W203/CL203 Suspension (Shocks/Springs/Sway Bars) Discussion/Upgrade Thread
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From: San Diego, California
2003 C230 Kompressor Coupe, 2003 E320, 2003 Chevy Corvette Z06
I've heard a lot of praise with Vogtland springs. I believe you get an awesome drop and similar ride quality to Eibach springs. No personal experience, but if I were to get springs again I would check those out.
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From: Fresno, CA
'09 A4 S Line
Dropping with springs on stock shocks is lame and your ride quality will suffer. If you opt to do it right with springs + aftermarket shocks, you might as well just get TEIN Basic coilovers for a couple extra bucks and get the drop just right.
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From: Los Angeles
2007 C230 sport
thanks for the response guys. i was just asking about springs. i know what coilovers can offer but i'm not looking to get coilovers, just springs. i'm personally not a big fan of tein either. my friends at JIC maybe looking at making a coilover setup at a later date, but i just need springs for the meantime for a catalog photoshoot as to why i asked specfically for springs =) thanks all for the replies
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
thanks for the response guys. i was just asking about springs. i know what coilovers can offer but i'm not looking to get coilovers, just springs. i'm personally not a big fan of tein either. my friends at JIC maybe looking at making a coilover setup at a later date, but i just need springs for the meantime for a catalog photoshoot as to why i asked specfically for springs =) thanks all for the replies
Well, if it's just for a catalog photoshoot. Go with the TEIN S-tech's. It'll give you the most amount of drop for just springs and the most affordable brand new.
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From: Los Angeles
2007 C230 sport
Oohh...JIC. They gonna charge similar prices to what they charge on JDM's though? Cuz if that's the case, I'm sure there are plenty of Benz owners that would go with KW or Bilstein over JIC.
Well, if it's just for a catalog photoshoot. Go with the TEIN S-tech's. It'll give you the most amount of drop for just springs and the most affordable brand new.
Well, if it's just for a catalog photoshoot. Go with the TEIN S-tech's. It'll give you the most amount of drop for just springs and the most affordable brand new.
any idea how much itll drop my 07 sport sedan on the stechs?
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
Whatever it says the drop is for a 230K SS on the website is pretty much what it would be for your car. My car was the R&D car for the 230K SS and I had updated sports suspension for 2004.5, which was maybe 1/8 inch higher than your car currently at most.
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
But the springs are definitely different. They tested the prototype 320 springs on my car and the front looked like I was about to take off compared to the OEM sport springs.
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From: Los Angeles
2007 C230 sport
Yeah, they haven't updated yet, but they changed the spring length on the 320+ engines (at least for the coilover setups).
But the springs are definitely different. They tested the prototype 320 springs on my car and the front looked like I was about to take off compared to the OEM sport springs.
But the springs are definitely different. They tested the prototype 320 springs on my car and the front looked like I was about to take off compared to the OEM sport springs.
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Los Angeles
2007 C230 sport
i just realized you had the 4cyl s/c model mine is a v6. hmmm i called tein and they were of absolutely zero help lol. the guy jsut kept reading me whats on that site. i said i have a 2007. and explained some detail he still was clueless. awesome 
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Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
They wouldn't know the answer to that because the R&D on it was done before the v6 230 came out. I mentioned that above also.
Okay, so to go over it 1 more time, once and for all, no repeats:
2003-2005 vs. 2006-2007
- weight distribution is very similar (very small change if any)
- mounting points are same across all chassis (possibly not the c55 - but not positive on this)
- Only reason the 230 vs. 320 was WEIGHT distribution and 320 was heavier (obvious reasons), therefore different parts for heavier v6 engines. And yes, the 320 is heavier than your v6 230.
Okay, that should eliminate anymore doubt. If you want more answers, search for the TEIN thread that I had started way back when I first did R&D.
Again, I mentioned this in another thread - Last time I went into TEIN to have my prototypes adjusted, they mentioned that the compatibility between the 230K coupe, sedan and 230 v6 model should be the same. The heavier v6 (320, 350) should be the same.
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From: Fresno, CA
'09 A4 S Line
This is absolutely not true. No offense, but it does no good comparing your BMW suspension to ours. What might not make a difference to your shocks may make a difference to ours. FYI - I had Eibach springs on my stock shocks and the ride felt very much like stock at first, but began to get harsh after a few months, then my shocks started squeaking and the ride was awful. I've been running TEIN Basic coilovers (matched spring/shock combo with exactly lowering FTW) over a year now without any problem. You obviously don't know much about W203's, so PLEASE don't act like you know what you're talking about and give out bad advice to the n00bs.
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GMC - Miata - Trek - P-Car
OE W203 dampers are essentially impotent for any spirited encounters. When higher rate or reduced ride height springs are factored in the performance equation, we’re even more SOL.
If only one could install a prepped E46/92 M3 suspension on an AMG…
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From: Seattle
w203 m112
Okay, i posted on a different forum and got no response.... Maybe posting here will yield some responses.
crazy question:
w209 and w203 share the same suspension, right? I know the brakes can be swapped over, but can CLK 63 black series suspension be swapped over? :x
crazy question:
w209 and w203 share the same suspension, right? I know the brakes can be swapped over, but can CLK 63 black series suspension be swapped over? :x
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Fresno, CA
'09 A4 S Line
Super Moderator Alumni
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
Moderator Alumni
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From: Seattle
w203 m112
Super Moderator Alumni
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,684
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From: West Los Angeles
Midnight Blue 2004.5 C230 Kompressor Sport Sedan. 2002 w210 E320, 2009 w211 E350 Sport
Adding the CLK Black series suspension (if at all possible), wouldn't change the body dimensions/wheel wells of the w203, so you'd still be subjected to the same setups for width.Like Blake said, only way to increase the width would be to go widebody.
