vogtland springs. bilstein sports. 2 down, 1 to go. what spring pad configuration should i be using to make sure my car looks "level," with even wheel gap front and rear. i'll be running 18x8s and want to lower the car as much as possible, with as little gap remaining. (only enough so that i can turn the front wheel, and be able to occasionally carry 4 people in the car). talked to sander at TWS (thanks cali) and he's suggesting the front pad with 1 bump HIGHER than the rear since he says vogtlands lower the car more in the front. so should i be going with bump 2 front, 1 rear or bump 3 front, 2 rear for the look im going for? any pics would be awesome. thanks

 

Common stock configuration is 3 front and 2 rear. 1 all around would probably be too low and may cause problems when you have people in the back seat , so try going 2 front and 1 rear.

 

Really depends on your wheel size as well.

My friend had Vogtlands & Bilstein Sports, he had PAD#1 all around. It rubbed in the back when he had to many people in the car. Then again, that was a W201 and it might be slighty different for a W124. I would suggest 2 in the front and 1 in the rear. What size tires are you running?

 

18x8 et 35 wheels with 225/40/18 tires.

 

Bump pads you'll have to play around with. Every car is somewhat different when they get lowered. I would go bigger up front becuzz Sander is right Vogtlands will drop the front more. But at the same token Chris * will know what I'm talking about your new set-up will settle in about 1/4" to 1/2" more after about a month of driving. So adjust and dial in your bump pads then. You might have to roll your front fenders, no biggie...I didn't have to and I'm running 18.8.5's. I had two people in the back plus 2 rims & tires in the trunk no rubbing.

~Cali

 

Yup, after a month of driving the Vogtland springs will settle in and lower about a quarter to half a inch. You'll noticed especially in the rear, since that finally lowered nice.

 

Is it a must to get slimmer pads or can you use the original factory ones in the car? I'm not looking for the ultra lowered look, just a lowered stance and better handling.

 

No, it is not required, the stock pads will be fine.

 

Although the stock pads will work, I think you should spring for new pads. My original pads had deep grooves from where the springs buried themselves in the rubber. New pads will give your new springs a nice area to seat themselves in new rubber. You might as well take this opportunity to replace some of the rubber on your suspension.

My 1995 E320 had 3-bump pads all around when it was stock. When I changed the springs, I started with new 1-bump pads all around, but I ended up with 1-bump front and 3-bump rear. My goal was to achieve a symmetrical drop with my Eibach springs. The Eibachs are just the reverse of the Vogtland springs. The Eibachs lower the car more in the rear, so with 1-bump all around, my car looked like was carrying a big load in the trunk or that my springs were old and broken down in the rear. I think a 1-bump difference would also be OK, but I did a lot of measuring when I had 1-bump all around and thought the 2-bump difference was what I needed. I wanted to be sure to avoid the lower rear look, because you loose the original sporty wedged look of the E320 and because to me it makes the car look old and broken down.

FYI, I read on the forums that the 5mm difference in pad thickness can translate to about a 7mm difference at the fender lip. Although in some of the AMG fitment literature I have seen it says that the 5mm difference can translate to as much as 9mm at the fender.

If others tell you that 2-bump front and 1-bump rear gives a good symmetrical drop with the Vogtlands, then I would try something you think will work the first time under the car. It isn't trivial to have to pull everything apart just to switch the pads and if you don't do it yourself, then it could cost you quite a bit of money. I suppose you already know some of this and that is why you are asking questions of the guys that are already running with your set-up.

I wish I had been able to get that kind of information when I was trying to modify my car. My experience has been mostly trial and error, but I did finally get to a good place. I also chose to get the K-MAC adjustable bushings, because I wasn't happy running so much negative camber in the rear. My camber was almost negative 3, when I had the 1-bump pads and no eccentric bushings. With the 1-bump pads in front, 3-bump pads in the rear, and the K-MAC bushings, my car has a symmetrical drop and my camber is adjusted to within specifications for the "sport suspension".

I have been reading that excessive negative camber is associated more with the Eibach springs, than with the set-up that you are going to try, but I am still not completely convinced that negative camber is not directly related to the amount of lowering, regardless of the type of springs. I will be interested to know how much your car ends up being lowered with your new set-up and also what the rear camber turns out to be.

Please let us all know how everything turns out.

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I just thought of something after digesting what I read about the drop with Vogtland springs. The comments suggest that the Vogtland springs lower the front more than the rear. The comments also suggest that the rear settles quite a bit after a month of driving. If the rear camber is directly associated with the amount of drop, then it makes sense that the Vogtlands create less negative camber than the Eibachs, which lower the rear more than the front. In addition, if you go back for an alignment, after the springs have settled, you will probably find that the camber has become more negative.

With any set-up, I still think it will turn out to be the amount of lowering that dictates the amount of negative camber. Once again, I have to ask that you get back to us at the forum with information about the amount of lowering and the alignment numbers for the rear camber after you switch your springs, shocks, and spring pads.

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