the Norwegian

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2250514

lkchris

Really clean engine.

Good-looking battery, too.

Congratulations.

Daez_Nutz

Nice car. I love W124 coupes, and it looks great on 18s. The drop looks pretty good to me, is it too low for your tastes or riding harsh? I've heard great things about the full Sportline setup, supposedly handles very well without compromising too much ride quality.

the Norwegian

Thanks,the drop is a little to much for my taste and YES the ride on the 18inch Intras is harsh on Norwegian roads!Bluecoupes car looks great,it really has inspired me.I think I will go for a similar setup.I already purchased the "limo" front swaybar,the rear 500 bar is next.I might go for the H&R or Eibach springs instead of the Sportlines.I'm changing the "nomame" lowering spring presently on the car because they seem to lower the car more on one side than the other(!)
In my opinion the 18s are just a little to much for the W124,so I think I will go for the AMG monoblocks in 7.5/8.5 instead.

Daez_Nutz

From what I've heard over the years, the FULL Sportline setup is perhaps the best complete suspension package available for the W124 chassis (500E excluded). I don't know how it compares to matched sets from tuners like AMG, Brabus, Carlsson, etc., but it will definitely outperform and ride better than a mix-and-match setup (e.g., off-the-shelf H&R/Bilstein combo). However, this would only apply if you bought the Sportline shocks to complement the springs. If you're only replacing the springs, H&R or Eibach should be perfectly fine, and you probably don't give up much versus the Sportline bits. The key to the Sportline setup is that the dampers have been matched to work in concert with the springs. This is what ensures such a harmonious balance between handling and comfort.

In short, if you're replacing ONLY the springs, and the Sportlines are more expensive than H&R or Eibach, they're probably not worth the extra money. Between H&R and Eibach, both are very high quality (I've owned sets of each), but H&R generally drops a little more and is firmer, while Eibach is more conservative and softer.

18" wheels are pretty much the upper limit for the standard W124 chassis, so a step down to 17" will probably be a noticeable improvement in comfort and road noise.

the Norwegian

Yes,of course I'm replacing the dampers!I forgot to mention I've got Bilsteins on their way from Germany.Not the Sprint/Sports but the Sportline type,part no. V36-4054 and B36-1612.You will find the Bilsteins catalog here http://katalog.bilstein.de/

And I already have the Sportline springs and spring pads in various heights.

Daez_Nutz

Haha, ok you're way ahead of me then. If you're going to use the Sportline shocks, then I would say definitely use the Sportline springs, as they were designed from the start to work together. I think it would perform better overall then pairing the Sportline shocks to off-the-shelf H&R or Eibach coils. And of course you can still control the ride height to some extent with the pads. I'd love to see some pics after everything goes in. Which pads do you think you'll use?

the Norwegian

Well,I wouldn't say ahead of...
I'm planning to go for no.2 pads to begin with.I bought a spring compressor like this one :
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...spagenameZWDVW

using that it won't be too difficult changing between the pads I hope.

bluecoupe

Great to see an almandine coupe with black interior - very clean too. Congrats, it looks beautiful!

I am pleased to hear that you feel that the 18" set up is too harsh - I really had a hard time deciding on 17"s to save some ride quality (daez_nuts, you don't know how lucky you are to have those extra bulges for the 18's...).

Regarding the suspension, I found that the stock sportline spring didn't lower the car as much as I wanted - especially running 17's with 245/40 tires in the rear. I also kept the spring pads stock @ 5, which does make a difference to ride comfort. I will be interested to know if the limo sway bar is plyable enough to work with a good sport suspension as these were originally meant to compensate for weight only - please let us know following installation.

I can't say enough good things about the Vogtland springs. I have installed Eibach, H&R and B&G on other cars & these seem to have the best all around feel/comfort/look/performance.

Whatever you decide on, I look forward to seeing more pictures of your gorgeous car.

the Norwegian

Thanks Bluecoupe,
I think your darkblue with tan interior looks just great,too.
I will let you know when I've had the springs and dampers installed.As for the AMG rims I'm currently watching a couple of sets on the German ebay.They're really not too expensive there,seems like most are going for 18s.

the Norwegian

Bluecoupe,
how do the 245/40s fit in the rear of your car after you rolled the arches?
Is it still a tight fit,or would 0.5centimetres more tyre squeese in?
I was just thinking;I made some calculations and the 245/40s is a bit smaller(0,65cm)in diametre compared to the 225/45s.A 255/40 is nearer to the 225/45 in diametre,but it would need 0,5cm more space towards the fender lip.

bluecoupe

The 245's fit perfectly with the suspension set up I have, though you MUST roll the arches & have someone allign the car who knows about geometry & suspension. I would say that using the #5 spring pads is an important factor also.

Also regarding tire width, I would say that a 255 is just a little too much.

Makahveli

I'm about to experiment with my coupe tomorrow as the weather is finally nice again here. In front I run 225/35's and at rear I run 235/40's with 18" AMG wheels. My terra springs will have a more extreme drop than yours so I'm just depending on springs pads to aid me with my problems. Both of your coupes look great, I just love the two tone color scheme on my car. No wonder why Oakland Raider Apparral have been #1 in sales for nearly a few decades.