Eibach Pro Kit on Non-Air Suspension F15 X5

[destroy26]

About a month ago I had the Eibach Pro Kit installed on my 2017 X5 35i (without Air Suspension) and I wanted to share my progress/experience with the forum.

During my period of research prior to deciding to go with Eibach, I found an abundance of posts related to X5's with the rear Air Suspension, but a very low amount of posts specific to those X5's without the rear Air Suspension. For those unaware, usage of the Eibach Pro Kit differs based on the presence (or lack thereof) of the rear Air Suspension, thus the reasoning behind this post.

For X5's with rear Air Suspension, the front springs from the Eibach Pro Kit can be used to lower the front ONLY, however in order to accomplish lowering for the rear, you would need to source adjustable lowering end links not included in the Eibach Pro Kit. If you aren't sure whether your X5 has Air Suspension or not, F15 X5's with the optional third row of seating have the rear Air Suspension while the Two Row (non 'M' spec) variants do not, unless spec'd with Air Suspension when originally ordered from the factory. In order to truly check, decoding your VIN is your best bet.

For X5's without rear Air Suspension, the Eibach Pro Kit consists of two pairs of lowering springs. One for the front and one of the rear.

My 2017 X5 without Air Suspension had the Eibach Pro Kit installed on May 10th and the following replies contain progress updates over a 1-month time period.

My hope for this post is that it will serve as a reference for any F15 owner without Air Suspension that is considering the Eibach Pro Kit as a means of achieving a mild drop.

Prior to Install

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Prior to install, my stock ride height on 19 inch Conti Run Flats was as follows:

Front: 32 inches (Ground to Fender)

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Rear: 32.5 inches (Ground to Fender)

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Immediately Following Install

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Immediately following install, my ride height on 19 inch Conti Run Flats was as follows:

Front: 31.5 inches (Ground to Fender)

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Rear: 32 inches (Ground to Fender)

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Post Install Impressions

Ride is slightly different. It's hard to put my finger on, but it feels like the amount of body roll has been decreased and that there isn't as much bounce and "float" to the ride.

[destroy26]

After 1 week on the new springs I can confidently say that I prefer the ride on Eibachs to the stock springs.

One Week Post Install

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One week following install, my stock ride height on 19 inch Conti Run Flats was as follows:

Front: 31.25 inches (Ground to Fender)

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Rear: 31.5 inches (Ground to Fender)

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[destroy26]

My initial intent was to take pictures and measurements immediately following install, as well as the "2 week" and "1 month" intervals, however the "2 week" measurements were almost exactly similar to the "1 week" measurement. As a result, I decided to re-measure at the "1 month post install" interval.

1 Month Following Install

View post on imgur.com

1 month following install, my stock ride height on 19 inch Conti Run Flats was as follows:

Front: 31.25 inches (Ground to Fender)

View post on imgur.com

Rear: 31 inches (Ground to Fender)

View post on imgur.com

[destroy26]

After over a month on the Eibach Pro Kit, I absolutely prefer the look and ride to the OEM springs, with the side profile of the vehicle finally looking the way it should have looked stock from the factory.

Next "steps" for me are to get the front two windows tinted to match the rear, as well as to ditch the stock run flat tires in favor of Conti Extreme Contact DSW 06's.

Hope this post helps those of you out there looking for reference materials while considering moving away from the OEM springs. Happy to share any additional info as needed.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by destroy26

After over a month on the Eibach Pro Kit, I absolutely prefer the look and ride to the OEM springs, with the side profile of the vehicle finally looking the way it should have looked stock from the factory.

Next "steps" for me are to get the front two windows tinted to match the rear, as well as to ditch the stock run flat tires in favor of Conti Extreme Contact DSW 06's.

Hope this post helps those of you out there looking for reference materials while considering moving away from the OEM springs. Happy to share any additional info as needed.

Good post and pics, agree with you the Eibach springs much improve the look and drive/handling over stock. Too much un-necessary wheel gap with the stock setup.

Originally Posted by destroy26

For X5's with rear Air Suspension, the Eibach Pro Kit consists of a pair of lowering springs for the front and a pair of adjustable end links to accomplish lowering for the rear. If you aren't sure whether your X5 has Air Suspension or not, F15 X5's with the optional third row of seating have the rear Air Suspension while the Two Row variants do not.

A couple of clarifications here - I'm pretty certain Eibach does not offer a kit for rear air suspension equipped X5's. All of their F15/F16/F85/F86 kits specifically say 'excludes self leveling' ... self leveling = rear air suspension. You could certainly use the front springs, and source the lowering links elsewhere. And secondly, you don't need to have 3rd row to have rear air suspension. 3rd row definitely includes it, but so do X5's with Adaptive M or DHP suspension upgrades. A quick visual check or VIN decoder will confirm springs or bags.

[Plus1]

Just the post I needed. I think I will pull the trigger soon...waiting on my shop to be built.

[Edwardsc1]

This is great, I've been looking at this kit for a few months now but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I was just measuring my ride height last week and looking at comparisons. This is just what I needed, great write up!

[Ascotgrun]

I installed the same springs last month but didn't get the same amount of drop as OP. My car had 60K on it so maybe there was already sag in the OEM springs.

Ride quality is pretty much the same. I only noticed a difference when hitting the speed bumps in my neighborhood.

[meds1976]

Any particular reason you chose Eibach over ACS etc?

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by Edwardsc1

This is great, I've been looking at this kit for a few months now but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I was just measuring my ride height last week and looking at comparisons. This is just what I needed, great write up!

Thank you! Glad to have helped at least one other member out!

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by meds1976

Any particular reason you chose Eibach over ACS etc?

Honestly two reasons:

1) Eibach has a good reputation of being a "moderate" drop that (depending on who you ask) either improves ride quality or doesn't affect it too much, as opposed to sacrificing ride quality for aesthetics (eg: a lower drop).

2) Keeping my first point in mind, my wife gets carsick incredibly easily. I would have loved to get just a touch more aggressive with the drop but didn't want to have ride quality (or my wife) suffer for aesthetic purposes lol.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

I installed the same springs last month but didn't get the same amount of drop as OP. My car had 60K on it so maybe there was already sag in the OEM springs.

Ride quality is pretty much the same. I only noticed a difference when hitting the speed bumps in my neighborhood.

Very interesting. I just crossed the 60k mile threshold while on a trip last weekend.

What size wheels are you running?

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by jiggz

A couple of clarifications here - I'm pretty certain Eibach does not offer a kit for rear air suspension equipped X5's. All of their F15/F16/F85/F86 kits specifically say 'excludes self leveling' ... self leveling = rear air suspension. You could certainly use the front springs, and source the lowering links elsewhere. And secondly, you don't need to have 3rd row to have rear air suspension. 3rd row definitely includes it, but so do X5's with Adaptive M or DHP suspension upgrades. A quick visual check or VIN decoder will confirm springs or bags.

Great points here. Thank you very much for clarifying! I'll edit my post for clarification.

[meds1976]

Originally Posted by destroy26

Honestly two reasons:

1) Eibach has a good reputation of being a "moderate" drop that (depending on who you ask) either improves ride quality or doesn't affect it too much, as opposed to sacrificing ride quality for aesthetics (eg: a lower drop).

2) Keeping my first point in mind, my wife gets carsick incredibly easily. I would have loved to get just a touch more aggressive with the drop but didn't want to have ride quality (or my wife) suffer for aesthetic purposes lol.

You're a good husband. I dropped mine with ACS (She hasn't noticed) and went down the muffler delete (she has noticed! &#129315.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by meds1976

You're a good husband. I dropped mine with ACS (She hasn't noticed) and went down the muffler delete (she has noticed! &#129315.

Thank you for saying that!

I really wanted to go the muffler delete route and (wisely) thought to have her listen to an example of what that sounded like prior to doing so. Ended up being a hard "no" lol

[Ascotgrun]

Originally Posted by destroy26

Very interesting. I just crossed the 60k mile threshold while on a trip last weekend.

What size wheels are you running?

I'm on aftermarket wheels with tire sizes that are "wrong" for the car. I wasn't comparing your actual ride height measurements with mine, just the amount of drop vs stock. Right after changing them with the car having done no miles, there was no difference at all. After about 150 miles I got .5 inch in the front and nothing in the back. The car has been parked for about 5 weeks since then. I will do another 200 miles next week then measure again.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

I'm on aftermarket wheels with tire sizes that are "wrong" for the car. I wasn't comparing your actual ride height measurements with mine, just the amount of drop vs stock. Right after changing them with the car having done no miles, there was no difference at all. After about 150 miles I got .5 inch in the front and nothing in the back. The car has been parked for about 5 weeks since then. I will do another 200 miles next week then measure again.

Nah I get that, just curious about wheel size as I'm considering sizing up.

Hope it settles more for you!

[Ascotgrun]

My wheels are 20x10.5 with 315/35 on all four corners. I don't remember the offset off the top of my head, but I have 15mm F and 20mm R spacers on also which will change offset drastically.

I hope it drops some more as I don't plan on ever changing springs again. The rears were a nightmare to get in. The fronts were a breeze.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

My wheels are 20x10.5 with 315/35 on all four corners. I don't remember the offset off the top of my head, but I have 15mm F and 20mm R spacers on also which will change offset drastically.

Did you add the "M" style fenders?

[Ascotgrun]

I have the Sport so they were already on there.