What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[Factory6speed]

Originally Posted by Henn28

A recent massive over torquing of my lug bolts, coupled with our recent discussion of bolt plasticity, failure, etc. motivated me to replace my 20+ year old bolts. I am no expert for sure, but I wonder if they may have been stretched to, or beyond some limit. I needed a 3’ jack handle on a 2’ breaker bar to get them off. And even then it was a struggle.

New lug bolts, including a new locking style.

It’s nice to do a job in the x5 where I didn’t need to put it in the air!

The first thing I did when the X5 showed up was remove the wheels with mismatched bald tires, and run the m14x1.5 chaser tap with some WD-40 into the lug holes. And the die on the lug bolts. Replacing the bolts would be nice but wasn't really necessary, they cleaned up good. You should clean/chase the holes out there's junk in there on your new bolts. Also the usual 80 grit sandpaper on hubs, rust inhibitor, and a nice little bit of anti seize was first up.

I've been using this all the time it's great it doesn't cut anything just cleans all the dirt and stuff out so everything spins real nice. Very satisfying.https://ctatools.com/products/8240 there are other kits out there. The chaser taps are really nice on this nearly 20 year old unit. You can also take an angle grinder and cut a slit or two into a bolt.

[andrewwynn]

Adding flutes to a bolt to make ita thread chaser works great been doing that for over a decade.

I damaged a couple of my e53 lugs using as push/pull tool when removing a hub. I recommend getting some longer M14 bolts and taper the tip so when you mushroom the end a bit it'll still come through the hub nicely.

I found a very ok price on a set of 5 on eBay I think I have a couple of them left if there's any interest. We no longer have e53 and the e70 F10 use crappy bolts without the swivel cone I can't use them.

[Bdc101]

Probably a good idea to take care of your hub and maybe think about replacing the lug bolts eventually too. My car is a lifetime PNW car, so it's never seen salt, though. I looked and hubcentric rings are only $10-15 so I'll make sure to order those. I'm trying to convince myself about which way to go:

1. Keep using my style 57s and just buy new 235/65/17s: about $600 total
2. Buy some local style 58s and buy a set of 255s: $300 for rims plus another $700 for tires
3. Drive 2.5 hours for some style 209s and buy 255s: A long drive plus $300 for rims plus another $700 for tires
4. Buy some local style 214s and buy new staggered 20" tires: $300 plus another $900 for tires
5. Drive 5 hours for some black-painted Style 131s that I really want: $100 for rims plus $700 for tires plus a day of my life.


I'd really like to get the bigger wheels for better stability when towing. The style 214s win there, with their massive footprint. However, I thought twice about this plan when I looked them up and saw how heavy they are. The wheels are each 15-20 lbs heavy than my 17s, and the tires are each about 10 lbs heavier than 17" tires. So while it may be more stable with much bigger tires, I am sure that my lowly M54 will struggle to push another roughly 110 lbs of rotating weight.

(The weight gain going to 18s is only about 10-20 lbs total, in comparison.)



At least I'm not lacking options! I really wish there were some style 131s locally, because those are by far my favorite E53 rim, and the internets also tell me they're the lightest 18" OEM wheel for our cars.

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

...I'm trying to convince myself about which way to go:

1. Keep using my style 57s and just buy new 235/65/17s: about $600 total
2. Buy some local style 58s and buy a set of 255s: $300 for rims plus another $700 for tires
3. Drive 2.5 hours for some style 209s and buy 255s: A long drive plus $300 for rims plus another $700 for tires
4. Buy some local style 214s and buy new staggered 20" tires: $300 plus another $900 for tires
5. Drive 5 hours for some black-painted Style 131s that I really want: $100 for rims plus $700 for tires plus a day of my life.

I'd really like to get the bigger wheels for better stability when towing. ....

What is the stability problem you have with your present 17" tires? how much does your loaded trailer weigh? are you exceeding the GVWR?

I haven't yet towed using my X5, but the way it handles so well on the road as it is, makes me confident it'd tow my 2225 lb squareback camping trailer, or my 4.5x10 utility trailer OK (as long as I didn't load it past it's 3500 lb rating). I let go of my car-hauler trailer when I got the X5 (part of the trade), so I'm unlikely to ever tow anything heavier with the BMW. I have two pickups at home (a '98 GMC 1500 and a '04 Chevy 2500HD) that are both modified for towing, so they would suffice.

I've towed heavy loads using those and other trucks I've owned, and only experienced stability problems when the truck was much lighter than the loaded trailer, when the trailer was improperly loaded, and occasionally when there was a severe crosswind (at highway speeds).

When there was a problem, I started using a Weight Distributing Hitch (+/- a sway-control device, depending on the situation). I even made my own, adapting my normal WDH to fit the single-beam tongue on my squareback trailer (it originally had a balance problem, later solved). Both of my present trucks have WDH's mounted, but not the X5.

Not racing anymore, nor camping very often, so I'm just slowly prepping my X5 for an excursion to a nearby State Park (not sure about long distant campouts in Oklahoma, yet, not that BMW's might have problems...). But, anyway, I have a chart comparing my present, past, and future tow vehicles' specs, that I feel affect towing (vehicle height, weight, wheelbase, tow rating, etc.):


However, it seems you've got your heart set on bigger tires & wheels, and have the money to get them. Go for it! I've been there and done that, myself, back in the day. And wish I could still justify the expense, today.

[andrewwynn]

When we bought our pair of e53 2001s, wife's came with 235/65/17 mine came with 255/55/18. Her car has way more body roll and way less road feel (bumps etc) from the much softer tires. We would typically use her car for road trips as it was a softer ride

[Bdc101]

Originally Posted by workingonit

What is the stability problem you have with your present 17" tires? how much does your loaded trailer weigh? are you exceeding the GVWR?
...
However, it seems you've got your heart set on bigger tires & wheels, and have the money to get them. Go for it! I've been there and done that, myself, back in the day. And wish I could still justify the expense, today.

No stability problem - it's actually the most stable and capable tow vehicle I've ever used (though it could use about 100 more hp). I'm just making incremental improvements. My trailer has a dry weight of 2950lbs but the weigh scales I've visited say we get it up to around 4,000 loaded. With the whole family, that puts us over 9,000lbs including trailer, car, paddle boards, and the family.



Tires are the most important safety device on the car, so I'm just trying to make my family as safe as possible on the road.



I'm thinking getting a set of the 18s is probably best. The tire/wheel combo is only a couple pounds more per corner (instead of 30) and future tire purchases won't be so expensive. The cheapest set of 20" tires I can find is $910 installed, while I can find 18" sets for under $700. The 214s look cool but I just don't think they will be worth it. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.

[andrewwynn]

You'll be happy with 18s especially if you get the "extra load" models that can hold 500# more per corner. Nothing wrong with a little safety margin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[X5only]

Originally Posted by X5chemist

Take my money! Part numbers?

HID bulbs from Amazon (8000k d2s xenon headlight bulbs). With the advent of LED headlights, HID bulbs are dirt cheap. LED Fog lights from Autozone - tell them you want LED fog lights for the E53.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Get Plastic ones the aluminum ones will seize onto the hub. I was much happier with the plastic ones!

I actually get the aluminum ones on purpose for that very reason.

I'll copper grease the hub so the aluminum hubrings won't become one with them. But I won't grease the inside of the wheel where they fit in. Eventually the wheel and hubrings become a "custom" wheel.

[ajacks8]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

I actually get the aluminum ones on purpose for that very reason.

I'll copper grease the hub so the aluminum hubrings won't become one with them. But I won't grease the inside of the wheel where they fit in. Eventually the wheel and hubrings become a "custom" wheel.

Hey CW, any chance you know which aluminum ones you are using? I go through ECS plastic ones at a ridiculous pace! Thanks for any feedback on where yours are from!