09-15-2022, 09:22 AM | #67 | |
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If I didn't have Cerakote capability, drilling the groove for grease fill-up is the approach I'd take. And I'm sure it'll work just fine. Cerakote is just something I coincidentally learned to do when I was rebuilding the engine, having to coat the pistons. Not necessary if you don't want to go that route.
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09-16-2022, 12:17 AM | #68 | |
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09-21-2022, 01:42 PM | #69 |
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Ordered the front. I figure I can do the rear myself later but I should be getting new motor mounts in the coming weeks and I want to combine the labor on that rather than doing it myself.
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10-10-2022, 10:46 AM | #70 |
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Well, folks, it's time for an update.
So last month I took the car up the Colorado Mountains and spent a week up and down the Rocky MTN Nat'l Park. Just a blast to drive the X5 with such tightly knitted suspension setup. Both front and rear upgraded sway bars really contributed to a zero-body-roll situation for the car. And the H&R springs coupled with Bilstein B6 struts makes high speed driving extremely stable going from Texas to Colorado. Was able to do over 100mph without the car feeling like it's going to roll off the road or anything. So ideally, yes, this setup has been a dream, and if this can continue, I'd call it done; however, turns out, my wife has noticed the extra harshness and bumpiness when going over any road contours. Recently, she's been in her friend's X5, same car, but completely stock suspension and she came back and asked me to take off the springs for good. Apparently, she's fed up with how uncomfortable all the bump on the road feels handled by the H&R springs. So this past weekend, it came off. Just finished putting the stock springs back, coupled with the Bilstein B6 and the Ultra Racing front and rear sway bars; did the alignment and the car's now back on the road. Car feels great at corners since the sway bars really do their jobs well; but now it feels like I'm riding on a sponge going through the road contours in a straight line just feels a whole lot more bouncier; we've sacrificed performance for some comfort. Major Bummers.
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2015 MINI COOPER - Mahle Pistons, Max Rods, BMS intake, CTS charge pipe, Wagner Intercooler, ByteTronik Tune, VRSF DP 2017 540i - MHD2+, VRSF DP, TU Pump |
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10-11-2022, 02:18 AM | #71 | |
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10-11-2022, 10:50 AM | #72 | |
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Now I'm freeing up a set of H&R's, I'll likely post it up in the classified and sell it for cheap.
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2015 MINI COOPER - Mahle Pistons, Max Rods, BMS intake, CTS charge pipe, Wagner Intercooler, ByteTronik Tune, VRSF DP 2017 540i - MHD2+, VRSF DP, TU Pump Last edited by yupetc; 10-11-2022 at 10:56 AM.. |
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10-12-2022, 12:00 AM | #73 | |
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12-06-2022, 06:44 PM | #74 | |
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First off it drives like a dream, I love it. I'll have to do the rear at some point, it does feel like there's something to be desired in the rear now since the front is disproportionately flat in corners...but the steering feels great, the X5 goes exactly where you point it. Highly recommend this upgrade; this is my first time upgrading a sway bar and I feel like its a much better balance between performance and NVH (so far there is no noticeable increase in NVH) than other suspension upgrades such as springs, dampers, coilovers, or stiffer bushings.
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12-06-2022, 06:50 PM | #75 | ||
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12-07-2022, 02:21 AM | #76 |
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It might transmit a little more of the roughness of the road, definitely not a huge difference. To be honest I've barely driven my X5 since June and after the install I only drove it like 3 miles from the shop to the dealer (O2 sensor, thankfully under warranty)...so I don't have much to add on this yet. I'll start taking it on ski trips in the next couple weeks and I can report back after some more experience. So far I'd say it's like 5-10% of the harshness increase between OEM sport springs and H&R sport springs.
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12-07-2022, 03:40 PM | #77 | |
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The biggest difference I notices upon upgrading to this sway bar is that the turns are all flat now. And earlier on I did have the H&R and Bilstein B6 along with this, and H&R's are just way too bumpy. Now that the car's riding on stock springs with the B6 and these sway bars, I'd say the ride mimics' that same ride with the E70 M-sport suspension, which was my previous X5, with a slightly softer trek. And it was because I knew what that E70 M-sport felt like, when I got to this standard F15 suspension, I ventured upon getting the sway bars upgraded. For those of you who are worried about cornering like a boat swaying, you should really look into upgrading the sway bars. It does wonders to change your suspension characteristics. The car now corners so flat that in my neighborhood I have people coming to me saying that they've tailed behind me a few times and realized I'm driving an SUV which corners like a mini cooper, at least that's what they observe from driving behind me. With a good smirk I explained what I did with the sway bars and now they all think I'm so mechanically inclined about cars.
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12-07-2022, 07:32 PM | #78 | ||
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12-08-2022, 09:30 AM | #79 | |
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I did everything myself, so I couldn't fathom what an indy would charge. But the job isn't so bad for me because I've gone through this repair route many times for my intercooler and piping. And if you can get the intercooler out, you can easily access the front sway bar. Mind you, when I do this, I took the full front assembly off, bumpers, radiator, everything. But it's a walk in the park for me. The rear bar is even easier, just 4 bolts and bolt up the stabilizer link, no fuss at all.
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2015 MINI COOPER - Mahle Pistons, Max Rods, BMS intake, CTS charge pipe, Wagner Intercooler, ByteTronik Tune, VRSF DP 2017 540i - MHD2+, VRSF DP, TU Pump |
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12-13-2022, 02:41 PM | #80 | |
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As far as cost goes, my shop charged me 0.8hrs on top of the 3.6hrs for the motor mounts. Most of this labor overlaps, so I'd imagine if you're doing only the front sway you'd be paying about 3.6 hours for the job. Keep in mind that I had him cut in grooves to hold the grease in the sway bar bushings since this brand for some reason does not have them. I'd probably have saved a hundred bucks doing this myself. The rear looks super easy so I'll just do it myself.
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12-23-2022, 11:44 PM | #81 | |
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02-01-2024, 03:41 PM | #83 |
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02-01-2024, 03:47 PM | #84 |
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So far so good. The mounts on the bar held up fine. I added lubrication coating from CERAKOTE onto where the mounts are gripped. That further helps the mount with noise/squeak reduction.
As far as I can tell, the X5, after upgrade both sway bars, now drives like a 5-series sedan in terms of cornering; just different ride height is all. On top of that, I've gotten rid of the H&R springs and Bilstein B6's because of how harsh the ride has been. It's very jarring at every even little small bumps on the road. I'm now riding on Eibach Pro springs and Koni Active Sport (FSD) shocks. Perfect combination in regards to performance and comfort.
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2015 MINI COOPER - Mahle Pistons, Max Rods, BMS intake, CTS charge pipe, Wagner Intercooler, ByteTronik Tune, VRSF DP 2017 540i - MHD2+, VRSF DP, TU Pump |
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