Safe to use wheel spacers on X5?
 

In the past I've heard it's not safe to use wheel spacers on a truck...not sure about an SUV. But I see that at least one person has put them on the rear on their 4.6is. Sooooo the question is...does anyone know if there are any downsides or safety issues that go along with using say 15mm spacers at all 4 corners? I'd like to get the fender flares front and rear, but I dont want it to make it look like I'm using undersized wheels again, so I thought I'd push the wheels out with some H&R spacers. Has anyone done this?

10mm rogue engineering spacers all the way around
zero change in handling, still a+ :thumbup:
go for it! 15mm would actually be just about perfect imo

http://xoutpost.com/gallery/files/6/2/KirkX5MBrembo2.JPG

Excellent...thanks Kirk!

How much do those 10mm go for? Do they also make 15mm? I'm actually thinking about putting spacers in the rear in case I need to fit snow cables/chains on my 19s. Thanks.

from their website, 10mm pair (2) is 105$
15mm pair (2) is 115$

you also have to make sure you can find M14 lug bolts...those are sorta specific to our cars....

http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merc...tegory_Code=WH

I use 30mm H&R spacers on my rear 18" winter wheels setup.
http://s113117221.onlinehome.us/Images/30mm-spacers.JPG

Kirk, you mean you no longer can use the OEM bolts? You have to have special bolts when using any spacers or just the brand you bought?

also, does anyone knows if that voids the warranty? thx

yah thats correct
oem bolts dont travel far enough to bite and hold
you need longer ones....
warranty? hmm. dont know, but i dont think thatll ever be an issue...what do u think lemans?

what exactly is wheel spacers?

sort of like giant washers you put before the wheels so the wheels will stick out farther

Agree with you.

This thread is perfect timing - I was just contemplating picking up 30mm spacers for the rear (and maybe 10 or 15mm for the front?) for my 8.5" winter wheel/tire setup...
So no one has any issues to report with using spacers? Even the 30mm size in the rear? Is one company any better than another (H&R, Rogue, Turner?) Are they all hub-centric?

I used H&R 30mm's on the rear all last winter. Had zero issues on the highway, mountain snow, or anywhere. They are very common on track cars which regulalry see tremendous pressure on the hubs, studs, and wheels. If the spacers can handle all day track abuse, I'd think they would be indestructible for normal driver use. Yes, they are hub centric. Can't comment on any other brand.

http://margraves.net/toys/x5/snows/DSCF0059.JPG

Sounds good, NCX - where did you get yours?
Do you use 'em on the front too? If so, what size do you recommend?

I got mine from Turner Motorsport. They were around $170. I see them on ebay all the time too. I did not put any on the front but 10mm-15mm would look about right. If you want to see what 18x8.5" rims look like with 30mm's on the rear and nothing on the front look at the bottom of this page.
- Kevin

Is that your X? Looks great... even with the flared wheel arches!
I called Turner MS to order, and they suggested that I first measure the wheel clearance before selecting a size :confused:
I assume he just meant the overall track width of the wheels compared to the width of the fenders. That being the case, 30mm obviously would not be a problem.
But if he meant verifying that the tire can clear inside the wheel well (as in if the suspension was fully compressed) then I don't think a single 4.6 or 4.8 would pass that test ;)
So you never had a problem with tire rubbing over big bumps (that compress the suspension all the way) with your 30mm spacers?

Thanks Kevin,

I was thinking about spacers too but decided against them as they convert your tire mounting from bolts to nuts and I personally thought it will look kind of strange to have nuts on the rear wheels and bolts on the front.
The ACS wheels come with 5mm/8mm spacers and a new set of bolts which is more in line with the OEM look.

- Jan

Good point, although I think I'd rather the mix of nuts/bolts look than the unsightly "pushed-in" look of the 8.5" wheels on the back.
Are there any little black caps available that can be fitted to look like OEM bolts?

Thanks for the comments.
Interesting. I never would have thought about a rubbing issue with these. It has never come close to rubbing. In fact, they aren't even out as far as the stock 10.5" rims and 315/20's. And they are the exact same overall height as the OEM 20's. Rubbing is not an issue at all.

Good point, though I have never really noticed at all. I guess if you sprayed them all with the same paint you would really have a hard time noticing that they were different on the front vs. rear.

Very good point. Using nuts intead of bolts would also mean that I'll loose the usage of my wheel locks in the rear as well. This is also true if I have to get longer non-OEM bolts for the spacers.

Sorry Lemans if I sound ignorant,but are those spacers on an X5? Dont you use bolts?Are you using nuts??

Sorry,must have been asleep!If I had seen all the posts in this thread,,I would not have asked you the nuts question!
Dont like the idea of the nuts ,though!!

Nobody notices them unless you tell them.

Just bought the 30mm H&R spacers from TMS... by the way, not sure if they recently changed the design from the DRM-style (where OEM lug bolts secure spacers to hub, & the spacer has lug studs/nuts for wheel mounting) that LeMans and NCX have pictured above, but they now carry the 30mm's in the DRA-style, where new bolts are provided to secure the spacers to the hub, and the OEM lug bolts secure the wheel to the spacer (see pic below)

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/imag...hr_30mm_lg.jpg

With this setup, the lugs will look identicle on all 4 wheels, and OEM security lug bolts can still be used. :thumbup:


* Edit *
Just recieved my 30mm H&R spacers from TMS. They were incorrect when they told me that they were the DRA style pictured above - they are in fact the DRM style pictured in previous posts. I called H&R and verified that they DO NOT make spacers in DRA-style in sizes wider than 20mm, as they would not pass TUV standards.
Disappointing that Turner Motor Sport is this confused about the products they sell... :tsk:
**

LeMans and NCX...
 

LeMans and NCX,
Do you guys notice any increased understeer, or reduced turn-in?

When I asked about it, the guy at TMS said that I would probably feel a little difference, and to get 15mm's up front if I wasn't happy with it...

Nope, I don't recall anything very noticeable at all, but I only drove it really hard for one weekend in the mountains with my winter setup. I really just wanted to find out the limits of the tires. Maybe if I was performance driving a lot it would be more noticeable. :dunno:

I would assume that noticing increased understeer or reduced turn-in would really depend on what wheel width and backspacing you are comparing it to.

When I install my spacers, I'll do some heavy testing with my all season tires (haven't picked up my winter tires for my stock 18x8.5's yet) and report back on what I experience... if I notice a sizeable difference, I'll pick up the 15mm spacers for the front, and test again!

** LeMans, did you notice any difference?

hi all, does it make a difference what type of suspension the vehicle has? i intend to go from my oem staggered setup 255/50 r19 front n 285/45 r19 rear to 235/65 r17 all the way round , so what spacers would i need so i dont get that sunken look in the wheel arch...thanks

Driving 45mm per side on the rear and 25mm per side on the front since about a year now. With H&R spacers you never have nuts - always bolts. And absolutely no change in behavior of the car .... maybe when you are really racing with your X.

In normal drive mode: BMW X5 E53 and 10 minutes of fun - YouTube absolutely no difference.

Have fun,

Helmuth

why not just get bigger wheels

I got HRE 28mm in the rear only, it looks cool and no issues.....I thought you weren't supposed to install spacers in the front for safety reasons.

Some would say that you should never install spacers on any axle, for safety reasons. I'm in that club.

Spacers change the loading on wheel bearings by having the incorrect offset. Expect lower wheel bearing life.

Spacers change the loading on suspension components.

Spacers introduce an additional failure mode by having a second interface at the wheel attachment point. This is because there is now a bending moment applied to the wheel bolts. Safety margins can go down by a multiple of 2 or 3 very easily, even with narrow spacers. The affects of this one point can be partially mitigated by the use of proper hub centric spacers. Using quality spacers with correct hardware helps, but doesn't completely resolve this issue.

Spacers change handling by altering the steering geometry, particularly the scrub radius.

If you want wider looking wheels, the correct approach is to buy wider wheels with the correct offset. Using spacers is just a quick fix to the looks issue, specifically, the outer tire edge location relative to the fender.

That all said, many buy them just for the looks, don't care about the safety or handling issues, and haven't had problems. That's one approach.

well said, i am in complete agreement with you.

i simply dont get it, why would you use spacers to widen the track and then use 18 inch wheels, why not just get bigger wheels and do it right,

cause if you are looking for that wide stance and filled out arches 18 inch wheels dont do it, no matter what spacers you use

Some do it on there 20" wheels to match fander.
Does it change handling performance? increase bodyroll and stuff like that?
Can you use 15mm only at the rear? or front also has to be used not to change stuff up?

if you are using 20 inch factory wheels as i am, you dont need spacers as the wheels are flush with the bodywork at the rear, even if you add the flared arches they will still look good, with out taking the risk of spacers

I just purchase (4) 17 inch rims for winter 235/65 R 17(of 04 x5 3.0)
What I got now front 275-40R-20w
Rear 315-35r-20w
How many mml spacers do I need In the front and the rear
Plz help me out I don't know wa to dohttp://tapatalk.com/mu/4571b37f-5a92-67ae.jpghttp://tapatalk.com/mu/4571b37f-5aa7-6487.jpg

I wouldn't bother putting spacers on for winter... just slap the 17's on with some good tires and call it a day... I don't think anyone would care or mention anything in a blizzard lol

Lol thanks for replying
I'm not worry about the look at all
Im concern if it will fit the breaks??

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...ter-setup.html

Here is a link with 18's... why dont you just take off the front wheel and test fit it..

shouldnt take more then 15 min... u will have ur answer

It don't fit the brakes cover scratching the rims.any ideas plzz??

From what I read on this forum, 17s don't fit the 4.8is because of the front brakes are bigger.
You will need 18", and again, some 18" due to their design, won't fit either. You will have to check what kind of winter wheels 4.8is owners use, or try them first on the X.

Thank u for ur help