minig0d said:
I have an Xi (2001 325xi) but live in New Orleans where it hasn't snowed in 20 years so I'm not worried about ground clearance for snow, just worried about having a little because of the bad roads... What suspension would lower the car but still provide some rebound from the harsh roads (at a fairly low cost). I'd rather stay on the cheaper side of the Dinan package (even the stage 1) and preferably be on the lower side too. Eibach Pro's?
Also someone told me because of the all wheel drive that you shouldnt put stagered rim sizes on the Xi b/c it might interfere with the power distribution/DSC settings... is this true or not?
Hi there.
Dinan will give you the most ground clearance and has the most comfortable ride. It is only a little harsher in ride comfort than the stock suspension. It is also the most expensive solution.
The only other set of springs availble for an XI are H&R springs. They are very low and very harsh. Probably not what you're looking for, but they are quite affordable.
Somewhere in the middle of the price range is the coilover option. Both H&R and KW make coilovers for the XI, but they are both only height adjustable. The height adjustment will allow you to give the car however much clearance you desire. They are not dampening adjustable, however, so it's still going to be a little on the harsh side. They're more progressive than the H&R springs so they won't be as bad, but they're certainly not as comfortable to ride on as the Dinan springs.
As far as wheel setup goes, the problem here is that your car's front wheels and rear wheels are linked mechanically at the center differential. The trick here is to keep the outer circumference of all four wheels identical, so they are spinning at the same speed. Any slight variation could cause severe damage to the center differential. This means that you need to rotate your tires front to back (not side to side) every 3000-5000 miles, to ensure that they are wearing evenly.
On the XI I've noticed that the front wheels seem to wear 50% faster than the rear wheels. This makes sense as the front wheels do most of the braking but still have the burden of acceleration and road holding like the back wheels. The problem with a staggered setup is that, even though you can buy tire sizes that originally have the same outer circumference, the front ones will wear faster and in about 5000 miles they will be off enough to potentially cause a problem. And since they're different sizes, you can't rotate them.
Now that I've scared you, let me just say that there are at least 3 members I can think of off the top of my head who run a staggered setup on their XI. To date there have been no problems. Also, BMW sells the XIs with an optional staggered setup in Canada. So who knows.
Good luck with your decision.
Oh, one more thing...
minig0d said:
...New Orleans where it hasn't snowed in 20 years...
I was in New Orleans in March of 2002 and it snowed there. Just a small flury for about an hour. Didn't even really stick. Just got the roads wet. Well, people there FREAKED OUT. People started driving 10 mph with their blinkers on and pulling off the side of the road. I was trying to cross the bridge into New Orleans at the time, and the state police told me the bridge was being closed for safety.
Funniest thing I've ever seen. :rofl:
