Fender flare question
 

My e70 is a non sport with 18" wheels. I'm going to lower it and get the stock 18"s powder coated along with adding some 20mm spacers all the way around.

I also plan to add the sport style fender flares. In shopping around all the stores note that they are only for 20/21 inch wheels....

I realize they only came original on vehicles that came with 20/21" wheels but I wanted to make sure there wasn't somthing else that was preventing me from putting them onto my non sport e70...

So the question is... Will the sport fender flares that I find on ebay fit my non sport e70?

Thanks, Nick

Not sure about the flares but putting spacers on stock width wheels will put stress on your wheel bearings and hub. The idea is to keep the middle of the tread width in line with the wheel bearings so it's a direct force. Moving it outward multiplies the force on the bearing/hub like a lever does.

Yes, I'm well aware of the added stress but this is the wife's daily and it's very non-sever lifestyle has me unconcerned. Will be upgrading the suspension as needed to keep up with wear and tear.

1. BMW doesnt make different versions of the body to accommodate different fender flares- generally the various flares are bolt on. (you should familiarize yourself with realoem.com/bmw, as well as many other p[arts sites- it will help you understand part commonality, option codes, etc...) HOWEVER, no idea about the crap that is sold on ebay.



2. How do you plan on lowering? Just whack off some spring, or buy shorter ones? Or the right way?


3. Its the wifes' daily. She wants it dropped and stanced for a few $k?


4. What suspension upgrades change bearing loading? or you'll just replace them when they wear out?


Welcome. Have fun

Thanks

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For alignments....



https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=668729




Poly for your wifes daily?!? Lowered? (Im guessing not coilovers, but just shorter springs.... gonna be a real treat for her.)



Report back

Lol, I just read thru some of your thread replies.... You sir are AWESOME. Thanks again for being so helpful.

Welcome. You'll get used to ard. Extremely knowledgeable though. You seem to have the right attitude to fit in around here. Thick skin is good. :D

As far as the "crap on Ebay." See the ones below. They fit 99% OE and we have not had an issue with them on the wife's 35d. Been running them for a couple of years now. The rivets they send suck though. Order OE ones or the ones on Amazon that are listed under the same part number as OE.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/07-13-BMW-X...item1c9f6cacd3

Spacers, been running them for 15 years now. On the e70 been running 20mm front and 35mm in the back. No issues with wheel bearings, ever. (What I thought was a bad front bearing turned out to be one tire going atrociously bad, cupping)

The German TUV clears spacer sets sold in Germany for general use. The TUV is quite conservative, if they perceived an issue with bearings when using spacers it would not be approved by them for general use.

On the other hand, when I bought my 4.8iS, the front wheel bearings were completely shot. I don't think it had ever seen spacers but I can't be sure. On my e53 I swapped the rear bearings coz they were getting noisy around 90 or 100k, fronts are the originals. Bit of a hit and miss if you ask me.

On a different note, I never understood lowering an SUV. First people purchase a 2 1/2 ton vehicle at a premium so they can have higher seating and a modicum of off-road ability, then diminish that by lowering it. If you want lower, wouldn't it make more sense to buy a 535xi wagon? Far superior comfort and handling as well as lower operating costs. (Stepping down from the soap box)


PS I swapped the wider flares on to my e70, there is nothing special about them. Mine was sport/active suspension with 19" wheels from the factory. The flares are an optical item, not a functional one. I have seen non-sport flares running OEM 20" and IIRC they don't stick out from the fenders.

HI Crystalworks, i sent a PM about the fit/feel of the flares. Im not sure if you received it but if you did not, please let me know. thanks!