Ix suspension

[NNW]

I'm in the middle of replacing the cracked oil pan so have the subframe and suspension/steering/front axels out of the car at the moment.

I was planning on replacing the springs with some lowtec ix specific springs which low the car by 40mm front and 35mm rear. And by planning, I mean I went ahead and bought them in December from Abrahams Motorsport who imported them from Germany and I took delivery last month.

However.....

I am now having second thoughts about lowering the car specifically with regards to ground clearance and handling in snow and want to hear from others who have actually lowered their ix's.

What was their reason? Was there any other reason apart from aesthetics?
How does the car perform in the snow with the lowered suspension compared to stock height? And in the dry?
Are they happy with their choice and would they do it again? If not why?

My concern stems from the fact that I live in Colorado and we had 22 inches of snow fall in town on Thursday and Friday. Whilst we are experiencing quite a dry winter, this is not an uncommon event on a regular basis most winters. My other cars are an X5 and Subaru Outback which both have higher ground clearance than the average car and I have never had an issue with getting stuck in either of those cars. I don't plan to get stuck in the ix either.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[z122643]

I lived in Tahoe for many years. I know snow. So when you tell me you want to lower your car in snow country I must ask, ARE YOU NUTS!

Having said that let me be analytical. Lowering (in conjunction with stiffer shocks) the iX does improve handling slightly (but we are talking about taking it on a rally course or to the track) In everyday driving in mountain roads you will not notice the difference and in snow not at all.

If you plan on driving in snow you want the factory ride height. Also you want 15-16" rims with wheels to match. Stock is 15" but finding (good) snow tires for 15" rims is hard. I use 16" with continental DWS tires.

There use to be an (old) excellent wright up on this subject but it has disappeared from the internet "BMW 4x4 vs. 4x4 BMW" in which it talks about lowering the iX. The conclusion was that the lowered iX performed better on the track than the stock iX.

Now for the answer to your question ;v)

My friend and I both have iX's, we are also both mechanics. The big difference between us is that he grew up in L.A. and I grew up in Tahoe. His iX had been lowered while mine was stock height. We took both cars up to Tahoe for the holidays. Last year it snowed 4' in one night. during the storm we were traveling from Reno back to Tahoe. With about 1'-2' of snow on the ground, my friend's lowered iX became a snowplow. Even though the car didn't have any traction issues, we had to park his car at a Safeway because if he had continued he would have ripped his bumper off. My iX had no such issue and we made it home.

I have been in Colorado Spring when it snowed 3' in under 4 hours. Best advise DON'T LOWER.

[Killacortes]

I run bilstein hd's on my Ix on stock height and It handles just fine. I also have poly euro thane control arm bushings which really stiffened up the steering.

[nando]

what are the rates on those "ix specific" lowtech springs?

I'd be afraid of pretty much anything aftermarket for the ix that hasn't been widely tested. aside from ground clearance issues (if you only deal with 1' of snow or less, the lowered ix will be fine BTW), dumping an ix with soft springs is a bad idea. There's not enough suspension travel and without making the springs much stiffer, your ride quality goes to hell because you're crashing into the bumpstops all the time.

the real answer to your question are coilovers. lower it in the summer and raise it up to stock (or higher!) in the winter. Pick whatever rates you like, sufficiently stiff to avoid bottoming out and you'll have way better ride quality and handling than some shitty aftermarket drop-in springs.

[NNW]

The front springs have 151 printed on them and the rears 401. I'm not sure if those are the rates though. I don't have the accompanying literature to hand currently. No matter though as its all in German.

I have attached the info from their website:

Thanks for your answers. It has confirmed my thoughts. I have decided not to put the lowtec springs on and to keep stock suspension geometry. I believe the PO changed the front to HD's but not the rear.

I guess that will be the next step along with a pan/sump guard. Was thinking of the raceskids. Anyone have experience with these? I don't want to have to change the oilpan a second time.

[nando]

IMO you don't need a skid plate on an ix, unless you're doing off road rallies on rocky roads or something. the oil pan doesn't hang out up front like the RWD cars and basically you'd have to mangle the subframe first. Plus at stock ride height, you'd have to be seriously going over some jumps or something to bottom out.

you could still consider a coilover conversion, which has the best of both worlds. It's not as easy as drop in springs, of course.

[NNW]

Oh and definitely deal with more than 1 inch of snow. We currently have ~10 inches on the side roads where the wheels haven't compacted it down and when returning from skiing on Saturday the traffic was so bad I took the back roads (dirt roads) which were over 2 feet deep in places.

The coil over idea sounds interesting but I'm not sure I can justify the cost right now on what is essentially a play car. New additions to the family are imminent.

As for winter wheels, I picked up a set of bottle caps for next to nothing which I will put Nokian Hakkalugi's on. Either Hakka R's or the studded Hakka 7's.
I have the R's on the X5 and they are very very good. I'm impressed quite how good the X5 is with these tyres. I always thought it was more of a dry road vehicle.
The studded 4's on the Subaru however are outstanding in the snow. The worse the conditions get, the more capable the car appears to become. Since the ix awd system is quite similar to the Subaru system I have, I'm looking forward to finishing up the oilpan replacement and getting out in some snow!

[nando]

you will like the ix even better :D

[NNW]

I guess I have some ix Lowtec springs for sale then... ;-)
New, Never fitted.

[MikeDE]

Lowtec springs suck. If you think your ass sags now, wait till the springs go in.

I would do the Billy HD's for sure, and new factory springs(if $$ permits). The originals are 20+ yrs old and surely shot.

Or Coilovers as Nando suggested.

[u3b3rg33k]

I lived in Tahoe for many years. I know snow. So when you tell me you want to lower your car in snow country I must ask, ARE YOU NUTS!

Having said that let me be analytical. Lowering (in conjunction with stiffer shocks) the iX does improve handling slightly (but we are talking about taking it on a rally course or to the track) In everyday driving in mountain roads you will not notice the difference and in snow not at all.

If you plan on driving in snow you want the factory ride height. Also you want 15-16" rims with wheels to match. Stock is 15" but finding (good) snow tires for 15" rims is hard. I use 16" with continental DWS tires.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R:
175/65R15 88 R XL
185/65R15 92 R XL
185/60R15 88 R XL
185/55R15 86 R XL
195/65R15 95 R XL
195/60R15 92 R XL
195/55R15 89 R XL
205/70R15 100 R XL
205/65R15 99 R XL

Doesn't get much better without studs.
If you want better deep snow performance, either cut them, or find some hakka RSIs.

[nando]

you can also get plenty of bridgestone or michelin snow tires in 15" sizes.

it's 14" that are hard to find..

[u3b3rg33k]

you can also get plenty of bridgestone or michelin snow tires in 15" sizes.

it's 14" that are hard to find..

The hakka R is made in two 13" sizes and 5 14" sizes. Not that that matters on an iX.

[Kershaw]

I run general altimax in 195/55/15. It's february and I've yet to drive them in the snow.... :(

Bilstein hd and h&r sport is such a massive improvement over stock. It's what I ran on my last ix. On my current I'm running new oe struts on the original springs. Although I just modified the rears to use the jom adjuster to raise it. All this won't last long though, I miss my old set up.

[nando]

H&R sports - meh.