MBE320

Hi, this my first time posting and I have a question. I own a stock E320 94' with 107k miles, my car has too much bodyroll and has very mushy feeling suspension, please post websites or products that will help me have a more sportier yet comfortable ride, thank you in advance.

KWiK

Go to PURE-motorsport.com and order a set of Vogtland springs(not listed but are available) & Koni Adjustable shocks. Set the shocks to 50% stiff before installing them, then adjust to your desired ride.

Your "boaty" feeling will be gone

ksing44

I went with the Eibach Pro Kit springs, Bilstein HD shocks, and +1 wheel and tire combination. The 16" AMG Aero I Monoblock wheels are just beautiful. They are the original AMG Monoblocks. I also had to install K-MAC eccentric rear bushings to control the negative camber and I had to play with the spring pads to get a symmetrical drop. I have 1 bump front pads and 3 bump rear pads.

The combination that I selected is an intermediate modification. Below I tried to explain what I was thinking when I made my selection for modifications.

Springs
The Eibach Pro Kit springs are not as stiff as the Eibach Sports or the H&Rs and they only dropped the car about 1 inch. I went with the Eibach Pro Kit because I didn’t want to destroy the ride and I am not planning to race my car on the track. It is always a compromise between performance and ride comfort. Even the Eibach Pro Kit steels some of the comfort, but you get accustomed to it and then learn to love it. H&Rs may be the more popular springs, and if I did it again, although I am satisfied now, I think I would get the H&Rs.

Shocks
The Bilstein shocks are arguably the best shocks in the world. The Bilstein "HD" shocks are OE on the AMG versions of the Benz. HD springs may not be as firm as the Bilstein "Sports", although I have heard that they are and that the only difference is the length of travel. The Sports are recommended if you drop the car, but since the Eibach Pro Kit springs are a very small drop it may be OK to use the HDs. The HDs are definitely strong enough and durable enough to cope with the increased spring rates of the Eibach Pro Kit springs. If you get H&R springs, I think that you should definitely get the Sports. Many, many, many people get the H&R springs and Bilstein Sport shocks.

Wheels
I went with 16" x 7.5" ET37 wheels, which is a "+1" wheel for my 1995 E320. Just like everything else, this is intermediate to going with +2 or even +3 and +4 wheels. You can get crazy with the size of your wheels. Here again, there is a trade-off with comfort and performance. Bigger wheels means that you have to use tires with smaller sidewalls. The lower profile tires give quick agile handling, but they also give a more harsh and noisy ride. Here again, I am happy, but kind of curious about doing even more. It is addicting. I am curious about having 17s.

Tires
I went with Michelin MXV4 Plus 205/55/16. They are grand touring tires, not ultra performance tires. I have always loved the smooth quiet ride from the Michelins and I was afraid the performance tire would be too noisy. I truly hate road noise to penetrate the cabin. Next time I will get a little bit bigger 215/55/16 tires. These will be a bit taller to better fill the narrow gap between the fender and the wheel and they will be about as wide as I can go with my current set-up. I think I will stay with the grand touring tire, although I am tempted to try the ultra performance category.

My car truly is a nice blend of increased performance and comfort. It is definitely not a boat. I am satisfied with my modifications so far, but I think I would go with H&Rs, Bilstein Sports, and 17" wheels if I had to do it again. That combination is by far the most common list of modifications that I have seen on the many forums that I visit. It is also common on the BMWs. I don’t know how much performance I am missing or how much comfort I would lose, but I feel like I only did it half way. Why should anyone do anything half way? Except that getting half of the performance left me with half of the comfort. It is a compromise and I am really very satisfied with the way my car looks and handles.

Now I am still thinking about getting some bigger anti-roll bars. The Eibach bars may still be available, but they have been discontinued. The Eibach bars are probably very good and they have polyurethane bushings, but I will most likely get the "limo" front bar and E500 rear bar just to be more "Mercedes" correct and to be sure that I will have parts available many years from now.

Good luck with your modifications.

Luke at Tirerack provided the Eibach Springs, AMG wheels, Michelin tires, and much needed assistance when I had problems with my rear camber.

MBE320

thanks for all your help but I'm looking for something that doesn't change my ride height and something in the $500 range, please give me more advice. Also what if I put a 500E swaybar on my E320, would that stop my boaty feeling and would it fit in a 94 E320?

ksing44

If you used Bilstein HD shocks and bigger swaybars, I think you would get a very nice handling machine with no drop in ride height. In fact, I have read recommendations that getting shocks and bars without stiffer springs may be the best way to improve handling without degrading the ride comfort. The "limo" front and E500 rear bars are the biggest OEM you can get and they are supposed to fit. You could also get the "sportline" bars. All of the bars for the W124 are incredibly well defined by gsxr.
http://www.meimann.com/images/merce...24_swaybars.xls
http://www.meimann.com/images/merce...bar_install.pdf

Rear bar installation sounds a bit more involved and could run up the cost if you are not a DIY mechanic.

I also wonder if just getting thew Bilstein HD shocks would greatly improve your car’s "boaty" feeling. The shocks are really great and I think they might be all you need. I can’t imagine that your car would feel like a boat if you use the Bilstein HDs on a car with stock ride height.

ksing44

Hello KWiK,

How are your Eibach sways? Did you get a matched set of front and rear bars? I see that you are using them on a newer C Class car, but your experiences might still help me decide what to do with my 1995 E320. Did you get the bars at the same time that you had the springs and shocks installed? If not, how much more improvement did you experience when you added the bars? Would you recommend the bars, or was the most improvement experienced from just the springs and shocks?

mic280

Your $500 range will only go as far as shocks..
A 500E sway bar might not blend in with your $500 range.

KWiK

Yes, I did the front & rear Eibach sways at the same time. They made the car very flat. I would suggest doing just the springs/shocks first. This will allow you to see how you like the ride then you can decide if/which sways to add.

Daniel_uk

Sail steady...

MBE320

Thanks for all the advice, I will just have to search around for a used 500E swaybar and bilstein hd shocks.

Daniel_uk

Wasn't may 500E sold, buy new instead.

Danny