Suspension upgrade recommendations

[4_ring_circus]

Hello all,

I have a 2012 x drive 28i that I just purchased a bilstein B12 kit for and I wanted to ask which and what bushings I should replace while I'm in there.

Is there anything that is a higher durometer but not poly?

Thanks,
Mike

[Botlfed98]

where did you pick up those Bilsteins and how much?

[4_ring_circus]

I found a brand new kit on ebay from someone who never installed it on his X1. I paid 580 shipped.

[kchurch]

Have you installed them yet? How do you like them? I'm looking to upgrade my X1's suspension and am looking for comfort as a daily driver.

[4_ring_circus]

Yes I did get it all installed. Overall it did tighten the car up, for my wife's daily driver the suspension is perfect. It is very similar to stock feel. Personally I think it could be a slitter bit stiffer, my daily is on H&R coilovers.

For anyone doing this, make sure you get front upper strut mounts. Mine were toast, I wasn't able to get any on the day I was installing all this so I had to replace them a few days after. The bearings are not protected at all, and they were seized and very very rusty.

[alpinec1984]

What happened to your strut bearing caps? If sealed with a little dielectric grease they will keep out pretty much all water and your bearings should not rust.

[4_ring_circus]

The new ones came with grease, but I added a whole lot more and I will continue to add grease when I do services on the car. Here is a picture of what the original ones looked like:

[alpinec1984]

yeeouch those look awful! There should be caps on top of course but not sure how well the whole system works at keeping out salty water from the bottom. Not so well apparently. I sometimes add a little grease from the top to keep things happy but frankly I've never had any look that ugly in spite of living in Pittsburgh, Providence, and NE Ohio. To clarify I seal the little caps with a dab of dielectric grease (it resist washing off really well) but use the more typical synthetic axle/bearing grease for the strut bearings themselves.

[4_ring_circus]

I have the top caps, I am assuming salt, water, heat and cold had their way with almost 10 yr old bearings. When I installed the new ones I filled the top with synthetic bearing grease in hopes of prolonging their life.

I thought about using silicone to seal up the bearing with the top and bottom dust caps but didn't think it would have been a good idea for moisture.

I have replaced suspension on about a dozen cars at least and I have never come across strut mounts this bad. Usually its the rubber that is worn out, almost never the bearing.

[Botlfed98]

i never heard of strut bearings...are these on the rear or front or both?

[4_ring_circus]

These are just on the front for most cars, they are there so that the front wheels can turn. The rubber absorbs the impacts and the bearing aids in the rotation of the strut. The bearing is built into the strut mount.

There might be some cars with 4 wheel steering that have these in the back as well, but this is just a speculation. (I don't have any experience with 4 wheel steering).