Real Sports Package Sports Suspension?

[Hobart]

Hi Guys,

I am about to purchase an almost new BMW X5 and I am torn between two choices.

One has the sports package and other extras and is newer, but the ride seems so much stiffer.

The other has only a few extras and no Sports package and seems a much softer more comfortable ride (especially to my pregnant wife). I already have two Sports cars and I was hoping this ride would be a little smoother than my other cars.

The used car sales guy with the Sports package swears if I change the 19 inch wheels to 17 inch wheels it will be much softer and even more so if I also let a little bit of air out of the tires. He also told me the car he is selling isn't really the Sports Package. He told me if it was a real sports package there would be two black ball like additions mounted in the back when you lift up the carpet and look underneath the spare wheel cover you can see them. He showed me in a 4.4 model that he also had abd the 3.0 with fake sports package didn't have them. Could he have showed me something else related to some other option on the 4.4 model. The car I saw, had everything in the Sports package, clear indicator lights, the body color mirrors and bigger tires, it just didn't have those ball like things I mentioned above. Is that the actual sports suspension he was talking about?

Is it possible to adjust the sports suspension in the Sports Package to make it less stiff? Also what if I change from the 19 inch tires to 17 inch tires will that really make the ride substantially softer. It was a really rough ride, as rough or rougher than my Mercedes SLK two seat convertible, but not that other BMW X5 without the "sports package" or 19 inch tires.

Please help I can't decide which to buy. I want the newer one (almost a year newer), but the ride is so rough (stiff) compared to the older one, but if I could only adjust the ride somehow...

 

[andreyiv]

I can't help you with the ball like things but I can say for sure that if you put 17 inch wheels and taller tires, the ride will be a lot smoother. I don't think you can adjust the stock suspension but I may be wrong. I think you can call a dealer, give them the VIN and ask if the car has sport package or not but I am not sure of that either.

 

[Hobart]

Thanks man, someone else just told me on another board that the ball like things are most likely air suspension which is standard in the 4.4. VIN number is a good tip. Thanks.

 

[MrElussive]

Hobart, I wouldn't go with 17" tires if I were you, on a X5 4.4i. You should go with 18" all-season tires for the X5 4.4i. You are right that the X5 w/Sport Package does have a very rough ride, particularly for back-seat passengers. But I think the X5 with Sport Package (whether it's the 3.0 or the 4.4) just looks so "right" I would definitely get it...just make sure that if you are purchasing the X5 4.4i w/Sport Package, don't go with the 19" performance tires. For 2002 and later models, the X5 4.4i with Sport Package started to come with 18" all-season tires, rather than the 19" performance tires as they provide a smoother ride and are usable in the snow.