I went ahead and pulled the trigger on these so I figured I would start a thread to share my completely unbiased (however subjective) opinion.
It's a very long story as to why I went with these however to sum it up - The standard suspension was terrible and too floaty. I had zero confidence to push this rig even though yes I know its a 5500lb suv. I put H&R springs on and yes it did tighten things up a bit but did not give me the confidence or comfort I was looking for. I ordered B6 shocks to pair with them but they were on back order and after 2.5 months of waiting with no end in sight, I cancelled the order. KWs are just too expensive for what I want out of this vehicle. If KW had a V1 for the X5 at around $1500, it would be a no brainer.
In my search for alternatives, I stumbled upon these guys and liked what I saw and heard so we shall see! Apparently they've been around for nearly 20 years but are just breaking in to North America. They seem to have good reviews and history in the import market so that's comforting but mainly their communication has been really good so that's important in case things go sideways. They talked me through the possible upgrades of radial bearings and swift springs and basically said that for what I'm trying to accomplish, the standard setup will be just fine.
I decided to come up with a way to rate these compared to the stock setup and H&R setup so this is where subjectivity will really play in. Here's my rating system. If you can think of another category to add, just let me know.
Stock
Comfort 9
Appearance 4
Handling 4
Overall 5.67
H&R Springs
Comfort 6
Appearance 7
Handling 7 (probably being generous here)
Overall 6.67
Silver's Neomax Front 8 from firmest, Rear 7 from firmest
Comfort 7
Appearance 9
Handling 9
Overall 8.33
Bottom line, I'm going to install them, run them, and rate them. Hopefully I love them. Either way, I'll document here. There are lots of brands of coilovers out there that people like that aren't KWs so hopefully we'll get lucky and this will be a good quality value option for our platform.
Here's a link to the product and another link to an overview of the company by an import shop.
https://silvers-na.com/product/silve...f15-2014-2018/
https://www.importimageracing.com/bl...r-your-vehicle
.
.
.
Pictures of the Product on Arrival Day
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
.
.
.
Installed Rears
Installment was about as easy as it gets. Took maybe 1.5 hours. But of course nothing is easy and I ruined the passenger side upper Rear Rubber Spring Pad so I just ordered a new one. With my broken pad, its causing some noise so I'm going to have a hard time judging the ride until I get that replaced. The 5 miles that I did drive felt fine but again, I can't quite say if its the same or better until I get the pad replaced and I get the fronts installed.
I have to say I'm a little disappointed at the initial drop amount before settling. I'm max low and its 2" lower than stock and almost 1/2" lower than my H&R springs. I was really hoping to get 1" lower than the H&R setup so hopefully they will settle quite a bit!
Also the rear shock does not have a clip for the brake line like OEM but honestly it doesn't matter. The brake line is not in danger of getting caught on anything.
Sock comparison:
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Spring - Silvers, H&R, Stock
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
.
.
.
.
Installed Fronts
Ugh taking the stock strut out is such a PITA! But the good news is that the Neomax Coilover is much shorter than the stock strut and therefore it is SO MUCH easier to put in!
The front coilovers go much lower than the rears, about an inch lower than my H&R setup. And surprisingly they drive amazing so far. Keep in mind as I'm writing this, I've only put about 15 miles on them but there have been a couple of bumps that I drive over daily and normally I brace myself a little. Going over the same bump with the Neomax, I braced but there was no need. The coils took the bump like a champ.
Also just entering and exiting the driveway now is so much easier and comfortable....
Sock comparison:
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Front and Rear on Max Low
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
.
.
I raised the front 1/2" this morning but I'm thinking I want to go back max low. Thoughts?
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
Untitled by
mikew2069, on Flickr
.
.
.
Update 2/27 after putting 100 miles or so on them - Setting on Firm
I finally had a chance to get out on the highway and do some hard driving on these yesterday. Keep in mind that these things have 24 levels of dampening adjustment and my initial review has the dampening set at 8 from the firmest on the front and 7 from the firmest on the rear. So its pretty firm and tight.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprised. The handling and confidence I get from these are amazing. I wouldn't say this fat pig is like a go cart but its damn close. In fact, I should probably add a "confidence" category to the rating system but I won't.
This is my first experience with linear springs so its interesting. Some might call the ride a bit bumpy but its nothing like the harsh bumpiness you get with the H&R springs. I think its more of a product of the linear springs where the springs react the same to every thing they come up against vs progressive springs reacting to things differently and masking some imperfections.
So after week 1, I'm happy. I changed the dampening last night to 12 from firmest on the front and 8 from the firmest on the rear so I'll give that a try for the next week and report back. BTW, could BMW make it any more of a PITA to get to the front strut mount!?! I swear.
