When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i was on the fence, a bit nevous to taking apart a fairly expensive car (at least for myself). but i took the plunge. didnt see any DIY really but i went with it.
I just completed this yesterday very very easy install. im not a car tech savy guy per say.. i can do a basic oil change and things on that scale. total time was 3 hours. once you finish one side the other side is much easier. with that being said...
Front struts came out with one bolt at the bottom of the strut and the three in the engine bay. unclip the abs lines. (Jack the other side up a little to level the arms out. Then have someone put some pressure down on the arm or the brake caliper pushing down.. and with a little wiggle the strut slips out.) Simple, compress spring. take top bolt off and replace spring. Put back in. ive seen another shop with pictures on taking off the spindle (i think its called) so its tilts out.. however, that wasn't necessary to do at all not sure why they did that.
for the Rear it was easy too. One bolt on the inside (toward the middle of the car) that connect the arm. Take that out and the arm will swing down open (let down with another jack under the arm as there will be tension from the spring). Lower it slowly. Replace with new spring. Boom finished. Took me about 3 hours. Very simple.
Neumatic tools make things faster but not necessary by any means.
ride quality seems about the same.
H&R 1.2" drop front and back from tire rack. looks great.. i just ordered 20's today and they should be in any day to complete my look. for now it was on the 19" black amg rims in this photo
btw: these rims and tires are for sale. come off tomorrow perfect condition. 200 miles on the tire. they are brand spankin new runflat pirellis and 19" amg black multispoke rims that come from the factory.
before pic for reference:
Last edited by blackedbenzo; Dec 7, 2015 at 06:01 PM.
How do you find the extra drop in terms of clearing kerbs and speed bumps etc.; causing any issues?
parking curbs i always look out for and dips and driveways i always take at an angle... its no issue at all for me as im used to lowered cars. i wouldnt recommend going straight at a dip or driveway, you probably would scrape.. but it is only 1.2 inches.. so its not that drastic
Nice! Do you have the torque values? Did you use thread locker? Glad it's not too hard, just need two jacks basically and some sockets. Do you recall what sizes you needed?
Nice! Do you have the torque values? Did you use thread locker? Glad it's not too hard, just need two jacks basically and some sockets. Do you recall what sizes you needed?
no values. i just kept track of all thread counts to keep them same tightness. all lock nuts so they will be good.
for the front one side was a 21mm wrench and the other side i want to say i used 24mm on the neumatic gun. (the lower bolt) the top i dont remember all three are the same its a bit smaller.
the rear is an alan on one side and another ratchet or wrench on the other (the neumatic wouldnt really fit so had to use a cheater bar creativity to break them loose). the exhust is kind in the way as you pull the bolt out but its rubber mounted so you can kind of push it out of the way as you loosen it. also forgot to mention there is a plastic cover on the rears you must remove. (just squeeze the clips and it pops out). the rears you can just jack up one side at a time and use the second jack under the arm to let it down.
the front lift off and the opposite side i lifted just enough for the wheel off the floor.
Last edited by blackedbenzo; Dec 7, 2015 at 07:16 PM.
I might give this a shot. Couple of questions. Did you remove the entire front strut assembly from the car or just tilted out far enough to clear the fender? How did you compress the springs...did the loaner autozone spring compressors work? I read somewhere that MB needed some "special" spring compressors. Any special tools needed?
I might give this a shot. Couple of questions. Did you remove the entire front strut assembly from the car or just tilted out far enough to clear the fender? How did you compress the springs...did the loaner autozone spring compressors work? I read somewhere that MB needed some "special" spring compressors. Any special tools needed?
yes i removed the entire front strut. after the 4 bolts (one below 3 above) it is just sitting in there but its tight. so by lifting the other side up it gave it some better play. when you raise the other side, in return lowering the side your working on. then just press a bit down on the caliper and it should be enough to pull straight out. my buddy had an all in one spring compressor. i borrowed that it was one bolt that pulled together all four pieces to compress, which was MUCH easier then the autozone kind. but they do the exact same thing so yes that will work if you need go buy it and return it, or rent it.)...
Here is the ONE bolt below the strut to undo and unclick the abs wires or whatever they are. the other 3 are under the hood.
i was worried i read that you needed something special tool as well. nothing special what so ever. i did see (and you can see this if you look in above the front tire) that there is a metal curved piece (not sure of the name maybe the spindle) looks like it needs a special tool to undo. however i didnt take this apart at all.. ive seen that a shop disconnects this, but its not necessary to do. BELOW I DID NOT DO. THE STRUT CAN SLIP OUT WITHOUT DOING THIS, but i think thats the special tool people are referring too.
i found the picture that i saw for this part that i did NOT do. ^^^
hope this all makes sense. fireaway if you have more questions. pardon my lack of knowledge of the names of pieces on the car.
Last edited by blackedbenzo; Dec 7, 2015 at 09:42 PM.
hopefully this helps clarify the rear and not complicate it.
here is the only rear bolt (on the right, middle of the car) to remove and additional jack stand set up would be underneath the bolt your taking out to hold any pressure the spring is wanting to push down. (it may not be neccesary but i did it to be safe.).
again not my pictures.
Last edited by blackedbenzo; Dec 7, 2015 at 09:34 PM.
Thanks! I was holding off on springs because shops want $500+ for install, but you make it look pretty easy. Dumb question but are the jack points on this car obvious? I think some of them need a special block to not mess up the unibody rail.
Thanks! I was holding off on springs because shops want $500+ for install, but you make it look pretty easy. Dumb question but are the jack points on this car obvious? I think some of them need a special block to not mess up the unibody rail.
Perhaps it's not the "correct" way but I didn't use an adapter. No problem glad I can help. I just used the jack points right on the side skirts behind the front wheels for the front and in front of the rear wheels for the rear. Didn't use any special piece. Just a jack and a rectangle solid piece of wood size same size as the rectangular jack point is. Just make sure it's lined up. Go up slow. Listen for any creaking watch all body lines to ensure your lined up and nothing's moving.
Looks awesome!
I'm still on the fence with H&R, lowered my last car with H&R on my Infiniti Q50s and both struts on car blew out 2.5 years into my 3 year lease.
Had no problem with Eibach ProKit on the previous car before that, not sure if just bad luck or if it's because H&R was a little more aggressive of a drop compared to Eibach.
Looks awesome!
I'm still on the fence with H&R, lowered my last car with H&R on my Infiniti Q50s and both struts on car blew out 2.5 years into my 3 year lease.
Had no problem with Eibach ProKit on the previous car before that, not sure if just bad luck or if it's because H&R was a little more aggressive of a drop compared to Eibach.
Interesting maybe cause it was a "super sport springs" (the lower one then the "sport springs"). The ones I have on the Benz are 1.2" front and back "sport springs".
On my bmw I had the H&R and had no issues either. Thanks for the compliments
Any long term updates on these springs? For example tire wear or leaking shocks? Coming from w204 c350 4matic on super sports that killed my wallet. About to order sport springs for my new (2015) c400 and get a few seasons out of the OEM rubber.
I’m curious, how’s the ride quality of those springs ? I’ve always liked how lowered cars looked, long story short , I’ve always been into “tuner” cars but I grew out of that scene. I wanted something “luxurious “ so I just got a 16’ C300. Anyways I had a Subaru before this which was pretty slammed to the floor and although it looked nice, the ride quality was terrible . Which at the time I didn’t care for . But I’ve seen slightly lowered C300 which look nice but idk if I want to start messing with mine . Like is it bouncy or stiff ? Or would you say it feels like stock quality ?
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
