Strutmasters Conversion 4.4i sport

[Boshwash]

Hello everyone, I am a new member to the forum. Let me start with a brief description of my X5:

Recently purchased 2005 X5 4.4i with 99,200 miles.
Packed up with about every package I've seen to come on one. Most importantly to this post, it has the sport package including option S226A - Sport Suspension Settings and S221A - 2-axle self-leveling suspension.

I've been researching the web to find out 'exactly' what these two options consist of and what they are, my findings have been less than inspiring but I have found a few useful bits I would like to share.

The reason I am even talking about this is that I noticed the front driver side sagging and the rear is jacked way up, sometimes more than others and usually the passenger side is up higher in both the front and rear than the driver side. After reading online about so many people spending thousands and chasing issues one after another, I decided that this air ride system has got to go, I can't afford to throw thousands at problems that end up not being fixed. Reliability is something i want to prioritize on this vehicle.

I searched for coil spring conversion kits, I found some made by Suncore, ECS Tuning, and Strutmasters. The ECS Tuning kit is 'not' a complete kit, so buyer beware. I spoke with Jack from ECS Tuning and he put together a 'full' kit which clocked in around $1,500. A far cry from the kit they sell on their website which costs under $400.

The more interesting info I got was from Strutmasters. I saw they had several packages on their website, all of which said "Not for 4.4i models with the sport package". I wanted to confirm that I wasn't missing something so I called them up. After working with Kent for a while he did some digging and called me back. He said that they DO have a kit that works with the 4.4i including the sport package now. He told me that the 4.8 kit actually also works with the 4.4i sport package. Kent said that they had successfully fit it to a X5 like mine and there would be no issues. Their kit also includes the error message cancelling module that has been mentioned by a few users already. The cost of the Strutmasters 4.8 kit is $1,748 after shipping (I live in KY).

I had a couple of questions about the kit that Kent answered, however I'm a little skeptical at this point, so if anyone has any insight, please chime in and we could all gain from this.

1. Is the 'ride height' the same on a 4.8 as it is on a 4.4 /w sport package? I asked Kent this question and he sort of danced around it but said that my X5 would have the same ride height as the OEM suspension set on the 'middle' setting (i have the adjustable suspension currently).

2. Ride quality. I felt that the current ride quality was a little harsh considering the type of vehicle this is. My E46 330i with the sport suspension is considerable more forgiving when it comes to bumps etc. Has anyone done this conversion that can chime in?

3. Towing capability. I wonder if there will be a reduction in towing capability when the rear air bags are removed? I always thought the tow capacity was pretty high on the X5 and this could potentially be a reason why. Does the self leveling function actually increase the vehicles ability to tow a heavier load... I'm not sure, if anyone else has any thoughts feel free to comment.

Unless I come up with a reason not to, I'm probably going to order the Strutmasters conversion kit for the 4.8 and fit it to my 4.4 (or try to). I was told that I could order over the phone and Kent would create an invoice noting that I was told by them that the 4.8 kit would work on my 4.4 so if I need to return it, I won't hear any nonsense about 'it's not their fault that I ordered the wrong kit'.

I have heard some compelling arguments for keeping the air ride suspension. However, I just can't justify it right now, with no warranty and the fact that my wife will primarily DD this car. I would much rather spend the money up front and not have to worry about any continuing issues (related to the air suspension) for the next 4-5 years I plan to own it (perhaps longer).


Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I hope it helps to increase the collective knowledge regarding this subject. If this has already been explained and more information exists on this forum or another that I just overlooked, please point me in the correct direction.

Justin



*Please don't bother to say, "If you wanted reliability and didn't have the money to throw at a used vehicle then you shouldn't have bought one with 100k miles on it and surely shouldn't have bought a BMW*

[Boshwash]

Just a quick bump to see if anyone has any input before I place the order.

Justin

[cham]

why not just replace the air bags, get your ride height corrected, and move on? Yes, if you are are towing, you'll get more sway/etc with springs.

[Boshwash]

Thanks for your reply Cham. There is one thing I forgot to mention about the X5 I purchased. I have the BMW service records from where all 4 air bags have been replaced over the lifespan of the vehicle thus far.

With that said, you are right, I could in fact replace the airbags that 'seem' to be the issue, like so many others have done. Then I could get the ride height programmed. Doing the labor myself and assuming I would replace both front air struts, I would be roughly looking at $1,000 at least? +/- $100.

After that, where does that leave me? The system 'might' be fixed. It might not be fixed. If it is fixed, it's only a matter of how long it's fixed and we aren't talking about a matter of 100k + miles. We are talking a year or two, maybe 30k miles before it's likely that another issue would crop up.

I do understand that I am a new X5 owner. Perhaps others (maybe even almost all) have had excellent service life out of there X5's air suspension. Unfortunately, the majority of posts I have read only speak about chasing air system gremlins to never find the problem thousands of dollars later. It's true that I 'might' not have that happen, but there is a risk that it would. So at this point I am measuring risk/reward. The risk is high from what I understand based on my research and the reward is minimal it seems. The coil suspension is only somewhat outperformed by the towing performance of the air suspension. I will probably only tow a motorcycle trailer or a boat 4-5 times a year.

Does this alter your opinion of what I should do, or do you still stand by your previous post?

Thanks again for your reply, thought provoking replies help me get more of the situation out into this thread, which in turn not only help me make an informed decision but perhaps others who read this as well.

Justin

[bcredliner]

I don't know if ride heights are the same but even if they differ it won't be much. I would expect the 4.8 to be the lower of the two if there is a difference. I wouldn't be concerned about it.

If the air system is not operating properly the ride will be compromised. It is likely riding rougher and handling poorer than if everything was working fine. Ride is a driver interpretation. The X5 is not a cushy ride but neither is it like a truck. Changing over could end up with a ride you like but it could also be worse than it is now.

Towing capacity could be less. It would depend on the spring rates. The air system offsets weight to maintain a consistent ride height contributing to towing capacity. If all you are towing is a motorcycle that is not an issue.

I suggest you troubleshoot the current system. You may find there is a simple fix. Or you may find that part of the problem is a shock or strut. There are camps on both sides of keep or dump the airbags. I have rear airbags and if I ever have a problem with the air system I will fix it. It is not that complicated and anything that has not had a problem in 114,000 miles I don't call troublesome. Often the devil you know is much better than the devil you don't know. Bear in mind that this is a forum where folks come to resolve problems. There is no reason to start a thread singing the praises of the air system.


As a part of either decision, I suggest checking the rest of the suspension for wear.

[Boshwash]

Thanks for your reply bcredliner,

I completely understand where you are coming from in regards to the ride quality being about perception and the possibility of it being 'worse' after the conversion. My gut tells me that it won't be worse, most likely the same if I had to place a bet.

As for the towing capacity, I suspect there 'could' be a slight reduction in maximum safe tongue load. However, since I don't plan to ever haul anything that even comes close to the maximum towing capacity that shouldn't be too much of an issue. I can just mentally tell myself that the maximum tow capacity is 25% less than what it is and be fine. But lets face it, you should know if you are overloading a vehicle's capacity without having to weigh your trailer. You can take it for a little test drive and check out the way to body sits after hooking up and tell if it makes you nervous or not. So I think at this point the towing impact is somewhat of a wash.

I may just start a separate thread discuss my particular issue to see if anyone has any suggestions. From the research I've done it truly seems like it could be either 1 or 2 air shocks in the front, leveling sensors, or the control module. Reading about people being so sure they figured it out only to see that they didn't is pretty disheartening when it comes to keeping the air components. If I had only the rear setup, I would probably work on keeping that as it would seem that the cost exposure is somewhere around 60-65% (estimate) of what it is if you have the four corner system.

You mentioned, "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know". I could stand by those words as well, the lesser of two evils as it were. With that in mind, this is my first vehicle with an air suspension. I would definitely call the air setup the 'devil I don't know' and a common coil spring system as 'the devil I know'. The primary concern here is not having any experience with Strutmasters components. On the flip side, it is possible to source out all of the parts as OEM parts, use OEM shocks/struts and OEM springs. However, I don't know if there is an OEM rear spring for the 4.4i sport setup. Seems like all of those had at 'least' rear leveling system.

I will be buying a bigger jack soon and doing a much closer inspection on the rest of the components. Current floor jack isn't enough to lift the E53 reliably.

Side note: The front driver side sagging issue that I am experiencing is intermittent. some mornings its 3/4" low, some mornings its exactly where I left it *shrug*. When it is low, most of the time as soon as you open the driver door it inflates back up in like 2 seconds without the pump kicking on.

Thanks again for your feedback bcredliner,

Justin

[cham]

not that it matters but 200k miles on mine, bags only replaced once (Knock on wood)

[Boshwash]

Hey Cham, I had to knock on wood to, just to give you a little boost

[itscoo2pyopants]

I priced out a kit using turnermotorsports and came up with just under 1,200 shipped for bilstein hd shocks, h&r springs, and the necessary spring pads for front and rear.

[Boshwash]

Hey Itscoo,

Did you decide to move forward with the kit or are you still riding on air?

Thanks for your response!

Justin