Problem with my lowering springs?

[///MLOVER]

Hey guys, I bought my car used with 15k miles on it. It was already lowered on H&R springs when I bought the car. I'm not sure which kind they are. It has the factory 21s with MPSS tires. My question is is it normal for the ride quality to be so bad? I have never had a passenger that hasn't complained about it. The car bounces over anything. You can feel every little thing in the road. Is this normal with lowering a SUV with springs? Did they install them wrong? Thanks

[r33_RGSport]

H&R is tend to be a little bouncy.
But I don't know how bad is your ride.
Check your tire pressure also, maybe over inflated.

[///MLOVER]

Originally Posted by r33_RGSport

H&R is tend to be a little bouncy.
But I don't know how bad is your ride.
Check your tire pressure also, maybe over inflated.

Front is at 34 back at 38 psi. Could there be some sort of leak in the suspension?

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by ///MLOVER

Front is at 34 back at 38 psi. Could there be some sort of leak in the suspension?

It may be.
Check the shock too.
Does it ride the same with different suspension setting?

[///MLOVER]

Thank you for your help. Is this something I could check myself or take it to the dealer? Would it be covered under warranty or would they blame it on the springs? It feels worse in sport plus mode. Also I'm not 100% but the right rear seems lower than the drivers side. Also going over a parking lot bump the drivers side front suspension makes a loud thump sound.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by ///MLOVER

Thank you for your help. Is this something I could check myself or take it to the dealer? Would it be covered under warranty or would they blame it on the springs? It feels worse in sport plus mode. Also I'm not 100% but the right rear seems lower than the drivers side. Also going over a parking lot bump the drivers side front suspension makes a loud thump sound.

Dealer won't warranty it in that condition.

[Rennology]

Just went through a very similar issue. Turned out my rear air bags had a leak and eventually went flat. My SA wasn't able to cover it under warranty and turned out to be about $740 per side.

[Ehloo]

HR Springs are junk. Probably the worst ride I have ever experienced. It was almost unsafe at higher speeds on the freeway and the rear would buckle throwing everyone in the air. I would have to pay attention to every bump I knew about and slow the car down to around 50 mph. It is the lowest drop for Springs and probably the reason for the terrible ride. Took mine off after a couple of thousands of miles and replaced them with KW v3 coilovers.

Night and day difference and really can’t tell you are slammed. Best money spent. You will lose active suspension but completely forgot about it.

If you want to lower your x5 do yourself a favor and get the kw

Originally Posted by ///MLOVER

Hey guys, I bought my car used with 15k miles on it. It was already lowered on H&R springs when I bought the car. I'm not sure which kind they are. It has the factory 21s with MPSS tires. My question is is it normal for the ride quality to be so bad? I have never had a passenger that hasn't complained about it. The car bounces over anything. You can feel every little thing in the road. Is this normal with lowering a SUV with springs? Did they install them wrong? Thanks

[Alan l.]

^^ This.

H&R springs are garbage. Its pretty much the same reviews on the F15 forum or any BMW really. Some guys claim they ride fine because they are justifying their purchase but there are WAY more reviews about how horrible they ride than those people.

[///MLOVER]

Thanks guys. If I were to get new springs which ones have decent ride quality while still lowering the car? I'm not down to pay a couple grand for KW's I'm going to sell the car in 6 months.

[Alan l.]

Eibach or Dinan are other options that make springs for this platform.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by ///MLOVER

Thanks guys. If I were to get new springs which ones have decent ride quality while still lowering the car? I'm not down to pay a couple grand for KW's I'm going to sell the car in 6 months.

Unfortunately, Eibach doesn't have self-leveling setup available in the US.
Some purchased it directly from Europe. As I mentioned on F15/F16 sub-forum, just to be careful with that, since Eibach NA will not warranty it.

With that saying, the only option would be Dinan or AC Schnitzer.

[iconoclast]

what is there to warranty on a metal coil? even if there were something to warranty the parts are like $280 or so... not exactly losing out on much if you had to replace.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

what is there to warranty on a metal coil? even if there were something to warranty the parts are like $280 or so... not exactly losing out on much if you had to replace.

Then why risk $280 if you can get Dinan for $300'ish?

[iconoclast]

Exactly, the price difference is negligible but I dont think a warranty would sway anyone in either direction. It's a metal coil...
It either works or it doesn't. Outside of say 100k+ miles in the rust belt... Has anyone seen a coil spring fail?

[Ehloo]

the f15 chasis uses airbags as springs and has shocks also. the rear is really the issue. the lowering kit doesnt come with rear spings as the f85 doesnt have any. so are you are getting is front lowering springs and a rear lowering link.

you wont find that the ride is that much better with just springs such as Eibach or Dinan.

Kw are expensive and I was really hesitant to pull the trigger. I did and was so surprised of the ride quality. It literally feels stock with crazy handling. My wife made a comment that they were 10000 times better than the HR and mentioned that they felt stock. she hates every mod i put on the car beside this one

i am sure you could sell the Kw when your done. its the install and removal that will be waste of money

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Exactly, the price difference is negligible but I dont think a warranty would sway anyone in either direction. It's a metal coil...
It either works or it doesn't. Outside of say 100k+ miles in the rust belt... Has anyone seen a coil spring fail?

[iconoclast]

depending on the options the f15 uses airbags or springs or combination of both however my comments were regarding the warranty portion of the comments above by ben but if you claim that the "rear is the issue" it doesnt matter about warranty coverage because neither bmw or whoever makes yours springs will cover your rear airbag repair (unless you're buddy buddy with the SA or Tech).

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

depending on the options the f15 uses airbags or springs or combination of both however my comments were regarding the warranty portion of the comments above by ben but if you claim that the "rear is the issue" it doesnt matter about warranty coverage because neither bmw or whoever makes yours springs will cover your rear airbag repair (unless you're buddy buddy with the SA or Tech).

I can even get my SA to do warranty work. She always has to go get the service manager to approve it which drives me nuts cuz he's never around.

[iconoclast]

Hahaha... that is absurd. I would find a new dealership.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

depending on the options the f15 uses airbags or springs or combination of both however my comments were regarding the warranty portion of the comments above by ben but if you claim that the "rear is the issue" it doesnt matter about warranty coverage because neither bmw or whoever makes yours springs will cover your rear airbag repair (unless you're buddy buddy with the SA or Tech).

Does Dinan extend the warranty on the airbag if their spring is used?
May need to do research on that.

[iconoclast]

I think in this instance you're going to have a lot of back and forth from Dinan & BMW. Each are going to shift blame on the other. Grey area regarding rear suspension airbags. BMW will state the lowering links placed additional stress and wear on the bags by making them operate in a manner they were not designed and Dinan will probably state something to the effect of "they're just lowering links the suspension airbag was not modified and the link is operating as designed but the airbag failed follow up with BMW since there was no failure with the leveling link.". Just my thought and opinion on this but if anyone would like to contact Dinan for an exact answer their number is 408.779.8584 or 800.341.5480.

[r33_RGSport]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

I think in this instance you're going to have a lot of back and forth from Dinan & BMW. Each are going to shift blame on the other. Grey area regarding rear suspension airbags. BMW will state the lowering links placed additional stress and wear on the bags by making them operate in a manner they were not designed and Dinan will probably state something to the effect of "they're just lowering links the suspension airbag was not modified and the link is operating as designed but the airbag failed follow up with BMW since there was no failure with the leveling link.". Just my thought and opinion on this but if anyone would like to contact Dinan for an exact answer their number is 408.779.8584 or 800.341.5480.