bottom.

I also need to drill a third hole at around 135 degrees on the pivot as the holder hits the car at 180 degrees, and the tail gate won't drop with it at the 90 deg swing position as it hits the jerry can holder...small problems for a bit more peace of mind in a car that doesn't have great legs on long drives.

[kspark]

Hitch carrier looks great. Is that the Rigd Ultraswing?

[Henn28]

Originally Posted by kspark

Hitch carrier looks great. Is that the Rigd Ultraswing?

Business in Florida callled 6 Monkeys. Big jeep following, but was more than willing to work with me to get it to fit the E53. He ended up lengthening the distance to the pivot a few inches, and adding an extra hole to lengthen the receiver hitch 5/8” or so, so to clear the bumper.

https://6monkeys.net/

The Jerry can holder was all custom, for the Wavian 20L can, but now he’s got the design on his website. I’ve got a little bit of feedback for him regarding some tweaks for both, but it may not be worth the time as he’ll never likely get another E53 order!

[Henn28]

I spent several hours yesterday and today putting a floor into the spare tire well, since I don't have a spare that will fit that area. My first choice would have been a 10 or 15 gal aux fuel tank, but since that isn't in the cards, I can definitely use the space for additional storage in the X when I've got my dogs in the back. I carry a Thule box on top, but more storage is always better.

My goal was to have a flat and stable floor that would protect all the wiring and air suspension plumbing. I opted to go with two pieces of finish ply, that I would later join together. The two halves were much easier to transfer all the cut-outs needed to clear the various bits and pieces sticking up in the spare tire hole. Once I got the initial dimensions correct and ply cut to match, it was simply trial and error...measure, cut a little test fit...rinse and repeat.


After getting a good fit, I joined the pieces together with some 2x4 material ripped to create a good base, front and back, cleaned the edges and applied some self adhesive weather stripping to any spots that could rub, bounce, etc. and make noise. I had some old exterior grade rug/mat material laying around so I trimmed it up to (almost) fit. Eventually I'll do something more permanent and a better fit, but I want to live with it a while and see what may need tweaking.


The air spring compressor takes a lot of room obviously, and eventually I'll go with springs perhaps, when it fails, but I do like the ride the air shocks in the back give and I can tweak my ride height (When INPA works for me, unlike now!)


I'll live with it a while and then eventually make some brackets to secure the stuff I end up storing back there, and traveling with so it doesn't rattle around. Things like the air compressor, tool kit, fluids, breaker bar and deep well socket I need to get my wheels off, platform for the factory jack so it will go high enough to get the wheels off, etc. Oh, and the custom sticks I use to secure the windows when the F-ing regulators/clips fail far from home! I do like the way the bracket for the chocks fits perfectly back in its spot with the floor in....I wish I could say I planned it that way...

[04X56speed]

Originally Posted by Emory39

Thanks! those are not my pups just a picture that I use in all the forums that I am at. anyways yes the X5 is lifted and I am running spacers in all four the tires sizes is 265/70/17 the lift is 3" on front and 2.5" on the back

I know this is from a couple years ago, do you mind telling me which lift kit you went with? I have a 3.0 with rear springs and some kits don't come with coil spring spacers

[Bmwe5320023.0]

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/295098637711...mis&media=COPY


What do you guys think of this kit?
Seems like it's not metal or aluminum, just PU

[Purplefade]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/295098637711...mis&media=COPY


What do you guys think of this kit?
Seems like it's not metal or aluminum, just PU

I've never personally used them, but I've also never found PU to be "sturdy" in a supporting compression role with no external stabilization, I would be afraid being PU that they would quickly crush\deflect and become unstable, maybe even brittle - the E53 is a big vehicle and would lay a pretty good crunch on those, that said, he doesn't come right out and give a rating on the material so I honestly don't know how soft\firm they really are but - only my personal opinion, but I would look for aluminum, and not those.

[EODguy]

They have a full aluminum set, no idea about the true quality though....



https://www.ebay.ca/itm/204277595138...id=13059495584


Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Henn28]

Not sure how much lift you are looking for but 1.5 to 2 inches tops is about all you can get without throwing the front permanently out of whack. The Fluid Motor Union kit I have is 1.5” and the front struts are positioned all the way inboard at the top mount cutouts, which just barely keeps the front camber in spec. The cutouts on the strut towers are all we have for limited front camber adjustment. You could elongate them more, and reinforce the towers a bit, but that seems like a lot of work for an car with 3 open differentials that will never be an off road beast without a ton of money and hard labor, and I wonder too if the law of unintended consequences would throw something else out of whack in the suspension geometry.

Those are 30mm (1.1 ish inches) soyou could go a bit taller, but 2” is probably the max, if you want to be able to align front on the stock suspension bits.

As far as material, I’d look for aluminum too. The FMU kit is aluminum and has given me zero durability issues. Put new bilsteins in the back a few months ago and everything looked good, and I’ll report back when I do the front struts at some point in the next few months.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

I think polyis fine after all

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/16...kits-wear-out/