lewylou78

So I just finished installing Eibach Pro-Kit Springs on my C300 today and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with the results.

I thought all 2010 W204 C-Class cars had the same springs, but after doing some research, I found out that all 4Matics sit much lower in the front (1 finger gap) than in the rear (2 finger gap). C350s have an even drop (2 finger gap front and rear) from what I could tell, and C300 RWD cars site a little higher in the front (3 finger gap) than in the rear (2 finger gap). I checked a lot of cars on dealer lots to come up with this.

I didn't like that fact that my car sat higher in the front than in the rear so I decided to get some lowering springs to correct the problem. I know about the different rear spring pads (5mm, 9mm, 13mm, and 17mm), and I was going to install pad #4 (17mm) to raise the rear a little so I would at least have an even gap with the front. Now this is because I assumed the stock rear springs pads were #3 (13mm) from the factory on my car.

I chose Eibach Pro-Kit Springs (#2578.140) since I wanted to keep the stock shocks for a while, and because there really are no aftermarket shocks available for the W204. If good aftermarket shocks were available, I would have gotten H&R Super Sports.

Be that as it may, I started out with installing the rear first. Just some helpful hints for those who plan to install the springs on their own. The rear bolt (12-star towards center) is M12 and is fully threaded and takes a while to get out because the exhaust pipe gets in the way, you have to use a long extension and push up on the pipe at times. You can use a T-55 bit as well. I found out that my car came with rear spring pad #2 (9mm) which sucked cause I didn't want to reuse it knowing that the rear would still be lower than the front. However, no local dealers had #3 (13mm) pads in stock so I had to use the #4 pads I purchase online (again, this was me assuming that my car came with the #3 pads). The Eibach spring was also about 2 inches longer (yes, longer!) than the stock spring which I thought was odd since most lowering springs are shorter than stock springs. After getting both springs installed, I didn't see any drop at all in the rear which was probably due to the #4 springs pads that added 8mm to the height.

The fronts weren't too difficult to remove or install. I removed the top nut on the sway bar link before undoing all the other bolts. However, when it came to removing the stock springs, I ruined my cheap spring compressor, the two legs actually got stuck on the stock springs and couldn't turn anymore so I had to go see my friend Pedro at Meineke to help compress the Eibach spring onto the stock strut. The front Eibach spring was about an inch shorter than the stock spring which was a good sign. Pedro had a professional spring compressor and it took him only 5 minutes to compress the new Eibach spring onto the strut. I let him do the other spring as well after I removed it from the car.

After getting home, I reinstalled both front stuts/springs and again, I didn't see any drop at all. I took the car for a spin to check for anything that was loose, clunks, etc. Everything sounded nice and quiet so I'm convinced I installed the springs correctly. The springs did seem a little tighter than the stock springs, but I couldn't really whether or not the car handled much better than stock. I didn't change out the sway bars, I left the stock bars in. Good thing was that the steering wheel stayed straight and the alignment doesn't seem to be off by much.

Now Eibach claims a 1.2" drop F & R (for luxury models). Howerver, since I have a sport model which comes lower from the factory than the luxury model, I am still expecting some kind of drop, at least in the front, but I still get a 3 finger gap in the front and a 2 finger gap in the rear so I'm back to where I started after all this work. I'm running 18" AMG wheels with 225/40/18 tires up front and 255/35/18 tires in the rear. My car only has 160 miles too. I am hoping that the springs settle, but I can say that everytime I installed lowering springs on any car I've owned in the past, I noticed an immediate drop without having to wait for the springs to settle. I don't see any drop with these Eibach springs so I'm hoping there will be some drop after they settle (not holding my breath though).

Good thing I didn't pay a shop over $200 for the install because I would have been even more upset. I gave Pedro $40 bones for compressing both Eibach springs for me though. The springs set me back $240 and the pads were $10 so it cost me around $290 total (plus I have to get an alignment). I just hope I didn't waste my money on springs that don't have any (or have very little) drop.

Final Grade = D+ (for now)

pnrfame

you have to let the springs settle. this will take some time, but once it's done, you will be impressed. be patient young jedi

lewylou78

I hear you, but how long do Eibach springs ususally take to settle on these cars?

Krytech

My story is similar. The shop that installed them actually panicked after they put them in because they said the car looks jacked up like a 4x4. They joked that they measured the "drop" (or lack thereof), not with fingers but with fists!

But when I picked it up the next day after sitting overnight at the shop it had settled back to about stock height.

This was about 9 days and 250 miles ago. Since then it has dropped roughly 9mm all around*. I'm only expecting about a 12-13mm drop (1/2") so I'm close. I had a two finger gap front & rear before. Now I'm down to one and a half finger gap all around.

* It's not settling perfectly even, the passenger front is about 2mm higher than the driver's side and the rear is the same but it's the driver's side that's higher. I'm hoping that when it's done settling that it will be back to even all around.

EDIT: Just went out and measured again. Front driver: 1.3cm drop, front pass: .9cm, rear driver: 1.2cm, rear pass: 1.1cm drop. So in about 10 days and 330mi, I've dropped about what I was hoping for. Now if it can just even back out.

dynomite05

Shouldn't take more than a few hundred miles to settle

lewylou78

Cool, it's only been 2 days and about 25 miles for me so far, but I'll put some more miles on it tomorrow at highway speeds.

The lot at work is level so I should have a better idea on how things look tomorrow I guess.

angeloxnet

same reaction for me, i got the eibach's and saw it out of the shop and almost cried lol
it was higher than stock, but now they have settled and look good, i also went with the lower spring pad in the rear to give it a "level" look.

just be patient.

E92-Lighting

coilovers are the best hands down

Krytech

obviously... and at 5x to 12x the expense they better be!

lewylou78

Well, after 7 days and 185 miles, the Eibach Pro-Kit springs looks like this on my car:







This is the best pic I could get right now. There is about a 2 finger gap front and rear. I'm actually glad I put the #4 pads (17mm) on the rear because the gap is beginning to look even front and rear which is what I wanted. I just hope the front drops a little bit more. The ride is a little bit harsher now, but not by much. The handling is a little better than stock. The steering response is not as sharp as before, but an alignment should fix that. I'll put a few more miles on the car before getting an alignment done.

NEW FINAL GRADE = C+

albert101

Thanks for the updates. How's your car driving now with the eibach's on for some time already?

Sportstick

I'm sure I am in the minority, and recognize and respect the different personal preferences, but this whole topic is a mystery to me. I've read several threads about spending large amounts of time, effort, and money to change the ride height, with results that are unnoticeable unless clearly pointed out and require a ruler to realize. So, springs get changed with ride deterioration and moderate dynamic improvement, but almost no one seems to make the change that actually improves handling a lot, but has no effect on ride height and essentially none on ride comfort...specifically, upgrading the antisway bars! Aren't these cars mostly about great driving? I get and participate in visual changes that really make a difference, but I just don't get the huge focus on minutiae, tiny changes in ride height (or flush door pins, for that matter.) versus actually making the car handle significantly better???

As I said, probably a minority opinion here from one of the middle states "old guys" who may just not "get it".

Krytech

+1

The anti-roll bars are definitely the best mod I've done on the car to date. Even when you factor price in, it's a great value, probably second only to adding a backup camera for $150

I did their springs too and got just the right drop for me. I didn't want it to look obviously dropped and I can't really tell if the ride quality has been reduced because our roads suck around here anyways...

C230Ak

It is a pretty small change but standing back and looking at the profile of the car, an inch, give or take, of difference in that wheel well gap can make a car go from stock "meh" to "hot damn" svelt.

I have a good excuse to go with aftermaket springs that give slight differences in ride quality; two of my springs have snapped!

C230Ak

Also, can anyone attest to the ride quality on Eibachs with stock struts vs a stiffer aftermarket strut? I'm a little nervous about getting some bounciness as a result of an underdamped spring if I stick with stock struts. I wish I knew the spring rates of the stock and Eibach pro kit springs...