BMS Wheel Spacer Bolts and "Clicking" + Solution

[thetaobear]

I recently changed my front wheel spacers from 5mm to 10mm

5mm from ECS

10mm from BMS

because my struts were rubbing against my tires.

After switching both the spaces and bolts to the 10mm, I realized when I turned left/right or go over bumps a hear a "click, click, click" sound- I didn't have this problem before. I thought it was my suspension, but read a few forums about this problem.

I swapped the bolts from the 10mm kit back to the 5mm kit (literally is just a 2 thread shorter - so I figured it should be safe?), and the clicking is now gone!

YMMV given your setup, but hopefully this is helpful to some who experienced this problem.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by thetaobear

I recently changed my front wheel spacers from 5mm to 10mm

5mm from ECS

10mm from BMS

because my struts were rubbing against my tires.

After switching both the spaces and bolts to the 10mm, I realized when I turned left/right or go over bumps a hear a "click, click, click" sound- I didn't have this problem before. I thought it was my suspension, but read a few forums about this problem.

I swapped the bolts from the 10mm kit back to the 5mm kit (literally is just a 2 thread shorter - so I figured it should be safe?), and the clicking is now gone!

YMMV given your setup, but hopefully this is helpful to some who experienced this problem.

Whoa now this is strange. I have a clicking also, and running 12mm and 10mm spacers front and rear, both from BMS. Never made the correlation. Don't quite understand what it could be caused by though?

I'm going to swap to winters shortly and will retest with and without spacers...very odd.

[thetaobear]

Yes, exactly. The extra thread or the bolt itself maybe slipping off something. Not entirely sure.

[asbrr]

So - an update after I swapped on my winter tires on the weekend. Because of the skinny winter setup, I decided to move the 12mm spacers from the front to the rear, and the 10mm spacers from the rear to the front. I kept the appropriate bolts "together" with the correct spacer.

Miraculously, the clicking is gone!!?!?! I don't know if it's because I applied fresh anti-seize around the spacer, or just the act of taking the wheel off and re-torqueing cleaned something up....

I will monitor to see how this holds up over the coming weeks.

If anyone has a plausible explanation, would love to hear it.

[juld0zer]

The clicking noise is likely to be similar to the clicking noise that many current X5/6M owners experience when turning. If that's what it is then it's caused by very small movements of the wheel on the hub/brake rotor hat. That can be caused by uneven application of lubricant, uneven surface, etc. Since you have now sandwiched a flat disc between the wheel and the rotor hat, i'd say thats where the noise is coming from. Try cleaning the the mounting face of the wheel with a scotchbrite pad

[juld0zer]

Also, if you arent torquing up the bolts in a star pattern, try that also. 120Nm for E8x, 140Nm for Fxx

[asbrr]

Thanks julD0zer - I was thinking the re-application of fresh anti-seize is what helped fix the issue for me. I have always torqued and checked the wheels properly and never had a problem so I was sure I did that part right.

I think for OP, you should put a nice even application of anti-seize after cleaning the wheel surface and rotor hat properly. Then re-torque properly and all should be well.

[juld0zer]

Oddly enough, some spacer manufacturers advise against the use of antiseize lubricants on the large areas of their products. They only advise a thin coat in the hub bore rather than the rotor hat/wheel mount surfaces.

For clicking M135/M235 BMW actually advises nothing whatsoever between the hub and the mating face on the inside of the rotor hat after the sanding procedure is done (use coarse sandpaper to roughen up the inside of the rotor hat in a non-radial manner (ie side to side or up and down, not in circles) where it touches the hub.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by juld0zer

Oddly enough, some spacer manufacturers advise against the use of antiseize lubricants on the large areas of their products. They only advise a thin coat in the hub bore rather than the rotor hat/wheel mount surfaces.

For clicking M135/M235 BMW actually advises nothing whatsoever between the hub and the mating face on the inside of the rotor hat after the sanding procedure is done (use coarse sandpaper to roughen up the inside of the rotor hat in a non-radial manner (ie side to side or up and down, not in circles) where it touches the hub.

Hmm good to know. Most of my application of antiseize was on the hub bore, and a very thin/tiny amount on the sections of the mating surface, almost just to dry off the brush rather than actual application.

Will probably clean and wipe down all excess except the hub bore when I swap in the spring, thanks.

[asbrr]

ARGH! It's back!

So I swapped back my summer rims, and the 10mm went to the back and 12mm went to the front. Clicking is back not only when turning but when driving straight. Seems to be from both rear sides, and is very "rotational" meaning it goes with the wheel rotation speed. Quite annoying and loud.

So it is either:

- Something with the 10mm being on the rear vs 12mm for my winters
- Something with my summer rims specifically

I'm going to take them off and do the sanding/scotchbrite thing suggested earlier and report back. I was very careful this time to not apply any lubricant/anti-seize to any of the flat surfaces, just the hub bore only. I thoroughly cleaned the flat surfaces of the spacer prior to installation, as well as wiped down the rotor hat surface and wheel mount surface. Didn't use sandpaper or a scotchbrite pad as suggested though...

[asbrr]

Thoroughly cleaned the surface on the back of the wheel that mates to the hub/spacer, using steel wool and some medium coarseness sandpaper until the surface rust/bumps were gone.

Problem solved!

[thetaobear]

Our cars ...

congrats on fixing the clicks!!!

[mike the snake]

The clicks, they come, they go, my 08 135i did it on the front wheels, went away when I switched wheels.

I don't think anyone has 100% figured out exactly what causes the clicking, but it Does seem to be harmless.

[deesea]

I too have the clicking. Noticed it a day after installing a set of coilers. Had these same spacers on when I was on the track last year and noticed the ticking under hard corners - but it went away during daily driving. This time, it was persistent.

Removed the spacers (as they these stock 264s will clear the strut) and the sound was gone. Bizarre - ONLY BMS spacers too.

[asbrr]

Yea as some have speculated it's the bolts being slightly too long, but I had 100% success rate when removing wheels, cleaning extra anti-seize/dirt/grease/grit from all surfaces, cleaning the back of the wheel where it mates to the spacer/hub as I described.

Anti-seize should only be used on the hub bore of the actual hub, as well as the bore of the hubcentric spacer. None on any of the flat surfaces.

I suspect if the clicking comes back for me it will be a case of having to remove the wheels, re-clean the surfaces as required. Kind of annoying...