Lowering the X5 E70, H&R Springs installation *** Lots of pic's ***

[King]

Lowering the X5 E70 required a bit of research and a lot of trial and error. Several members have since lowered their X5's including myself so I thought I would post some pics and info for others looking to lower their E70...

1. Install front H&R springs
2. Install custom adjustable rear links to lower rear. The rear height can NOT be adjusted/reprogrammed by the dealer. Most dealers are either not able or not willing to do this. Although my service rep tried to 'trick' the vehicle to thinking the new height is the default height, it only caused errors. It is much easier to simply replace the rear links with custom made links. What this does is allow you to adjust the height of the self leveling sensor, which in turn adjusts the rear height of the vehicle.
3.After adjusting both front and rear ride height, you will need to get an alignment done.

The following are pics BEFORE installing the H&R springs. Notice the large gaps in the wheel wells! I measured the height of the wheel arches from the ground up. The proper way to measure is from the lower edge of the wheel up, however this measurement can differ for others with different size wheels.

The height from the ground to the stock front arch was 32.25" and the rear was 32" with my 20" style 214 wheels...

[King]

The following pics were taken after installing the 2" drop H&R springs. The H&R spring is on the left and the stock spring is on the right. Notice the front height has dropped dramatically by 2.75" even though H&R claim it's a 2.0" drop! The rear has not been altered at this point...

[King]

Well 2.75" is too much of a drop for me personally. Although the vehicle handles amazingly, it is a bit of a rough ride over bumps! The H&R 2.0" drop springs were removed and replaced with H&R 1.25" drop springs...

Notice the height is now at 30.50" from the ground so the vehicle has dropped 1.75" from it's stock height eventhough H&R claims it is a 1.2" drop! The rear has still not been altered at this point...

[King]

Okay now we get to the rear links. Notice where they are located in the rear of the vehicle. The black plastic ones are stock and the machined metal ones were custom made and adjustable!

[King]

And now the final result! Now the front height is stable with a drop of 1.75" from stock (with the 1.2" springs!) and the rear has been dropped by exactly 1.0"...

[KYZRSOSE]

Wow. Great write up, great pics, great job. What was your total cost and this was a self mod?

[fpdok2]

Originally Posted by King

And now the final result! Now the front height is stable with a drop of 1.75" from stock (with the 1.2" springs!) and the rear has been dropped by exactly 1.0"...

Can you comment on the "ride", and any "glitches" on the computer when the rear links were installed?
Thanks,

[zombiemaniac]

My X5 50i M sport 2012 only have one rear link ,driver side!
no links in the passenger side.

[higx]

Originally Posted by King

Well 2.75" is too much of a drop for me personally. Although the vehicle handles amazingly, it is a bit of a rough ride over bumps! The H&R 2.0" drop springs were removed and replaced with H&R 1.25" drop springs...

Notice the height is now at 30.50" from the ground so the vehicle has dropped 1.75" from it's stock height eventhough H&R claims it is a 1.2" drop! The rear has still not been altered at this point...

Interesting that it's more of a drop. Maybe the weight of your V8 brought it down a 1/2 inch more. We shall see. I'm putting these on the 35d

[higx]

Question about the rear links. The H&R pictures shows that they come with rear links. Why did you order another set? Just for more adjustability?