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SMOKEY53 · #2 02-16-2015, 07:36 PM

Update - Modifications - Suspension

Whiteline Rear Sway Bar
Lower Control Arms

I picked up this sway bar on eBay on a whim. I am well aware that the X5 in diesel format is no race car, but I put in an offer on a Whiteline RSB for $99 (which is about 1/3rd of RRP) and I won the auction. Stock swaybar is 23mm - the Whiteline is 26.5mm....call it 26mm I guess? I have put sway bars on multiple cars before and been amazed at how they transform the handling, particularly by fitting a rear sway bar only on a car that has under steer tendencies. In theory stiffening the rear pushes more grip to the softer front end. In practice, my Mazdaspeed3 with Hotchkis was case in point.

Moving on, so this weekend I also installed new Meyle lower control arms in the front end, which immediately got rid of the feeling like I was steering the car with a piece of rope connected to the front steering knuckles. The OEM items didn't look all that bad, there were some cracks/tears in the main bushing but they were very small - I expected them to be falling to pieces based on how violently the wheel shook when braking at hwy speed. Took it for a drive, was happy with my work, no knocks or noises, no shimmying on light braking, job done. So decided to throw the sway bar in next. (I didn't want to do both at the same time in case something did knock - it can be tricky sometimes with suspension to work out where the knock is coming from so I didn't want to introduce too many variables.)

RSB took about 2 hours from start to finish. With a hoist and a workshop setup, it would probably take 30 minutes. I greased the poly bushings with CV & axel grease as I know from past experience they can get squeeky with time.

Took the car for a spin and hit a particular down hill S-curve I know well. The car sat so much flatter, and hussled through the corner at a speed I had never taken it at before. However, with every improvement, a deficiency in other areas is highlighted. I noticed that as I loaded up the front wheel and powered out of the corner, the unloaded front wheel would start to 'wheel hop' and fight for grip. This is without doubt further evidence that my front shocks are FUBAR'd as they're just flapping about in the breeze and influencing no control over the wheels. The Bilsteins can't come soon enough!

Sorry for the photos, didn't realise how bad they were until now....

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