"Slammed" the X5
 

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Is your 5 Series Touring pregnant??!!;)

That looks sick! Great job!

I'm just curious if this will do any long term damage to the airbags or struts?

I dont feel like it will, but arent the bags on these cars known to give out earlier anyways, and arnott replacements i think have lifetime warranty so shouldnt be an issue.

I love it! Good job!

Rookies... Lol

looks good, how is the ride?

Bit of a vitriolic opening line, wouldn't you say?

Anyways, why did you get a SUV/SAV and lowered it? OMG DROPPED SAV, IT RIDES LIKE SHIT.

No more so cause ive been on other forums and also looked at threads with lowered x5s, same with lowered pickups or orher suv's and if your just someone who thinks your views are 100% right and savs shouldnt be lowered get a car instead etc, i dont want their comments in my thread either, they do about as much input as obama gun control on guns.

Looks great.

interesting, just because you started a thread, it does not make this thread, on a public forum yours, or mine or anyone's else, for that matter of fact.
this is a very interesting attitude - either you have had a lot of people already telling you that the ride looks out its domain, or you are naturally defensive and do not take any opposing views... and just like with the guns, the freedom of speech is protected as well...

As far as ride goes, that is your car, you want to lower it it, or, raise it into monster truck level, it is your ride, some will like it, some will not... but placing this ride onto a public forum, and expect nothing but the praise - is not that mature... Of course, in my personal opinion...

on the other hand, if you hope to get some advise when something is wrong with your car, it is not to your advantage to alienate people, who otherwise may help you turn a wrench, even when they are skeptical of your aesthetic choices...

It is always nice to play by the "public" rules on the public forums...

I guess your right in a sense, and its more so not that ive been already told that, its just what ive seen in other threads and the fact that they do actually look good. Im just looking for more "normal" if youd call it critisism, like a "i dont like it that low", versus the trying to push their own opinions replies of how savs shouldnt be lowered and all.

But just from being on multiple car forums for a long time i just dont see the need for the "view" pushing type comments.

I just dont need comments pushing spiels on why this should be like so and that like this. It just saves me time from reading through them and im sure for other people too, cause it wont change peoples opinions on what they like anyways.

if anything, you should see if the suspension geometry is changed, with the spacers, with the lowered or raised ride - the germans are very meticulous in their engineering, and design things with certain consumer in mind. once you change the geometry beyond the included tolerance level, you put increased stress onto components that may not have been designed to take the load, and you might need to swap out the itme to accomodate the changed geometry. when the ride is lowered using the airbags, they, rubber by nature (special compound) might not like being stressed in a compressed condition. some folks opt oout into different suspension items, that were designed by the aftermarket designers to take the extra beating. just remember, that the iS is slightly different in the suspension design, that the regular E53...

The xoutpost is a more mature forum and many members here are also members elsewhere, on the other BMW models or oven other marque forums - our crowd is more helpful...

And again, it is your ride, you can paint it pink-green, lower the back on 10" rims and raise the front on 24" rims - whatever tickles your pickle!!!

You will always get somebody who will be in love it, and somebody who will hate it... that is the nature of modding...

I personally keep my car lowered when parked (access mode), and let it come to standard height once it starts moving - if you are looking for the factory values, i have posted somewhere the values in mm, just need to do a search...

I may suggest programming your fogs together with high beams, the bi-xenons with high beams (safety is in well lit road), deleting the yellow lights iin the front corners, getting a silver light bulb for the rear turn signals to get rid of the yolk there... cheap, easy mods...

i lowered my x5 3.od sport with Ibach springs and have changed the front struts to Sachs and replaced the rear shocks with Bilsteins, and i have to say it rides and handles better that it ever did. and no loss of handling, if anything turn in to corners seems better

the stock set up in my opinion makes the car ride way to harsh it felt like it was trying to drive through pot holes rather than absorb the impact.

im a huge fan of lowered X5,s

the only negative i have is that i now have to much negative rear camber and the adjuster are maxed out requiring a camber kit to correct.

but small price , in my view to pay for the overall great looks and especially improved rice quality.

If you are so tired of the negative comments, then why post at all? Why not just be happy with what you have done and not subject yourself to the common ridicule? Mods are left to what the owner see's fit. If you don't like what other people say then don't post them on a global forum.

It looks sick! :thumbup:

I've always loved the look of a lowered X. everyone has a different style and at the end of the day it's his car.

Youve been on here longer then me Tx5, so thanks for explaining the "crowd" here, and i agree with you that it does change geometry, im aware of that.

Did the same thing to mine this weekend. Need to adjust it a bit more but had a friend in NY do it so now I need to get my hands on my buddies laptop and screw around with it some more.

http://distilleryimage5.s3.amazonaws...0a1f9688_7.jpg

http://distilleryimage3.s3.amazonaws...0a9e0927_7.jpg

Holy too low in the front Feen. Do you have bottom out issues?

None at all. I raised the front a tad from there and its perfect now in regard to ride quality. Its a bit stiffer then stock and isn't anywhere near bottoming out. The rear is my issue... I'm going to mess with it a tad bit more this week and get it dialed in. It looks like I'm going to have to fab up some UAS bags for it to have an acceptable ride at the height i'd like.

I drove it 400 miles today like this and can't say it was enjoyable. Its definitely going to go up a bit.

http://distilleryimage0.s3.amazonaws...0a1f9d45_7.jpg

I'm also throwing my 30mms in back and 20s in front this week which I can't do at this height in back - another reason for it going up.

/threadjack

Looks good 525, and i feel like the rear should always be a tad higher, just cause under acceleration and even when parked it gives the rear a "weighted" down feel.

I only drove it for like 5 miles today, even though i drove around yesterday it was in the snow and i couldnt get a good feel of it, but so far what ive noticed is it gives it more of a go-kart lighter car feel in terms of driving and handling, versus before it was sitting higher in the air and even though it still handled better then alot of coupes and sedans, you could still feel the 5k heavy tank. With the drop it improves turn feel to where before it still turned well but you felt the weight around you.

Looks great bro! I have my springs & links ready to go for mine but i havent had a chance to install them. I cant wait

>4.8isX5 So what do you plan to do about the excessive rear camber you now have? Will you just live with it and buy new rear tires every year or so? If you decide on a camber kit, I be curious how close this will get you to a proper rear camber.

I agree 1000%
I'm going to flash it back to stock tonight and then go down little by little. Right now its all out of whack. I was in a rush when we adjusted it on Sunday morning so we ended up leaving the rear to low. :dunno:

I enjoy screwing around with stuff like this that's mostly why I'm doing it. I guess I'd be lying if I said the ride wasn't a bit compromised haha. I think .75 higher in back and I'll be golden.

I actually really like your height. What are your exact height levels right now?

Looks good OP

Olek! :wavey:

here are factory numbers:

here is the ride heights in mm as prescribed from the factory:

_______________ 17"____18"____19"____20"___these are wheel sizes
front axle_______685____697____710____722
rear axle________687____699____712____724
sport fr_________670____682____695____707
sport rr_________672____684____697____709

Personally I dont think the X5 has the right shape to look good lowered. The wheel wells are a funny shape that becomes more obvious when its lowered. It just looks broken to me.

Nice job hackin the system to set heights to your liking though. Thats cool, I didnt know that could be done.

So, all you want to hear is how great your car looks and any other opinions are invalid. Sorry, this is a public forum where you post your pics and you take you chances.

As for me, I don't care what you do to your car or how it looks. My only concern would be whether or not it is still safe on the streets.

Not exactly sure how lowering the vehicle would make it unsafe for anyone. The ride comfort argument isn't even an argument you definitely give up some comfort but I wouldn't go as far as questioning whether its safe or not haha.

Depends how it is done. I would imagine that like most things there are cheap ways and more expensive ways. The cheap ways will have cheap parts that may or may not be up to the task. Any chance that a lowered car can cut the tires?

I had a friend who lowered his (older car) and left a shackle bolt extended too far. First time he went hard around a corner the bolt ripped into the tire and he spun out on a two lane sweeper.

Could this kind of thing happen on an X5? I have no clue.

That reasoning makes sense if your talking about lowering a car with a coil-over shock setup not something with air. With the x5 its doesn't matter if you use the computer, links, the intrax module, or pull an airline and let it air itself out all your doing is changing the amount of air in the system/spring rate. If I had a module (which im considering) and lowered my car to the same height it wouldn't mean its done better - it would give the EXACT same result. :dunno:

With that said I grew up spending all my Summers in Poland/eastern Europe as a kid and got REALLY into modifying cars living over there. I have put together numerous vehicles that were very low on stretched tires and crazy looking to the average person. I have never had not even as much as a flat tire with one of them and have always used $1000 plus suspension setups which were engineered and built in Germany. Maybe your friend took the cheap route?

You are specifying a air suspension. My comment was of suspensions and lowering in general.

I think you know that I was not speaking of YOU and YOUR experience. You may be the king of suspensions for all I know. I am talking about the average owner who may buy a cheap kit and put it on and the consequences thereof.

As for my friend, at the time he was a professional and seasoned mechanical engineer and also a car mechanic. I think the fact that he could mis-judge how much the tire would flex in hard corning is my point. If he could make such a mistake can't the average owner - especially one who is not trained?

I enjoy the fact that the air suspension allows for lowering and raising, but I'm not big on lowering this vehicle for every day driving below the "access" height.


If I were going to lower my vehicle with INPA, I would specify my middle/normal driving height to be what the current access height is now, and if I wanted to lower it more for photoshoots, parking, etc, it would go lower.


Anything more just looks out of place to me, EXCEPT for the 2 guys on here, 1 who is dumped with a white X5 in Florida but he has the stance with the offset and tire width to pull it off, and the other helpful member (xsx405 or something) who has the black facelifted X with X5M wheels and has custom air suspension with controllers and different bags on all 4 corners.

I'd love links to both those cars. I'm pretty well versed in aftermarket air and will most likely switch over to it when $ permits.

I agree with you that its not really ideal for daily driving but its a silly obsession.

if i were going to do something silly, i'd probably install some rocket launchers, the sharp stars in little droppable bags in the rear... lol... plasti dipped the car in weird color, and then peel it off during high speed chase... lol...

Would changing the value work on my model. 2002 X5 june built. This being said I do not have the buttons to adjust the suspension. However it still is air suspension as it makes the kusshh sound when i pull out the key...

OP post some pictures of how you actually did it in inpa? which version? would be easier to do in inpa than SSS.

alex, you probably have one axle air, in the rear.. it will look funny if it is too high or too low in relation to the front...

I dont like funny looking.... guess I'll keep it stock...

I would lower mine if I didn't live in pothole / shit road city. Not as crazy low, but I would do it. I think it is different. Plus with my computer laying in the trunk, it will take me all of 2 minutes to raise it back up when necessary.

[QUOTE=525iT_Feen;920545].....The ride comfort argument isn't even an argument you definitely give up some comfort......QUOTE]


????? Ride comfort has absolutly NOTHING to do with ride height, this has become the accepted "fact" about lowering a vehicle due to most lowered cars are running stiffer springs and firmer shock setting then OE.

The KW var3 coilovers have a slightly stiffer spring rate when compared to the OE air bags. The shocks "high speed" damping is not adjustable and is very similar to a good Bilstein upgrade shock, the "low speed" setting is adjustable.

Most of those who lower go for the high spring rates and stiff "high speed" and "low speed" shock setting thinking this is what makes for better handling when all they are doing is destroying the ride and decreasing control on most public roads that are anything less then perfect.

It's possible to lower a high vehicle and IMPROVE ride comfort and suspension compliance, just install softer springs and shocks with milder valving. This fact "flies in the face" of the "Fast N Furious" boy races who do almost ALL vehicle lowering and think STIFFER = BETTER!!!!!!!

You lost me there bud. I think we're saying the same thing? What i'm saying is with the AIR equipped x5s going to low severely deteriorates ride quality because the shocks AREN'T valved correctly for lowering the vehicle and the bags have too little pressure which creates excessive bounce from the rear.

With a coilover - the lower you go that stiffer it gets. In the case of the x5 I've found that that theory works for the front shocks but the rear bags being separate prevent the car from actually getting stiffer. Instead you just abuse the stock shocks and bag. I will lower my x5 just less then I have now.

I was saying that I WASN'T arguing that point. I love the way it looks and hate the way it rides. Sucks.

"......going to low severely deteriorates ride quality because the shocks AREN'T valved correctly for lowering the vehicle....."

Shock valving is a constant and therefore there is no change in ride quality until the suspension "bottoms out".




"......the bags have too little pressure which creates excessive bounce from the rear......"

The pressure inside the airbags does not change with ride height, volume inside the bags change. Vehicle weight and airbag cross-section remain unchanged when the compressor/venting raises and lowers an X and therfore the prior sentence is FACT.
An "excessive bounce" condition would be worn shocks or under-damping, not a change in airbag volume or your incorrect logic "too little pressure".

[QUOTE=TiAgX5;920564]While this is true, you will at the same time be losing suspension travel. There's no such thing as win-win scenarios when it comes to modifying your suspension. The reason that most folks go to stiffer springs when they lower a car, is to compensate for reduced suspension travel. So if that six inch pothole just about bottoms the car with a stock suspension at a given speed, ideally, with the lowered car with increased spring rates, you still use up all your suspension travel on that same pothole at the same speed, (without hitting the bump stops). Needless to say, you will feel the hit much more in the lowered car, and have a somewhat increased chance of bending a rim. If you lowered the car, and left the spring rates the same, (or made them softer as you suggest), that same pothole that almost bottomed a stock suspension would cause you to hit the bump stops, and possibly do damage to the car.

A lot depends on where you drive, and how you drive. The faster you go on bumpy roads, the more suspension travel you want.

haha however you word it the stock shocks and bags in this car are not designed to be driven on at 2 to 3 inches lower then stock and significantly affect ride comfort. :dunno:

I'm about 95% sure I can put brand new shocks in the back and have the same exact issue but you seem to be a very technical person so i'll let you have the last word. haha

Stiffness is a function of spring rate...not ride height. If you simply drop the lower perch of an adjustable coilover, it will get lower...not stiffer. If you substitue a spring with a higher spring rate, (perhaps lower; but it could be the exact same length), it will get stiffer.

Look up X5SND, he has the custom air setup.


As far as the white X in Florida that was slammed with stance on aftermarket wheels, can't find him just yet.

Call me stupid, but do you not have to have the air ride at all four corners to make it work with programming? Is there a way to do this with just the air ride in the back?

Thanks

Shawn

You can do it but you would need coilovers up front as you cant just code them cause you have coils up front, the rear you can code down, but no point cause of the front.

Did you drive 400 miles on egg shells? You would certainly be hitting the bump stops up front. At this height, the rolling edges of your rear bags are going to be nicely mashing into the top face of the wheel carrier in which the bag sits.

For those who want to lower thier X safely: once you go beyond the factory "access" height, start seriously considering removing the ping tanks (aka accumulators). This will limit the amount of compressible volume for each corner, making the bag react faster (eliminating the bouncy/mushy ride often associated with extreme drops), but still maintain a comfortable ride for everyday driving.

Living/driving in FL and TX (even putting over 100k miles on my '94 Viper, dropped 1.5 inches with stock shock/spring rates) I have never bottomed out.

I ordered the KW Var3 coilover set for my X last week (spring rates and high speed damping almost identical to the OE setup), planning on a 2.5 inch drop. In the years driving my X I have never come close to bottoming because BMW designed the X to operate on much rougher roads then I drive. For my application there is absolutly no "downside" to the drop. If I lived in a local with severe potholes I would never lower due to the fact that going with higher spring rates and/or firmer shock damping actually DECREASES roadholding/performance on rough roads. The "fix" for keeping the suspension from bottoming actually hinders performance on those very road you are driving. This is a textbook example of modding like Martha Stewart (looks) and not like Colin Chapman (performance).

i have no experience with air bag suspension but i do with lowered coils, and i can say that the ride quality will be more dependant on the spring manafacturer than how low the car is ( excluding cars riding on there bump stops)

my experience as stated earlier is that eibach lowered springs have dramatically improved the quality of my cars ride, replacing the front struts has been the icing on the cake.

for me it has turned a hard ridding car into a comfortable ride that now also handles far better than stock.

so in my view its not the lowering that causes trouble or causes the car to be unsafe, its how its done.

The car rode like absolute ass like this and definitely wasn't safe for the lively hood of the suspension. I had no choice because I was running around like a mad man (in NY) Sunday morning and had to go to Manhattan for hotel check out at 12. By the time I got back on the road to go home my friend had left his shop so I rode it out. I didn't drive it today to avoid damage and raised it at a different friends shop right after work. The front doesn't seem to really be an issue but the rear is a visual 2 inches higher then in that picture and the car now drives great. Most of my experience with lowered cars comes from trial and error and this one is no different. I drive on shit roads in Boston everyday and the bit i've driven today (after raising the car) hasn't bottomed out anything.

Removing the accumulators doesn't seem that difficult. Is there much to it? Pros and cons? I was admiring your build earlier. Seems like you've done alot of cool stuff.

Its been a while since I've studied all parts the diagrams.... Since I did a complete to-air conversion the only thing my set up shares with the factory system is the bags and struts. The rears are an easy fix, pull the springs out, stick them in a vise up-side down; and very carefully with a bit of grease on a 1/4"NPT (if I recall correctly) tap, tap out the inside of the inlet. You'll be able to use a standard DOT push in fitting after that. The problems you're going to run into is with the lines....I won't be able to help you much on that as I used 1/4" DOT air brake line (I think BMW used 3/16" for the air lines). I don't see it being an overly complex task provide you have access to all the proper tools and skills needed.

As far as pros and cons go.....I'll bring in Skyline's previous statement about the generally accepted path of the need to increase spring rate because of decreasing suspension travel. Removing the ping tanks when you lower the truck is sort of the same idea....but still preserves the ride quality because of an air springs slightly different characteristics. As far as pros & cons though; I would list it as more of a necessity to not backyard botch an X....

You mention you drive on rough roads....our roads up here are pretty grotesque as well. Take a look at the pic below, this is my truck in the "low" setting. You can go about a maximum of maybe another 1/4" before the factory bags rub on the wheel carrier with daily driving....but IMO thats REALLY pushing it.

http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...D/DSC_0753.jpg

Hope this helps.

X5snd, thanks for all the good info. You mentioned in your other post on how low 525s was sitting in the rear and the bag would be rubbing on the "carrier" i dont think this is an issue in the front though right? And i think im safe in the rear cause my rear height is probably close to what you have in your pic right above this, but my front is lower.

Yea thanks alot for the info XFsnd!

After last night i'm just about a 1/4 inch lower then you in back but quite a bit lower in front. I will be removing the wheels tomorrow night to do the spacers and will inspect. When you switched to management what made you keep the rear bags and not switch to a UAS Aero sport or similar aftermarket performance bag?

That about says it all!

The fronts use air struts....so they wont be subject to the same issues as the rear. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean you wont have other clearance issues....
I would be willing to bet you have rub marks on the top of the fender liner from bottoming out.
Here's an exercise for you: Air out the front, and put a chalk like on the tire where the bottom of the fender comes to rest. Now air it back up to your ride height. This is the maximum amount of compression travel you have before you smack the absolute minimum....you may be surprised at what you find.;)

Essentially with aftermarket universal bags, whether they're rolling lobe, single, double or even triple convoluted designs.....have to many unknowns. What do I mean by that? Well for starters, there's the ride that they produce, which is dependent on things like material, # of ply's, suspension geometry and the pressure range they are designed to operate in. Secondly is the mounting issue---you need to find a bag with the right dimensions for the range of heights the X operates in but also contains the proper mounting points. Things get even more tricky when you move to the struts up front, as your options are even more limited.

When I was planning my system out, I only intended to go about an inch lower than the factory ride height of a 4.8is----just enough to even out the wheel gap for daily driving. I have the ability to lay it right out like you see in my sig, but it isn't drivable like that----strictly a photoshoot/parking height.

I looked into many (and probably just about all) air suspension "kits" that were available for the X. The airrunner kit was what I wanted to go with, but they wanted $4100 for just the struts and bags, and also would not warranty them if something went wrong with them because I wasn't buying their "complete" setup (I already had my valves, controller and compressor by that point). I would group universal air in with the stuff from airbagit.com and the lot....not exacltly quality stuff. If you want to do a true "performance upgrade" either go with the airrunner kit or contact the guys over at ride tech and have them fab up a set of Shockwave select's.

So I suppose to answer your question as to why I chose to stick with the BMW bags and struts....because it would do what I wanted, give me a ride I was familiar with, keep the install relatively simple.....and all the while being relatively reasonable in price (for a student lol).

Just one last point before I sign off here....
Guys, I don't mean to harangue you about this kind of stuff, but things like checking clearances after you play with the suspension is one of the first things you should be doing....just looking at the pictures that have been posted, shows that there is a ton of oversight/inexperience on your behalf. When things start to break (and they will if you keep driving around smacking bump stops all day)....don't be surprised if you receive more than a few "I told you so's". Please, if you don't know....ask! That's what we're here for!

I don't feel like i'm being harangued. I've dealt with quite a bit of aftermarket air but its always been switching a car from shock and spring to air (mostly VW/Audi) never something with already existing factory air suspension. If I didn't feel you know what you were talking about I'd just ignore your advice but I posted because you seem to know quite a bit about it.

I don't necessarily agree with you that an aftermarket rear bag couldn't be matched up and made to work BETTER then what is back there now but I have no proof because I haven't begun to look into it much and have no evidence to disprove your theory. I've used Aerosports which is on the cheaper end with no major issues but see your point about matching it up to the X's suspension ride.

I can however tell you that I have yet to bottom the front struts out. I've driven the car 500 miles now and while I agree 100% about the rear (which is why its raised almost to your height now - might even be the same height) the front doesn't seem to be as much of an issue. I had it up last night and saw no markings on the liner or bag and I know all to well what riding on bump stops feels like which I'm not.

I'll take another look tomorrow night when I throw it up to do the spacers and if i see any markings like what your mentioning I'll definitely raise it up and just order v3s.

Either way I'm not offended I enjoy informative posts. Its the internet so getting called an idiot by someone who doesn't know me never really affected me much. I take what I need for context and ignore the rest. Thanks for the info.

I never said it couldn't be done? "Better" is just a hugely relative term....it really depends on what you plan to get out of the whole thing.

The point I was trying to make was that the difficulty of maintaining ride consistency between front and rear increases beyond the ideal when you start playing around with that stuff... making it not worth the time unless you plan to go all out on custom dampers as well. In keeping with the German engineering philosophy, it would probably be safe to assume that the valving inside the factory dampers are tuned to work with the characteristics of the air spring BMW used and/or vise versa. Simply changing out the air spring is only part of the equation.

In regards to the front bottoming out, it was directed more to the OP of this thread, as his front wheel looked tucked from the pics he posted.

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but someone was telling me instead of using the drop link arms I could program the height using a computer to manually adjust the OEM computer settings. I believe this is what you guys did.

What exactly do I need to order to be able to do this? How expensive is it? Fairly easy to figure out?

I would really like the option of being able to lower and raise it when I feel like and not doing a mechanical change like the lowering links.

Thanks,
Carl

Carl -

As far as I know - similarly to the E39s with SLS on the rear - you can reset the rear ride height. This can be done using DIS or INPA. I love using INPA for this as it seems easier and more straight forward.

However, as to the question of being able to raise and lower it at will - if your car only has the Rear SLS, you will be able to do that only to the rear. You won't be able to raise or lower the front end that easily unless you are able to install some kind of Coilover kit / system.

Carljohnson.. Are you the one from my instagram? Lol this is my thread also,

And update befoe i had it slammed but now its completely different.

Haha, random yeah. I looked up online and you can buy the interface cable to plug into the obd2 port with a USB but where can I get the software to use with it? Torrent maybe?

Get the whole package and cable, $35, its the romanian seller one, youll have to wait like 2 weeks but thats the one to get.
Incl all software and instructions (which are a MUST if you dont know your way around computers/networking very well) IT is my field so its all basic stuff for me but not others.

Carl, the question is: does your X5 has 2-axle air suspension? Without it, you'd have to go with lowering springs/shocks or coilovers.

I thought you can only do it using DIS ...

You can calibrate ride height with INPA too, but I found DIS to be easier: just answer the question, and enter 707+(however much you want to lower it) for the front and 709+(however much you want to lower it) for the rear.

So could you do it from inside your car? Like pull up, type in the heights, hit enter and it drops? Or do you have to have the hood open to get to the plug?

It plugs into the OBD socket in the drivers footwell, the plug under the hood was for 00 and 01 MY E53's I believe.

Damn, I have an 01 with only rear bags. I was hoping to change the front to bags and use the compressor to raise - drop the vehicle at will. Could it be done? Would there be lines in the car already or would I have to run them from the boot. Would it be best to speak to a suspension expert and maybe get a bagged system controller installed where I could overrun the self leveling system, and control the bags entirely from a remote?

Get 2 4.8is front struts/bags, run lines for them,

And just get aftermarket autopilot v2 air management,

Simplest option.

what this guy said. X5SND also has a similar type of setup, OEM BMW front air struts, combined with BMW rear bags, but the height sensors and control system is all aftermarket, as it's most likely not cost effective to retrofit the entire EHCII system in your X.

Definitely talk to a local suspension expert about aftermarket air ride management options, in the states we are huge fans of Autopilot V2 from Air Lift.

Thanks guys. On the hunt for a 4.8is getting wrecked. Claim the bags, I was looking on eBay and the air lift v2 controller units are about $1000. I this about right? Do you guys use this specific unit? Will it take much to install?

Ended up making my own custom lowering links out of mini hiem joints. Front I had to machine them down to dial in the height but not a big deal.
result:
http://distilleryimage2.s3.amazonaws...0a9e0010_7.jpg

can someone walk me through the DIS menus??? I replaced my two front struts, but I noticed the car is "tilted" to the driver side.

Go into EHCII menu, then go into "control module functions", the function you want is "set zero point, default ride height" then you can manually adjust by corner or axle and save it.

Hey guys so im new to the page and been reading the option to lower my X5 with suspension lowering module. I believe it was called Intrax.

I don't want to remove my hole airbag system so what can I use or what options as far as buying the Kit to adjust my suspension or lower it. I saw some kits it eBay but it's not a Modum. Any one know where to buy these kits?

I have a 2006 4.8is with air bags in front and back. It has the button where you can raise it or lower it
.

Thanks guys

Intrax module is discontinued a few years ago. You can lower your X5 using DIS or INPA, and don't need the module.

I'm located in CHICAGO how can I get this done? Excuse my ignorance but what is DIS and INPA? I called my local BMW Tech shops and do lots of modding and they know nothing of it and dealer said they had no idea what I was talking about.

Thank you guys

Its BMW software or any specialized BMW indy should have it, many have purchased a $40 software kit from Romania which you run on your laptop. What you want is someone who is able to do BMW diagnostics and has the software to do it, maybe there is a member who lives by you and has it?

Man this is so awesome I Live in CHICAGO IL anyone here can or know of someone that can help me out? THANKS GUYS