ZE55

I'm interested in lowering my C55 and thinking of switching the springs to H&R. I have read on this forum where folks - I think C32 owners - had to change the rear spring pads to #4 pads because the H&Rs caused the rears to drop much lower than the fronts.

For C55 owners who have H&R springs, a couple of questions:

1. Did you have to change spring pads - either fronts or rears - to make it work?

2. Did the ride get noticeably harsher with this mod, and would you swap them if you had to do it all over again?

Thanks in advance for any input.

ZE55

RW C55

1. yes, #4 rears
2. I havn't try on any w203s with full coilover kits, but from I'v read on this forum I would've saved up and get a KW V2 or PSS9..

ZE55

Thanks for the confirmation. If I go forward I'll swap for the #4s. I'll have to look into the other options you raised. Did the H&R springs not make enough of a difference for you, or were they just too harsh?

ZE55

RW C55

Well I can't tell if the H&R springs made the car stiffer or not since I installed the springs and new sway bars at the same time but i can definitily feel the bumps on the streets more than before. However its a bit "bouncy" when cornering.. I'm not sure if its caused by the sway bars or the springs or both.. but if i can find a good deal on coilovers i'd switch to it and see the difference.
Just FYI I'm very inexperienced as of car tuning.. i cant even tune well on GT4 lol, I'm just speaking from my daily driving experience.

hooleyboy

Im on my 3rd week since having my H&R springs installed. ride quality is nice. It looks that the back is a bit lower than the front. I might have to swap spring pads up front to make it look the way I want it. All and all its not bad, but I think the front should be a touch lower.

I'm running 18x9.5 rear wheels with 265 tires. Now that its lower you can forget about haveing 4 people in your car. It will rub real bad... at least in my case. All speed bumps should be hit at an angle, nice and slow.

Zeppelin

The H&R springs will not make the car ride much stiffer. I don't think you will notice much difference other than they are lower.

quaalude

Are you guys with H&R springs running on stock shocks or did you guys upgrade to Bilstein HD ones?

splinter

Zeppelin is correct.

C55 spring rates are higher than OTC H&R hardware - their load height differs.
Have had favorable results with their rear anti-roll bar helping to dial out our understeer though.

Discovered H&R springs include a mechanical ELM "feature." Their US importer saw fit to ship Kombi rear springs gratis so it didn’t look like I was hauling a thousand pounds of luggage when unladen. So much for TÜV approval. Have since ordered fresh OE C/CLK 55 front springs and #203 320 09 44 jounce snubbers to help facilitate reasonable wheel travel when getting after it.
KW's coilovers have been reported to be a worthwhile C55 performance upgrade, budget permitting.

Prefer proper dynamics and handling to merely appearing fast, but that’s just my perspective.


^ not mine

Zeppelin

That picture looks familiar. Brings back memories of years ago.