Spacers!?!

[Gurjit]

i got 17mm but i just used a 11/16 socket :P

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by JCL

The wheel bearing is located relative to the centerline of the tire tread. Hang the wheel out further and you apply a cantilever load to the axle, stressing the wheel bearing with both vehicle weight and cornering loads. This isn't the case if you have rims with the wrong offset and use spacers to bring the wheel to the correct location, but most aren't doing that.

I agree with the fact that the bearing is in the CL of the tread area but more load is carried by the innermost area of the contact patch, due to the camber that BMWs have in the rear. Readly seen in this image. At tire half life I have my tires side swapped to put the inner wear to the outside, maintaining the inner tire contact bias and prolonging tire life.

[TiAgX5]

Originally Posted by Gurjit

i got 17mm but i just used a 11/16 socket :P

Seeing that the OE wheel bolt on the E53 are also 19mm, the 19mm spacer bolts are a non-issue. The H&R 25mm DRAs that come with 17mm bolts are most likely for the E46 application, seeing that those OE bolts are 17mm. The 17mm bolts also have less surface area in the taper seating surface area and therefore have a lower load rating. :P back at ya!

[ECS Tuning]

^Some X5s come with 17mm bolt heads some with 19mm bolt heads. H&R has taken this into account and that's why one spacer comes with the 17mm and one with the 19mm bolt head.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Gurjit

i agree with the wheel bearing thing

i believe the stock rim with spacer = aftermarket rim with the correct offset, IMO

to me if i'am willing to put nice rims on my car i would be more than willing to keep stock rims and just use spacers for the right fit, in my head they both impact the ride/bearings/handling all in the same way

I would take the stock rims as being the correct (design) offset. Applying any spacer generally changes that away from the optimum rim location.

Aftermarket rims should have the same offset when they are selected. If they are wider, there is a portion of that on the inside, and the rest on the outside, but the offset is the same. Said another way, a two inch wider tire only looks one inch wider from the side, you have to crouch down behind the vehicle to see the total effect of the wider tires.

If you have aftermarket rims that have less (ie incorrect) offset then the appropriate spacer can be used to bring the wheel back to the proper location. In that case the spacer is a good thing from an offset/wheel bearing life standpoint, but still possibly a negative on the new failure mode due to the added shear plane.

What the fans of the TUV certification are not acknowledging is that while a hub centric spacer is better than a loose spacer, it is designed to bring a wheel with the wrong offset back to the correct location. TUV would like that. TUV aren't regulating whether people are using the spacer for that purpose, and in fact people seem to be claiming that the TUV certification somehow supports running incorrect offsets, which doesn't seem right to me.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by TiAgX5

I agree with the fact that the bearing is in the CL of the tread area but more load is carried by the innermost area of the contact patch, due to the camber that BMWs have in the rear. Readly seen in this image. At tire half life I have my tires side swapped to put the inner wear to the outside, maintaining the inner tire contact bias and prolonging tire life.

We need to differentiate between incorrect toe settings and camber. Incorrect toe settings are the most likely cause of your rapid tire wear. Camber can accelerate it, agreed.

If it was just camber, then you need to explain to me how I can run over 70,000 km on a set of OE tires with no unever wear side to side on the rears. My X5 had the same suspension design as yours. The difference was alignment.

Also, we could move past static load (parked) and introduce wheel bearing loads due to lateral forces, and increased vertical loads due to cornering. The latter would encourage me to not change offset.

[DTMdan]

Originally Posted by ECS Tuning

^Some X5s come with 17mm bolt heads some with 19mm bolt heads. H&R has taken this into account and that's why one spacer comes with the 17mm and one with the 19mm bolt head.

My truck has 19mm lugs but I received 17mm bolt heads with the spacers.

[Gurjit]

Originally Posted by DTMdan

My truck has 19mm lugs but I received 17mm bolt heads with the spacers.

same same

[Gurjit]

Originally Posted by JCL

I would take the stock rims as being the correct (design) offset. Applying any spacer generally changes that away from the optimum rim location.

Aftermarket rims should have the same offset when they are selected. If they are wider, there is a portion of that on the inside, and the rest on the outside, but the offset is the same. Said another way, a two inch wider tire only looks one inch wider from the side, you have to crouch down behind the vehicle to see the total effect of the wider tires.

If you have aftermarket rims that have less (ie incorrect) offset then the appropriate spacer can be used to bring the wheel back to the proper location. In that case the spacer is a good thing from an offset/wheel bearing life standpoint, but still possibly a negative on the new failure mode due to the added shear plane.

What the fans of the TUV certification are not acknowledging is that while a hub centric spacer is better than a loose spacer, it is designed to bring a wheel with the wrong offset back to the correct location. TUV would like that. TUV aren't regulating whether people are using the spacer for that purpose, and in fact people seem to be claiming that the TUV certification somehow supports running incorrect offsets, which doesn't seem right to me.

i agree, the TUV thing just gives me piece of mind that this thing im installing isnt ganna fall off/safety concern

wheel bearing im not worried, i can just repair myself so its not that big of a deal

[PandaTrader]

Originally Posted by pnoyako85

non name brand product...

go with H&R and even ECS is cheaper....as for spacers .....id go either 25mm or 30mm....

Pnoyako85 could you help me out with my lemans special edition flare problem?