Koolwipski

Okay - I really need to get off my a** and get my car lowered and a new set of wheels/tires.

I need some advice/info on what and where to buy the lowering parts. Is ti a DYI thing? Estimated cost to drop?

Any advice on wheels/tires - sizes, etc...

I would also like to get a body kit - not priority, but after seeing that WALD kit on that guys Black Benz (sorry - I cant find the post to get your name) - I WANT ONE! Where do you buy these and how much are they?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

rooney2006

if you get 17"s, go with 215/45/17 tires or 225/45/17. My wheels are 17x8, but I would ideally go 17x7.5. An offset of around ET35 is what you're looking for. I would personally recommend 215s because I have them and they work well... I don't know anything about 18" wheels.

Lowering is almost never a DIY job unless you have some type of experience with suspension. It isn't that complicated, it's just dangerous. You can do it yourself with the right spring compressor and socket wrenches. But you better not forget to lock the compressor or something. You can buy H&R and Eibach springs off of Ebay almost always, and they run about $230. If you are lucky you can find something cheaper. I bought Vogtland's for $150. The quote I got to install them was $200 but that seems pretty high to me.

rooney2006

if you want a WALD kit, you're going to have to pay about $2500 for it and give like 60-90 days lead time.

Federic0W124

took about 45 mins to lower my E420 using the mercedes spring compressor.
you CANNOT use the run of the mill spring compressors on our cars.
It's suicide.
As for the wald kit I have no idea. imo its a nice kit,
but it seems everyone is trying to get one for their W124.

CDP

Yeah, Everyone is "trying" to get the WALD kit but many won't. I'll probably be the first one with the EX line installed on the car around here.

rooney2006

**** nobody else will. we're talking 3 months lead time and $2500. neither of which sound appealing to basically anybody except the most hardcore fanatic named chris pham.

ShanMan

not necessarily...

BenzBro

H&R Sport Springs...lowers 1.3". Great ride, great height, quality springs.

Tirerack has them, ebay does too. Check your local dealers as well. Likely will be ~$230.

Edit: I installed springs myself with help of brother (my1stbenz). I didn't have the MB spring compressor, i believe we were able to lower the suspension after disconnecting the shock, with the jack to release compression in the rear. The front is pretty easy. It was fairly risky, but works. Once you get the springs we can help you out with how to do it, or find you the right page that already shows how to.

sLoweredK300e

Get the larger 8 hole wheels, those are classy. Lowering is a no brainer, every car I have ever owned is slammed.

Maybe a avantgart grille... I am going all black, possibly avantgart then all black for something new.

debadging is an easy one.

you could have your lower panels painted glossy black to match the top... that is a great update. That is coming up for mine.

Interior, I am slowly going suede all over. Already have the headliner, arm rest and B-pillars. Next will be parts of the consol... instead of wood.

Titanium tint looks great on black cars...

Get creative, take what you like from other cars and keep it real!

myfirstbenz

I too would stick with 17's. I was at a wedding a few years ago and a guy there had a CE with the 17inch 8hole wheels, I believe they were carlsson or lorinser. SUPER HOT! But uber rare.

Exhaust. Get a magnaflow or Flowmaster. My 400 Was almost identical to yours and i had the flowmaster on there with the center muffler removed. Damn does that motor sound sweet. I have a magnaflow on my TE, but it sounds no way as good as the 4.2 does opened up.

CDP

LOL dude no way. I'd rather get wheels or something for $2,500.

I'm actually getting the EX line. The V4 is the expensive one. The EX runs about $1400 on average.

Anyways, Steve ... Estimated cost of lowering your car would run anywhere around 600-900 depending on where you order the parts from. From my understanding, H&R V8 springs are no longer available for purchase through my sources - also is why my car isn't lowered yet. Still trying to find the best suited springs for the car since it's not as easy as the 300E. A n00b can definitely do the install - it would probably take a person doing it for the first time with the proper tools two hours or a little bit more. Some people can do it within a hour or less.

The WALD kit can be purchased through www.thewheelsupply.com.
V4: ~$2,000-2,400
EX: ~$1,200-1,500
depending on shipping of course. It's usually cheaper if the shop has other parts coming from WALD so the freight charges are lower.

Conservative: 17" all around with 225/45-17's
Extreme: 18" all around with 225/40 or 35-18's. staggered set up with custom offsets. I will be revealing which wheels I plan to get soon.

Color matching is also an option. Always looks good. Tint.

Custom exhaust such as a Magnaflow would be nice. I plan on doing a set up like Rik aka 2phast but with Brabus/Eisenmann style angled exhaust tips.

Good Luck!

Word of advice - be creative and take your time. Research what your doing and try to get something no one else will have. lol like my Hammers. HAHA

CharlestonN

I would do a 2 inch drop (might need more for the rear to level it out), quarter inch spacers in the rear (if your doing the same dish depth front and rear) on some 18" wheels wrapped in 225/40 tires, that way you can keep the fairly smooth suspension so the car doesn't ride like a Honda and still get that tight handling without any rubbing, i use eibach suspension and it is really amazing imo, i believe still have the stock shocks too, obviously replaced since i bought the car, i would not go any thinner than 8 inch on some 18"s, if possible some 8.5's in the front and 9's in the rear with no spacers would be ideal but im not even sure if they make those for the 124's unless they are 19 inch

For the other stuff iwould say replace the grille with a avantgarde full chrome grille and some reflective tint on the windows

I would do all of that before you even think about a body kit as you might think it looks fine without it once you do all of that stuff

oneill_1

lowering your car is easy, but you do need the right spring compressor...

-OG

Koolwipski

Thanks for all the input. I think i will stat by lowering the car, adding wheels/tires and a new grill.
I have waht I call a 20 foot car, from 20 feet away - the paint looks awesome - get up n the car and it is shiny, but dinged, scratched, faded, chipped, etc... i am looking into a paint job and will do some body kit work at that time - so it will be painted all black.
From looking at the car - it appears as though it is a difficult car to paint - a lot of rubber, chrome, etc...
What experinces can those with new paint jobs share - do's/dont's
Thanks
Steve

rooney2006

i stand corrected.

rooney2006

you guys know where I can rent a MB spring compressor and do it myself? I'm relatively competent, as far as cars go.

rooney2006

check ebay periodically for ****. and if you don't mind paying the shipping, you can get some really rare stuff of of ebay germany.

rooney2006

don't do it yourself. and don't pay 3 grand for it either. I got quotes as low as $300 for a basic respray.

Koolwipski

That sounds better than $3 grand.

oneill_1

uhhh....not really; was a lil lucky and borrow one from a friend who happens to own a '95 black w/gray paneling w124....they are quite expensive to purchase....sorry

-OG

sLoweredK300e

Cut, glaze and polish that paint man. You have to stay on top of it with wax almost every week. Single stage black oxidizes FAST. I really want to try Zaino to see if it will last longer. Carnuba goes away within a week.

A wool pad, high speed buffer, and trained hands can make that old paint really shine. People constantly are amazed that my paint is 15 years old. Now it is cracking as of this winter, but a full strip and respray is going to be a couple years away.

oneill_1

has anyone heard of some teflon stuff that is supposedly better than waxing?

-OG

sLoweredK300e

I would be willing to try it.

I even bought Meguair's polymer sealant, that is ****! waste of $20

CDP

Word.

You need to give it back already **** and my sparco gloves too.

mgw_300e

I use "Ice" - I think Turtle Wax makes it. It's synthetic wax that has the consistency of slightly viscous water. It's a lot like Armor All for paint, I guess you could say. The cool thing about it is that you can apply it in direct sunlight at noon in July, no problem. In fact, the directions say "apply to entire car, allow to dry, buff to a shine". When they say entire car, they mean it! Paint, plastic, rubber - everything except the glass.

Actually, I'd say it's more like Rain-X + Armor All for paint.

I give it two thumbs up