[tetsuo111]

RWD drivers can select from a plethora of aftermarket suspension upgrades, while xDrive owners are limited to rear suspension improvements like M3 control links because our front drive suspension is completely different from the RWD design. It seems reasonable that many / most xDrive owners select this model for utility over handling dynamics.

For the small (but dedicated!) group of xDrive owners who love driving their AWD cars with purpose on the track, there's a new option for upgrading our front suspensions. I'm not aware of any other front suspension upgrades for xDrive (besides poly bushings and ARBs, both questionable moves IMO).

These are standard OEM xDrive front tension arms press-fit with HD sealed spherical bearings. These bearings replace the cute little fluid-filled squishy things that come standard. The OEM bushings isolate the occupants well from NVH, but in so doing leave too much compliance in the system for precision / performance. The idea is to mitigate compliance in the bushing so that the suspension geometry / components can function better. The seals should allow these to be used in a street application without accelerated wear.

What about M3 control links? Even if they fit (they don't), consider their benefits: 1) lower unsprung weight (Al vs steel), 2) less compliant bushings, and 3) wider camber range. In our case, these sealed spherical bearings are less compliant than the rubber M3 version, and the wider camber range is a non-issue if one already has installed camber plates. The only thing we miss is the sexy Al material in the M3 links.

Initial impression is: BIG. They seem robust. These were delivered today and will be installed tomorrow, so no review yet. The benefits described above are 'in theory'. They ought to work, but haven't been confirmed. Yet.

No luck loading the pics I took of mine. Instead, these are the identical bushings on X5 traction arms. What is difficult to convey in this picture is the size of these bushings. The diameter is larger than a 12oz beer bottle.

Will follow-up with more, later.

[tetsuo111]

Hopes dashed - shop cancelled appointment this morning. Doh! Will make alternative arrangements, but bottom line is that any feedback will be delayed.

Big picture - this remains very exciting news, at least to me There are no other front suspension improvements I'm aware of for xDrive.

[ajsalida]

Who makes those bushings? I just replaced mine with Strongflex poly, wish I'd known about these. I am very happy with the Stongflex but these look very interesting.

[f0xfire021]

Interested to hear how these work, and who makes these.

[tetsuo111]

They aren't a commercial product. They were fabricated for me by:

https://www.facebook.com/SyncroDesignWorks

The bushings are sourced from Germany, anodized, sealed for street use, and pressed into OEM traction struts. I had an exceptionally positive experience working with this shop.

[f0xfire021]

Sounds good. Looking forward to hearing what sort of impact these once you have the new traction struts installed.

[Neill222]

Any updates?

[tetsuo111]

Install and alignment are scheduled for mid-next week. Will refresh this post after that.

It's a shame that the control arms didn't go in last week. Made the drive up to Vancouver, BC. It would have been a great shake-down drive.

More to follow in a week....

Originally Posted by Neill222

Any updates?

[tetsuo111]

Had the new front control arms / bushings installed and aligned on Tuesday, and drove up to the mountains yesterday for a shake-down drive.


Preamble:

1) My goals for this car is for use as a semi-daily driver, competent ski-machine for winter mountain driving, and satisfactory track use. Very difficult goals to achieve in one vehicle!

2) When new, the ride and handling were clearly unsatisfactory. The car was very soft, floaty, and really disappointing to drive.

3) May sound a little silly, but my ride / handling target is like a Porsche GT (I had several Porsches in the past and enjoyed piloting them).


Observations:

1) The upgraded front control arms are the final piece in my suspension puzzle. My meta-impression is that these complete the suspension. There's always room to improve, but with this mod, I'm satisfied with the car's handling

2) These are the most effective suspension mod after coilovers and RSBs for xDrive

3) The effect is one of precision - the ride is still supple, but feels confidently athletic, lithe, and agile. Hard to put in words, the ride is simply miles ahead.


Conclusion:

xDrivers don't have the performance options that our RWD brothers have available. Until now. To the best of my knowledge, the only front suspension upgrades prior to these were poly bushings.

My service tech preps race cars (when I arrived there was a GT3 race car on the alignment rack. I've also seen F1 cars in for alignment.) He was impressed with the German bushing and described the car's handling as feeling like a performance adaptive suspension.

Be advised that implementation is always key. Cool shiny parts / toys need to be installed and used with purpose and knowledge. The more-specialized and performance centric, the more this applies in my experience. The post-install alignment took the better part of the day. The car never drove better. I'm extremely satisfied now - and that's rare...

[justpete]

[tetsuo111]

...from Mr. Race Car Suspension himself! Thanks - I learn from reading your stuff!

Originally Posted by justpete

[tetsuo111]

Finally able to post a pic of the actual bearings / links pre-installation. The bottle is smaller diameter than the spherical bearing This is a prototype, and the finish is a bit rough. But I'll never see it again and don't care.

Sorry about the hyper-size. I used to be semi-tech savvy. Key words - 'used to be'

[BMWrush17]

Sick - congrats and thank you for bringing this to the xDrive community

[tetsuo111]

Cheers!

Originally Posted by BMWrush17

Sick - congrats and thank you for bringing this to the xDrive community

[tetsuo111]

Comparison picture of stock hydro bushing. Great for an isolated and soft ride. But we're not interested in that, are we?

To be clear, the ride isn't at all harsh. It feels athletic. Taut, not tight. Like a proper performance GT.

[MTTH]

This is awesome! Pm'd the shop on pricing for these!

[zmon1300]

Please update with pricing if possible!!

[tetsuo111]

Check post #5 to contact the supplier directly. He was an absolute pleasure to do business with.

Originally Posted by zmon1300

Please update with pricing if possible!!