bheng

Hey guys. I want to use this as a source for the new guys that might wanna look into suspension earlier with the things and combination that's I have read all around.

Currently, I am looking into getting suspension just cuz im tired of seeing that wheel gap in the front of the wheel. My car has a car audio in the trunk so it already lowers it down to 1 finger gap but i have a 3 finger gap in the front.

I am looking into springs and shocks. I feel that coilovers are too stiff for my liking. I also use this car as my daily so i dont want it to be too stiff for my liking. I like the comfort level given by the stock suspension.

My goals:
keep the comfort level as this is my first priority.
Lower car for added stability and looks
Have a damper that is just right between firm and comfort.
I was initially fine with a firm ride however, i do realize that i do carry other people in the back, especially with the added sub. yeah you get the picture.

Equipment:

Springs:

H&R:
I looked into H&R as i see most members use this. It is a 1.4" and 1.3" drop f/r. Personally, i do not like the drop that it offers for the rear.

Eibach:
I looked into eibach (part # 2563.140) as they have a 1.2" drop on either side. i would like the even look and it has a less of a harsh ride compared to h&r.

Vogtland:
Finally, I looked into vogtland (part # 952069) . I hear that this spring is supposed to give a 1.4" drop all around but give the less harsh feel of eibach. I did call their SA. their springs for our model work with the C class as well. on the c, it would be a 1.2" drop all around and on the clk it is supposedly a 1.4" all around. but as dynotmite has tested, it only drops to 1.2" or so.

Shocks:

Koni FSD:
Initially, I was very interested in the Koni FSD despite what other members say about about the FSD. i wanted something firm around the corners and soft on the highway, just what i want. The problem with these is that koni-na does not offer this for our cars. It does however, offer it for the C and E class. The FSD is offered for our cars in europe but with mixed reviews of the shocks failing, i dont want to have to deal with an international site.

i talked to a performance shop recommended from koni's website that is supposedly focused on german cars. he talked me out of the FSDs. it is somewhat disappointing. but the SA said that with audio in the trunk and lowered springs, it would not be advised for our cars as there will be times where the the shock will hit the bumpstop and will auto correct itself to be firm. so when your driving on the highway and its supposed to be smooth over the bumps that i might actually get a firmer set up than i would like.

For the members who would consider the FSD. Supposedly they are really good addition to stock suspension. AND if you wanted just to keep your car stock, comfy, yet firm in the corners. I would only recommend the FSD for this use. Apparently running them with springs reduces the life and point of the frequency setting or something along the lines of that.

so scratching that option off for now, i will look into yellows and bilstein HDs.

Koni Yellow (sports):
for the yellows, it is adjustable where i can set either soft, medium or firm. this would be good as i can set it whatever way i want. the only problem would be that the koni's are externally adjustable in the front so thats super easy. but the rear is under the trim the problem is that is where the sub and amps are mounted so i would have to take apart and redo if i need to adjust the rear shock. this seems super tedious to do.

Bilstein HD & Sport:
the bilstein, which i heard are firmer than the yellows, are also available. they are not adjustable. Would be bearable in terms of ride harshness. Members use this with sport springs or stock springs both of which are DDable. The Sports are 1" shorter than the HD. Supposedly used for sport springs (i'm assuming for a harsher ride). HD is supposed used for stock springs but ive seen them intertwined.


Coilovers:
I have yet to do extensive reading on everything we have the options of:

PSS9- 9 way adjustable

• ranges, ive seen some for 1.4k to 2k
• supposedly by far the best coilover set up to buy.

KW V1- height only

• About 1.3k

KW V2- height and rebound

• About 1.9k

H&R coils (from the c-class)

K Sport- height and dampening

• made in taiwan. most members wouldnt recommend because valving, for lack of a better word, sucks.
• About $1000 from ebay

D2 Racing- height and dampening

• same as above

personally, i dont know what to do.
the problem now is just sticking to which one. the SA from the performance shop is also a koni & bistein distributor. He said that the bilstein are stiffer than the koni. the koni you can live with being soft.

If i follow the comfort route:
it would either be eibach or vogtland with yellows

If i want to go with a stiffer more performance route
i would go with the h&r and bilstein combo.

the reason for not wanting to go to the performance route is because i live in sf and i dont want it to be too stiff for the pot holes and bad roads every so often. not to mention sometimes, my parents drive or ride in my car, so their comfort level needs to be taken into consideration also.

as of now, i am leaning towards the comfort route. and i will update this thread with pics and reviews as i go along with this decision.

thanks to dynomite, m-benz, klihn, 2mchar and the many others that have given me an insight into this. i'll also post link to composite the info i found for the CLK on this thread.

thanks

Brian

dynomite05

GL, we definitely need a sticky like this. I'm sure a ton of people have gone through this research and it would be beneficial for others. I boggles me when I go into the w203 forum and they have 1000 stickies...I mean can we get at least 1 besides the picture thread!

bheng

+1 and i figured youd be the one to post first on this thread. lol

to the other members. please post your spring shock coilover set up and lets get this sucker sticked lol if you dont mind, ima look for pics of most of the cars i've seen with the particular set up and put them up for those to see. so the info will all be in one thread. =D

wazv6

Great write up Bheng.

2MCHCAR

+2. I know your looking for the aftermarket spring/shock combo, but I also have a heavy audio setup in the back. I'm running Bilstein HD shocks/struts on stock springs.

Thanks for going through the trouble of getting all this info Brian!

bheng

lol np. the update which i will do this weekend will include part numbers taht i researched. too lazy to look for them now.

but how come your car looks so low???
maybe its the clk 500 suspension tho.

2MCHCAR

It must be the picture because when I look at it, it looks like a damn 4x4!

bheng

LOL. must be the color of your car then. mine looks similar to yours except, i have the 320 body, brabus vi rep rims, but same drop i guess.

dynomite05

Can't forget to include coilovers in this thread

dariusf

Excellent thread. Would be great if people could post their setup, including wheel / tire info, fitment issues, spacers/mods/camber kit's used etc. Along with pics and a few words on ride quality. Would serve as a great reference and same many people from fitment issues during the mod.

I'm still thinking threw and I also want to retain as much of the stock ride quality as I can while adding some drop. So far I think I narrowed it down to Eibach + Koni Yellow + maybe camber kit.

bheng

hey dariusf,

its a good time to pick up some konis now because of their 25%off sale iposted earlier. tirerack has some good pricing on them. looking to save like 200 or so on the set up.

i will order my konis hopefull next week. this week is too packed.

to the other members. it would be great to post up your ride set up. i forgot to add that. haha that way other members that are newbs like me will quit bugging you guys on your ride set ups =P

dynomite05

Just hung up with Bilstein and it looks like the PSS10's are not available for the 209/203. Wanted to put it out there since it's a suspension thread..


Ohh, and my setup up right now is Bilstein HD's, H&R springs, #1 pads. Love the ride! Went with a better quality tire this time around and makes a big difference.

dariusf

Its Darius I don;t get them when I search by car, do you have part numbers available?

saltydizzle

Im on KW V2 coilovers, 19x8.5, 19x10 iforged daytonas. the ride after the suspension settled is surprisingly good even on stretched tires. also alot better handling. I needed a 5mm spacer up front to clear the suspension. the KWs give more dampening and ride height adjustments to fine tune the suspension than bilstein pss9 i believe. price on the KW V2 coilovers is $1900.

dynomite05

Come on man! Way to throw me a curveball..I thought I settled on the PSS9's but I guess not....lol

dariusf

How did you manage 5mm spacers given they are not hub centric as in no hub lip left to center the wheels after 5mm spacers are on? I could not even get 5mm on in the rear. I only run 3mm in the front now.

saltydizzle

lol sorry man....i know that the PSS9s are a great setup so you cant go wrong there. alot of people are running that suspension and have nothing but great things to say. in terms of adjustments i know that the KWs have more. but the PSS9s you can find for $500-600 cheaper i believe.

dynomite05

The 5mm H&R's that I had didn't work in the front but worked fine in the rear.

saltydizzle

darius...not sure how my guy did it but he did with a 5mm spacer and it worked well.

dynomite05

Where? I haven't been able to find them for less then $1900... I really wanted the PSS10's, spent a whole week just reading up on them and made myself all excited for nothing..

dariusf

I think the hub lip is larger in the rear (sticking out more) still I did not feel comfortable when I was trying to put the wheels on with 5mm in the rear couple days ago.

dariusf

++ all I could find was ~$1900 for PSS9 as well....

saltydizzle

I was just saying what i was quoted on the PSS9s from my guy who does my work. He quoted me 1300 and change. I chose to go with the KWs because of the heightened adjustability which i need to keep the rears from rubbing. it really depends on what you are looking for. if you want the dampening and are going to be paying close to 2k anyway i would suggest the KWs.

saltydizzle

were these hubcentric spacers?

dynomite05

Wow, that an awesome price!