2003 BMW M5

[Sirius]

One adult is no match for two kids.

[95naSTA]

Can't argue facts.

I will soak up my son wanting to actually go to a car show with me, and my daughter being too young to not not want to go.

[95naSTA]

The front wheel bearings were getting a little noisy so I R&R'd them with BMW units. Even though they were still tight, they were surprisingly crappy sounding when I spun them without the rotor.

While I was in there, I saw the wheels were rubbing slightly on the rear of the fender liner due to the increased scrub radius (spacers) and increased caster the Ground Control top mounts create. I clearanced them at the contact point by heating with a heat gun and pushing in with a welding glove. Also, the fender liners got hit with some SC1 to clean them up a bit.

[95naSTA]

The front wheel bearings didn't completely kill the whirling noise I was experiencing so I decided to do the rears. I also rotated the tires to see if the noise moved. I figure if the noise is still there and doesn't move, I'll move onto the driveshaft center support bearing, which should really be done as PM anyway.

There seems to be a few different ways to R&R these bearings, ranging from removing the whole knuckle in the BMW service Manual to removing the LCA and axles. I don't remember exactly how I did a rear bearing on my 98 528i but the smaller CV tulips definitely didn't shroud the E12 bolts as much. I did find the 1/4" E12 I bought for that job but didn't end up needing it.

I was able to get to all wheel bearing bolts by pushing the axle through the hub with a 3-jaw puller, while ensuring the shaft still had play, then removing the bottom integral link bolt which connects the hub carrier to the LCA. I left the LCAs in place and axles attached at the diff. It was tight but when the tulip was loose, you could move it out of the way enough to get a 3/8" E12 socket in on the harder top aft bolts with a wobble extension.

I chose a 'value line kit' BMW offers, first I ever saw this, which has the bolt on assembly, hub bolts, 1 of 2 rotor bolts, caliper bracket bolts and axle nut. The hubs were re-used since adding another $360 to this wasn't necessary. I've battled a few inner races before, which usually involved grinding a slit to crack it open or slits for a puller to bite. Recently I've seen a few videos of folks spinning hubs, flange side up and heating the inner race until it falls off. I gave it a shot using a drill, drill bit and socket to center the hub, and a MAP gas torch. I've had luck that doesn't make sense with MAP gas before but not this time. It definitely wasn't enough. With an oxy acetylene torch on a lower setting it came right off.

The only other thing to note was even though I cleaned the hub and axle splines with a wire brush, brake clean, and lubed with PB blaster, the axle didn't want to slide through the hub easily. I ended up having a buddy hold and push the axle shaft outboard while I tapped on a 36mm 12pt socket held against where the axle comes through the hub. This worked the axle through enough to thread the nut on.

The car feels smoother but it was hard for me to tell if the noise went away or moved. Either way, 2 less things to worry about.

[95naSTA]

I'm still not 100% sure what exactly happened with the noise, if it moved or is just less or what. Either way I racked on 850 trouble free miles this past week driving to/from OBX. The wife, kids and I rented a small beach house in Buxton, a few properties from the beach. This is our third summer making our way down there.

[95naSTA]

My CF Plenum Top came in. It looks great and I can't wait to hear how it sounds out of my garage and under load. This is a purely race car noise based purchase, zero performance benefit.




There's about 20 tons of salt on the road and that's basically the only hard rule I have for when I won't drive the car.

I also just shipped my wheels off to a place in North Carolina called Prince Wheels. They're one of the few places that can match the factory shadow chrome finish. From what I've seen, it doesn't match side by side but you would never know if you have all 4 done. I had initially curbed a wheel and went to i1parts.com for a replacement since I had a good experience with them in the past. They were the only place that could match the OEM finish one for one. Unfortunately the first wheel they sent had a dip in it where you can tell it was repaired. I didn't notice until it was on hopping on the balancer and it indicated 68lbs/51lb pre and predicted for road force. You want 20lb max there. The second wheel they sent had a visible crease in the lip among other minor imperfections. They did refund without issue. I essentially took that same money and am having all 4 of my rears re-done at Prince Wheels.

I recently bumped my front bumper enough to put a 5" crack in it. I'm sure it could have been repaired but decided to go with a brand new OEM BMW bumper. It was pricey but I was able to find a reputable online dealer locally which saved about $300 in shipping. It's with my painter buddy now. I still have to narrow down a place to PPF it.

[95naSTA]

I recently bought and used a 500 amp carbon pile battery load tester to test my BMW 850 CCA battery that was installed by the PO. It's at least 7 years old at this point but apparently still healthy. According to the manual, the voltage shouldn't drop below 9.3v @ 40F degrees or 9.4v @ 50F and my garage was 45F at the time of the test. Testing at 1/2 the CCA rating, or 425 amps, the voltage never dropped below 9.9v or 10v.
https://youtu.be/nErR18X9BTE

[J Wikoff]

The plenum looks pretty sweet! Got any drive time in it yet?

[95naSTA]

Thanks! No drive time yet unfortunately. All four of my wheels are in NC still at the moment. I can't wait to hear it warmed up under load.

[Sirius]

Sound is everything. I remember when the Camaro came out for the last time and I checked out an SS. The salesman started it up and it sounded like a Caprice station wagon. When I mentioned how lame that was for a performance car, the salesman said they could take it to Master Muffler and have an exhaust system installed. Told him I wouldn't pay for something that should have came on the car to begin with. Nevermind the fact that I wasn't going to buy one regardless, I was just looking. Still...

[J Wikoff]

When G8s came out, guys were so desperate for some sound they were putting washers between the axleback flanges to make a leak that sounded better than a Camry. Including me for a bit.

[95naSTA]

This is the first modded car I have that's actually quiet and there's really not much of a performance benefit to make it louder. These sound reallllly good uncorked and I initially wanted to maybe do a muffler delete or something but I changed my mind after driving it around for a bit, stock. The headers didn't make it louder and I was actually happy about that. The beauty of this CF top is it's only louder when you get into it. That is perfect for me. If it's not, I may get another set of stock scuba tank mufflers and gut 2 of the 4 mufflers to add an active exhaust cutout situation.

I do agree though, a performance car should sound good out of the box, not via a muffler shop down the street.

[95naSTA]

The wheels came back and they turned out great. The little ///M emblems are in the mail and the next step is to schedule up an appt with a mobile tire installer.


https://youtube.com/shorts/o1vWsG4JCPM?feature=share

[95naSTA]

I got the tires mounted the other night, installed an aero piece that's been missing since I bought the car, and finally took it for a spin since the CF plenum was installed. The induction noise is awesome and a cell video doesn't do it justice. You'll hear my son loves it too.


https://youtu.be/ci6Te7JSKHQ

[Sirius]

When G8s came out, guys were so desperate for some sound they were putting washers between the axleback flanges to make a leak that sounded better than a Camry. Including me for a bit.

The previous owner of my G8 put an axleback exhaust on it and that's what basically sold my wife on the car.

[95naSTA]

No major update. I just had a buddy toe and go my car since I saw some inner tire wear when I had the wheels redone. The rack I have access to clamps on the wheels but this one does not.

Thoroughly enjoying the hel out of this car otherwise.

[95naSTA]

I took my son camping for the first time with the M5 last weekend in Ricketts Glen, PA. I over-packed but was able to fit quite a bit. For the larger stuff I had a new 6 person tent to try out, a 10x10' canopy poked through the rear RH seat folded down, full cooler, camp chairs, fishing rod, my son's pedal bike, most of my to-go tools minus the 1/2" stuff, camp grill, etc. The weather was not good but we were in great company which made it not matter at all.

[95naSTA]

I decided to go down the roof rack rabbit hole after that last trip. It seemed like the only option that doesn't contact the paint on the roof was OE BMW, manufactured by Thule. There are recessed mounting points under flaps along the drip rail this style utilizes. With the E39 rack being NLA and used prices creeping up to $400+ over the past few years, I looked for another option. There was some mention of E46 (same gen 3-series) interchangeability and some E9x (04-13 3-series) mentions. I found one post of someone putting E39 rails in an E9x with minor modification and one post where another guy put E9x rails on an E39. E39/E46 options were limited and expensive but I found a couple E9x listings for $150, so I bit.

There are only two small areas where the plastic support covers touch the roof. It took about 10 mins per rail with 120 grit on a DA to gain the few mm of clearance needed.







As for what exactly will go on top, that's TBD. Eventually a cargo box or bikes. It'll really depend on FB marketplace offerings.

[95naSTA]

A Thule box popped up on marketplace last night for $50.. I went to pick it up in my Cobalt work truck and needed to unbolt the passenger seat to fit it.. lol.

It's old but no cracks and looks like it'll clean up just fine. Ideally I would have wanted a side loader but I'll manage.

[Sirius]

Nothing spells 'camper' like BMW.

LOL!

Great score. I'd like to find a roof rack for my SSEi to throw skis/boards up there.