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Old 02-18-2004, 10:20 AM   #1
Hobart
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Question Real Sports Package Sports Suspension?

Hi Guys,

I am about to purchase an almost new BMW X5 and I am torn between two choices.

One has the sports package and other extras and is newer, but the ride seems so much stiffer.

The other has only a few extras and no Sports package and seems a much softer more comfortable ride (especially to my pregnant wife). I already have two Sports cars and I was hoping this ride would be a little smoother than my other cars.

The used car sales guy with the Sports package swears if I change the 19 inch wheels to 17 inch wheels it will be much softer and even more so if I also let a little bit of air out of the tires. He also told me the car he is selling isn't really the Sports Package. He told me if it was a real sports package there would be two black ball like additions mounted in the back when you lift up the carpet and look underneath the spare wheel cover you can see them. He showed me in a 4.4 model that he also had abd the 3.0 with fake sports package didn't have them. Could he have showed me something else related to some other option on the 4.4 model. The car I saw, had everything in the Sports package, clear indicator lights, the body color mirrors and bigger tires, it just didn't have those ball like things I mentioned above. Is that the actual sports suspension he was talking about?

Is it possible to adjust the sports suspension in the Sports Package to make it less stiff? Also what if I change from the 19 inch tires to 17 inch tires will that really make the ride substantially softer. It was a really rough ride, as rough or rougher than my Mercedes SLK two seat convertible, but not that other BMW X5 without the "sports package" or 19 inch tires.

Please help I can't decide which to buy. I want the newer one (almost a year newer), but the ride is so rough (stiff) compared to the older one, but if I could only adjust the ride somehow...
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Old 02-22-2004, 10:20 AM   #2
BMW_4.4i
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Re: Real Sports Package Sports Suspension?

I have a 2004 X5 4.4i with all the packages - including sports. I love the car, and it really is not that stiff. I do A LOT of driving, but don't usually drive in a city with lots of putholes and stuff. Mine also has the 19" wheels. First of all, i don't think that the little 17's would look good on the X5 at all, and i really don't think that it would make much of a difference in ride quality either. To me, it sounds like the used car guy is giving you bull. I don't know about the "ball like additions." I would think about it for the long run - the sport handles better (i test drove a 4.4 with and without it a few weeks ago.) and to me seems "faster." Since you already have the sports cars, maybe go for the one without the sports package. But believe me - the sports package is really nice. I own a company andmy partner has a 330 that i drive every now and then, and the X5 doesn't seem as harsh as that. It's your choice in the end though!
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Old 02-23-2004, 05:32 PM   #3
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Re: Real Sports Package Sports Suspension?

I'll trade you my 17's for your 19's when ever you want. It does make a big difference. I took the sport package with the 17's because my wife liked the rie better. I would have preferred the handling I got from the 19's.
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Old 04-14-2004, 07:36 AM   #4
Losinglouie
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Try the 18's with the non-sports

I have a 3.0 non-sport with the 17's. I love the ride and the agility, due to the small, light wheels. But on the down side the stock wheels look like trash, and honestly, the truck feels a little "tippy" on fast unbanked curves. So, I am going up a size, and going wider, in tires.

I see that you think the 19's are a hard ride. Perhaps its not the "fake" sport package, but rather the small wheel depth on the 19's. Aren't they 45's or worse yet, 40's. Don't get me wrong, the look is superb, but it would be like riding the tires on your old go cart (just the ground and you!). So maybe, try some 18's at the 55 depth, on either of the two cars. I will let you know what I decide, 'cause those 19's or even 20's call to me too.

L.L.
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