ucsbwsr

The trick is pairing springs with your strut and ride height, the easiest way to do this is adjustable coilovers.

If all you are worried about is ride height then there is no need to get the adjustable lowering links if you have access to a coding laptop and INPA.

Although my current and previous sets of KWs have had issues and needed repair, I can't say enough about the ride quality of KWs on the E61, especially considering how low they are (and how little travel they have to work with on my particular setup). They are pricey unless you score some new but well worth it if you appreciate a smooth ride and looking good.

Evan

GTYellowJacket

Finally finished my M5 brake upgrade and swapped over all the M5 rear suspension links that would fit our wagons.

And it goes into the body shop on Friday for a full M5 front end conversion, including mirrors. Now to pick some even wider wheels to go under those new fenders... Thinking maybe style 437M or 167.

ucsbwsr

All that cool stuff and no pics? Shame on you....

Style 167 is a timeless wheel: clean 5 spoke with a good amount of concave, what is not to like? 8.5"F and 9.5"R both each come in 2 offsets so with your M5 fenders and brakes it is completely reasonable to run a 9.5" square setup. 9.5" wheels will give you some width to get decent meat at each corner. 265/40 square would be epic!

Edit: I did some math and the et28 9.5" would be the way to go both front and rear. It would actually be near perfect.

Evan

GTYellowJacket

I keep telling myself that I'll get around to starting a thread for my car and posting some pictures. I'm thinking of doing a sort of retrospective as well as concurrent mods thread to track my changes. The mod bug bit hard in the last several months, and the success with M5 cluster retrofit just fueled it even further.

Your idea for a square fitment with 167 is brilliant! Gone will be the days of limited tire selection to match rolling diameters for the xDrive, and with all that meat around 4 corners the German nanny in the DSC will stop scolding me for getting rowdy with the throttle.

I was at the dealer helping someone else shop for a N54-powered toy, and noticed just how good the 167's looked on an M6 they had on the lot, so it swayed me away from the 437M's I was primarily seeking. I hadn't even considered a square fitment, but this now just pushes me over the edge. I can easily fit 9.5 ET17 in the rear and 9.5 ET28 up front. I'd like to go a little more aggressive than 28 up front, but 17 looks a little too low, so maybe a few mm of spacers will dial it in.

ucsbwsr

Take more pictures, do it for me, do it for all!

When I recommended the et28s in the rear I completely forgot about the M5 brakes and the 20mm change they made. I was thinking back to my Miro 111 19x9.5 square setup I ran et32F et20R Hankook V12 255/40 all around on the oem 535xi. So yea, et28F and 17R would be the ticket and spacers to your liking.

The only downside to the square setup is you have a 9.5" rear when you know you could fit something wider back there but it is only for aesthetics. On my 255/40 square setup I was able to brake-boost launch in the rain and it would hook up.

Evan

quattromeister

I think I was given incorrect data. I found on the turner Motorsports site that if you have the H&R sport spring (1.4 lowering) one should use the Bilstien Sport shoch and the HDs are for use with the OEM springs, not sure if ESC will exchange the shocks

Alpine003

Yes Indeed!!!

Not to derail yellowjacket's wheel posts but any reco's on spacers for 19x8, 40 offset(225-40-19) F, 19x9, 44 offset( 255-35-19) using OEM M5 fenders(no rolled fender fitment preferred)? Bought them for winter setup but just want to space them out correctly. You seem to be an expert on wheel fitments so figured I'd ask for another opinion besides running it through the generic calculators.

E61FUN

Did someone say WiiiiiiiiiiiDeeeeeeeer?

Front: 255/40ZR19
Rear: 285/35ZR19

On

19” VMR V710FF wheels
Front: 19x9.5 ET:33 + 3mm spacer
Rear: 19x10 ET:25 + 5mm spacer

Those are standard E60 M5 sedan tire sizes (which were normally fitted on 8.5" ET12 front, 9.5" ET28 rear 166 Style wheels), though I believe that E61 M5 Touring tire spec is smaller... 275/35ZR19.

Rear fenders received some mild rolling and the liners had a little "heat massage" in places. I still have one tiny rub somewhere when I purposely push it over roadway drainage gulleys, but nothing while traversing driveways.

The right-most image below does a good job of displaying wheel concave and tire width, especially at the front. One word for ya: GRIP! The prior 245/40ZR19s that I was running didn't have a large enough contact patch. And the lighter wheels offset some of the weight of the extra rubber. Would still like to bring down the unsprung weight (those giant rotors added a ton!).

Haven't lowered her down to the final height yet. Had to replace the upper strut mounts and expect them to settle a bit still, though now I am debating camber adjusters. We were also playing with rake and how that effects the front lip, which drags on nearly every driveway apron I enter or exit, sadly. May have to forgo the lip, which I am using as more of a bumper. The car would certainly handle better lower in back. In fact, maybe negative raked, but then it may cup air.

KW V3s, M5 brakes, and Xdrive hubs in front (for now) and M5 hubs at rear. Just got the entire M5 front end back from painter and installed on car. (...and my entire old M-Sport front end and fenders, carrier, styro bumpers are all for sale, if any of you want to purchase them.)

Once the M5 fenders and wheel well liners were on there was MUCH more room. The wheel well liners are a big part of it. The only limitation now is inner tire clearance against the strut. With the 255/40ZRs and without 3mm spacers I had maybe a hair over 5mm.

Between the KWs, M5 stabilizers, lower braces, strut tower braces and oem M-Sport X brace, it corners incredibly well, even jacked up in highboy mode. Still playing with compression and rebound damping. And would still like to source the higher spring-rate E61 M5 bags.

Outside of a big intercooler I haven't embarked on engine mods. Staring wistfully at this JB4 and bluetooth connection dongle here on my desk. Some day....

E61FUN

Was going through post wrenching session images and thought this one might be illustrative, with regard to front tire fitment.

As mentioned above... gobs of room inside the fenderwell with M5 fenders and wheelwell liners, especially in front of and behind the radius of the tire circumference, but not between the strut and the tire. So it comes down to getting things centered between strut and fender lip, for optimum clearance.

There are any number of 19" and 20" combinations that would work up front, even as large as a 265/30 or maybe 35 series tire (a 30 series tire on 20 inch wheel actually lowers overall diameter below a 40 series 19 inch). The 255/40ZR19 tires work fine and leave some nice cushion for potholes (as noted in this wonderful thread). They also provide higher load ratings, which may be helpful for higher speeds.

Yet when dealing with Xdrive 1% staggered sizes suggestions (requirements), things can get a little tricky in back. Ideal matching diameter for a front 255/40ZR19 is actually a 295/35ZR19 (for a Micheline Pilot Super Sport... which is identical in diameter, with revs per mile of 769 and 767, respectively).

But a 295 is too meaty for our E61 rear wheel housings (well, unless maybe one tears out the liner and goes ape with a body mallet).

Camber adjustment gets a little tricky too when you're dealing with wider tires... not to mention that heavy wear on the inside of an expensive tire is financially woeful.

Would rather wear them down doing burnouts.

This is the KW strut clearance with VMR V710FF 19x9.5 ET:33 wheels running 255/40ZR19 tires on *Xdrive* hubs.

Stroked & Blown

Plastidipped my chrome window trim. Needs some touch up on the A pillars, but not bad for $7.

Edit: just realized you can't upload pics to this forum's mobile view. That's dumb.