well i installed my H & R coilovers with the help of a tech friend of mine from the dealership. The install was actually not as easy as i thought it might be. you HAVE to have that special tool for the top screw adjustment.

Also, you are supposed to remove the rear height adjustment pad, but i'm not totally sure i'm happy that i did.

the rears are adjusted up as high as i can get them. Not sure i'm ok with the drop. I really didn't want to drop the rear at all. I may put the pads back in (after i modify them to fit the adjustment piece at the top of the spring) and then adjust from there.

the fronts are pretty low, but i think i like them. the car is NOTICABLY lower when i sit in it, and when i get in and out of it. I may raise the front just a little bit too, but i haven't decided. I don't want my car to look too much like kid who's trying too hard to look cool. hmmmm i'm 35 and lowering my car- i guess i'm still a kid.

THE RIDE. The ride has not changed much. I thought it would be much more harsh, but it's really not. You feel bumps a little more, but not much. The car just feels tighter. When i hit a bump, i feel it, but the car feels like a tank.

THE HANDLING. Really great. I took an on ramp to 422 here in Pottstown, PA at around 75mph today, and I'm not sure i'd have tried that with the stock.

THE LOOK OF THE CAR. i think it took it from a sporty mercedes to a sports car, very quickly. Like i said above, i'm concerned it's a little over the top.

DRAWBACKS???? i bottom out coming out of my development now, but in some wierd way, that's kind of cool to say "yeah she bottoms out cuz she's just so damn low to the ground...."

Here's pictures of before and after. Everyone's comments are welcomed.

I can tell you anything you need to know about the install as well......

 

sorry guys these pictures kind of suck. i had to resize them down from 8 megapixel....... not sure how to put bigger pictures on this site.

 

Good job car look great. I have had H&R products on most of my cars, great stuff.

 

here's the before....... in higher quality

 

here's the after...... in higher quality

 

ok, i give up, all my pictures keep getting resized down to nothing. well hopefully you guys will be able to see them

 

when you click on them they look fine.

 

I think the drop looks perfect, I would prob go a little lower if I had coilovers but im still a young punk. The whole car looks clean and sexy in black.

I cant wait to ditch these springs and get some coilovers installed this winter while our PA cars sit in the garage

Keep it up

 

nice drop!

 

Hey Tony512:

Nice to see a fellow burgh'er here. Welcome aboard

See yeah

 

Perfect drop!

Did you replace or paint the real calipers? They look very clean for an 03 model.

 

I paint the rear calipers every 4 months. makes them look like new. i use aluminum high temp paint. makes a huge difference.

 

here's the front end after the drop and after a wax...

 

do you have any more pictures of those Bremmas? they look great.

 

I dont have too many good pics, but ill throw up what I do have. I love the wheels but around Pittsburgh they bend like a tin can. Ive had this set for about 5000 miles and the front right wheel, the one pictured is bent badly in 3 different location...along with other wheels. Im one of those people who dodge every pothole and drive 1 mph over speed bumps but when I step on it and get careless I never seem to catch a break. The only upside is that the wheels are cheap to replace (as compared to a real set) so it doesnt break the bank when you nail some 6in deep pgh manhole. They fit great, no spacers, clear amg brakes...I can send you the link of where I found them the cheapest and purchased them if you are really interested

Ive been painting my rear brakes with high heat black paint for a year now, never thought to grab a can of silver...looks good

 

Are the C55s lower than the C32s stock?

how much did the H&R lower the car?

 

Looks great. Don't raise it up at all. It looks great lowered like that. It might seem a bit "slammed" at first, but you'll grow to love it that way.

 

the H & R dropped the front about 1.5 -2.0 inches. and the back about .5 to 1 inches.

not sure if the C55 is lower than the C32, but i know they improved the suspension in the new models. car and driver made note of how much stiffer it was.

 

there is a instal video that someone on this forum sent me that was really helpful. i save it if anyone needs it.

 

Didn't know Bremmas were so easily bent. I'm riding on the AMG wheels, and they've' been amazingly stiff. i have a slight bend in one, but it doesn't throw off my balance or wheel alignment. however.....i'm not running 19s and the problems you are having is precisely why.

 

The C55 is definitely lower, but I can't tell you by how much. I was looking at trading my C32 in for a 55 and watched one roll in from a test drive. It looked quite a bit lower but they told me it was stock.

I just installed my H&R coilovers and used rear spring pads (#4) rather than the adjustment collars because H&R sent the wrong bearings (or someone at Tirerack raided the box). It's too low for me and I will probably go for the collars, which I'm told will give me back .5 inch of rear ride height.

I will snap a few pics or I might just wait until I switch to the collars.

And one more thing, which I will post with my original thread but it may interest some here, is that my spongy feeling suspension, which wasn't
diagnosed correctly by the dealer or the tire shop that installed my new tires for me, turned out to be shredded strut mounts.

I love how this car handles now, and it is the first mod I have done. I couldn't be more pleased.

 

the rear adjusters (instead of the #4 pad) will lower you about .5 inches. i think i'm ok with my rear drop, but i'm not sure how my 17 inch wheels with snows will fit. they seem slightly more meaty and i don't have a lot of room now.

but i agree the handling is amazing. i just took an off ramp at 70 and the car was just hugging the road.

put some pictures of your car with the H & R. i'd like to see the rear with the 4 pads in. I"m still thinking about putting the adjuster on with maybe a 2 or 3 pad. my car is adjusted all the way up in the back.

 

My tires are up into the wheel well with the pads. The mechanic told me I would gain .5" if I put in the collars. Your car looks as if it sits higher than mine in the rear.

I live in a somewhat hilly area and have an incline to my driveway. I will bring my camera with the car and snap some pics on level ground, hopefully today.