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good to hear you got the rear one installed, I don’t remember hearing of anyone else installing the rear sway yet. I wonder if front and rear strut tower braces would do much on these cars once converted to coilovers...
I thought about that too. I saw someone mention it in another thread. Not a lot of room under the hood in the CL55 and not sure how you would handle the back with the strut top location but it would be interesting to see.
Just got the rear swaybar in! Didn’t remove the exhaust or anything. Just dropped the rear subframe and let it rest on the exhaust. Pulled all the lines and brackets and routed it in. It took some persuading with a long pry bar between the subframe and the underside of the body while maneuvering it through but I got it in. All with the car on 4 jack stands and completely alone. YellowSpeeds due to arrive on Thursday. I wanted to be able to just mount them up when they arrive. Only thing left from the ABC now is the line that goes over the bellhousing. I got all the bolt out except for one. Been playing twister under the car trying to get at it. There were 4 total.
That is great news !
bad you din't make some pictures
mine is standing in the garage since 3 years
gonna fit it today !
I had this done completely in 2015 or 16 and posted the whole ordeal in the w220 forums on my S55. I still own the car, don’t drive it anymore because it just terrible. The ride is atrocious, and in hindsight I wouldn’t of touched the suspension, and just changed the abc pump. Interested to see what you guys figure out about the spring rates!
I had this done completely in 2015 or 16 and posted the whole ordeal in the w220 forums on my S55. I still own the car, don’t drive it anymore because it just terrible. The ride is atrocious, and in hindsight I wouldn’t of touched the suspension, and just changed the abc pump. Interested to see what you guys figure out about the spring rates!
I partially agree with you, today, on the next car I would try to maintain ABC too or spend money on a real racing suspension, price is around 10.000 $
I had this done completely in 2015 or 16 and posted the whole ordeal in the w220 forums on my S55. I still own the car, don’t drive it anymore because it just terrible. The ride is atrocious, and in hindsight I wouldn’t of touched the suspension, and just changed the abc pump. Interested to see what you guys figure out about the spring rates!
what kit did you buy and how do you describe the problems? I believed the S class coilover conversions were less problematic than w215 because they are a more popular car eith more aftermarket support ..
Not a lot of suspension travel with the car on jack stands. I’ll be sitting it on the ground tomorrow after replacing the flex disk an heat exchanger pump. Suspension install is complete with front and rear sway bars installed.
Just completed the install yesterday with Both Front and rear sway bars 20k front springs 16k rear. I love it! I know there’s been a lot of talk about unstableness butI don’t see it. I did have to raise the car up about 3/4 inch all the way around due to getting some scrape. I think I was just overly ambitious with the “low” there is definitely a difference in the feel from the artificial floatiness of the ABC system but not bad at all. Currently set at full hard for fronts and 3 clicks from full hard in the rear. I may crank the rears up to full hard as I’m not looking to replicate the ride quality of the ABC. Looking for more of a tight ride. With the weight of the car, even on full hard it soaks up the bumps really well. More of a sports car feel. My review is only based on one drive to and from work so I’ll keep you all updated as I encounter different road conditions/weather. Now I have to get the red ABC light off the display. I’ve heard about both the fuse removal and control module methods. Do both give the same results?
the main feeling of instability/bounce for example, is most present I would say above 40 mph, over substantial “waves” or dips in the road
there’s a bridge by me in the Tampa, Florida area that is notorious for being very “wavy”, all cars can visibly be seen bouncing up and down as you traverse the bridge. The bridge is called the bayside bridge. Local government is very upset with how bouncy the Ride is on the bridge, given the cost. Over and over again the road has smooth dips and small hills over the bridge pylons. Almost as if the bridge “settled” in the short spans between the support beams
certain cars can absorb these waves no problem, not many sports cars (stiff springs) can handle the waves very well. Larger vehicles such as trucks with leaf spring setups can fly over the waves with almost no bouncing at all.
with abc and the strutmasters kit, going over the bayside bridge was normal. But when I installed the yellowspeed kit, dips and bumps are much less forgiving.. at a certain speed, it can almost feel like the rear of the car wants to lift off the ground!
tried a bunch of settings, and some different springs but no luck.
hopefully the front and rear sway bars you’ve installed can actually get this kit into “acceptable” territory. It would be good news
the main feeling of instability/bounce for example, is most present I would say above 40 mph, over substantial “waves” or dips in the road
there’s a bridge by me in the Tampa, Florida area that is notorious for being very “wavy”, all cars can visibly be seen bouncing up and down as you traverse the bridge. The bridge is called the bayside bridge. Local government is very upset with how bouncy the Ride is on the bridge, given the cost. Over and over again the road has smooth dips and small hills over the bridge pylons. Almost as if the bridge “settled” in the short spans between the support beams
certain cars can absorb these waves no problem, not many sports cars (stiff springs) can handle the waves very well. Larger vehicles such as trucks with leaf spring setups can fly over the waves with almost no bouncing at all.
with abc and the strutmasters kit, going over the bayside bridge was normal. But when I installed the yellowspeed kit, dips and bumps are much less forgiving.. at a certain speed, it can almost feel like the rear of the car wants to lift off the ground!
tried a bunch of settings, and some different springs but no luck.
hopefully the front and rear sway bars you’ve installed can actually get this kit into “acceptable” territory. It would be good news
I did take a long spirited drive after work today. Some highway, rough downtown street, and uneven pavement. With the weight of the car, you can almost feel the suspension bushings doing their work. It’s a hard to sensation to put into words. Not bad or unstable or anything but it doesn’t hide anything like ABC. I would like to begin trying to source certain polyurethane suspension bushings to tighten it up. Not all of them but try to systematically dial out that squishy bushing feeling. I‘m beginning to believe that that is part of what makes ABC so smooth and good at absorbing bumps/impacts. Just doesn’t translate well to a coilover set up. I wish there was a good way to mount a GoPro under there and watch the suspension behavior as you traverse different surfaces. Sounds like a project for me...
Hi there , I have a 2003 CL500 and my ABC is out my husband was going to do the conversion to coil overs but never did instead he pulled off the rear struts replaced them with struts from an air ride s class and never did anything to the front. I have very little income now that we are divorced but I’ve got a little money saved up to buy a coilover suspension. I was wondering if you had any info other than strutmasters . They are kinda pricy. And I bookmarked this page so I make sure that the tortion bars get done like you did yours. Thanks any help would be awesome!
Originally Posted by pmercury
So, I don't have much time
I have been driving without torsion bars for a while with Yellow coil-over suspension
it was ok, not bad at all, but I wanted to make it better
THIS IS FOR A 2003 CL600
I am saying this because on my subframe, I had the place to bolt on the torsion bar ready on my subframe
all you need is to remove the ABC crap on those two locations and you can bolt on the fantastic sway bar from a W220
The ride will be 95% as good as ABC
here pictures and part list
good luck
Control Arms left and right
A2203308907
A2203309007
many aftermarket company's make these, don't be silly and buy them from mercedes
second hand complete torsion bar
A2203232565
Bushing Brackets x2 (and you need the two bolts)
A2203230040
result:
remarks:
don't forget to buy the two bolts and nuts
it looks difficult to get behind the subframe to hold the nuts but it isn't
your fingers will go there
buy the sway bar second hand from ebay
hundreds there !
Also, the replacement lower arms have the lower end of the springs connecting more outside, that increases the firmness of the coil-overs !
update After a 2 years experiencing, you must add this mod to make it perfect: new control arms mod
you won't regret this !
Read my posts before you go into the wrong direction with DAS / Xentry Diagnostics
__________________________________________________ ___________________________
Want to talk live ? Please install Skype and hit the little S (skype button) under my Username or just PM me
Hi there , I have a 2003 CL500 and my ABC is out my husband was going to do the conversion to coil overs but never did instead he pulled off the rear struts replaced them with struts from an air ride s class and never did anything to the front. I have very little income now that we are divorced but I’ve got a little money saved up to buy a coilover suspension. I was wondering if you had any info other than strutmasters . They are kinda pricy. And I bookmarked this page so I make sure that the tortion bars get done like you did yours. Thanks any help would be awesome!
PMercury’s post pretty much covers everything besides the coilovers. I went with yellowspeed. It’s probably the best balance between cost effectiveness and functionality for a daily driver. There’s some debate on what the best spring rates are front and rear. I forget exactly what mine are and my car’s currently getting some work done so I’m not able to go and look.
What do you mean by the center position of 4 on the arms? Is that for sway bar links?
i have recently replaced my control arms with those for a CL500, but instead, tomorrow I’m replacing with s600 control arms so that I can later one day install a front sway bar to see if that helps the ride any
Also trying to track down a “pop” noise from the front subframe/suspension area, perhaps like you mention in this post. I thought it would go away with new lower control arms, no luck. There is no play in the front suspension except a very minor bit of slack coming from what seems like the strut assembly. Tomorrow I am changing the upper control arms when I change the lowers to s600 arms hopefully that will help
I thought I would find loose/broken subframe mounting bolts in the front but all seems ok. Otherwise I have not been able to definitively track down this noise. Seems to be getting worse. I’ve heard of this issue being attributed to brakes but idk. I re-torqued the 4 front subframe bolts and the engine mount bolts. We will see if that helped tomorrow when I test the new parts
edit:that worked! Turning the 4 subframe bolts and the two motor mount lower bolts resolved my odd suspension noises, car may even feel a bit tighter now but I partially attribute that to the new upper control arms in the front
I've got a S55 that I installed Yellow speed coilovers on. I did install the front and rear sway bars, used from the junkyard. I have the most unappealing clunking noise coming from the front and I haven't been able to track this down. At first it was so bad, I checked the end links on the sway bar and the nut was so loose you could turn it by hand. I need to change the oil, maybe this weekend, but I want to complain about this because to think that the car I'm driving originally cost six figures makes me cringe when I'm going over speed bumps and hearing that noise.
I was already insulted going out in the morning and seeing the damn thing laying frame because of the hydraulic fluid leaks. Oh but the precious ABC you say? I got sick of rebuilding the valve block with new seals and getting covered in hydraulic fluid. I was eventually successful in getting the rear to stop leaking but the front plagued me so that was enough of that. I don't have a lift to work on my cars so it was always me fighting with several liters of hydraulic fluid that I would always end up covered in, resulting in me being sick for 36 hours.
All that nonsense aside, I would like to track down the noise because it seems strange that the car could have that much noise coming from the suspension yet still remain stable at 140mph. So this weekend, when changing my oil, I will check my nuts to see how tight they are.
Humor me and check that your front brake caliper mounting bolts are tight.
I chased this issue for months (long after coilover conversion) until I had someone stand outside the car and watch/listen as I rolled by.
I have yet to try this. So far, the only remedy I have found was a power steering line that was not bolted down and while having my neighbor turn the steering wheel to lock, i noticed that the metal bracket would snap up against the frame under the hood. Now that it's bolted down, I have one less clunking noise related to the steering wheel but the problem still remains.
I will have to get underneath the car and check the brakes anyway. They make noise and I have been thinking it was due to the fact I changed pads and discs a few months back, but I did not lubricate the pins that hold the pads. I'm not quite sure if it will be the source of the noise, should the calipers be loose as I don't believe they are loose at the moment. I do not experience any shaking or vibration while braking, even while doing so aggressively at freeway speeds.
Humor me and check that your front brake caliper mounting bolts are tight.
I chased this issue for months (long after coilover conversion) until I had someone stand outside the car and watch/listen as I rolled by.
I tightened the caliper's down, just a bit. They were not quite at 180nm, but very close. Unfortunately, this is not a good solution for my problem and I am super frustrated because when I have the car jacked up, I cant even seem to wiggle anything which would indicate some play somewhere. I've even been trying with a pry bar.
I've been reading this thread and dealing with a similar issue on a C215 500 with Strutmasters. We found 2 deteriorated subframe bushings causing the knocking. Full replacement of all bushings going to subframe remediated the problem and further eliminated slop.
Car has a front sway bar but the owner wants a rear. Are there any special instructions on how to install a rear, or can I just grab an S430 rear sway bar and drop links from the wrecking yard? This is an upgrade on a budget per his request at my garage.
I've been reading this thread and dealing with a similar issue on a C215 500 with Strutmasters. We found 2 deteriorated subframe bushings causing the knocking. Full replacement of all bushings going to subframe remediated the problem and further eliminated slop.
Car has a front sway bar but the owner wants a rear. Are there any special instructions on how to install a rear, or can I just grab an S430 rear sway bar and drop links from the wrecking yard? This is an upgrade on a budget per his request at my garage.
I have an S55 so that worked but I'm not sure about a CL. If they are the same part number, you just need to unbolt the exhaust in the rear, drop the subframe then feed it through. You need the brackets and hardware too.
I replaced the thrust arms on the front and most of the noise is now gone. I suspect the upper control arms need replacing and I could use new sway bar end links, but depending on what state the bushings are in, it definitely can translate into noise.
My 2004 CL55's ABC has been maintained and is riding GREAT but the grass is always greener.
What are these "$3500-$10000" options that have been mentioned in this thread?
I've reached out to KW and they are willing to create a custom kit for my car but it requires customer supplied measurements, and hours of R&D and while I dont necessarily have an issue with going through the process, Im more worried about getting something wrong on my end and the final product not being satisfactory.
If there are any performance oriented options, I'd be all ears.
I figure its easier to remove all the ABC while its still working and at least get a couple bucks for it vs tossing it in the bin when something fails.
My 2004 CL55's ABC has been maintained and is riding GREAT but the grass is always greener.
What are these "$3500-$10000" options that have been mentioned in this thread?
I've reached out to KW and they are willing to create a custom kit for my car but it requires customer supplied measurements, and hours of R&D and while I dont necessarily have an issue with going through the process, Im more worried about getting something wrong on my end and the final product not being satisfactory.
If there are any performance oriented options, I'd be all ears.
I figure its easier to remove all the ABC while its still working and at least get a couple bucks for it vs tossing it in the bin when something fails.
Open to options!
I no longer have my S55 which has the Yellowspeed coilovers. I definitely liked them while driving fast, but at slow speeds the ride quality was horrible. I think the shocks were not sized properly for a car that weighs two tons.
A lot of the SL guys seem to be happy running a coilover set from VVK, who now make a set for the CL and S-Class. These weren't available when I did my conversion otherwise I would have bought them.
I no longer have my S55 which has the Yellowspeed coilovers. I definitely liked them while driving fast, but at slow speeds the ride quality was horrible. I think the shocks were not sized properly for a car that weighs two tons.
A lot of the SL guys seem to be happy running a coilover set from VVK, who now make a set for the CL and S-Class. These weren't available when I did my conversion otherwise I would have bought them.
Its my understanding that VVK makes the SLR branded coilovers also. I inquired about them as they offer sway bars also but could not get any information on swaybar spec vs the S500 bars and who makes the power steering pump they supply with their kit
Its my understanding that VVK makes the SLR branded coilovers also. I inquired about them as they offer sway bars also but could not get any information on swaybar spec vs the S500 bars and who makes the power steering pump they supply with their kit
From what I can tell, SLR sells VVK coilovers but IDK much else. I did use the S500 sway bars on my car when I installed coilovers but what I can see from the pictures VVK has on their website, it looks like they are built fairly well. The only other option I know of is doing some kind of air ride setup.
If I ever got the chance to, I would love an opportunity to ride in someone's car who has used the VVK setup. I'll probably just add my w220 to the growing list of cars that I wish I never got rid of.
From what I can tell, SLR sells VVK coilovers but IDK much else. I did use the S500 sway bars on my car when I installed coilovers but what I can see from the pictures VVK has on their website, it looks like they are built fairly well. The only other option I know of is doing some kind of air ride setup.
If I ever got the chance to, I would love an opportunity to ride in someone's car who has used the VVK setup. I'll probably just add my w220 to the growing list of cars that I wish I never got rid of.
Im still touch and go on selling my car.
Its likely the way to go as the older these cars get, the more difficult they will be to keep on the road.
Took me too long to find a used door lock actuator that actually worked. Parts like that, not being available, will make these cars undriveable shortly.
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.
