benz rider

So I finally got the Bilstein HD's installed and I am truly impressed!!
The handling and cornering is much improved with lots of control at 70mph. not a rough ride at all. very comfy. and the stance has remained low and actually has evened out, because from the back of my car you could see a slight lean to one side. now the car stands even and doesn't "rock" when I jump from stand still, nor does it "dive" anymore or bottom out, damn I hated that clunking noise. I will post some pics soon after I'm able to clean it up. winter weather nasty right now.

scale of 1-5, for my application, I give it a 5 just because of the vast improvement I got from riding stock height with stock shocks.

H&R's + HD's is the way to go for me.

benz rider

mine actually sits lowerr than yours imo. your ground kit makes up for it a bit, bu it looks like I may have you by a cm or two and I have no ground kit. I run 17's, what isze wheels are those on yours?

RANDY_P

I'm on 17 x 7.5" on 225/45/17

Who did your shock install? What did that cost out of curiosity?

benz rider

I have a couple of real good indie mechanics at this shop in town. I paid $158 for 4 Bilsteins and he charged me $160 ($80per axle) to install em.

I'm running the same size and tires on the front of mine too.

I think I need to explain something. I've been riding on bad shocks/H&R springs for a looong time. and I think the dead weight from my car on the H&R's without any support from shocks since mine were toast, they settled a bit more than the average settle. and when I added the *new* shocks, they just conformed to the settle that was already there from the sag on the springs from riding like that for so long.

RANDY_P

ya and H+R's are known to settle over time. I've owned a few pairs on other cars and they do settle noticeably over time.

My Lexus dropped almost another 3/4 inch over 12 months. It was scary how much it settled.

RANDY_P

PS where did you find the Bilsteins at that price? Damn that's cheap?

ohlord

bilstein sport shocks not HD's
the sports have shorter travel to make up for the shorter lowering springs.
You are going to pound those shocks to death very shortly.
B. You tires in the rear are going to wear out rather quickly since your camber going way negative by lowering the car has not be addressed as an issue.
Camber bushings or links need to be installed.
C.Your front tires same issue. Camber eccentrics
You will find that out when you try to get it aligned(which you needed to do when you lowered it)

benz rider

I got them off ThePartsBin.com

benz rider

I've seen mixed reviews on whether the ride is worse with HD's vs. Sports. some say they can't tell the difference. as far as mine, I have the H&R sport springs and HD's and I can't feel a bump in road and the ride is smooth and low. conering is like formula 1 and the car stays bolted to the ground without skattertail.

and yeah I already know about B & C. I try to get the "toe" adjusted every so often because I don't have the camber bolts and rear links yet. one step at a time.

zmatt

hyperbole lol.

RANDY_P

You'll be fine without the camber bolts as long as you have the toe in check. that's the trick.

I'm almost 2 Deg up front and 1 in back and over 10K miles on soft Michelin Pilot sports and there no real camber wear appearing yet. No joke. Not even enough to be concerned about. These cars have slightly less camber on drivers side and non square caster settings to offset crowns in the road. I'm tracking perfectly straight with no issues.

I'm certain there will be some noticable wear as mileage goes on, but by then I suspect It'll be so close to wear bars anyhow it may not even pay to flip tires.

PS you wanna see bad camber wear? Buy an e39 or E46 BMW with sport package and check out what camber wear is all about. BTDT. I had to dial it out with "Non sport" settings to chill it out.

rjp


PS- you sure you got those shocks for $158? You should be over $200 easy. You didn't get 4 REAR shocks did you? I can see how someone can get them reversed. I may get a set of your pricing is right just for the hell of it.

RANDY_P

I found a kick *** mechanic to drop mine in.

Only cost me a gift card from Game Stop and a candy bar...

Check out the dead AMG shocks and the cat-in-heat stance of my car after installation.

benz rider

you are correct. I got them for $46.95/per shock(4) HD's = $187.80

benz rider

damn Randy P, your old shocks look worse than my old ones and I doubt if mine were changed since new.

RANDY_P

they were wasted when I bought the car. The RF was clanking and had zero damping. it was just a metal rod when I took it out.

this car has sucked up some money since Ive taken it over, for sure but now it drives perfectly..

rjp

hozzzer360

So in a simpler form how will i lower my 98 c230 with 18in monoblock replicas with no camber wear or damage? i also only want to lower the car an inch or maybe a little more

RANDY_P

Just get some H+R or Vogtland springs and #1 pads for Front. Install and be happy. Don't overthink it. Hundreds of thousands lower their cars and don't get issues. Get a good alignment and be done with it.

The best place in Seattle (if not the entire universe) WITHOUT A DOUBT for a custom alignment is here- I would go there if I still lived in Seattle:

http://www.trulineseattle.com/

Doug and Byron are absolutely top notch. You will pay for it but after they are done you will have ZERO issues. You haven't seen precision until you have driven on their work. It's incredible.

Granted, with our limited adjustment there isn't a lot to do but at least they will put you into something that will work and not just whatever the specs are SUPPOSED to be.

rjp

PS Hozzer if you got Porsche's in the family that shop is where John Walker sends all his alignment work- I'm sure you are aware of them. They did my 911 up and oh boy did they ever.

RANDY_P

Oh, and if u don't want to pay for it you can also go to Les Schwab on Rainier in Renton across from the Vitamin store and talk to Aaron Bean or Steve Jackson SR (Managers)

Aaron is killer too.

rjp

Leeward

You can get more than twice the camber adjustment by fitting a K-Mac camber kit, caster adjustment too. And for the rear there is a camber and toe kit.

Both of these have bushes which outlast the OEM bushes.

hozzzer360

Okay thanks , im just trying to be safe because i have practicly brand new tires and im on a limited 17 year old kid budget haha
thanks a lot

idk if i will use a local dealership that gives my dad a lot of work and will most likely do it for cheap or someone who could do it right for sure

thanks again

benz rider

and it really comes down to budget. how much can you spend to do everything now? or build up to it? I'm building up to it. Here's what you need to do it all right and be safe and low:

1.Drop springs (H&R's, Vogtlands or Eibachs) ..there may be others. but these are the top 3. average $240 for a set. add labor for the mechanic
2. Shocks (OEM,Sport, or HD's) matter of taste and performance here. I paid $187 and some change for mine online
3. Camber bolts or KMAC kit upfront - bolts are cheap KMAC is expensive.both will work.
4. adjustable arms in the back - not sure on price here.

I started with the drop springs, and just recently put in the Bilstiens and I still need the camber bolts up front(or maybe the expensive but reliable KMAC kit), and the adjustable arms in the back. once I do those two, I can be rid of excessive tire burn forever. and I wouldn't go higher than 17 inch wheels on these cars but some people do go for the 18-19's .

RANDY_P

you aren't going to burn tires, not with those springs and that setup. Get a proper alignment.

rjp

hozzzer360

okay thanks, my dad has had TONS of experience with Walker so well see what I will do with the allignment im not sure yet

hozzzer360

Is a camber kit something i neeed... or if my car ends up sitting so low and i start to get camber wear then i should get the kit?

RANDY_P

So do I.

Ask yourself this: how many guys do you know who are actually lowered on springs actually spend money on camber correction? Ask around and come back. Not guys who PLAN on lowering, but have actually driven some miles on a lowered vehicle.

Every performance car to some extent will have uneven wear on the tires- even stock, that's why you need to rotate tires.

If your intention is just to lower within what the spring specs are on this car it's not necessary to correct camber. Yes, you will "not be in spec" but that will NOT equate to increased tire wear. Rotate your tires, it has to be done anyhow.

Unless you have some specific need for custom alignments for a specific purpose (auto-x for instance) save your money.

rjp