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Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Discuss your latest mods or ideas, and anything to do with the BMW X5 (E53).
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fenderbom
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Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by fenderbom » Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:24 pm

Hi Guys.......im thinking of doing this to the rear of my 2004 4.4i sport.

I have a LPG tank in the boot were the spare wheel would normally sit,will this need removing to fit the coil springs or remove the rear air spring?

Also the spring i need to use is there a specific one for the sport model?

Any help would be appreciated guys...o and do i need to remove all the air suspension components or can i leave them in place? compressor control unit ect?

Thanks. :)
Last edited by fenderbom on Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

graemeX5
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by graemeX5 » Wed Mar 19, 2014 11:17 pm

Hi I know Raj has done the rear suspension as have others on here.

Sorry I haven't the link but if you doa quick search for rear suspension and user Raj it should come up

Hth
Now: E70 X5 in Blue, 3 Minis Cooper S R53, JCW R56 & Cooper S Roadster R59 :drive:

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Raj
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by Raj » Thu Mar 20, 2014 7:53 am

I've done full air suspension removal on a couple of X's including my own.

You won't need to remove the tank to get to the top of the air springs as the mounting points are located to the sides of the spare wheel well.

As for which springs, there are a few kits out there you can look at. You can go with the OE ones from the dealer but for me personally I would look at something like a complete front/rear Eibach or H&R kit with the 4 springs. Only reason I say that is you really require matched front/rear springs in terms of spring rate and height. For me I want the car to sit flat and be balanced front to rear as I do not want softer/stiffer rear springs compared to the front. That is of course personal opinion and I know quite a few have just replaced the rears with different springs to remove the air springs.

You can leave the compressor, etc in place and just remove the fuse to the compressor as you do not want it firing up each time. The control unit needs to stay in place anyway as it helps to control the DSC, 4x4, etc too using the sensor readings, etc it takes in.
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fenderbom
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by fenderbom » Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:04 am

[quote="Raj"]
I've done full air suspension removal on a couple of X's including my own.

You won't need to remove the tank to get to the top of the air springs as the mounting points are located to the sides of the spare wheel well.

As for which springs, there are a few kits out there you can look at. You can go with the OE ones from the dealer but for me personally I would look at something like a complete front/rear Eibach or H&R kit with the 4 springs. Only reason I say that is you really require matched front/rear springs in terms of spring rate and height. For me I want the car to sit flat and be balanced front to rear as I do not want softer/stiffer rear springs compared to the front. That is of course personal opinion and I know quite a few have just replaced the rears with different springs to remove the air springs.

You can leave the compressor, etc in place and just remove the fuse to the compressor as you do not want it firing up each time. The control unit needs to stay in place anyway as it helps to control the DSC, 4x4, etc too using the sensor readings, etc it takes in.
[/quote]

Many thanks for the reply Raj.

I have the car in with BMW at the minute,what do i need to ask them to disable so i dont get any fault codes?

Cheers.

Raj
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by Raj » Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:05 pm

Just code out the check control message to stop it coming up on the dash also if the ride height at the back drops/raises more than the position of the air shock at normal level you will need to set the level sensor accordingly as the uneven ride hight still overrides the control message.
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dabenthusiast
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by dabenthusiast » Sun Mar 23, 2014 6:00 am

[quote="Raj"]
Just code out the check control message to stop it coming up on the dash also if the ride height at the back drops/raises more than the position of the air shock at normal level you will need to set the level sensor accordingly as the uneven ride hight still overrides the control message.
[/quote]



How/where can I get the code scanned out? I's it any problem if I leave the light on nd just ignore it after the conversion ???

Raj
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by Raj » Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:48 am

[quote="dabenthusiast"]
[quote="Raj"]
Just code out the check control message to stop it coming up on the dash also if the ride height at the back drops/raises more than the position of the air shock at normal level you will need to set the level sensor accordingly as the uneven ride hight still overrides the control message.
[/quote]



How/where can I get the code scanned out? I's it any problem if I leave the light on nd just ignore it after the conversion ???
[/quote]

Someone with the scanner software can do it or BMW themselves if want to pay them.

Can leave it on the dash but can get a bit annoying.
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dabenthusiast
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Re: Rear Suspension Conversion Advice..

Post by dabenthusiast » Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:34 am

Thanks. As long as it doesnt harm any electrical or trip out any other software it wont bother me. So I can just buy one of the scanners or no?
I just got the oe parts I need to compete the coil conversion. Nd ill get my bc coilovers soon. Ill post back when I get more info. Thanks for all the help though. This is the best forum Iv been a part of.


[quote="Raj"]
[quote="dabenthusiast"]
[quote="Raj"]
Just code out the check control message to stop it coming up on the dash also if the ride height at the back drops/raises more than the position of the air shock at normal level you will need to set the level sensor accordingly as the uneven ride hight still overrides the control message.
[/quote]



How/where can I get the code scanned out? I's it any problem if I leave the light on nd just ignore it after the conversion ???
[/quote]

Someone with the scanner software can do it or BMW themselves if want to pay them.

Can leave it on the dash but can get a bit annoying.
[/quote]

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