JRB1015

Hey everyone I'm a noob and very excited to be on here! First, im about to pick up some rims for my W208 size 18 on 235/40 tires ET37 not staggered. Any suggestions on rear spacer size to make it flush? Second, I plan on getting the bilstein shocks that were o.e. On the 55's and try to even out the stance with spring pads. I believe I have a base or elegance, not entirely sure. Thinking about springs, but not trying to be too aggressive which is why I'm going the route I am. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

A1EK

I believe I have the same size wheel and tyre on my fronts, but with staggered wider 255 x 35 x 18.

For me to get the front flush I used 5 or 10mm I think , for the rears with my 255's I used 20mm and they fit lovely. With your less wide wheels on the back you could probably go wider to 25mm maybe? If your handy you can fit washers or some kind of spacers when the car is stationary (Dont drive it!) this way you can tell just how wide you can go by measuring the spacers used. Remeber to roll the car forward and back to allow the tire to sit properly when off the jack.

As for the height you can adjust to some extent with just the pads, but dependant on what pad is already on the car , (You can see this by the number of small nipples just visible at the top of the spring.
I think there are 5 pad heights you can get all progressively bigger.

JRB1015

Thanks for the guidance@A1EK, Im going with 15mm in the back and I seen 3 nipples on the back pad but I couldnt find it on the fronts. But I have the rims on and they look great! I have 2 5/16" (about 16mm) spacers on each side, they are universal and the ride sucks in the back of the car. I have some hub centric spacers for the w208 coming at the end of this week tho. I tried to even the spacers with the rotor and rims as much as I could but it still sucks. I'll post pics soon.

2PRECISE

i never used spacers for any of my rims , and im selling all 3 sets

jkiddd33

I have OEM Bilsteins from a 2002 CLK55, with only 20k miles on them..
They were taken off and replaced with Konis.

PM if your interested

A1EK

hubcentric spacers are a must to keep the balancing, also try and use alluminium ones as they are lighter.

JRB1015

Ok, so I went with 12mm hubcentric spacers on the rear and its 10 times better! And looks good too, I also did find the nipples on the front pads and there is 3.So 3 all the way around, I can fit three fingers in the gap over the front wheels and two fingers over the back. Im thinking if I put 1's on the front it will sit even, any thoughts? Not really trying to lower it just make it sit level and get sports shocks.

A1EK

Personally I think the stance always looks best if the car is even or at least lower at the front then back.

If you have #3 pad all round then you should be able to get it just right. I agree if you go with no.1 pad at the front then it should give you a 7-8mm drop which is about what you need to get it even. If you find the front is still too high, you will see that on the pad there is moulded line which I have used as a reference guide before and cut the pad down a little further to get the desired drop, it will give you a further 5mm.

PS do you have a spring compressor or are you getting someone to do the work.?

Front(W210 part number) :
210 321 01 84 pad#1 5 mm
210 321 02 84 pad#2 9 mm
210 321 03 84 pad#3 13 mm
210 321 04 84 pad#4 17 mm
210 321 05 84 pad#5 21 mm

Rear(W210 part number) :
210 325 01 84 pad#1 5 mm
210 325 02 84 pad#2 9 mm
210 325 03 84 pad#3 13 mm
210 325 04 84 pad#4 17 mm

JRB1015

Y
I completely agree, I think front lower looks better. I have my own spring compressors but not the MB ones, I do believe that they will fit. Im kinda hesitant tho because of what Ive read about it being unsafe. On the other hand I was a mechanic for 10 years professionally and have tinkered all my life, currently in production/manufacturing in the medical industry. So I'll recognize if there is an issue with safety pretty quick. Man, I really appreciate your help and input on this!

A1EK

Is the compressor the type that is inserted through the coil centre with a top and bottom plate, or the side?

I have removed springs myself using the cheaper side clamp method, I agree you have to be carefull, however if you were a mechanic then you will know to be very vigulant and ensure you take your time and take safety measures.



If you decide to cut the pads further I found using a metal hack saw was pretty good with the pad in a vice. The rubber that you remove can always be added back if you find you require to go higher again. I have used this method on my rears as over the years it has sagged and have added my own rubber shims to get the desired height, once they are in the coil housing at the top they cant go anywhere.
I have also run the car with no pads to get a lower drop which was also fine.

One further tip is ensure you fit the coil back the correct way up and surprisingly I have fitted the wrong way round before and the car sat higher on one side due to the way it sat on the car.

Lastly ensure you get the alignment done after you have changed the ride height. The front will need your toe changed slightly, if you have standard springs then your cambers should be within tolerance, if not then you can buy camber bolts to bring in the arms by 3mm. The rears should be okay.

tvn_408

Hi I'm also new on here and tomorrow I'm planning to put on euromags em2 rims that i just recently bought second-hand on to my w208 and also installing H&R lowering springs. I have a feeling that the lowering springs aren't gonna give me enough drop and I was wondering where I can get those #1 spring pads from? I've already tried calling local dealerships using the part numbers shown above, but they said that it wasn't spring pads, but something else. Tomorrow should i just completely remove the spring pads that i have now or is that completely unsafe?

A1EK

The numbers I believe are correct, the W210 prefix relates to the 1990’s – early 2000 E – Class which uses the same pads as our w208 CLK’s
I’ve not heard of any issues with dealers not recognising what I pointed out, however I have little trust in any dealers on their so called knowledge, I trust this forum more than the dealer,.

The pads are cheap just few bucks and you should buy perhaps 3 different sizes and return what you don’t use to get the car height just right !

JRB1015

The ones I have go on the side, I actually was under the car this past weekend and I think they will definitely work. Still a little weary though.....
Now I have the infamous rattle from exhaust so I gotta deal with replacing my cats, and the middle mount for my driveshaft. I just did both flex discs as well, but that middle mount is toast. Can I just slip the old one off the shaft and install the new one the same or does the bearing have to be pressed in?

JRB1015

I actually use google to zero in on most parts, that way u get different stores to choose from and prices. I believe when I'm ready im going to order from ECS tuning. Also when using Google choice of words is important, I search by putting in "spring shims" and also search as if I have a w210 e-class. I have only read about noise issues going to no pads. Good luck!

tvn_408

Thanks guys it worked. Google was actually more helpful than the dealership haha So i ordered 4 #1 pads and they shall be coming in next week. Stay tune for pics!!!