C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Lowering (low/high)

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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 12:01 AM
  #1  
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Brabus w203
Lowering (low/high)

alright everyone once again i need some help... i have some 18" brabus monoblock V's on my car and i droped it on some eibach springs.. 1.3" in the front and 1" in the back.. my rims look really small still and im considering lowing my car some more in the front. from the top of the tire to the bottom of my wheel well there is still a gap of about 2" and i want to close that gap. a store told me i can either heat the springs or i can get a new thinner pad...(something in the suspention set up). NOW MY PROBLEM IS THIS... IM NOT SURE WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS LOWERING MY CAR THAT MUCH WILL DO TO MY CAR. I KNOW THAT THE RIDE QUALITY WILL SUFFER A LOT... BUT OTHER THEN THAT WHAT ELSE MAY HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.. IM WORRIED ABOUT AXLE PROBLEMS AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION AND SUCH... DOES ANYONE KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT SUSPENTION TO HELP ME OUT.. THANKS
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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 12:25 AM
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From: Encino
2002 C230K
yeah there could be some problems if you lower too far. by lowering the ride height you are making the angle of the linkage
(the car has a tri-link setup up front, 5 arm multilink rear) sharper and thus increasing point stress. could be a big deal if you hit a pot hole. i dont know what else is in the front in terms of suspension to help alleviate the pressure, but a strut tower brace would help a lot in alleviating the pressure. in the event that you do happpen to find somebody who makes em for the coupe, please let me know, bc i'm looking for 'em too.

but i'd love to seem some pix of the car.
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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 12:39 AM
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From: houston,tx
03' E55 AMG
if i was in your place

you have 18's and your wheels look small with too big of a gap.

my advice/solution: to do it the right way. you'll have to spend big bucks.

sell your eibachs, get h&r coilovers, get billstien sport adjustable shocks. sell your18's and get 19's or maybe even toy with 20's.

you will get satisfying results, i guarantee.

low & comfortable ride, big wheel look, and less future damages to your car. good luck
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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 01:34 AM
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From: Dexter, Michigan, USA
2002 C230k
Originally posted by dswildfire
I dont know what else is in the front in terms of suspension to help alleviate the pressure, but a strut tower brace would help a lot in alleviating the pressure.
I'm trying to figure out how a strut tower brace does a dang thing for the stresses the suspension sees by being lowered to far? All it does is keep the strut towers from flexing, which has virtually nothing to do with the stresses the suspension "sees"...
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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 05:48 PM
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From: Encino
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I'm trying to figure out how a strut tower brace does a dang thing for the stresses the suspension sees by being lowered to far?
sorry, if i'm wrong here, like i said somewhere else, i'm young and ignorant. it's just that when i had my altima, may it RIP, in the forum i belonged to, everybody was saying that strut tower braces help keep stuff from breakin when you lower the car.
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Old Jun 23, 2002 | 08:01 PM
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From: Dexter, Michigan, USA
2002 C230k
Originally posted by dswildfire
sorry, if i'm wrong here, like i said somewhere else, i'm young and ignorant. it's just that when i had my altima, may it RIP, in the forum i belonged to, everybody was saying that strut tower braces help keep stuff from breakin when you lower the car.
I'm not 100% sure myself, I'm just wondering what the heck a strut brace could do to prevent any of that damage. there could be some weird interaction thing I don't know about. I'm not a big fan of ultra-low cars, so I may be the one missing the boat here... but I've always heard about balljoints and things being overstressed, or steering geometry going haywire, neither of which a brace would affect.
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 12:41 AM
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i have the H&R cup kit, it's ride is very comfortable. the cost of it isnt as high as it used to be, i highly recommend it.
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 01:33 AM
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2001 C240 / 6-speed
How did you get Eibach springs for the W203? All indications are that they are not yet out of development (according to their web site and Tire Rack).
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 03:40 PM
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pel C's Avatar
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Re: Lowering (low/high)

Originally posted by brabus c
a store told me i can either heat the springs or i can get a new thinner pad...(something in the suspention set up).
For God's sake don't heat the springs - they'll never be right again, and the car probably won't ever be level. Same goes for cutting a coil off. Backyard mechanics work in their backyard for a reason, you know. I know it's tough to swallow, but if you want to play around with your "toy", spend the bucks and do it right. Of course, I have a sedan, and no intention of touching it....
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 05:25 PM
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C32 AMG
Re: if i was in your place

BRABUS C-

Post some side profile pics so we can see.

and....


Originally posted by lhoang
... sell your18's and get 19's or maybe even toy with 20's...

... low & comfortable ride, big wheel look, and less future damages to your car. good luck
...you're joking right!
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 07:49 PM
  #11  
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Brabus w203
sorry i dont have pics of the car developed yet... still has a 35mm camera.. i really need a digital... but as far as how high it is there is about a finger gap in the back while in the front there is a 3 fingure gap which is about almost 2"... as far as heating or getting a thinner pad, im just going by what a store named D2 told me... they do some pretty good stuff but im still kinda scared of what may happen from just the car being to low... their website is www.d2.la and also to patronus iono the springs i got were in a eibach box so i hope i got eibach on my car... and to phattbam how much did you get your cup kit for? cuz i heard from someone else that the h&r cup kit is kinda stiff.. but does anyone know how much stress it will cause on the car for being low?
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Old Jun 24, 2002 | 09:33 PM
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From: san diego, ca
C230 kompressor C2 C7
there is only a pad in the rear. the front uses a strut type with no spacer.
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 01:47 AM
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i got mine included with installation and 4 wheel alignment all for 1150...
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 02:05 AM
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Brabus w203
ok i finally got pics of my car develope.. this is how the car looks when i just lowered my car. do you guys think it need to be a little lower in the front? because to me the rims look kinda small with a gap this big. iono just asking pplz opionions
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 04:40 AM
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From: SonicMS/SF Krew
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all on you...

to me my front end looks high as well but my kit dropped the front 2" and the rear 1.4" take a look



of course mine is the one on the left...
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 09:30 AM
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Opinions? We got opinions!

My taste extends to brabus c - I think the height looks great. phattbam's rear end seems too low for me, but to each his own. And watch out for parking lot bumpers!

By the way, I'd hate to do one of those "find the differences in the two pictures" tests.
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 05:28 PM
  #17  
brabus c's Avatar
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Brabus w203
well personally phattbam i really like the height on the back of your car, makes the back wheels look fatt and wide. i want that same height for my front too ( where the top of the tire is on the bottom of the wheel well ) which means the front end will tilt a little lower. i think that looks really aggressive, but im still a little worried about camber problems, alignment etc... but i c a lot of mbz droped really low to the ground.. (i.e. E classes and older C classes) and im not sure why they are not scared...
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Old Jun 25, 2002 | 05:54 PM
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Harris's Avatar
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There're no front spring pads on a W203, only the rear, they are called shim perch.

I think the H&R coilovers for the W203 is not available yet. Even if it's available, I think your car will be too stiff. I've the H&R Cup Kit on my car as well....however, I'm just using the springs & keeping the AMG shocks. Although I am still not happy with the handling, I think my drop is perfect. So if you are looking for "look" more than "performance", I would suggest you to get the Cup Kit as well. Since yours is a C240, I assume that its a non-sport package, you might want to use the whole set instead of just the springs. My car's pic is on the C32 pic thread, first one.
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Old Jun 28, 2002 | 01:49 PM
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From: Orlando, Fl
black c230
small looking rims

Brabus c I used to have a set of two piece enkei rims on my oder car and they always seemed to look smaller than other seventeens because the inner part of the rim does not seem to extend all the way to the tires. I think that putting the mercedes ceter caps will help make the rim look bigger.

good luck
David
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