ksing44

Hey guys, I thought I would ask all of you for your opinions. I am finally going to get bigger swaybars for my 1995 E320 that already has Eibach springs. I'm getting new Bilstein Sport shocks to replace my worn Blistein HD shocks and thought I might as well finally do it. I called Rusty and it seems they may be able to get both the Sportline and "Sportline Plus" set-ups, but I'm not sure I want to go for the "Plus". The "Plus" setup may be about $100.00 more, but it isn't the price that bothers me. Somehow I kind of like the idea of the matched OEM Sportline set-up The plus with the "Limo" front bar and the differently shaped rear bar from the E500 seems like less of a perfect fit. The "plus" may be stiffer, but I wonder about balance and maybe overdoing things. I'm looking for a little encouragement to overcome my reservations about the "Plus" or maybe reassurance that I will be happy with the more traditional upgrade to the Sportline set-up. Do you think I should just go Sportline or go for the "Sportline Plus"?

For those who have not seen the bars, I included a link below to pictures and a pdf of all specs for all W124 swaybars and bushings. I have to thank gsxr (AMG Dave) for all of the facts about bars and all kinds of other things.

http://www.w124performance.com/images/W124_sway_bars/

Thanks for your help,

Ken

termite

i have sportline springs and struts on my wagon. changed from the sportline front bar to the limo front bar. the car now corners flatter but i can honestly say that the ride hasn't suffered at all...btw, if anyone wants the sportline front, they can have it for free if they come and pick it up...ny 11766 zip

ShoreBenz

Well... I never driven a Sportline, so I can't give you comparison results.
I can tell you that the Sportline+ setup is very comfortable, stable, responsive, and it gives the car a much more modern feel.
I have not seen any down side to the Sportline+ set up.
I suppose you really can't go wrong with ether setup.
You decide.

ksing44

Thanks termite and ShoreBenz. That sounds like 2 votes for "Plus". Based on termite's experience it does make a difference to get the bigger front bar and for both of you there were no downsides.

I guess I do like the front bar, since it has the same shape as the regular Sportline. It was the extra bend in the rear E500 bar that bugged me, but it seems I should go bigger in back if I am going bigger in front. I suppose that does get closest to a new balanced matched pair that is bigger than regular Sportline. If bends don't matter, however, the reality is that I could get E500 front and rear even though recommendations seem to point to a Limo front on the 6 cylinder. The extra bend or bends on any of the bars is what gets to me. Actually, I guess the E500 rear bar doesn't really have that much of a bend. I think I may be convinced.

RBYCC

Bigger is not always better...

The standard Sportline bars designed for the I6 W124 and C124 are more then enough.

You're not pushing enough power to need a heavier bar then the standard Sportline.

I run the standard Sportline and have double the power of a stock I6 124

Some of the problems you will encounter with oversize sway bars are lifting the inside tire during hard cornering, instability over rough roads, corner
entry under steer, corner exit oversteer, sway bar end link breakage plus a number of other conditions.
This is all created over the roll stiffness being too high because of a oversize sway bar.

ShoreBenz

Good luck deciding ksing44.

ksing44

I'm sure that is all true for bars that are truly way too big, but I have a feeling the Sportline Plus may be a noticeable but only modest increase in stiffness. With that said, however, I do still like the idea of getting the matched OEM set that was designed specifically to create a sportier W124. Then again, I did decide to modify my suspension from OEM, so maybe it is silly to cling to that notion. I definitely want to be able to tell that my car is flatter in turns after the change. There are other knowledgeable W124 owner/mechanic/drivers that like the Plus set-up. I am definitely conflicted about this decision, which is why I came here for more opinions.

I remember this same kind of thing for deciding between Eibach ProKit springs and the H&R springs. I ended up with the Eibach springs and am happy that they are not too low and that my car is firm but still comfortable. At the same time I do wonder if I would like it even better if my car were just a bit lower and stiffer.

termite

undoubtedly true in the abstract, however, my e320 wagon is one porcine wagon and the moderate increase in roll bar diameter on the front decreased roll w/o adversely impacting the ride quality. i have put about 1000 miles on the limo bar and stand by my calibrated butt dyno. the 500e rear bar apparently lessened the understeer induced by the limo bar. if you simply used the 500e rear bar w/ a stock front bar, i expect that the car would oversteer like mad. similarly, if you used the limo bar w/ no rear bar, it would plow like a locomotive. in my experience, the understeer did not noticeably increase w/ the above combination and the car hustles through turns fairly well...even w/o twin turbos

RBYCC

You have a wagon...heavy bar for heavy car...
May be overkill on a stock sedan

ShoreBenz

I've driven over 25k miles since the upgrade, and I have experienced none of those evil tendencies listed above, nor would I tolerate them.

The setup would have been promptly removed.

The car is quite neutral, but will tend toward mild over steer if you get silly.
Even without those lovely turbos! :

And like most Mercs, she'll throw herself in the bushes before she lifts a wheel.

I don't have the specs in front of me, but I think in size, SportLine+ bars, slot between the SportLine, and the 300E AMG 3.2L sway bar setup.
The major difference, the front AMG bar being thicker at the bottle necks on the
left and right side.

Maybe someone has these specs handy?