I need to figure out what springs to get now. I'm very worried about getting Vogtlands considering the problems that I have had ( and read about others having), so I need suggestions. I want moderate drop and stock-ish ride quality.

 

I say eibach, because from what I read, the drop isnt too extreme, and the ride quality doesnt degrade too much.

 

yOU FORGOT TO ADD stock springs chopped

 

^ lol, thats not allowed!

 

That would be a terrible idea.

Based on your criteria, my vote is eibach. Moderate drop (i.e. those who dont' know these cars will not know you lowered it since it looks normal by today's standards), and *from what I've heard* they provide a ride that's fairly close to stock.

 

Before you bash on Vogtlands. Keep in mind that you have the wrong Vogtland springs for your car since they're not model specific.

Also, speed it up with the process! I'm going to need the spring compressor soon to mess around with my spring pads.

 

Hey, I'm not bashing, I'm actually waiting for my friend to call me back. He's calling Vogtland to see if they'll warranty replace the spring I have, and then he'll swap those for the correct ones. So, maybe it is Vogtland FTW!

 

Oh, and I'm hurrying as much as I can - the whole "new baby" thing keeps slowing me down!

Also, Rooney seems to think that I'm shipping the compressor to him next. I wouldn't have done it without checking with you first, but did he run that by you?

 

Hmm... I don't remember promising anyone else but you to use the spring compressor.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't have sent it without asking you first, but he sure makes it seem like it was OK with you.

 

that didn't even occur to me. sorry, that's my bad.

 

i just thought that chris didn't really need it back in a hurry i guess. i don't even know what i was thinking. i shouldve asked you, chris.

 

no problem

 

I have been trying to make this same decision. I decided to put a complete Sportline setup on, swaybars, bushings and all. Its a bit pricey, but I want performance and ride quality, and I know what I'm getting with this setup.

 

Are you ordering from the dealer? Make sure you go with one like Duval which has a minimal markup or Rusty at BuyMBParts.com.

 

I've tried both Eibach and H&R on the same vehicle & IMHO I like H&R better.

 

Chris can I please borrow your spring compressor? i'm desperately trying to stack a 4 and a 3 or a 4 and a 4 so that i can safely drive. i also want to take the 3s off the back and put on 1s. i need it for like a week, probably even less than that... i don't have a serious job besides coaching baseball and i'm taking a class on tuesdays and thursdays. and that's about it. i have a buddy that works with bmws that said he would help me out with jacks and everything and i already have the pads.

 

Since you have had both, it would be nice to hear more about the comparison. Please also tell us what shocks you used with both set-ups.

I have Eibach with Bilstein HD and I am happy with the way everything turned out. I think the ride is very comfortable, although it is more stiff than when stock. I prefer the additional firmness, since it also provides a feeling of confidence in turns. The Eibachs seem to be soft enough to be compliant and comfortable for cruising, but they are "progressively" more firm when you push the car in turns. As one of the previous posts suggested, my car only looks lower if you know how high it was when stock. My car is not slammed or anything, it just looks right to me. It was way too high when stock, but that seems to be mostly true for the 94 and 95 cars like mine.

I have read many many times that the H&R springs are more firm than the Eibach springs. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it may be very true. The Eibachs are more firm than stock and that is not a bad thing to me. Maybe H&Rs would be even more firm, but still great. I just don’t know, since I have not tried the H&R. I do think H&R with Bilstein Sports must be the most common set-up, with Eibach a close second. I also think HD shocks are probably fine with the Eibachs or with Sportline springs, since the car is not too much lower. To me, the lowering is subtle with the Eibach springs, but very noticeable if you are familiar with the standard suspension.

Note that I did have to play with the spring pads to get a symmetrical drop. I ended up with 1-bump front and 3-bump rear and now the fender lip at the rear is just a bit higher than the front, which is exactly the way it was when stock. I hate to see the rear hanging lower, like the springs are old and shot or like I have too much stuff in my trunk.

Note that I also installed K-MAC eccentric bushings to tame the rear camber. I would do everything at one time and hope to get it right with one try, if I did this again to another W124. That may be unrealistic, but it would certainly cost less if you could get it right with only one install.

Below is an older photo of my car. I should tell you that the height varies depending on how the car is sitting when parked, but I think you can get an idea about how low or not low my car ended up to be. In the photo, I think the front looks a little higher than it really is. The gaps are actually pretty even from front to rear, but as I said maybe just a tad higher in the rear.

 

My bro had H&R's on his 190 and it handled like a gokart, I had them on my 400E and was very very happy. I think he has H&R's on his CE too. H&R's are badass. I know a guy that works at a factory distributor here in B'ham, he takes all of the US H&R photos, lucky *******o.

 

To recap, I would say this. I have H&R springs on my car, but I voted for Eibachs because it sounds like you (Matt) don't want your car to be super low.

The shorter the spring, the stiffer the ride. H&R springs are fantastic and I'm very happy with them, but they are fairly stiff. Great for handling, but not a "stockish" ride quality as you describe. They are also pretty low. I've seen W124's that are lower than mine... I think Vogtland and Intrax lower your car more than H&R's. But I still think it will give you the lowered/custom look... Whereas Eibach will look like your car is stock by today's standards.

If you look at Ksing's pic, you'll also notice he's running 16's. I've never been able to figure out why, but whenever you run smaller rims (more rubber), the gap is much less noticeable. But I think if you put 17's or 18's on his car, the gap would be noticeable. He chose the right suspension for his needs.

That's my take. It's all about your specific needs, but I think your safest bet is either Eibach or H&R.

 

I do have 16" rims and I think Bigpete123 is absolutely correct that with bigger rims and narrower sidewalls on the tires, the gap is much more noticeable. It is also true that with a smaller gap, any asymmetry will be more noticeable. If your car is ¼ inch higher or lower in the front or rear, it will be very obvious when the car is lowered and the gaps are relatively small.

I didn’t vote, but I think I would vote for H&R, even though I really like my Eibach set-up. It just seems everyone loves the H&R with Bilstein Sport set-up. As I said in my previous post, H&R with Blistein Sport has to be the most common set-up for the W124 and it seems that almost everyone loves that set-up once they get it.

I was cautious, since my car is my family sedan for vacations and all kinds of other things. That is why I chose the intermediate set-up with 16” rims, Eibach springs, and HD shocks. The bigger sidewalls, especially since I keep the tires pretty soft, together with the softer Eibach springs and the longer travel HD shocks, all adds up to a pretty comfortable ride. I did get about an inch of lowering and overall my car definitely looks lower compared to any other car in the parking lot. My fender gaps are within the range of some newer sporty cars that I see, so it isn’t obvious that it has been lowered, unless you know how high it was before.

Right now I am parked next to a W210 E300, a Honda Accord and a Toyota Camry. My car definitely looks significantly hunkered down compared to all of the other cars. It turned out perfect for me, after some trial and error with the spring pads, the K-MAC bushings, and a number of alignments.

I guess it is like the famous story of “Goldilocks and the 3 Bears”.

 

I have had Intrax on both my W124's love em but they may be too low for some people...

 

One very significant difference I felt is that the H&R give better cornering (less body roll) on the curves and this is my main reason why I chose H&R over Eibach using the same dampers, Bilstein Sports (short-stroke) shocks. Make you feel confident enough without any hesitation. As for the ride, say on the highway or on regular street, the difference is barely noticeable.

I also have my own story w/ regards to the spring pad. When I installed my lowering springs (45mm drop) I placed DOT-1 (aka 1-bump) for both front & rear and I ended up with the very low front end compared to the rear. Experimented on different spring pads & I ended up w/ DOT-4 infront & DOT-1 for the rear & I'm very happy with it.

 

Awesome. Part of what scares me about the 300ce is the ammount of body-roll it gets in the twisties. It forces me to back off immediately. Now that I know that H&R with bilstein sports is a nice, firm, setup, I am pretty confident that will go on my 300ce (one day, Im still but a broke college student ). I wonder how that setup would fair with the Sportline+ package...

 

Rooney i can probably get you a spring compressor. I live in ATL. Several of the BMW guys in this area have one. OR just use an extra car jack. Either way just let me know.