steve211

After lots of reading, I thought I had figured out that the only option for stiffer springs for the W124 E320 wagon w/SLS was to order the sportsline from Germany....which has eluded me as to who/how much etc, but wrote it off as too much trouble and expense.

Then I happened across this site: http://www.allsprings.com/

where it appears that they have H&R spring sets for the W124 wagon w/SLS.

I e-mailed them to be sure and to ask about a possible discount on a group purchase. I'll let you wagon drivers know what comes of this.

I for one am very excited as I feel our "Ole Merc" is a bit mushy in the bends. Personally I would rather a stock height solution to obtain a stiffer spring rate, but beggars can't be choosers.

If anyone has been down this road before or has any input, I'd be glad to hear it.

Thanks,
Steve Hauptmann
Columbia, SC

shadowgriffen

PLEASE let me know how this goes

Chappy

$250 is not a bad price for springs only, but what dampers will you be using? You may also consider upgrading worn bushings.

Which sway bars are you running? Would it make sense to change them too?

steve211

Shadowgriffen, I'll def keep the list posted!

Chappy, if I end up going with these H&R's, I think I'm leaning toward Bilstien sports. I know every car is different, but I was very happy with H&R's and Bil sports on my Audi.

On the swaybars...I think I'll get a few miles on the new springs with the stock swaybars and see how she feels. If the stock rear hydro units are so underdamped that the car handles poorly or I find it otherwise unacceptable, I'll have to pony up (too much $$) to source a pair of sportsline rear hydro shocks. That will keep uprated swaybars on hold for a while.

If I find I can live with the stock rear hydro shocks, at least until one begins to leak, I'll try and find some used E500 or Limo swaybars. At that time, I'll replace all bushings, control arm, sway bar etc etc.

I'll also wait a bit on those ASA type 8 16x7.5... 8 spoke repli wheels I've been drooling over too. Haha...the tread on my poor 195/65-15 Dunlop Sport A2's are going to be doing some serious flexing. =)

Steve Hauptmann
Columbia, SC

lkchris

Piece of cake from
http://www.speed-autoteile.com/

steve211

As to the suggested ease of ordering sportsline springs/shocks from speed-autoteile.com, it may be a bit knowledge dependant. I found that I was not all together certain which ones to order. Then, pricing the different items and shipping seemed to be involved. But, with a bit more knowledge than this MB newbie, it may well be easy.

As it is...I ended up ordering the H&R springs and used a different vendor since the allsprings.com folks did not respond to my e-mail.

FYI....I found them listed at the pellicanparts.com site and while shox.com does not have them listed on their website, they can get them as well.

I decided to go with the Bilstein HD's and plan to use the 13mm or 18mm pads in an attempt to keep the total drop in ride height to within 0.7-0.5 inches. This....because I'd like to limit the drop as I want to retain some decent clearance for camping/towing etc and I only plan to upgrade the tires to a 215/55-16. Depending on how this part of my plan works out (or not), I will consider upgrading to the E500 front and rear swaybars.
So in the end, I hope this will give me an "acceptable to me" compromise between increased handling, a reasonably compliant ride along with some moderate ground clearance.

I'll try and do a fair job of documenting the procedure, fit, results etc., with a basic write-up and some pics. Boy, I sure hope they work! =)

Again, any comments or suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,

Steve
Columbia, SC

Damocles74

I've got the same wagon as you with the sls rear hydro and I was also going to get that H&R spring setup.I don't want an extreme drop either and was wondering how everything worked out for you?

Jim's500E

FWIW, you won't get really any drop in the rear with the SLS unless you adjust the level after installing the springs...when running, the system will push it back up to factory set neutral if you don't lengthened the adjusting rod that is connected to the rear swaybar(which lowers the rear end)

About 1 inch of lengthening on the rod nets maybe 1/2 inch of drop. Just my 2 cents with SLS. Try new bar bushings instead of a new bar first also. I'm willing to bet they could use fresh rubbers over anything else.

Speed in Berlin is very good for parts you can't get in the US...but its the shipping cost that usually kills the deal for most folks. If you are clever though, one CAN order euro-only parts thru a US dealer. PM me on how I do it.

myfirstbenz

ATL_S124

steve211, any updates on this project? lookin for similar solution to handling and wonderin what happened with you

rayhennig

The Bilstein B12 kit contains springs and shocks.

You must calculate the number of 'points' (related to weight on each axle) for your car and order the appropriate kit. SOme say the B12 kit contains H&R springs.

Anyway, I've had good experience with this.

Good luck to you.

RayH

ramblux

Anyone see the thread I have further down? I'm selling a complete wagon suspension setup - Bilstein Sports and H&R springs.