2015 What did you do to your E38 today?

[Mayorchuck]

New year, new thread.

2014:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...your-E38-today

[purplecty]

Replaced battery in the shorty sport!

[zener]

Still trying to decide the tires sizes for the summer. My E38 is only lowered -40mm at front.

Should I buy 245/40R20 + 275/35R20 or 255/35R20 + 295/30R20. My wheels are 9x20 ET20 and 10,5x20 ET25?

[NordmanMg]

245/40 & 275/35 have more tire space between rim and road

[zener]

Yeah, they are little bit "thicker". I test fitted the front wheel with 255/35 and I think it looked nice but when it was under the car it looked like it would need more lowering. So the 245+275 set would help on that.

[joes95740]

New water pump, thermo, clutch fan, pully, belts,tensioners. Now I have some hot hot heat!

[purplecty]

New water pump, thermo, clutch fan, pully, belts,tensioners. Now I have some hot hot heat!

Brands used?

[NordmanMg]

How to remove front seat backs? Need to pray on them outwards?

[Sobek]

Hey guys, happy new year - I just had a quick question... I'm not too familiar with tyres and all their specifics, but I need new front tyres and I've been thinking about what to do. At the moment, I have a set of 18" style 95's that I believe are staggered - I haven't actually checked the rims but I was told they were and they came with 245/45's on the front and 245/55's on the rear, and I just recently replaced the rears. Assuming they're staggered, I'm wondering if I'd be able to run 245/55's on the front too anyway? I'm just thinking about adding that tiny bit more rubber for whatever extra comfort it might offer - even 18's with 245/45's can feel a little rough on some surfaces. Or is that just not worth it? Not sure what the clearance is like in the front for that size anyway either, with the stock suspension setup.

Probably stupid questions but, gotta learn some time right?

How to remove front seat backs? Need to pray on them outwards?

Check post #7 in this thread;

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...t-back-Removal

I always hear about how tricky those seat backs can be... I need to remove my left one to fix a little rattle soon, should be fun.

[clivesay]

Sobek, if you have style 95's then they are 19" and staggered.

Timm's guide is the best. http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/timms_b..._tyre_page.htm

[blackknight530i]

Are your style 95's OEM Sobek? If so, I thought they were 19"? 245/45/19 front and 275/40/19 rear are the e65 sizes that fit well on the e38 and are just a bit taller than stock e38, giving the extra cushion. If yours are 18", 245/45/18 on the front would be a bit wider, but not taller than e38 stock size of 235/50/18. The correct size for my 19" style 95's in the front is 245 or 255/40/19.

[blackknight530i]

Sobek, if you have style 95's then they are 19" and staggered.

Timm's guide is the best. http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/timms_b..._tyre_page.htm

Someone did make some 18" reps of the 95's.

[NordmanMg]

Thanks Sobek
you cannot use 245/55/18 on seven its more likely an x5 tire size
front on e 38 can't fit more then 245/50/18, higher profile will rub strut

[clivesay]

Someone did make some 18" reps of the 95's.

Are those the chrome ones I've seen?

[blackknight530i]

Are those the chrome ones I've seen?

I don't know if all the 18" reps are chrome, but I have seen them that way.

[Sobek]

Thanks Sobek
you cannot use 245/55/18 on seven its more likely an x5 tire size
front on e 38 can't fit more then 245/50/18, higher profile will rub strut

Thanks mate, that's what I was wondering... I actually did find some old posts from member's running 18" 95's with 245/55 tyres with apparently no rubbing at all. Not sure what to think haha, though I think my guy will happily swap them out for free if they do rub. Hmmmm

I need to check the inside of my 95's to confirm. There's been a lot of debate about whether there were OEM 18" 95's in Australia, because they seem to have been available as standard on a lot of E60's and E65/66's. The 95's I'm running came off another E38, of which the owner was told they were stock off an E60... And most E6x 7 series' I see are running 18" style 95's. Perhaps it's an Australian / European market thing? Not sure.

[blackknight530i]

Thanks mate, that's what I was wondering... I actually did find some old posts from member's running 18" 95's with 245/55 tyres with apparently no rubbing at all. Not sure what to think haha, though I think my guy will happily swap them out for free if they do rub. Hmmmm

I need to check the inside of my 95's to confirm. There's been a lot of debate about whether there were OEM 18" 95's in Australia, because they seem to have been available as standard on a lot of E60's and E65/66's. The 95's I'm running came off another E38, of which the owner was told they were stock off an E60... And most E6x 7 series' I see are running 18" style 95's. Perhaps it's an Australian / European market thing? Not sure.

Never seen OEM 18" 95's here, but could be a market thing.

[Staszek]

I started it

[blackknight530i]

I missed mine. I've been away from it for almost 2 weeks now.

[1badturboe38]

Wow...good start..lol

[shanecarmaster1]

Cruised like a granny because I have 25 miles left of range and didn't feel like going to the gas station I don't know whether I enjoy beating her or just cruising better!

[NordmanMg]

Thanks mate, that's what I was wondering... I actually did find some old posts from member's running 18" 95's with 245/55 tyres with apparently no rubbing at all. Not sure what to think haha, though I think my guy will happily swap them out for free if they do rub. Hmmmm

I need to check the inside of my 95's to confirm. There's been a lot of debate about whether there were OEM 18" 95's in Australia, because they seem to have been available as standard on a lot of E60's and E65/66's. The 95's I'm running came off another E38, of which the owner was told they were stock off an E60... And most E6x 7 series' I see are running 18" style 95's. Perhaps it's an Australian / European market thing? Not sure.

I'm lil confused, but if you can test fit 245/55/18 on the front you don't forget make some pics)))))
I have 9,5x19 &11x19 set for summer and don't know yet what tire sizes to use
i might go for 265/40 for the front and 295/35 for the rear

[clarkitect]

Painted the valve covers.

Before:



After:



I keep forgetting to turn the stupid date stamp off...
Used VHT Wrinkle Black paint. Very happy with the results - we'll see how it holds up! Thank you to Jamos for the tips!

[purplecty]

Looks awesome! I really wanted a bkdy color matched wrinkle in VHT but they only had bright red so I just went a different route and used flat aluminum high heat up to 2000 degrees paint.

This same paint but opted for the flat aluminum:

[clarkitect]

^^That looks great Purp.

I really debated sticking with silver, or going to black. In the end I found a picture online of black and went that route. The flat silver looks really good too though.