M Sport vs SE suspension

[flyfs6]

The M sport rides pretty well even with 20" wheels and run flats tyres compared to a 3 or 5 series with 19". The only instance you are likely to feel like you have got Flintstones wheels is when going over broken road surfaces etc.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can always change to non run flat tyres as I have done, this improves the ride. Go for the 20" wheels.

[Chompers]

[quote=""flyfs6""]The M sport rides pretty well even with 20" wheels and run flats tyres compared to a 3 or 5 series with 19". The only instance you are likely to feel like you have got Flintstones wheels is when going over broken road surfaces etc.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can always change to non run flat tyres as I have done, this improves the ride. Go for the 20" wheels.[/quote]

Nothing wrong with a 5er on 19"s and they are RFT

@OP - I have to say if I was ever in the market for an e70 it would have to have 20"s soley on looks, just my 2p.

[MJim]

Many thanks for the responses StumpyPete, flyfs6 and Chompers!!
So pretty unanimous on the 20s! Although I am still pretty drawn to the non-sports suspension! I just wouldn't get much of a chance to benefit from it, but could use a softer set-up for long journeys with the family on board, and to ensure the wife still likes the car after journeying around town over speed bumps and bad roads. Just hoping that the non-sports suspension still has the BMW character and offers good (albeit not as good) handling ???

[Chompers]

MJim, take on your points above. I would bet your OH could not tell the difference between M-Sport and non suspension over speed humps so don't see much issue there. Lets face facts here your buying a 2.5 ton 4x4 and not an M3 and as such will drive the 'X' in a completely different manor to an M3 and are unlikely to explore the outer limits of its suspension set up. Which ever suspension you chose I'm sure it will drive every bit as you suspect and with out disappointment.

[Smatty]

PM Sent - my tuppence is the SE is a better day to day drive, even on 20's than the M (and I've had both). But the M has that little extra for the fun moments. I chose the SE

[acideraser]

just my 2p - I've got SE, sport suspension and 20" wheels. Was worried how my pregnant wife was going to feel, the roads in my area are probably the worst in London. Apparently feels more comfortable than our CRV (08 reg).
I am glad I kept sport suspension because handling is unbelievable.

[bmw_fan]

I have a 40d M sport with sport suspension and 19" wheels. The look of the 20" is better but the 19" have a better ride, even wear and cost/unit. It was a no brained decision. The rear wheels may not look "fat" but 285 is no skinny after all.

[MJim]

I must confess I was blown away by the sports suspension when I took one for a test drive, and it's great to hear you're both chuffed with the set up you've gone for. Personally I found the M Sport with 20in wheels very harsh so opted for 19s and de-selected the sports suspension. I'm assured it still has a sporty ride, and a more grand tourer set up should suit our needs best. Here's hoping I don't find it too soft !! Car should be arriving in a week ...

[chetalien]

I've 19 RFTs with M sport. When on my own i enjoy it with no problem apart from a few broken surfaces on rural roads when i feel the car is driving me rather than me driving it. My wife does moan sometimes on hard broken surfaces(bear in mind she is pregnant), otherwise for fun part I love it.

[MJim]

Now that I've taken delivery of my car, I thought I'd put down my views on how I find the set up for the benefit of anyone asking questions about the different options. My car is an M sport, but with the sports suspension delete option, and the standard 19 in wheels.

In a nut shell, I am extremely pleased with it! I was worried that it may be a bit soft, but is still actually very taut and corners very flat. I'm still trying to go relatively easy to run the engine in as per the manual, but carrying speed round roundabouts / corners is phenomenal, and there's very good steering feedback as well. It also rides comfortably over bad roads, and makes for a very sophisticated feeling ride. Having test driven the car with the sports suspension and 20 in wheels, the latter does have a slight edge in terms of feedback and corners even better, but for me and the needs of our family I know I made the right choice for us. Maybe ten years ago and with different priorties I would have preferred the latter set up, but now even I value the benefit of a car that feels luxurious whilst still being very athletic.

[stevee]

Thanks for this! I too have gone with the sports suspension deletion .. albeit with 20" Having borrowed a Q7 with air suspension a couple of weekends ago, and also having borrowed an X5 with sports suspension, I was getting kinda worried .. because the Audi was such a boat (dreadful) compared to the X5. I couldn't find any X5's to drive with the standard suspension, before I ordered.
Seems from your report that the difference is small. BTW, on realoem , the only difference I could find between the two set-ups was the rear air suspension part (bag).

[MJim]

Glad it helped. I also had to go for the sports suspension delete blind as limited choice of demos available. In terms of wheel choice, that's something I wrestled with as well. I really like the look of the 20" 333Ms personally. I am sure you're aware of the downsides - bit harsher (although I think the main determinant is the suspension), more road noise, will probably need a separate set of wheels for winter tyres, purist racers say more side wall will give better grip (but nobody buys an X5 to race and I found the 20s brilliant round a roundabout on my test drive). At least wheels are easy to change if you wanted to. My understanding is numerous suspension parts are different between the different set ups - saw someone on a US forum looking at changing from M sport to standard (wife didn't like it) and ended up deciding it would be too expensive ...

[acideraser]

sport + 20" is very comfy no matter what