[OTO335i]

Hello all,

Ever since I've owned my 335 which is 2 years now I've found that the front suspension can't handle bumps or divots very well. Every time I hit one it almost feels like my strut doesn't absorb any of it like it was shot.

My set-up is:
Stock M-sport suspension
Style 193 wheels
Yokohama Avid envigor tires (225/40/18 fronts - 255/35/18 rears)

I was curious to know if this is normal for our cars or it's just my suspension crapping out, my struts aren't leaking either. I used to have a A4 B6 with sport suspension and it definitely didn't feel like this.

[type-dRew]

xdrives have no front suspension travel, its a terrible design.

My 09 xdrive did what you describe, I did a full refresh with new bilstein b4 struts all around and it is now moderately better. It definitely rides better than my blown stock stuff but front impacts are extremely harsh even on what i would consider minor bumps.

[OTO335i]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

xdrives have no front suspension travel, its a terrible design.

My 09 xdrive did what you describe, I did a full refresh with new bilstein b4 struts all around and it is now moderately better. It definitely rides better than my blown stock stuff but front impacts are extremely harsh even on what i would consider minor bumps.

Glad I'm not the only one but it also sucks since this seems to be a horrible design feature on the x-drives as you're stating.

Just as you're saying, front impacts really harsh. Every time I hit one the first thing that comes to mind is if my headlight projector broke again.. Thankfully I had reinforced the brackets when I had to fix it because of prior bump/divots.

I'll have to throw some X3 suspension with bigger tires to have a smooth ride lol

[type-dRew]

I have fixed my headlight projector 4 times since I bought my car in Feb this year. That said, the struts were blown until last week. So hopefully it doesnt break again soon with more impact protection.

But yeah, I have the same thought

[OTO335i]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

I have fixed my headlight projector 4 times since I bought my car in Feb this year. That said, the struts were blown until last week. So hopefully it doesnt break again soon with more impact protection.

But yeah, I have the same thought

Woah 4 times since February? damn man that blows!! I believe I have also fixed mine 4 times since I've owned my car.. passenger side. 2 of those were roughly a month apart.

[type-dRew]

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Woah 4 times since February? damn man that blows!! I believe I have also fixed mine 4 times since I've owned my car.. passenger side. 2 of those were roughly a month apart.

I live in SE Michigan. Our roads are used as worst case scenario for suspension evaluation for most car manufacturers. That plus blown struts means extremely bad luck.

[e90yyc]

I don't have M-Sport suspension but I did recently do a full refresh of shocks/struts and most mounting and supporting components.

Ride is much better, but still somewhat harsh. Then again my car has 300k kms on it, so perhaps part of the harshness can be ascribed to creaks and rattles that make impacts sound worse than they are. Hard to believe my suspension made it that long. By the end my ride was so soft I could have sworn I had a 7 series! (kidding...)

I replaced my shocks with Sachs, which were OE for my car. I'm happy.

What's your mileage?

[type-dRew]

Here's an example of what one of our potholes can do to our cars.

It hit so hard the wheel deflected into the brake rotor and tore the wheel in half

[OTO335i]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

I don't have M-Sport suspension but I did recently do a full refresh of shocks/struts and most mounting and supporting components.

Ride is much better, but still somewhat harsh. Then again my car has 300k kms on it, so perhaps part of the harshness can be ascribed to creaks and rattles that make impacts sound worse than they are. Hard to believe my suspension made it that long. By the end my ride was so soft I could have sworn I had a 7 series! (kidding...)

I replaced my shocks with Sachs, which were OE for my car. I'm happy.

What's your mileage?

I'll definitely have to take a look but If it's normal for sport suspension then a refresh may not be worth it at this time since I would probably only notice a very slight difference.

I'm about to reach 190,000 Km's.

Originally Posted by type-dRew

Here's an example of what one of our potholes can do to our cars.

It hit so hard the wheel deflected into the brake rotor and tore the wheel in half

Those pictures make me cringe! I can just imagine what you felt in the cabin when you hit that. Hope the city or state was able to do something to help you out.

[type-dRew]

Originally Posted by OTO335i

I'll definitely have to take a look but If it's normal for sport suspension then a refresh may not be worth it at this time since I would probably only notice a very slight difference.

I'm about to reach 190,000 Km's.



Those pictures make me cringe! I can just imagine what you felt in the cabin when you hit that. Hope the city or state was able to do something to help you out.

Unfortunately no. They have a nice loophole in place stating that unless you can prove that the pothole has existed for 30 days without repair, then I have no case.

Also, to make note, if your struts have over 90k on them, you should replace them. Struts even very high quality pieces start deteriorating quickly after 50k miles, problematic road surfaces will accelerate that.

Even if it doesnt 'fix' the xdrive travel problem, it will ride much better. And replace as much of the suspension as you can as well, mine has significant play and wear in every after 156k miles.

[e90yyc]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

Here's an example of what one of our potholes can do to our cars.

It hit so hard the wheel deflected into the brake rotor and tore the wheel in half

My god.

[OTO335i]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

Unfortunately no. They have a nice loophole in place stating that unless you can prove that the pothole has existed for 30 days without repair, then I have no case.

Also, to make note, if your struts have over 90k on them, you should replace them. Struts even very high quality pieces start deteriorating quickly after 50k miles, problematic road surfaces will accelerate that.

Even if it doesnt 'fix' the xdrive travel problem, it will ride much better. And replace as much of the suspension as you can as well, mine has significant play and wear in every after 156k miles.

That's crazy! Who goes around identifying potholes and counting the days they are there to possibly one day hit them and come back with "hey I took a picture of this hole 40 days ago"... Fuckers!!

That's the debate I have with myself, I have a hard time changing parts that are "still good". I mean they're probably worn out but not shot lol.. This is something I'll have to look into in the near future, I still have my walnut blasting I need to perform and gather the equipment for and I want to change all the fluids for the diffs, T-case and tranny.

[Thorin]

Originally Posted by OTO335i

That's crazy! Who goes around identifying potholes and counting the days they are there to possibly one day hit them and come back with "hey I took a picture of this hole 40 days ago"... Fuckers!!

This is why I am thankful that in-car cameras are becoming the norm.

[ewicky]

Why not drive around the potholes?

Every time I've hit a pothole was because I was either tailgating or driving too fast. When I drive safe (the vast majority of the time) it isn't hard to avoid.

People always say they are "unavoidable." The only pothole that's unavoidable would be one that opens up as you are driving up to it. Besides that, a pothole victim must have just driving too close or too fast for the level of visibility. Or texting.

That being said, it seems like tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat to see which can disappear faster these days. So sad

[ewicky]

Also, the 335xi wasn't available with an "M-Sport suspension" so I'm not sure how this question differs from all other 335xis.

I need to do a refresh on all 4 corners of mine. I get the slightest shimmy when I go over bumps. The back end always swings out to the right a fraction of inch, regardless of where the bump was. And the car is aligned. So probably a shot strut or bushing. Used car life!

[type-dRew]

Originally Posted by ewicky

Why not drive around the potholes?

Every time I've hit a pothole was because I was either tailgating or driving too fast. When I drive safe (the vast majority of the time) it isn't hard to avoid.

People always say they are "unavoidable." The only pothole that's unavoidable would be one that opens up as you are driving up to it. Besides that, a pothole victim must have just driving too close or too fast for the level of visibility. Or texting.

That being said, it seems like tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat to see which can disappear faster these days. So sad

lol really?

It was 11pm, road was empty, nobody in front of me and my headlights are worthless. Why didnt I just drive around it? Wow, what a concept. Yeah my actual goal was to see just how much damage that fucking grand canyon in the road would do, for research. It was a road I hadn't been on in about 6 months, for that reason I was doing 5 under moving around(woah, what an idea) other road craters.

You must not live in or have ever driven near SE Michigan. There are no worse roads in the US. Dirt would be smoother and more predictable.

I actually was changing lanes to avoid someone with their hazards on in my lane about 1/8 mile up, as soon as I changed, I saw it, swerved and made the impact worse by loading the suspension. Guy with the hazards had hit the same hole. He moved into it because he was trying to avoid a pothole in the fucking other lane.

Also had oem tires in the stock size on the stock 17s and full stock suspension.

But yeah, good advice.

[OTO335i]

Originally Posted by ewicky

Why not drive around the potholes?

Every time I've hit a pothole was because I was either tailgating or driving too fast. When I drive safe (the vast majority of the time) it isn't hard to avoid.

People always say they are "unavoidable." The only pothole that's unavoidable would be one that opens up as you are driving up to it. Besides that, a pothole victim must have just driving too close or too fast for the level of visibility. Or texting.

That being said, it seems like tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat to see which can disappear faster these days. So sad

Sometimes you can't avoid them, if there's a car beside me I'm not going to swerve around the pothole since I have no space to move. When you're constantly driving in traffic you're usually confined close to other vehicles which enables you to see the pothole since a lot of people just drive over them and then boom you had no time to react. Other times it can be a sewer and it looks fine but when you pass over it , it moves and causes you to hit a lip. My car also came equipped with stock tire size so I don't get your " tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat".

Originally Posted by ewicky

Also, the 335xi wasn't available with an "M-Sport suspension" so I'm not sure how this question differs from all other 335xis.

I need to do a refresh on all 4 corners of mine. I get the slightest shimmy when I go over bumps. The back end always swings out to the right a fraction of inch, regardless of where the bump was. And the car is aligned. So probably a shot strut or bushing. Used car life!

I guess all 335's have the same suspension then, I thought since I had a M-sport that the suspension components would be slightly different / the car sitting lower.

[type-dRew]

Originally Posted by OTO335i

I guess all 335's have the same suspension then, I thought since I had a M-sport that the suspension components would be slightly different / the car sitting lower.

The awd cars went without the better suspensions on sport package cars due to the complete fuck up that is our front subframe design.

[ewicky]

Originally Posted by type-dRew

...It was 11pm, road was empty, nobody in front of me and my headlights are worthless...You must not live in or have ever driven near SE Michigan. There are no worse roads in the US. Dirt would be smoother and more predictable... Also had oem tires in the stock size on the stock 17s and full stock suspension.

But yeah, good advice.

Thanks!

I do not live in Michigan. I've driven on roads so bad, diagonal corners were freewheeling. Yes, literally only two wheels were actually touching the ground. The other 2 hanging over holes. I even went back and had someone outside take a video. It's all about speed. Slow down and no damage.

Consider fixing your headlights. When in good working order, our HIDs are great.

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Sometimes you can't avoid them, if there's a car beside me I'm not going to swerve around the pothole since I have no space to move... and then boom you had no time to react...My car also came equipped with stock tire size so I don't get your " tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat".

I guess all 335's have the same suspension then, I thought since I had a M-sport that the suspension components would be slightly different / the car sitting lower.

That's correct about the 335xi suspension. And, yes, like I said, sometimes potholes are unavoidable, like when speeding or tailgating. In the worst case, there's a truck on either side of you and you have no lateral freedom. In that case just slow down. It's not rocket science.

My "dead heat" comment was just a rant about how low profile tires are becoming almost ubiquitous in this day and age, even though they don't suit typical driving well.

It's amazing. People drive too fast to react to anything and then act like it isn't their fault when they failed to react in time to a road hazard, etc.

Originally Posted by type-dRew

The awd cars went without the better suspensions on sport package cars due to the complete fuck up that is our front subframe design.

Yup.

[porsche959]

Originally Posted by ewicky

Why not drive around the potholes?

Every time I've hit a pothole was because I was either tailgating or driving too fast. When I drive safe (the vast majority of the time) it isn't hard to avoid.

People always say they are "unavoidable." The only pothole that's unavoidable would be one that opens up as you are driving up to it. Besides that, a pothole victim must have just driving too close or too fast for the level of visibility. Or texting.

That being said, it seems like tire sidewalls and common sense are in a dead heat to see which can disappear faster these days. So sad

some potholes are unavoidable. pretty much anywhere in nyc and nj.

its probably easier to see, swerve in the country side versus nyc. or that shithole jersey

[ewicky]

Originally Posted by porsche959

some potholes are unavoidable. pretty much anywhere in nyc and nj.

its probably easier to see, swerve in the country side versus nyc. or that shithole jersey

or slow down
Sorry but that's like saying rear-ending someone is unavoidable. It might be "unavoidable" at the moment you realized you should have been following further or driving slower to be able to stop in time. But it's entirely preventable.

[ewicky]

Back to what the OP was first talking about though;
I wonder how much stiffer-than-stock struts would help in these scenarios.
Stiffer might not let the wheel drop as far into the hole as you pass over it.