Fifth Ring

I'm looking to lower the car and improve handling. But I do not want to ruin the ride.

rlee02135

how much do you want to spend?
i'd recommend TEIN basics, only $700. or you can get better ones like KW, PSS9 or H&R

IdriveFast

I had H&R's on my C32 from 2003-2005. They absolutely sucked. The shocks went soft unimaginably quick (stock rims). They became softer than the stock AMG shocks after about 6k miles. I replaced the shocks with new shocks and they went soft in the same amount of miles (with brabus front and rear sway bars this time).

I dont know if my experience was an isolated incident, but i thanked God for the day I went back to stock. My H&R coilovers were absolutely horrible. They felt great initially but then my ride became VERY VERY bouncy. And I am not a person who easily imagines a deterioration in quality. This was verified by my mechanic, and 2 friends who had not driven my car once between the first time my coilovers were installed and the time they went soft. They first impression was "you're car is alot bouncier than i remember. Now it rolls all over the place"

H&R coilovers for the W203 (during 2003 they didnt have a C32 specific application) did not offer rebound or stiffness adjustability in 2003. I dont know if they do now though.

Id go with Bilstein PSS9's or KW V'2.

Bif powell

If you search the forums, Bilstein PSS9s are commonly regarded as the best out of box coil-overs for this application. BUT, I've also heard that a nicely matched set of springs/shocks can be just as good for less money. I'm going to try the RENNTech springs first, since they're cheap and I've heard a great spring.

2QUIK4U

Go PSS9. Hands-down the best setup.

Zeppelin

We need to know what you mean by ruin the ride? For me the PSS9's and the KW's ruin the ride, but that is my preference. I currently have C55 struts and H&R springs. They are much stiffer than the stock struts with the H&R springs. I have sort of got use to this now, but anyone that rides in the car comments on how harsh the ride is.

CynCarvin32

You should try Carlsson RS's with Poly bushings all around. Thats a crummy ride!

The nice part about the Carlsson and PSS-9 is that it is adjustable. Honestly on softest setting the car is not all that firm. Plus you can dial out understeer more with an adjustable set-up.

SMG said he thought your car rode really well Zepp! He keeps saying I should just buy what Zepp has and give up a few seconds but have a car that does not cause tooth damage going to work!

Fifth Ring

I made that mistake with my A6. KW variant 1 coilovers were incredibly stiff and basically rode like I had welded steel tubes in place of the struts! You could jump on the fender and barely get any bounce. On a lumpy road, you couldn't even speak!

I'm torn between springs/shocks (cheaper, simpler) and coilovers (adjustable but complex). I'm leaning toward the springs in part because they will not hurt the trade-in value while I've had bad experiences trying to trade a car with non-OEM suspension.

ellery

I need to figure this one out myself.. handling in my car is not perfect, but I can work with it... more important is reducing wheel-gap and keeping the ride quality as close to stock as possible. I'm not sure what route to take though.

360_iti

Well on the contrary, I just installed H&R coilovers a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. When I bought the set, it already had around 10k miles on it. Please note that I don't track my car so I wasn't looking for a very stiff setup. Combined with 19" wheels, the ride is smooth, firm enough to drive in the mountains, but not too punishing on city streets full of bumps. I like it better than my old Kleemann springs.
If you plan to track your car a lot, then go with KW or PSS-9, that's for sure.
But for a civilized ride, go with H&R. If you don't mind Japanese suspension on your AMG, then you might be OK with Tein SS, although I've never tried it. My 2c.

Fifth Ring

I was also surprised to hear a bad review of KW. They have an excellent reputation.

360_iti

KW is excellent. Just not what I was looking for.
I know you hate to hear this, but it depends on what you're looking for.
Based on what you said, looks like you'd be better off with H&R. I wouldn't go with springs only.

Fifth Ring

My mistake. I meant H&R. They have a great reputation (as does KW).

360_iti

Yeah I figure that H&R couldn't be that bad.. otherwise they wouldn't let H&R be a part of this..

AMGV6K

i'm curious is the kleemann speed sensitive dampers, softens on normal driving, hardens when cornering fast...best of both world but it cost a bomb

yeuchau

yah, tein basic seems to be a good choice
besides, it's not that expensive after all

CynCarvin32

Well yes SMG's car is very firm but it likely is the nicest driving W203 around. It is a trade off. The bushings were what made it ride so poorly. The car losts ability to take the edge off bumps. Its not over stiff in the spring its just that the bump impact leaves very little to the imagination.

With stock bushings the car is very smooth when on 8 and 8 (almost max soft). The car actually is softer than it is stock but with better shock valving. Once you turn up the shock valving and make it stiffer for track driving you do lose the street ability but you can change all 4 shocks in say 5 minutes when you feel like some cornering fun.

If you want a car to fit 2 roles go for the Carlsson or PSS-9. It is a great system.

If you want to save money and have a car more "stock" Zepplins car is a great way to go. You can find some used C55 shocks and a set of RENNtech springs for not all that much. Zepplins car has been through many stages of tune and its current set-up is very creative and well done.

Doing just springs really is not the best IMHO. Some love it but I can say the car's oem shocks are not up to the task of having to deal with 1.5 inches less ride height and stiffer rates.

I see 2 paths here and from where I stand I think you have already sold yourself on the springs and shocks method. For you info there are no shocks offered for the W203 that are stiffer than those on the C55 OEM. The Koni's are softer, there are no sport Bilstiens, and the C32 shocks are not that firm once lowered.

With H&R bars and some sort of spring/shock/coilover upgrade you will feel a drastic change in the car. And it will be 100% for the better.

CynCarvin32

This idea of speed sensitive is a bit odd. They do not adjust to speed and instead they are firmer on low frequency bumps and softer on high frequecy bumps. So body roll, lumps in the road, and changes in elevation are met with nice firm valving (to control body motions) and sharper bumps like expansion joints, pot holes, steal plates etc are absorbed more easily. They simply have different sized valves in the shock and a plate that closes some off depending on the speed at which the shock piston is traveling.

I have not heard anything that great about that Kleemann kit and the 2 people that did have it changed to the Carlsson kit with in 1 years time.

CynCarvin32

Well its always nice to have people give you money to run their parts. Plus racing parts on that car have nothing in common with whats on the market for the W203.

Its pretty normal to see people saying the H&R kit went soft very quickly. Its more of a upgrade for those looking for style and not performance.

FrankW

for quality I'd probably go with Bilstein PSS9 or KW

for value I'd go with TEIN or H&R.

ellery

Can anyone comment on the ride quality of the TEIN basics? I don't want to "slam" my car, but I do wanna get rid of the ugly wheelgap.

m3_eater

Cyn's comments are dead on in my experience. I'm running RENNtech springs with stock C32 shocks, and while the improvement is wonderful and very noticeable in both handling and looks, it's still not enough. If I had it to do over again, I'd have put C55 shocks in at the same time. As it is, I may step up to PSS9's and sell the shocks. That, or sell the whole car and step up to E55 and a whole new world of modding

360_iti

I agree. I wasn't stating that we use the same suspension setup as those DTM racing cars. I was just emphasizing that H&R indeed is a reputable brand.

Nick@JleviSW

I agree, the PSS9s provide the best mix between improved performance and ride quality. In addition the rebound settings take all of 10 minutes to adjust and the ride height is fully adjustable as well.

If you aren't looking to spend quite that much on suspension, another option are the PSS' which are simply height adjustable coilovers that still take advantage of a preset dampening mode.

Eurocharged Rick

i like the E55 idea...i wish i could afford one right now...