Thread: BMW X5 Wheels onto Disco 3

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

You have to go generic - if I recall correctly the X5 wheel has a 68mm centre cap (you need to check this), so you can get a set of 68mm blank wheel centre caps and then get some round metal stickers with the Land Rover logo on to add to the cap. You will find them on eBay.

No need for that hassle, aftermarket Landrover caps from Ebay fit straight in.

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Originally Posted by DiscoDB

That’s good to know Graeme - do you know what was listed for the V8 D4?

The original Road Vehicle Descriptor record for the D4 (41394, the number on the compliance plate) didn't have a Service Brakes for Engine section but it had 17", 18", 19" & 20" rims as either standard or optional for all 3 S, SE and HSE variants. However that RVD was later superseded by one with the same compliance number that did have that section, so even though the range of rim sizes was unchanged, it was no longer clear-cut that the smaller brakes were allowed with the 3.0 and 5.0 engines.

Originally Posted by Graeme

The original Road Vehicle Descriptor record for the D4 (41394, the number on the compliance plate) didn't have a Service Brakes for Engine section but it had 17", 18", 19" & 20" rims as either standard or optional for all 3 S, SE and HSE variants. However that RVD was later superseded by one with the same compliance number that did have that section, so even though the range of rim sizes was unchanged, it was no longer clear-cut that the smaller brakes were allowed with the 3.0 and 5.0 engines.

Cheers - found it. I see the problem. 17in is listed for all models but service brakes are recorded as 360mm on the front and 350mm on the rear for the 3.0 and 5.0. I can’t see how you could reduce brake size here without going through an Engineering Mod process.

Would be interesting to know if with the smaller discs (or a set of drilled and grooved discs for the 2.7) if the 3.0 and 5.0 could still pass the ADR brake performance test.

For a 3.0 at least, of course the 2.7 brakes will still pass the test as the mass difference between a 2.7 engine and a 3.0 engine is negligible compared with the total mass of the vehicle.

The 2.7 and 3.0 also had the same top speed so getting engineering approval to drop disc size and fit 17in wheels should be straight forward.

The 5.0 may struggle with the brake fade test done at 80% of the vehicles top speed (195kph vs 180kph for the 2.7/3.0). But a V8 with 17 inch wheels would be a very nice set up.

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Thanks for the info guys. A couple of interesting things… I purchased a set of LR3 V6 front brake calipers in bad shape just for the mounts as I read that the LR4 and LR3 has that same front calipers, just different mounts. This turned out to be incorrect so I have a set of new V6 calipers arriving on Friday.
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I also bought the V6 rear calipers and rotors but upon test fitting the BMW wheels on my stock V8 brakes, it looks like they will fit with some minor grinding on the corner of the mount, which doesn’t look like it serves a purpose besides adding weight. I could actually get the wheels all the way on and tightened, with the mount just barely scratching the wheel. I’ll save about $150 when I send the rear brakes back to the supplier.
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I’ll update the thread once I have the new parts on.

Yes, just grind the corners off the rear to allow the X5 rims to fit. IMO they're only there to stop 17" going straight on.

Do you have the part numbers for the fronts that you've ordered as those larger brackets look very similar to 3.0 D4 front brackets and the callipers won't allow 17".