Optiskate

Hey guys. So I had plans to build my 535i. The plan was to have tires and rims by now, but you know how life goes some times. Definitely not to plan. I had planned on getting my 535i looking and running good again this year and then probably building a motor for it next year to make some serious power. Like pushing the limits of the N54 and need to swap the trans and rear diff power. Any way, life has a way of putting a wrench in your plans. My dad had a massive heart attack and I've been off work and in and out of the hospital here recently. My dad is doing good. 9 hours of open heart surgery is brutal, but he's recovering nicely. My mom gave me some news that kind of changes things for me though. My dad is a huge car guy and spent a lot of time back in his day doing cool things with Corvettes, Mclarens, Jeeps, and various other vehicles. There is a local car show that the coof totally killed and this year its back on and back to normal. I want to enter the 535i and take my dad. I think it would be a cool experience for him. The car show is in June. So I have until then to get the car presentable. Doesn't have to be show quality perfect, but it does need to be presentable.

The first order of business is tires, rims, a new battery, mechatronics sleeves, and all the maintenance items I can think of. The car is making 500hp as it sits and it needs to continue doing that reliably for the time being. After that its bumpers, side skirts, hopefully new paint (if not at least a wrap), and I was hoping to swap the hood and snag a CSL trunk.

All that said, the first things I need are tires, rims, and a new battery to get it driving again. When the care was running, it would absolutely not hook up. Partly due to a little camber which keeps the tires from making complete contact with the ground, it being a very stretched setup as it sits, and the tires being toast any way. The car is incredibly low and that is going to change. I will need to address the camber. Not sure what the best way to do this is. The plan was to get some 275/30r19 Nitto NT555 G2's up front and 305/30r19 Nitto NT555 RII's in the rear. I've seen people stuff wide tires on the rear of these cars before. I believe it was even in this forum. I'm already on coil overs and have rolled fenders. I don't think the rims I've got on the car will work (or at least not well) and I have no idea what the offset on them is. I was thinking about getting a set of Aodhan DS08's. 19x9.5 +35 ET up front and 19x11 +22 ETfor the rears. They also have an option for +15 ET in the rear. Either way the rears will have to be custom made for the correct bolt pattern. If I get the fronts custom made then theres also the option for +15, +22, and +30 ET. I was planning on ordering tires first and buying one of those WheelWise Tire Fitment simulators to verify that my wheel selection would work. Does this sound like a solid plan? I guess it all hinges on the the tires being able to fit functionally in the first place. Do you guys have any insight on similar tire setups? Any advice is appreciated. Cars are out of my wheel house (I've been a Jeep guy) so I'm sort of jumping off the deep end here. Thanks guys!

Optiskate

The first piece of the puzzle has arrived. I've been hashing out tires and sizes the last couple days. I'm thinking either 275/30r19's up front or 265/35r19's and either 295/30r19's or 305/30r19's. I was going to bite the bullet and order some R888R's, but the weather isnt the greatest right now. Might order some later with a second set of rims. Im leaning toward Continental Exteme Contact Sport 02's for the time being. Doubt they'll actually hook up with 500hp, but it'll be drivable.

Optiskate

The first part of the puzzle has arrived. The front tired ended up showing up. The rears are at the local UPS place, but some how delayed until next week. I ended up getting continental extremecontact sport 02's. 255/35ZR19's up front and 295/30ZR19's rear. Next pay check, I'll get rims ordered.

Optiskate

Got my rear tires in. Holy crap theyre wide. I mean i knew they'd be wide, but not as wide as the tires I used to run on my Jeep. I found a guy running 295/30r19's in the rear with 22mm of positive and the fit looked good and supposedly didn't rub. The rims I want come in that same offset. So I'll probably order some rears, but I need to measure out the front. Not sure when I'll have time since I'll be 80 hours deep into work this week and I have to drive up to Spokane to visit my dad on Sunday. Hopefully soon though. Next week, mechateonics rebuild stuff.

Optiskate

So I have a question for you guys. I got off work early yesterday, so I ran out and bought a battery. I slapped it in the car and it fired up drama free. Previously when I jumped it with a jump pack it had a transmission malfunction and said to drive moderately. Jokes on the 535i, I don't do anything moderately. Lol Any way, I planned on replacing the mechatrinics sleeves and solenoids. After I put the new battery in it and fired it up there was no more Trans issues. It didn't have them before the car was parked before the battery died or after I replaced the battery. Could this issue be due to the dead battery any not enough power being provided to the TCU or something? There's no code for it when I look in MHD. If I don't need to tackle that job right now, then I can focus on other stuff first. I do want to go though the Trans as the car has 80k miles, but if I can push it off a few months, then great.

Any one have any insights?

On a positive note, I got Aodhan DS08's ordered. They had to drill them for 5x120, so its going to be about a weeks before I get them. I have to research TPMS sensors. Ive never had a car with them before, so i need to figure out what i need for sensors and valve stems. The rims on the car doesnt have them and i want to get rid of that light.

seanjordan20

A bad battery causes all sorts of error messages. As long as you don't see the trans leaking you'll be fine. I would recommend you perform that service when time is available but not necessary at the moment.

Go to realoem to see what TPMS you need. I think their are 3 different ones so you'll probably have to go to mdecoder to see what option your car is equipped with to get the right valve

Optiskate

Thanks man! I definitely need to service the trans just based on the mileage. I've got access to a lift and I was hoping to time things to do as much of my under car maintenance as possible at one time. Everything about this car has been a learning experience. I'm not used to cars this fancy. Lol

I'll see what I can dig up on the tpms sensors tomorrow. I greatly appreciate the advice man.

Optiskate

Parts are starting to roll in. Got some rims ordered, got TPMS sensors on the way, and arms to correct the rear camber and toe are in. With that being said, does any one have any experience with Powerflex poly bushings? I'm considering some uniball joints up front, I've got the new arms which have hiems in them already, and then I was considering swapping everything else for poly bushing. My thoughts being, if I'm going to replace some, then I might as well do them all. I'll probably align the car myself, but I'll need to get a few things before I do that. I'm really not very familiar with the suspension in this car. Give me a rock crawler and I'm at home. I've build 3 and 4 link suspensions from scratch and set them up how I like them to handle, but I've never played with any car suspension. lol Time to learn.

I also got a new front bumper on the way. I went over the body of the car and I decided that I'm not happy with the fit of the side skirts. I'll probably order a set of M-Tech side skirts. After I get my tax return and the body stuff fitted I can start thinking about paint.

seanjordan20

I've never heard of Powerflex. They may be good since they are poly but really don't know. I'm sure people on the forums have reviews on them.

Optiskate

I ended up ordering powerflex bushings for the rest of the rear suspension. I'm going to order some new arms with monoball joints for the fronts here shortly.

i plan on ordering new motor mounts and powerflex black series motor mount inserts along with black series rear diff and rear crossmember bushings. I can't for the life of me find poly trans bushings though. Does any one know if there are any out there or would E9X auto trans bushings work? I've cross referenced part numbers and it doesn't look like E9X ones would work, but I figured I'd ask just in case some one has tried using them.

I'm so close to getting new shoes on the car and having it drivable again. Also got the paint budget in and I'm just waiting on side skirts, a carbon fiber GTS hood, and a carbon fiber CSL trunk before I start paint.