253Touring

New to the e60 world, previously had an e46 wagon. Was hoping you guys could help me out with a few things. I have searched but a ton of the threads seem to be from years ago and im hoping for the most recent info/links.

1 - Im looking to lower the car. I plan on going with new springs and struts in the front. What is the easiest way to adjust the rear ride height? What program do you need to adjust it?

2 - I am looking at replica m-tech/m5 front bumpers. I have pdc on my car, are there any links showing the process of installing one of these replica bumpers? I know I was told I may need to plastic weld pieces from my old bumper onto the new one.

3 - Are most of the replica m-tech bumpers the same? I previously dealt aftermarket parts and know from my experience the majority of this stuff comes from china and is branded different names by different sellers but didnt know if that was the case for these.

4 - My hatch wiring seems to be going bad. I have seen old post that show where the break tends to happen but I wasnt sure what the actual repair process was. Any help or links would be appreciated.

5 - What is the preferred wheel ET? I know it varies between xi and rwd models is is the same for sedans and wagons? I have seen alot of people running spacers but also have seen people suggest et45 wheels so Im confused as to what the consensus is.

Thanks for the help.

pocholin

Welcome,

Coilovers are the best way to lower your front if you have the need to raise and lower because of snow, off road, or some other reason. There are different brands and different costs, the best and most expensive being KW3s for around $3k, I run middle to low-end ISC that cost around $1.4k.
To lower the rear you'll need to code the car, there's a whole section on coding and the software needed.

You do need to stick to 40-45ET on the wagon wheels because of the AWD hardware.

BTW, we want pics

hatterasman

This is a good source of info for the tailgate wiring:

The Fix-it Blog - Sorting Things Out: BMW 535xi Touring E61 Tailgate Wiring Harness - SenCom Repair Kit Installation

Note that wheel offset changes if you go wider. Not a lot of clearance between the tire and the strut in the front.

253Touring

Yeah Ive went down the coilover road with almost every car ive ever owned and just want to keep this one as simple as possible. Its too slow to sacrifice ride quality right now. Prob just go with some bilstien struts and h&r springs up front. Any idea how to electronically adjust the rear?

253Touring

Awesome ty.

GTYellowJacket

1. INPA. Learn it and love it. It will save your ass.

2. Even easier would be to find one of the OEM m-sport take-offs available on here from those of us who have moved to M5 fenders and bumpers. Pay attention to PDC sensor diameters when shopping for bumpers.

5. Your limits on offset depend on wheel width, tire size, your desire to roll fenders, and many other factors. Want to stick with 245/40/18 square? If so, you can easily run 32 offsets. Which is great, because you can buy the myriad wheels from the e9x crowd. I've spent a lot of time testing numerous wheel and tire fitments, so I'd be happy to share more if you can tell us more about your goals and how aggressively you want to push the limits.

HansGrub3r

Sorry for kinda hijacking this thread, felt it would be kinda useless to start a new one with just one question..

I just bought myself a e61 520d -07 which came with ugly original 16" wheels, been trying to google my way to what ET is normal for the touring. But from my research I only find info of the e60s ET and nothing for the e61.

I found some 19" 8.5" front and 9.5" rear with Et 35, but I'm not keen on buying anything that might not fit since the only Et I found on google is Et 20 for the sedan..
Thanks in advance

hatterasman

realoem.com can help with what's standard for your car.

The x-drive cars have higher offsets than the RWD models.