Looking to replace my front shocks and would like to upgrade them to something that would be more sporty than the standard suspension. Is there anything available for the f25 standard suspension that could improve it to a sportier feel, reduce body roll, sharpen up turn in? So far Ive read where some have used koni active but im not sure it will be any better than stock? Anyone have any experience with a bilstein upgrade? Or are we limited on these vehicles to what we can do? Thanks in advance.

There's only so much a damper can do to help reduce body roll with grocery getter springs and anti-sway bars. That's why the sport and DHP options have larger anti-sway(roll) bars. Sure, upgraded Bilstein dampers will make a little improvement in handling over worn stock dampers, but don't expect much improvement in body roll without changing the springs/anti-swap bars as they work as a system.

There aren't too many options for this platform, but you do have some. If you're not looking for coilovers (which would be your best option for what you're looking for), you have H&R Springs, and Vogtland. Eibach's will probably be challenging to find because I believe they stopped making them, unless of course you find something on the forum or somewhere. Shocks/Struts, you have options like Koni, Bilstein B6's, or BMW/Bilstein "Sport Shocks".

Then as mentioned, there are a few Coilover options out there, BC, D2, Megan, KW, KSport, and.. uh, I think that might be all? Coilovers will ultimately provide you with more body-control than new springs and struts, but unfortunately there aren't many options, if any for thicker sway bars which obviously will provide the best results for this. Coilovers will also allow you (as you may already be aware) to adjust ride height and some if not all will have damper adjustments as well to firm or soften things up as you wish.

I found a post a while back where someone found a thicker rear sway bar for the F25, but I can't recall the all the details. Mind you the difference was small, I want to say it was only like a 2mm difference or something and I think it was only the rear sway bar.

ClutchFC wrote

I found a post a while back where someone found a thicker rear sway bar for the F25, but I can't recall the all the details. Mind you the difference was small, I want to say it was only like a 2mm difference or something and I think it was only the rear sway bar.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the EDC and Sport Suspension stabilizer bars (both front and rear) are larger than the ones on the standard suspension. Yes, they're only a few mm larger, but that's enough to make a noticeable reduction in body roll.

Before buying my X3, I drove several with the standard suspension and found the handling rather boaty, I guess they decided to sacrifice handling for comfort, making it a true grocery getter

My problem was I was in a rush buying it, when I looked at the specs the day before I made a terrible assumption. It was the m sport model, I saw that and thought ..:"Hell its got all the good stuff I want already" But the original owner specifically deleted the msport suspension and went with the standard suspension, I found out afterwards and was kicking myself in the ass for not being just a little more dilligent. I traded in my 2010 x3 that had the sport suspension so right out the gate I noticed it lacking in the handling dept and in my opinion thats kinda one of the main reasons for purchasing a bmw is the solid handling and stability at high speeds. The rest of the story is I bought the vehicle in houston and it overheated on me on the way home, i got lost inside houston and it overheated on me, had to pull over late in the evening the dealership just closed and my cell phone was dying, ended up spending the night in it. After getting all that situated and home 2 months later the engine quit on me and cylinder 2 lost compression and needed an engine replacement. thats when I got mad, and called the autogroup, advantage bmw in houston and between them and bmw of north america they installed a brand new 16 thousand dollar N55 for me. My cost was only 2300, so I guess i got lucky. Cant say anything bad about bmw I guess, they didnt have to do that especially being out of warranty like I was.

chris55552 wrote

It was the m sport model, I saw that and thought ..:"Hell its got all the good stuff I want already" But the original owner specifically deleted the msport suspension and went with the standard suspension, I found out afterwards and was kicking myself in the ass for not being just a little more dilligent.

The majority of the M Sport models in the US have option "225 Standard suspension (a.k.a. "Sport Suspension Delete on M-sport)" which is lame.

This is what was offered:

• 223 Electronic Damper Control (EDC)
• 225 Standard suspension (a.k.a. "Sport Suspension Delete on M-sport)
• 226 Sport suspension

So... I modified the sway bar bushings on an SUV, not a BMW, a few years back. It already had some pretty large sway bars on it. SO... I measured the bars and bought polyurethane bushings and end link pieces and added them to the bars.
Im not saying I had a go cart when I was done , but... it DID make a difference !! So... Im am going to try to find a source for poly bushing for the bars on my 12 X3.
If anyone knows a source for poly sway bar bushings, please let us all know !


On my 05 325 iT, I installed HOTCHKIS sway bars and KONI FSD shocks and struts, and let me tell you, that car IS a go cart !!! LOVE it !!!

Let me know if you come up with something, I want to do the same. I think it was Energy Suspension, they offer universal/custom poly bushings but I stopped my journey after asking them for some help when their video I watched, said to contact them for such help, yet got a reply saying they can't for liability reasons or something. In other words, you have to measure and do everything possible, order the bushing and hope for the best. Now obviously there will be many instances you will have to shave some material off for it to fit..

I reached out to strut monkey. com, for advice they are held in decent regard by other bmw owners, and basically they recommended the Koni active suspension so I think thats what Im going to do. Ive also read some reviews and those seem to work well as a well rounded solution. Those are adjustable so it would be as close to a edc retrofit as I think can be achieved.

I'll likely leave this to a shop but buy some parts, for warranty reasons. Assuming I purchase a set of four koni active, what else is likely needed? In photo below, the arrow points toward where a rusted mess can be seen from below, while it's not on stands (pic snapped at tire shop when they weren't near the car, it was on stands but outside the bay)

qx wrote

what else is likely needed?

For the whole job? I just went through it, so if you want the full parts list just say. I did front and rear, everything new even the bolts, a couple weekends ago.

Thanks for replying to my vague post. I'll get the FCP shock absorber kit, minus the Bilstein Touring Shock Absorber:

Qty Part SKU
2 Coil Spring Shim BMW-33536856172
2 Coil Spring Insulator BMW-31336798834
2 Suspension Shock Absorber Mount LEM-3630801 (33506787178)
6 Suspension Strut Mount Bolt BMW-33506792574
2 Suspension Strut Nut BMW-33326760368
2 Suspension Control Arm Nut BMW-33326794873
2 Suspension Control Arm Bolt BMW-07119906495
2 Suspension Strut Bellows BMW-33536856829

Should this be everything needed, at least for the rear?

To me, probably the springs look fine? If required, I would use new stock springs, as recommended by Koni for special actives.

I assume the dangling bit is part of the bellows?

I am also wondering if there is any other obvious problem, at a glance. Hoping to not need guide rod, wishbone, toe arm, etc.


Also, free bump to some fun related threads:

X4 M40i Parts on F25/F26

Share your suspension

All the numbers above are correct. There are kits that include them, FCP and ECS both sell them. I got mine from ECS, it was:

ES#: 4690779 Mfg#: 33506787178KT

I got struts and springs from Rock Auto. They were a lot cheaper there. My car is a 2015 35i without sport or adaptive suspension. I actually thought about changing to sport springs and struts, but since it's my family hauler and road trip taker I decided against it.

* Left and right shocks are the same, Bilstein 19197692
* Rear springs same, Lesjofors 4208489

I also bought bolts that were potentially TTY and "should" be replaced:
* Qty 2 33326794873 nuts for the bolt which connects the suspension arm to the knuckle
* Qty 2 07119906495 bolts at the same place

I went this route, disconnecting that arm at the knuckle so that I didn't have to screw with that offset bolt that affects alignment. You can manually pull that arm down enough to get some clearance to get the strut out. You'll want to jack up under that knuckle later on to get the arcs in which the knuckle and those arms travel aligned. This bolt goes back in at 80Nm + 90 degrees. I did the final tightening at ride height just in case.