hey guys

long story short. i just put in bc racing coilovers into my w203 and got no wat near as low as i wanted. with the rear wounded the whole way down and the front can drop another inch or inch and a half but the guy who installed said i need spacers at the front if i want to go lower.

these are the coilovers

BC Racing Coilover Suspension Kit - Mercedes Benz C Class



The BC BR Type RN Series Coilover Kit features 30 levels of damping force adjustment, combined with full length height adjustment allowing an extremely low ride height, and rubber upper mounts in the rear. Upper mounts are not available for some vehicle models, and these vehicles will need to reuse factory upper mounts with the BR Type RN Series Coilover Kit.

The BC BR Type RN Series Coilover Kit utilizes enlarged shock absorber cartridges with specially designed shock pistons and rods to provide a broad range of damping force. The newly developed lubricant oil used in all BC Racing shock absorber cartridges assists in minimizing aeration and cavitation.

The BC BR Type RN Series Coilover Kit is designed for vehicles in which the factory front upper mounts need to be reused, meaning they are the perfect alternative for those drivers who demand a super smooth and forgiving ride while still enjoying superior handling.

Standard Features:

- F: Without Top Mount
- R: With (or Without) Rubber Top Mount
- 30 Level Damping Force Adjustment
- Height Adjustment System
- Exclusively Design For Each Application
- Anodized Alloy Casing
- CNC Machined
- T6061 Alloy Locking Ring
- SAE9254 Steel Racing Springs
- L-Shaped Rubber Washer For Reduced Road Noise
- Monotube Design For Maximum Performance
- Fully Rebuildable
- 12 Month Warranty

Vehicle Compatibility:

- Mercedes Benz C230 (01-05)
- Mercedes Benz C240 (01-05)
- Mercedes Benz C320 (01-05





is it just because they dont go low ? am i missing something ?

this is my car with the back wounded down the whole way and with the front being able to go down another inch to inch









i wanted it something like my mates merc ...



im thinking of compressing my stock rear springs and putting them in and just winding the front down all the way.

any sugestions ?

thanks

 

That looks like the perfect height to me, imo. Usually it's the rears that can get slammed. My fronts are cranked all the way down atm, and it's not even as low as my rears that are only halfway.

 

your car looks nice.

why doesnt the rear go down lower ?

 

Your friends Merc is way too low in the rear, he's totally ruining the handling of the car. MB designed the car sit at an angle for handling purposes. But have you considered changing the spring pads? Youre probably running #4 pads in the rear, try getting some #2 pads and changing them out. Also make sure that the upper rubber spring pad is removed so the the perch isnt on anything so it sits straight.

 

what are the spring pads ? and do i jsut go to mercedes for the spring pads ? thanks for your help

 

the springs pads sit on the bottom of the rear springs. MB made 4 different numbered pads for the W203 1-4. 1 is the lowest and 4 is the highest. You can order it from MB or maybe rmeuropean. Theyre only like 20 for the pads.

Its number 12 on the diagram. You can tell which on you have by the number of little stubs that it has.

#1 pad 210 325 01 84 5mm
#2 pad 210 325 02 84 9mm
#3 pad 210 325 03 84 13mm
#4 pad 210 325 04 84 17mm

 

Tell you the truth I think the drop you have now is perfect, it goes perfectly with your rims and everything.

 

thanks white horse ! but i think i want another inch off it.

and thanks heaps phister ! ill def look into it tomorrow. will i be able to see piece 12 easily ?

 

Change the pads, I wouldnt do any more drop on it, but thats how you do it..

 

I cant say much about your rear suspension, but what is the offset and width of your front wheels? You need an offset around ET 27 to go lower without risking rubbing the suspension or in this case, rubbing the front spring perches.

Rear looks great, front could go down a bit

 

If its any consultation I actually think your car looks much better than the white one [above] (wheel wise). Handling aside, I think that white one looks a bit like what people do to them Japanese cars ultra lows sports cars. Merc's have prestige which Japanese racers do not. The suspension setup you have complements it well.

Another nice one [above]. That's about as low as they should go looks wise IMO. I'm not sure about handling etc.


This is a pic of mine [below]. It hasn't been modified and is factory sports setup standard. Just to give you a comparison how Mercdes-Benz set's them up.


Yet, lancermr, at the end of the day, it is really about what you want of course. If you want it super low, don't let others like me compromise what you end up doing. I've learnt life is too short to compromise unless you need to (heck, I'd love a C63 but financed compromised me :-P). I always love to hear peoples feedback and comments, because sometime I think 'what was I thinking :-)'; yet the decision needs to be yours.

PS,
are you in Australia (assume yes by the .com.au on the white benz)? Those are not WA licence plates by any chance :-D

 

handling for mine is great still and the ride comfort is still nice almost OEM just a tad stiffer but great for DD

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to emply about handing for yours. What I meant (its 12:30 midnight so a bit tired) was that I can't comment on handling because I'm not mechanically inclined and wouldn't have a clue. I'm just a person who loves driving my Benz.

 

I know you didnt I'm just saying that even though mine is pretty low, I still have the stance angled downward like how MB implied to do it so my handling isnt compromised as to compared to how the his friends is probably.

 

Just to clarify: the spring pads or "hats" sit on the top of the rear springs. FYI: No pads are used in the fronts on W203s.

Pads in the rear are typically not used with coilovers.

I agree with phister that going any lower in the rear is going to make for some less than optimal handling. The w203 needs a slight rake ( front lower than rear) for optimal handling.

I wouldn't change it, but do what ya gotta do/makes you happy.

Cheers, Greg

 

Yea I was thinking about the perches or pads sitting on top after I saw the diagram lol I was thinking about the spring seat thats on the bottom

But Im thinking whoever installed it might have left the pads/perches on and when reinstalling instead of removing it unless his coilovers are just made to only go that low. Never dealt with BC brand.

 

Exactly what i thought but forgot to mention. There was a thread long ago, where a guy couldn't get his *** end low ( we could really go off topic on that ) enough after coilover install. Turns out, that sure enough the pads were left in during install and it jacked the rear a bit higher.

Definitely should take a look at that. Pull a rear wheel or jack up the rear of the car and you shoudl be able to see....

 

That's why I do my own work on my car lol. He can probably notice if it is still on too by looking at the perches, they be sitting at a weird angle due to the spring pad still being on.

 

wow thanks for all the help to everyone who has replied.
this forum is def the best for good help and advice.

anyway

no im not from WA actually from sydney

and yeah the height is good i like it, handeling is amazing. but i think i want another inch to clear off the current height

back to the topic i think im going to get 10mm 15mm spacers for the front n
wind it all the way down. my front set up is r19/135/40

as for the rear i will check if the guy who installed it left the "hats" on and if they are there i will ask him to remove it ..

anything else i should be doing ?

once again thanks everyone for their help

 

what is ET 27 ? my fronts hard r19/135/40

will that be rubbing if i lower it the whole way ?

what is yours ? your car looks like the height i want

 

like mentioned above, there should not be any spring pads in the rear when you run coilovers. the bottom of the spring sits in the lower arm's groove and the top of the spring is flat and sits on the perch.

and based on the picture you posted your front rim is already flush or poking out. adding another spacer would not be a smart idea.

 

ET is your offset on your wheels.

 

nice looking car man!