[miker2013]

I was riding some hilly back country roads in my 335xi.... came upon the crest of a hill doing around 110km/h and as I pushed the car over the crest (at which point the road dips downhill again) I really felt the suspension squat on me and I was still pretty heavy on the throttle and was getting ready to get on the throttle again to power up the other side of the hill... at this exact second when I felt the suspension squat, I heard a terrible scraping sound or rubbing sound from under the car

it was very loud and very noticeable.... lasted what seemed an eternity but it was a second or two.... at first I thot for sure it was scraping the road but cannot seem to find any signs of scraping underneath

the ride seem to get very very rough (for lack of a better word) does that suggest the tires could have rubbed the body even with an all stock setup?

where should I look for signs of scraping?

[miker2013]

I guess my question is, when the xdrive suspension w/stock tires bottoms out, is it possible for the tires to be rubbing on the fenders?

[thegrinchboy]

If you are lowered, maybe, but in stock form you should hit the bumpstops first, I believe.

[zipstic]

Are you saying the ride is still very rough? I can't say with 100% certainty, but I highly doubt your tires could rub on the fender or wheel well. I would go back and inspect the underside of the car and look for damage. Is there anything missing that got ripped off? It's possible if the load was really heavy you could have broken part of the suspension.

[gzim335]

check ur shocks if they leaking anywhere maybe u blew one out

[miker2013]

thx for the replies guys...the car seems to ride fine now, that was a week or so ago but I am still very concerned about it

it did hit the bumpstops... I felt the suspension bottom out and then I heard the terrible noise and I was hoping it was just rubbing so that why I came here to ask

but it must have been scraping...I will have to get under the vehicle better and check, I did notice a couple little rocks sandwiched between the frame and the underside cover, for lack of a better word, just in front of both rear wheel wells

pretty bummed out, knew the xdrive suspension was gonna be soft, didn't know like this it would bottom out so easily on smooth roads, just slightly spirited conditions... pretty disappointing imho

[miker2013]

checked underside of car... I cant seem to find any damage or signs of scraping... however, there are 4 plastic "bumpers" on the car, two in front of the rear tires and two just behind the fronts.... these bumpers feel smooth on the bottom and I think its possible that they were what was scraping against the ground.... they are also a tad loose, when I grab them and twist a little, they move slightly

are these designed to hit the ground before the rest of the car?

[thegrinchboy]

Originally Posted by miker2013

checked underside of car... I cant seem to find any damage or signs of scraping... however, there are 4 plastic "bumpers" on the car, two in front of the rear tires and two just behind the fronts.... these bumpers feel smooth on the bottom and I think its possible that they were what was scraping against the ground.... they are also a tad loose, when I grab them and twist a little, they move slightly

are these designed to hit the ground before the rest of the car?

These "bumpers" are your jack lift points. They are not designed to hit the ground.

[critical05]

If it came from the front, its probably the little black plastic shields in front of the tires.

[miker2013]

thx for the replies guys... really appreciate it

just to answer a few questions.... the cars drives fine since the incident, absolutely no difference... I have been underneath the car and cannot find any noticeable signs of anything which looks amiss at all, the little plastic shields in front and rear of vehicle have no noticeable wear on them which would indicate they scraped the ground.... the shocks have no leaks and appear fine... car has been ridden on smooth/bumpy fast roads since without any noticeable issues....the front and rear bumpers are in perfect condition so there was no contact underneath them

so basically I am left with only 2 possible scenarios.....

1- the road was dished out w/ a hump in the middle (a lot of roads in the area are tho I am not sure this one was) and as I came down over the crest, the suspension squatted and I scraped the middle of the car underneath

or

2- I rubbed one or more tires

I looked underneath the car extensively and this is the only thing that looked a little funky....does the exhaust on the right look ok? the kinks in it looked a litte more extreme than the one on the left so that is why I took notice

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps19a4c492.jpg

[miker2013]