mmitev

see my comments below:
My other advice would be changing shocks and fitting stiffer anti-roll-bars (Eibach or H&R, I have H&R) but I don't know if you can do this on a "xi" model. You would be surprised how much the ARBs help against such shudders and vibrations of the body. I can explain my theory of this if you are interested, but this is definitely a surprising side effect that I did not expect before I fitted them.

545felix

the E60 already has a front strut bar, that also attaches to the firewall in the center of the car. (#1 in the parts diagram at the top of the topic.) anything else up there is going to be for decorative purposes. Spend your money on reinforcing the underbody with the UR and M5 bars.

mmitev

Have you ever heard of a triangular strut bar? Do you understand how it works? Have you ever tried a proper strut bar on your car? On various kinds of roads (i.e. also bad bumpy roads)?

If you haven't, I just don't see how you qualify to make any statements about this.

The strut bar which I got for around $150 is easily the best bang for the buck mod-wise. Makes the front so much more solid. And no, it does not help cornering (on the E60/61), which is widely spread misconception (which is why people are sometimes disappointed) - it makes the front end chassis stiffer when stressed, which is the topic in this thread. Other people spend this kind of money on LED bulbs. To each his own I would say, but I know what is more important to me. Second-best bang for the buck were the H&R ARBs.

alexio

mmitev,

thank you for your info. Sorry for missing some of those pics with the M5 stuff... I'm not very technical and i keep switching back and forth back and forth trying to figure out which ones are the M5 bars and which ones are the regular diagonal bars already installed on my car.

I checked on that AC Schnitzer strut bar... $2100!!!!!!!! are they nuts? everyone else has them for $100-200... as much as I see the value in it I don't believe I could ever bring myself to spend that kind of money for it. There has to be another solution for the 535 engine bay.

More to the point though, now that I know you (or anyone) has done this, i will proceed with installing the front and rear UR bars, and talking to a dealer about the m5 bars. tell us a little bit more about how these have changed your car's chassis flex... huge difference? does it feel like a solid car now? I'm glad others are seeing this issue... to me this is 10x more important than any bodykit/rims/anything... in fact, without structural solidity everything you add to the car (like rims for example or stiffer suspension) just make it worse.

mmitev

Yes, $2100 is nuts... In your shoes, I would look or or post a WTB add here or on M5board.com for a used M5 strut bar, I presume it fits the 535 but not sure. You can also ask other 535 owners in the E60 mods section what strut bar fits these cars. Finally, I think a custom bar can be made for something like $300 or so, not too bad - there are shops that do this kind of stuff.

I already replied to you on PM on what I have and don't on my car. I don't have UR or M5 bars yet.

Any other questions on my existing mods I am happy to answer, but most of the info is already in this thread anyways.

olivierfm

Realoem is showing a different part number for the E61M5: 51618042815 and 51618042816 (doesn't list price but adds "+core" under notes).

It seems they are specific to the E61M5. Now I am really confused... Not sure the bars Ricky has (51618040051 and 52) will fit the E61...

mmitev

S**t, I think you're right That will explain my confusion with the prices - I think the E61 ones are twice as expensive as the saloon ones. Let the drama continue then...

EDIT: I also just found out that the middle black "Connecting Support" plate in Ricky's pics is also specific to the E61 M5. Athough from all RealOEM diagrams it seems to me that the difference is that on the E61 M5 it supports the exhaust through an additional bracket. The mounting points and screw holes do not seem to be different at first sight. The plate found on normal E61's also fits Sedans, and importantly also the E60 M5.

ricky1329

I found some photos from E61 M5 may help. I route the slot from my existing middle black plate instead of use the M5 silver one.

mmitev

Do you mean you made (drilled) new holes in your existing black plate?

And thanks for the pics, but they confuse me a bit - on the middle one it looks like the V-shaped brace #7 and the pull-rod #14 are one thing? I dont see a joint between them at the suspention subframe mounting point?

ricky1329

I think these two photos should explain the details for E61 how to install. They should bolt in. That's why there are different number in between E60 and E61.




Source from below link: http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60...-hd-video.html