E92 Spacers - Guidance Welcome!

[roadie]

I'm building a large pile of brake and suspension parts for my LCI E92 335i,which includes the full Brembo brake setup from the F3x cars. I've been advised that spacers are required at the rear to clear the OEM 19" 313M wheels over the larger calipers.

I'm looking at 12mm or 15mm spacers and would really appreciate some guidance on brands to consider and whether to use longer bolts or studs? Feedback would be most welcome! Thanks

[Court_S]

I’m use M Tec spacers / studs on my 335i. They’re sensibly priced and local enough for me to go and grab them rather have them posted.

My rear wheels are pretty aggressive so there’s no spacers fitted, just a stud conversion. I’m running 12mm spacers on the front because the wheels looked lost.

If you want posher spacers, the likes of H+R and EBC will make them in the required sizes.

[d_a_n1979]

roadie said:

I'm building a large pile of brake and suspension parts for my LCI E92 335i,which includes the full Brembo brake setup from the F3x cars. I've been advised that spacers are required at the rear to clear the OEM 19" 313M wheels over the larger calipers.

I'm looking at 12mm or 15mm spacers and would really appreciate some guidance on brands to consider and whether to use longer bolts or studs? Feedback would be most welcome! Thanks

Yup; as Sam said; either Mteconline spacers and their stud conversion kit (makes more sense than longer bolts etc) or use their stud kit and Precision Engineering spacers etc

As an example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284898063438?hash=item4...

But drop him a message and ask what he can sort for you etc

No need to pay through the nose for spacers like Bimecc, H&R, Eibach etc - they're very much the same

[roadie]

Thanks Sam, Dan. I've messaged the seller to see what they recommend and can sort.

[d_a_n1979]

roadie said:

Thanks Sam, Dan. I've messaged the seller to see what they recommend and can sort.

No probs

The stud kit is well worth looking into IMO:




A much better, safer and easier option when running spacers too... Tightens from both sides then and not just one

Great for putting wheels back on too; no balancing act needed

[roadie]

Looks mega Dan.

My wheel specs are 19x8 ET37 and 19x9 ET39. I also asked CM Wheels who have said that 12mm / 15mm would be a popular choice.

I'm not quite sure if 15mm would be too much. I'm sure I've heard the LCI cars have a wider track but have not seen this confirmed or proved anywhere. I'm also not sure if this would affect brake clearance in any way!

[d_a_n1979]

roadie said:

Looks mega Dan.

My wheel specs are 19x8 ET37 and 19x9 ET39. I also asked CM Wheels who have said that 12mm / 15mm would be a popular choice.

I'm not quite sure if 15mm would be too much. I'm sure I've heard the LCI cars have a wider track but have not seen this confirmed or proved anywhere. I'm also not sure if this would affect brake clearance in any way!

Personally I'd get both, 12mm and 15mm

You won't have issues with brake clearance unless your alloys are a weirdly designed barrel or the balancing weights are huge etc

Least with both sets you can see how the wheels sit etc...

For me having the wheels spaced out but just nicely under the arches is the best look; still smoother lines, but not too aggressive or sticking out and looking all wrong..

You can see that here near enough; that's 15mm all round, so a final offset of 5 (OEM is ET20, 15mm spacers etc)



Same here on my previous F01 - 12mm rears, 15mm fronts:



And my previous touring, 15mm all round again:

[roadie]

Thanks again Dan.

My brake clearance issue will be for the much larger rear Brembo calipers I have to install compared to the existing sliding calipers. I'm possibly minded to go conservative on width of spacer and do a stud conversion. If I went 10mm at the front and 12mm at the rear it would give me a final ET of 27 front and rear.

[Court_S]

roadie said:

Looks mega Dan.

My wheel specs are 19x8 ET37 and 19x9 ET39. I also asked CM Wheels who have said that 12mm / 15mm would be a popular choice.

I'm not quite sure if 15mm would be too much. I'm sure I've heard the LCI cars have a wider track but have not seen this confirmed or proved anywhere. I'm also not sure if this would affect brake clearance in any way!

The LCI cars do have a wider track. The wheels I bought have quite an aggressive offset and won’t fit a face lift car because of the wider track. As it is, my rears are flush with the edge of the arch.

12 and 15 seems to be a popular choice.

[roadie]

Quick question Sam. What size hex do your stud nuts take?

I think I'll now go 12mm front and rear with 73mm studs.

[d_a_n1979]

roadie said:

Quick question Sam. What size hex do your stud nuts take?

I think I'll now go 12mm front and rear with 73mm studs.

5mm but ensure its a good hex socket or it'll snap

They only need to be torqued down to c25lb ft with strong thread locker...

You can use 2 nuts facing each other to torque them down instead too - just put a washer between them so you don't damage them etc

[roadie]

Thanks Dan, working with the seller I will decide between the following studs. The silver are 17mm whereas the black are 19mm. The black might be best aesthetically.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374177669174

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304564931952

[d_a_n1979]

roadie said:

Thanks Dan, working with the seller I will decide between the following studs. The silver are 17mm whereas the black are 19mm. The black might be best aesthetically.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374177669174

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304564931952

He'll sell any set up you want; just send him a message etc

Agree though; black 19mm nuts with the black studs looks more subtle

[Court_S]

roadie said:

Thanks Dan, working with the seller I will decide between the following studs. The silver are 17mm whereas the black are 19mm. The black might be best aesthetically.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374177669174

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304564931952

I’m running 19mm nuts in black on mine with silver 12mm spacers up front.

[roadie]

Looks perfect Sam. The fit and the extra camber from the M3 arms looks so purposeful.

What size 19" tyres are you running?

I ordered the black 19mm stud conversion set with silver 12mm spacers yesterday.

Thanks for your help both!

[Court_S]

roadie said:

Looks perfect Sam. The fit and the extra camber from the M3 arms looks so purposeful.

What size 19" tyres are you running?

I ordered the black 19mm stud conversion set with silver 12mm spacers yesterday.

Thanks for your help both!

235 35’s on the front. Had to go up a size to avoid the slightly stretched look that I’d have had on 225’s.

[roadie]

I know what you mean as I have RFT tyres in 225/35 fitted at present!

[roadie]

I received the Mtec products today. The spacers are nicely packaged and seem decent. Studs also.

I can't wait to get everything fitted, but need to order some M3 arms and coilovers first.

[Court_S]

roadie said:

I received the Mtec products today. The spacers are nicely packaged and seem decent. Studs also.

I can't wait to get everything fitted, but need to order some M3 arms and coilovers first.

Good stuff. The products I’ve bought from them are absolutely fine

The M3 stems are a good upgrade. Which ones are you fitting? I did all of the bolt on jobbies. Not sure if the rear ones make a massive difference but they’re not that expensive so I thought why not. I bought TRW jobbies from Autodoc which arrived it’s the ///M logo ground off.

[roadie]

I fitted a full set of M3 arms to my 130i and while I know the rear arms don't contribute too much, I might as well fit these to make sure that I have all new bushes.

I was all set to order a set of coilovers, possibly Yellowspeed, possibly MiestrR, but today Amazon delivered a ST Suspension Kit that I had forgotten I had ordered! I'll take a look at the build quality (ST is a KW brand), but I may stick with them as they were really good value. I'll need to sort things like bump stops and all of the fiddly little parts like spring pads etc. Sam - which bump stops have you gone with on your cars?