zach1328

It's coming up to the time that I am going to order my lowering kit and suspension and then have it all installed.
With that being said, i just want to double check and make sure i have all of the parts I should have. I've read over a good number of threads, but i just want to clarify some stuff.

I was told the best online site to buy the Bilstein Sport suspension is eshocks.com. The whole set is $543 and so far is the best price i've seen.
Has anyone seen any better prices out there?
Front Part #:V36-0365-H0
Rear Part #:B36-1470-H1

H&R springs: Saw them not too long ago for about $250, but now the cheapest prices im finding are about $290. If i can't find any sites with lower prices i might have to pick up a set off ebay.
Part #: pn29569-1 (lowers the front 1.5" and the rear 1.3")
OR: Part #: pn29569-2 (lowers the front and rear 1.3")
Which brings me to my most important question. Should i go with the 1.5" front and 1.3" rear or the 1.3" all around. I want it to be as low as possible.
Which ones did you guys go with? (those of you that have h&r's)

Other parts im getting:
Meyle Bump stops (front)
Part#: 1293230744

MTC dust boots (front)
Part #: 1293230192

Meyle HD strut mounts
Part #: 1243201444

Do i have all of the part #'s correct for the w124 300e? If not please let me know which part(s) is/are incorrect and the proper #, thanks.

Last but not certainly not least. Im not going to spend $1500 to lower my car 1.5", so i need some Shorter Spring Pads. I went to my local MB dealer and they dont carry them. I either have to special order them there, or order them online from another company (the MB guy recommended buying them online).

With that being said, where can i buy size 1/2 Spring pads?

Thanks guys i appreciate it.

Saijin_Naib

I'm going with the 29569-2 set and MeyleHD strut towers. Both should be arriving by the end of the month.

Bilsteins for 500 and change isn't terrible, but you can get Koni adjustable for around that if you're careful.

I'd say to keep the sizing ratio of the pads the same as Mercedes had it from the factory. So for instance, if Front Left is 3, Front Right is 4, Rear Left is 2, and Rear Right is 2 you would go FL 1, FR 2, RL 0 RR 0 or similar. This will keep the stance the same but just lower.

That is how I intend to do it at least. I'm thinking I'm only going to go one pad lower if at all.

bsmuwk

spring pads are for wussies.

Saijin_Naib

Yes, because metal on metal contact is extreme.

Let me get rid of the cartilage in my knees, that's for wussies

zach1328

Yeah that makes sense but i like when it leans slightly forward, just so its only noticeable when you really look. Nothing insane, but i think .2" lower in the front than the back would look good.

I can't seem to find much info on the spring pads, but the shop that im going to have it installed at knows what they are doing. One of the guys said he's owned a few w124s and hes worked on a good amount of them.
Hopefully he will know a thing or 2 about pads.

zach1328

BUMP...
Still need a place to buy spring pads from. I've had trouble finding much info about them, let alone a place to buy the pads from.

I wouldn't bump so soon but I am waiting to buy everything until i know where to get spring pads from. The sooner i find out where, the sooner i can order all of the parts.

EDIT:
I managed to find the spring pads. I still don't fully understand them because according to saijin Mercedes put different sizes in each car. I'll call up the shop tomorrow afternoon and ask what sizes i should get. Once i have that info i'm going to hopefully order everthing and have it installed shortly after it arrives.

RHW

In my experience lowering a few cars, I had to do a few changes after everythign was set up to get things level.

By the way, your post on the pic thread got no juice, but your car is sharp, and lowering it is going to please you much as you've already figured out.

zach1328

Hm, I guess ill take that as a compliment. I know most people on here won't like it because of the rims, but they're better than the 15" stock ones IMO. I wanted BBS LM's or something like them, but i couldn't find any in my budget.
I wish i had spent a little bit more time looking but i rushed it because it needed new tires before the state inspection. So i was kind of rushed and just took what i could find.

Saijin_Naib

Yeah dude, the bump pad varied by the car and the installed options. They could have (depending upon factors) put a different size pad at each point. IMO, your best bet to keep the stance/leveling the same is to look at what numbers you have when you pull them and then go down a pad size equally at each point, maintaining the ratio of sizes from point to point.

So, if your car is 3/2 FL/FR and 2/2 RL/RR you'd go 2/1 and 1/1 or similar. That is just how I'd do it. You could of course pull them and go no pads all around but..

RHW

Definitely meant as a complement. On that pic thread, some pretty radical cars have been showing up, and your post gleaned no complements mainly because of those wild cars, I think. The rims are better than stock and look good imo.

It looks good, and I wanted to note that to you. And it's gonna look better when you lower.

ZedStyle

'sizes' don't mean that some will fit your car and some won't. sizes refers to thickness. some are thicker than others, but ALL will fit your car. the shop will not be of any help in advising you what size to get - partly because by lowering your car, the point of the different sizes is lost, since they put those on based on the options your car came with, etc.. and partly because how are they going to know whether the springs will lower the front more than the back, or whatever.
at most, you can use them to try and level out your car if the front or rear is a couple of mm higher or lower. the pads vary only slightly in thickness, so even then, they will not be able to compensate for major differences in height.
you can find the pads online, or call your local dealership and order them over the phone, i'm pretty sure i had posted the part numbers up a while ago, i wil search for them. or just re-use the ones you have on there now.


edit: here are the part numbers...
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...t-numbers.html

zach1328

Well when i was saying size i meant thickness. So, as saijin was saying they probably arn't all the same thickness on the stock car.
I like the way he was thinking.
They have 23MM 18MM 13MM and 8MM so lets say the stock ones are a combination of 23MM and 18MM, so ill just go down 10MM on each pad. I'll change the 23MM pads to 13MM and the 18MM pads to 8MM, that way the pads lower the car equally all around.

The only problem is, how do i find out what sizes they all are until i have the suspension off? So i guess ill just have to buy 4 8MM and 4 13MM pads, then ill tell the shop how it works or whatever. I can just tell them to replace the 23MM pads with 13MM and the 18MM pads to 8MM.

Only thing is, you guys think i should go with the 1.3" all around, or the 1.5" front and 1.3" rear. Then my car would have a .2" forward lean, which i think would look good. But im not sure, how noticeable will that be if the front in .2" lower than the rear?

Saijin_Naib

Do you have a dealership nearby the shop? You could always have them pull the stuff, read the bump pads as they're doing it, then go pick them up at the dealership that same day. I'm pretty sure they're a stocked item, much like my frame jackpoint pads were and some other misc w124 body bits.

As for the raked look, depends on the person. The coupes are a bit raked (not very aggressive) and I happen to like it. Some people prefer a flat slam or even stance. All up to the aesthetics you're going for.

ZedStyle

the pads literally have bumps on them, you might be able to tell from looking at them, or maybe pulling a wheel off if need be. the bumps are off the edge of the pad, here's a small pic i found, you can see the 4 little bumps on the bottom of the left one, and one bump on the right one:



the point i was trying to make earlier is that you can't really guarantee that you car is going to be 'raked' just because you have slightly smaller pads in front. it will depend a lot on the suspension of your particular car, that particular set of springs, how the springs settle, even if you have subs in your trunk or whatever. honestly, a 5mm difference in height between front and back is not going to really be visible... what you're thinking of doing is a good starting point though, i guess.

RHW

A worn 23mm could be used as a new 15mm, for example...
the worn ones coming off can be measured and reused. I still think there will be some jockeying after initial mounting and driving. At least there was for me, unfortunately.

zach1328

Yeah i figured the MB dealership would carry them but surprisingly they dont. I went there to check and the guy told me that he could special order them for me.
But then he recommended that i just buy them on the internet at home, so i guess thats just what im going to do.

Ill buy a full set of both the 8MM and 13MM pads

EDIT: So basically the 10mm decrease in pad thickness all around is about 4/10", plus the 1.5" drop front and 1.3" drop rear. Which means in the end it will be a 1.9" drop in the front and 1.7" in the rear.
Anyone have any pictures of a drop thats about that much? Im interested to see how much of the fender gap will be closed up by that.

zach1328

I noticed that quite a few people on here don't have any bump pads at all.
I want to go for the biggest drop i can but i was thinking if you go no bump pads won't it make the ride a little bit rougher?

Basically will there be a noticeable difference in ride quality/comfort between the +1 bump pads and no bump pads at all?
The extra 8mm isn't worth it if it takes away comfort, so i was just wondering.