I have 2 questions......i have a 1994 E320 and i am putting my AMG 18x9 and 18x8 monoblock II rims on the car, and for lowering i want it to sit right over the tire, so what do you guys reccomend i do.. should buy some H&R springs then cut them to my preferable height, or should i just lower it the 1.5 inch the springs give me-which i think would still look too high and cartoony, with this big of a wheel.
I want to buy some h&r's and cut em but we all know that i will have to replace shocks more often.
i guess the real question is.... How often will i have to replace the shocks???? given i dont abuse the car and the roads in the seattle area of washington are pretty well kept. -what you think

 

Cutting H&R springs is a huge mistake IMO. Go with their next most radical set of springs, another brand of lowering springs, or do something else -- but cutting the H&R's is a no-no. In my experience H&R's usually drop more than claimed anyway; you might get a 1.75 to 2 inch drop - how do you know that you won't get enough drop?
No touchy the monkey!

 

what happened that was so bad w/ ur expeirence? And h&r claims it will lower 1.5 inch but i dont think that is going to be low enough because most guys w/ my car run those on 17" wheels and having bigger wheels i dont think it will go as low as it does if it had 17" wheels. i want it a bit higher than this E320 in this pic and i would want thicker tires...http://autoshow.permaisuri.com/Conte...20040406062649

 

cuttin springs,, are u ****ing kidding? man please dont cheap out.. cutting springs is a baddddd move... ill sell u mine for christs sake if u promise to not cut a spring ever in ur life

 

Before you get into cutting springs, I'd recommend putting on the springs with the smallest spring pads. Maybe look into Vogtlands, seeing as how they lower a little more than the H&R's? If the car still doesn't sit low enough for you, then maybe just use a thin piece of rubber for the spring pads? That will lower it further. Your last thought should be cutting the springs. It's the only thing you can't undo. I doubt shocks will suffer too greatly, as long as you run shorter, sport shocks.

The car will go just as low on 18's as it will on 17's, as long as the tire diameter is conserved. I'd actually think the car would appear lower on 18's, just because of a perspective thing.

Check out my car. It's on vogtlands, with the lowest spring pads in the rear and the 2nd lowest up front. 17's. The front tires are already tucked inside the front wheel wells. On 18's it would look pretty crazy low.

 

What shocks do you have on there? and what tire size are you running? And how much are those spring pads? Installation cost??

 

look at my sig pix. the brabus wheels are 18's and the amgs were 17's. they were pretty close to the same diameter. i have amg springs so i have no idea what specs they are.

we did put in stock sized struts when i needed them.

 

H&R springs are extremely carefully engineered. They make springs for hundreds of cars. They make a range of street springs, a range of track springs, and a range of racing springs. They engineer their springs in each segment for an individual year, make, and model of car; and for a specific purpose in effecting the desired change in that car's suspension's characteristics.
They are progressive - which means in their case that the diameter of the spring coil and the space between each spring loop is varied through the total length of the spring. At the top portion of the spring they are constructed with wider diameter coils and greater spaces between the spring loops. They are engineered and constructed this way so that the spring collapses or compresses more easily when you are just cruisingso that the spring is softer and gives you a softer, more comfortable ride. At the bottom portion of the spring they are constructed with smaller diameter coils and smaller spaces between the spring loops. This is so that as the load on the spring increases (harder driving) the spring becomes stiffer and is harder to compress - which gives you the tighter or better handling.
If you cut the spring, you have to decide to cut off some of the top portion, some of the bottom portion, or some of each. And you have to decide how much, or how much in length each of the piece(s) that you are going to cut off will be. And you're guessing what to cut and how much -- and you have no idea what effect that is going to have on how the spring will now work. And you have to try and duplicate this cutting on both or all four springs. And once the cutting is done there is no going back.
There is not a snowball's chance in Hell that you are going to guess right. There is not a snowball's chance in Hell that you are not going to ruin those expensive springs that you just cut.
Complete waste of money, or you just ruined the suspension on your car - it's one or the other. Why? For what? You would have been better off not having bought the springs in the first place; or just taking them out of the box when they arrive and then admiring how pretty they are before chucking them in the dumpster!
That's why you don't cut springs. Especially engineered ones. Especially not progressive ones. And especially not expensive ones.
Do you understand now?

 

WTF, didn't Fast and the Furious teach you anything. By cutting the springs you completely throw off the spring rate and even if you heat them you risk the coils bumping together. You can always contact companies like Vogtland and H&R to create a custom set up for you but it ain't cheap. Pshh, cutting springs.....c'mon man wtf are you thinking.

 

K i did not know that, thats why i posted this...thanks for the help, ill look into vogtland and see what will happen, ill keep yall up to date.

 

...AND where could i find these Vogtland springs???

 

www.purems.com or if you live in socal I believe the wheel supply (tws) can get them for you.

 

Good. Anytime.
I do think that you should be able to find a quality lowering spring to get the drop that you want - without ruining your suspension (which basically translates into ruining your car). Happy Hunting; and let us know what you find out.

 

Should i go with the Vogtland sport springs?

 

If you want to achieve that lower stance than yes. I believe the audio springs that you probably saw are for vehicle are made stiffer for the extra weight sub woofers and audio equipment add while still lowering the car.

 

Okay, I'm gonna get roasted for this but here goes, I say go ahead and cut them to see for yourself the effects. Better yet, buy the aftermarket springs and have them on hand, cut the oem springs and reinstall, see for yourself what happens, if you don't like the results install the aftermarket set.

Just to clarify my "experience" with springs, I've owned and installed Eibachs & Bilstiens in my 92 190 2.6 - I've owned and installed Eibachs & Bilsteins in my 91 190 2.3 - I've installed H&R springs & Bilsteins on my Volvo 850R wagon. With my 2.6 I must have removed and F$#@&d with the springs about 5 times, so I'm very familiar with them, I actually cut 1 coil off my eibach springs and had NO problems, matter of fact the car felt exactly the same as it did before I cut them. The point is this, cutting a coil or so is not the end of the world and I very seriously doubt that you would even notice the difference. Everyone here will tell you how ghetto it is but the fact is I don't think many here have done it themselves so consider the source, yes they are engineered to perform a certain way but there springs, not very scientific at all, again try it yourself and see what happens.

 

You can get eibach or intrax springs on ebay right now for a couple of hundred dollars.

Not that expensive.

Install is not ridiculous, but can cost you money if you mess with it and are paying a shop to do it.

I have Neuspeeds which are simply rebranded H&R's and they are great for me.

 

just quoting that intrax springs are suppose to give you the lowest drop prior to cutting.