Ted Baldwin

I had my 1992 300CE converted to the sportsline version in my attempts to make the car have a moore sporty feel. I must say, I am happy with the results. I no longer get that "river boat" feel when conering. I am sure others have done this conversion as well, and I'm wondering what others think. Is there anything more to be gained by using the 500E anti-roll bars?

Ted

Jim's500E

I did the Sportline conversion to my old 92' 190E 2.6....made a great improvement. I liked that it was all MB too...so did the guy I sold it to.

A thicker bar would further stiffen the ride. The best thing for handling and turn-in response is larger rims and wider tires (Sportline on my 190E had half inch wider rims with bigger rubber)....have you done that yet? Do that first. Just my 2 cents.

Ted Baldwin

............thanks for the response. I have 17x7.5 AMG monoblock rims with 225/40/17 Toyo tires all around. My car feels quite stable. I will like to go with larger rims, but I do not know the limits are on the W124.

...........Also, I was mostly wondering if the 500E bars are any thicker than the W124 sportsline bars.

Ted

Jim's500E

Cool rims, classy...you can go up like 19" on a W124 with everyday driveability; depending on how smooth your roads are. I run the 17 x 8.25" EvoII rims 3 seasons and then it isn't driven in the winter. I'm getting 18 x 10" AMG SL 2-piece rims but that's as high as I will go in CT.

500E bars are thicker than Sportlines....by some millimeters...500Es are also almost 4000 lbs and can sure use the extra diameter.

7.5" may be the widest, or maybe 8" in the front of your car. U can do a 8.5- 9.0" rear rim width w/o mods easily. Of course, with fender mods you could do pretty wide rims if you wanted.

If there's a OEM MB rim you like...allow me to qoute you a price...I get deals straight from MB warehouse in Baltimore. E-mail me if interested.

Jim's500E

500E front sway bar is 28mm (1.10 in)all others W124 bar is 26.5mm (1.04 in)...thought you'd like to know.

Ted Baldwin

..............Thank you. So the 500E baris largr but not by much.

Ted

Chappy

Hi Ted,

Congrats on your sportline conversion!

Here's a pic of mine during conversion last year.....

Cap'n Carageous

Chappy, I've been meaning to ask you where you got your kit and the ballpark price. Also, what was the most difficult part of the conversion?

Chappy

Hey Cap'n!

First, I am not a DIYer! I had a connection for the parts and an MB Master Tech buddy who did the install.

But, if you had to pay retail (or a little less) plus pay for the install, you'd be looking in the neighborhood of about $2K.

Are you looking to add these bits to your 300E?

As far as difficulty, the rear sway bar was about the most troubling.

Cap'n Carageous

I have a weak right front spring and I know the left can't be far behind. I will replace the shocks at the same time. I was thinking of comparing the costs of Sportline and OEM. I wouldn't think it to be a major difference. An added bonus would be the displaying the Sportline badge legally and just impressing the hell out of everybody!!

Chappy

GO FOR IT!

Joaquin

FedEx delivered my full Sportline package today! Got it from Rusty (800) 741-5252, www.buymbparts.com. For not much over $1K, you get: struts, shocks, busings (exclusive MB bushings are dual compound to reduce friction), springs, F & R bars, control arm busings, and R connector links.

Going to the 12 hrs. of Sebring in the morning, otherwise this would be in the coupe this weekend.

So, if you watch the Speed channel on Saturday, the fellow waving the IMSA cap in the pits, dressed in OD green Vietnam era flight suit with some car patches sewn on, is me! For the past two years, IMSA went with the standard LeMans pit rules (those presumptuous French), they have kicked me out of the pits after the race begins (one cannot be in the pits without a fire suit). I'm legal this year, if somewhat unorthodox.

Please tell me about Sportline badging.