[R99]

Hi all,

I am soon to be joining the F11 fold, having spent the last 18 months in a 325d E91.

I have left a deposit on a AUC car which is a 2011 build 525d with 22k miles.

Luckily, as its one of the early ones it has the 3.0 N57 unit!

The car has a pretty good spec:

Four-zone automatic air conditioning
Electric front seats with driver memory
Automatic tailgate operation
Professional navigation system
Sport automatic transmission
High gloss shadowline roof rails
Adaptive headlights
Storage compartment package
Sun protection glass
BMW Assist
Visibility package
Voice control system
"Ext. mirrors
Panoramic glass sunroof
Xenon headlights
High beam assistant
Reversing assist camera
Enhanced Bluetooth telephone functionality
Variable damper controll (VDC)

I have a few questions if anyone can help?

1) what are the main differences between LCI / Pre-LCI?
2) VDC - is it correct that this raises the ride height in comparison to M Sport suspension?
3) How do you lower the rear of the F11 as it has air bag suspension AFAIK?
4) Wheel offsets / widths - what is possible on these cars?

My plans are fairly modest at this stage, but I will probably do the following:

Retrofit NBT nav (ID5)
Retrofit 6WB cluster
Lower it (sensibly, it wont be slammed)
New wheels

Thanks all!

[mrashton]

Hi, love the F11 - Congratulations.

In answer to your questions:
1) LCI brought revised lighting. Bi-Xenons became a standard with LED an optional extra. Front indicators no longer LED. Side indicator marker moved to the mirror housing. Slight change to the front bumper detail design. Rear light cluster light bar design made slimmer. NBT introduced. the list goes on but nothing major of note.
2) On the F11 if you specified VDC on an M-Sport the M-Sport suspension was automatically deleted. So you had the standard SE ride height.
3) You can lower the rear ride height using ISTA.
4) Wheel offsets and widths, The F11 has a square set up but people have been known to replace this with the staggered set up from the F10. Personally I don't understand why one would want to do this but each to their own.

[shiner]

Sounds like a great car, good spec with low miles. Nice one

As above regarding LCI. I had a pre (520) and a post (530) LCI and not a great deal of difference really between them. Currently in a LCI 535 late 2014.

Super cars and pretty bomb proof as well.

[R99]

Originally Posted by mrashton

Hi, love the F11 - Congratulations.

In answer to your questions:
1) LCI brought revised lighting. Bi-Xenons became a standard with LED an optional extra. Front indicators no longer LED. Side indicator marker moved to the mirror housing. Slight change to the front bumper detail design. Rear light cluster light bar design made slimmer. NBT introduced. the list goes on but nothing major of note.
2) On the F11 if you specified VDC on an M-Sport the M-Sport suspension was automatically deleted. So you had the standard SE ride height.
3) You can lower the rear ride height using ISTA.
4) Wheel offsets and widths, The F11 has a square set up but people have been known to replace this with the staggered set up from the F10. Personally I don't understand why one would want to do this but each to their own.

Thanks!

Do you have a link to a thread or something which would show the process to lower the rear?

Also, do you know which springs are seen to be the best for the F11 with VDC? Are ACS highly thought of in the F1x world like they are in the F3x field?

Originally Posted by shiner

Sounds like a great car, good spec with low miles. Nice one

As above regarding LCI. I had a pre (520) and a post (530) LCI and not a great deal of difference really between them. Currently in a LCI 535 late 2014.

Super cars and pretty bomb proof as well.

Thanks for the welcome!

I cant wait to get it, I think the pre-LCI still seems to be very similar to the LCI, unlike some of the revisions BMW has made on some models, where they are significantly different!

[R99]

Originally Posted by mrashton

Hi, love the F11 - Congratulations.

In answer to your questions:

4) Wheel offsets and widths, The F11 has a square set up but people have been known to replace this with the staggered set up from the F10. Personally I don't understand why one would want to do this but each to their own.

What are the differences between the set up in terms of F10 wheel widths, offsets & tyre sizes compared to the F11?

[remmib]

Originally Posted by R99

What are the differences between the set up in terms of F10 wheel widths, offsets & tyre sizes compared to the F11?

Main difference is some staggered set up on the F10 vs square set up for the F11.
OEM sizes are:
17x8 ET30 on 225/55/17 tires.
18x8 ET30 on 245/45/18 tires. If staggered, 18x9 ET44 275/40/18 rears on the F10.
19x8.5 ET33 on 245/40/19 tires, square on the F11, and 19x9 ET44 275/35/19 rears on the F10.

[R99]

Originally Posted by remmib

Main difference is some staggered set up on the F10 vs square set up for the F11.
OEM sizes are:
17x8 ET30 on 225/55/17 tires.
18x8 ET30 on 245/45/18 tires. If staggered, 18x9 ET44 275/40/18 rears on the F10.
19x8.5 ET33 on 245/40/19 tires, square on the F11, and 19x9 ET44 275/35/19 rears on the F10.

Ok, so my F11 (on OEM 19") will be 19x8.5 ET33 square with 245/40/19 all round.

However a F10 (on OEM 19") would be 19x8.5 ET33 front and 19x9 ET44

Correct?

I may buy a set of 9j rears and add 275/35/19 in the short term..... I prefer the wider rear tyre look to be honest!

[remmib]

Originally Posted by R99

Ok, so my F11 (on OEM 19") will be 19x8.5 ET33 square with 245/40/19 all round.

However a F10 (on OEM 19") would be 19x8.5 ET33 front and 19x9 ET44

Correct?

I may buy a set of 9j rears and add 275/35/19 in the short term..... I prefer the wider rear tyre look to be honest!

Yes, and I also replied about the BBS wheels.

[R99]

Thanks - you are very helpful! Much appreciated!

I am leaning toward ordering a set of OEM liquid black 20" 356 rims from the dealer with the supplied 245/35/20 & 275/30/20 tyres

I will see how much they cost - but obviously they would be runflats coming from BMW

[The Beast]

Try Alloy Wheels Direct, they sell OEM BMW wheels at a discount. I got a replacement 20" wheel for my car from them. Also email them and ask for a further discount, I did and to my surprise they reduced the price further.... They can supply types fitted and balanced too

[morellomax]

I thought the reason the Touring had a non-staggered setup was that the extra bulk of the rear air suspension only left room for a 245 width tyre ?

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Try Alloy Wheels Direct, they sell OEM BMW wheels at a discount. I got a replacement 20" wheel for my car from them. Also email them and ask for a further discount, I did and to my surprise they reduced the price further.... They can supply types fitted and balanced too

REMEMBER TPMS Valves.

[xenon]

If it's 2011 it won't have TPMS it will have RDC.

[Gordon4499]

Originally Posted by morellomax

I thought the reason the Touring had a non-staggered setup was that the extra bulk of the rear air suspension only left room for a 245 width tyre ?

Yes non staggered on F11. Hence the reason I am selling two new tyres that I bought for my old F10