Spec X5 Overland Build

[thstone]

Originally Posted by KEI7

Great thread!

I believe this is the most thorough off-road build thread ever.

Thank you for write up!

How did you meet the 120 PCD with the Cragars?
Custom ordered?

Thanks, glad that you're enjoying the thread!

In regards to PCD (pitch circle diameter), the BMW 5x120mm is very close in size to the Cragar 5x4.75 inch PCD so they fit without any adapter, modifications, or customization.

To dive a little deeper, 120mm is 4.724", not 4.75". The 0.026" difference (otherwise known as 26 thousandths of an inch or 26 thou) is within the manufacturing tolerance of the hubs and the wheels. So while there is a real measurable difference, in practice the wheels mount fine and can be fully torqued.

The best way to sum this up is to say that while 120mm does not equal 4.75", wheels with a 5x4.75" PCD will fit a 5x120mm PCD wheel hub.

With that being said, it is up to each owner to decide if "close enough that works" is acceptable to them. I completely understand why someone might want a true 5x120mm/4.724" PCD wheel to mount on a 120mm PCD hub and would refuse to install anything else. That's how BMW designed it and BMW certainly knows what they are doing.

In my particular case, I am ok with installing a 5x4.724" PCD wheel on a 5x120mm hub. Your mileage may vary.

I hope that I fairly summarized the different sides of this issue.

[KEI7]

Thank you! VERY clear!

Your wheels really bring ruggedness into the vehicle.
They look way better than bmw 17 inches

Originally Posted by thstone

Thanks, glad that you're enjoying the thread!

In regards to PCD (pitch circle diameter), the BMW 5x120mm is very close in size to the Cragar 5x4.75 inch PCD so they fit without any adapter, modifications, or customization.

To dive a little deeper, 120mm is 4.724", not 4.75". The 0.026" difference (otherwise known as 26 thousandths of an inch or 26 thou) is within the manufacturing tolerance of the hubs and the wheels. So while there is a real measurable difference, in practice the wheels mount fine and can be fully torqued.

The best way to sum this up is to say that while 120mm does not equal 4.75", wheels with a 5x4.75" PCD will fit a 5x120mm PCD wheel hub.

With that being said, it is up to each owner to decide if "close enough that works" is acceptable to them. I completely understand why someone might want a true 5x120mm/4.724" PCD wheel to mount on a 120mm PCD hub and would refuse to install anything else. That's how BMW designed it and BMW certainly knows what they are doing.

In my particular case, I am ok with installing a 5x4.724" PCD wheel on a 5x120mm hub. Your mileage may vary.

I hope that I fairly summarized the different sides of this issue.

[thstone]

* Roof Rack *

The roof rack is now installed!

My roof rack system consists of a set of crossbars and the roof basket. The crossbars mount to the stock roof rails and the basket installs on top of the crossbars.

I wanted a rack system with a fairly low profile so I seriously considered installing a flat roof panel instead of a basket but then I realized that the sides of the basket make it a lot easier to hold stuff so I decided on a basket.

I specifically selected crossbars that mount flush with the roof rails. There are many brands of crossbars (Yakima, Thule, etc) that mount on top of the roof rails and then the roof rack or basket mounts on top of that - kind of Jenga style. The profile of those racks systems was going to be too tall for my taste.

Of course, another consideration was cost. A set of crossbars from one of the big brands (Yakima, Thule, etc) typically runs ~$200 and a roof basket can easily be $250+ which didn't seem to align with the affordability goals of this build.

After a bit of searching, I found a set of flush mount crossbars for $85 and a rugged roof basket for $126. The roof basket did require some labor (described in the next paragraph) but I was willing to trade a couple hours of my time for the lower price.

The roof basket is solidly built but several reviews on Amazon mentioned that the finish was poor and the rack would get water inside when it rained and then the rack would rust on the inside and drip rusty water onto the vehicle. Well, of course its gonna be cheaply made, that is kind of what you get for $126.

So, to prevent that from happening I filled the joints where the rack assembles with expoxy putty and filed/sanded them down. Then I scuffed the entire rack with a scotchbrite pad and sprayed two coats of satin black and one coat of clear from rattle cans from Home Depot. In the end, the rack looks great and hopefully the sealed joints and new finish will prevent any rusting. This took me about 3 hrs.

Installation of the crossbars and the basket was pretty easy. I took care to get the basket centered on the X5 where I liked it and then centered the crossbars and the basket mounts in their respective positions and tightened everything down.

The stock roof rails are actually curved a bit so I had to move the crossbars fore/aft to get the rake of the basket level with the car. I was working alone so I had to keep moving from one side of the X5 to the other so if you can find someone to help it will go a lot faster. The whole installation took about 90 mins.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the result at an all in price of only $211.

[thstone]

Couple more pics...

[guntherrex]

that looks badass!

[Purplefade]

I can see I’m going to need another X... my current one for the “low and go” and a second one for “throwin snow”!

Impressive build, that is turning out amazing


Sent from my iPhone using Xoutpost.com

[alberniken]

Hi

That is exactly what I am looking for!
Could you provide links or vendor info?

Thanks
K

[thstone]

Originally Posted by alberniken

Hi

That is exactly what I am looking for!
Could you provide links or vendor info?

Thanks
K

Sure, hope this helps...

Crossbars: https://omacshop.com/products/bmw-x5...497e7124&_ss=r

Roof basket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&psc=1&fpw=alm

[Effduration]

Originally Posted by thstone

Sure, hope this helps...

Crossbars: https://omacshop.com/products/bmw-x5...497e7124&_ss=r

Wow the Omacshop people already have a pic of your truck on their website...

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Effduration

Wow the Omacshop people already have a pic of your truck on their website...

I wrote a review for them and they posted the photos. For $85 its really a great product.

For clarity, I am not sponsored or compensated in any way by any of the manufacturers/products that I have mentioned in this thread. Its all my personal preference and everything has been purchased with my own money at retail pricing.