Safe to use wheel spacers on X5?

[dkl]

Originally Posted by jmh

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

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.

[powers1]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

I use 30mm H&R spacers on my rear 18" winter wheels setup.

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

[powers1]

Originally Posted by powers1

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!!

[LeMansX5]

Originally Posted by powers1

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.

[DinanX5]

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)



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


* 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...
**

[DinanX5]

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...

[ncx]

Originally Posted by DinanX5

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.

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.

[DinanX5]

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?

[omodos]

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

[Helmuth]

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