[Lotus99]

I know this has been discussed in the past, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents on it as well, since I'm about to hopefully buy an X3 35, and have been considering right off the bat lowering it, with either just springs or coilovers.

So to address the usual statements that come up when someone asks about lowering their X3, which are: "Why the heck would you want to lower an SUV"... "You lose all the ground clearance"... "You should've just bought a different car"...

I don't know why people think it is such a big deal, 1st of all. Clearly there are many other people who want to do so, and it makes sense to a certain segment of the market, which is why the Audi SQ5 exists (comes factory lowered in Europe, but not here to make it easy for certification as a light truck), Porsche makes the GTS Cayenne, and even BMW makes the X5M and X6M.

You're dropping the car 1 inch. So the ground clearance will go from 8 inches to 7 inches. Big whoopee. 99% of people with X3's, will never go off road, nor notice a difference between 7 and 8 inches of clearance.

As far as why I would do it, as I said I am coming from a beautiful BMW 535 wagon, and if there were any luxury wagons of that size still available here in North America, I would be all over them. But unfortunately the way the market here has gone, wagons have become extinct. Mercedes right now is the only one bringing over such a wagon, the E wagon. Besides the amazing handling of the wagon, which is the same as its sedan, the extra height of the roof is also a pain because I leave a roof box on the car all year long, but never have any problems entering underground garages. So that's one thing that is going to change right away now with an SUV.

[VinX3]

I agree with you. It all depends where they're coming from. For me, coming from 2-door coupes and sport sedans with coils and lowered suspension, the X3 has tremendous ground clearance. I buy the X3 for the cargo space, comfort and sportiness. I drive on paved roads so clearance is never an issue. Also, who would buy the X3 to go off-road anyways? That's what Jeeps and Subaru are for.

Lower springs slightly reduce the wheel gaps and give the car less body roll. With a nice offset wheels, it would look nice as well.

[Jordster]

The extra inch of ground clearance would help in the snow... But other than that, I can't see anyone really needing it.

My X3 is a family car, or I'd definitely lower it an inch. It doesn't feel top heavy like most SUVs, but you do feel some top-heaviness when you push it hard.

People have often said you should get a 328i wagon if you wanted a lower car, but (A) it doesn't come as a 35i and (B) it's not NEARLY as big inside, especially in the cargo area and back seat.

[djjohnr]

I drive a CUV because I have back issues that require a seating position not possible in a car. I drive an X3 because I want something that mimics the sports sedans I used to drive as much as possible. I drive our 4runner if I want to go off-roading.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by Jordster

The extra inch of ground clearance would help in the snow... But other than that, I can't see anyone really needing it.

My X3 is a family car, or I'd definitely lower it an inch. It doesn't feel top heavy like most SUVs, but you do feel some top-heaviness when you push it hard.

People have often said you should get a 328i wagon if you wanted a lower car, but (A) it doesn't come as a 35i and (B) it's not NEARLY as big inside, especially in the cargo area and back seat.

Where are you driving where there's that much snow on the ground? So if there's 10" of snow on the ground, does it really make any difference whether you have 8" of clearance, or 7"? You're still stuck!

The back of the 3 series wagon I wouldn't say it's not "nearly" as big inside. Its like HALF of the X3's. Something like 17 cu ft, vs. 27 cu. ft. Granted some of it isn't usable in the X3, because the extra cu. ft. comes in the form of a really high roof area, but the quickly sloping hatch in the 3 really kills the cargo space - especially if you have a dog. Which immediately ruled it out.

I actually considered a 3 series GT as well, which as you probably know, is a full 10" longer than the regular 3 series, but again, while it's trunk was bigger than the 3 wagon's, the roof still sloped too much for a German Shepherd dog. If I had a little terrier, would have been perfect.

Oh well. Not that the X3 is luckily a Cadillac, so I'll be fine I think.

[JSY]

I think you're nuts dropping it an inch and should have went with another car....


lmao, Just kidding. Seriously - do people actually criticize others for what they do to their cars? If i wanted to install monster truck wheels on it, I should be able to without being judged!

I really like the height of my x3 because it matches well my height an how easy is it to step in but I wonder if I would notice an inch difference. I guess so if I'm used to a specific height? But I think whatever works for you should be good enough reason.

It's just an inch.