Another lowering spring thread, looking for softest ride with bilstein sports...
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
Another lowering spring thread, looking for softest ride with bilstein sports...
Wow what happened to the forum, I see people not posting like they use too, but to the topic in the past I complained alot when I had the bilstein sports on the car but also understand and admit I did some things wrong. When I removed the stock shocks I through the foam shock/strut bumps stops out thinking I didn't need them any more so now I have the medium grade bump stops on order along with the boot covers. I also had an extreme drop spring kit that I of course ridded myself of that were almost 2 1/2's of a drop and finally understand that a 1-1.5" lowering kit will be good enough for me now that I'm older. So here I go again since I'm doing heavy construction on the car with my 5.0 engine install (that'll make it a 500ce huh) I was wondering what spring kit will get me the softest ride lowered? I think the sportline setup will be a waste of time and rather cut my stock springs than buy springs with only 1/2" of drop. I currently have HD shocks at the front and rear and feel I will stay with the rears hading hd's either way, now for the front I have sports, am I better off switching to them? I'm not mentioning the comforts at all cause back years ago while I was driving just 2 weeks after I lowered the car the ball joint broke on me while driving-----hella scary that was.
P.S. Anybody okay with the thought of cutting springs? Like 1-2 coils? I know I can always use spring pads to help adjust if needed.
P.S. Anybody okay with the thought of cutting springs? Like 1-2 coils? I know I can always use spring pads to help adjust if needed.
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From: REHOBOTH BEACH DE
88-300CE TWIN TURBO, 99-C43, 05-G55K, 71-280SL, 94-E320 CAB, 08 CLK63 BLACK SERIES
"Softest ride" may not be the correct term but if you want a very "streetable ride", I've had great success with H&R Sport lowering springs ( 1.5" drop ) along with Bilstein HD's and Sportline front and rear antisway bars.
No bottoming out, great on rough road surfaces and more then able to transfer power to the ground...
I wouldn't cut the coils as you may realize a bit of high speed instability...
Changing spring pads to raise/lower also is not a good idea as the pads were selected by the factory depending on the car and options to attain proper ride height. More used to balance each corner which is important for weight transfer and optimum handling.
I think the forum has died off because there was not much more then slamming cars to the ground being discussed...
No bottoming out, great on rough road surfaces and more then able to transfer power to the ground...
I wouldn't cut the coils as you may realize a bit of high speed instability...
Changing spring pads to raise/lower also is not a good idea as the pads were selected by the factory depending on the car and options to attain proper ride height. More used to balance each corner which is important for weight transfer and optimum handling.
I think the forum has died off because there was not much more then slamming cars to the ground being discussed...
Last edited by RBYCC; Sep 28, 2012 at 06:27 AM.
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
BTW RBYCC Do the bigger sway bars make a huge difference?
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
Another question RYBCC, did you have to get those adjustable camber arm thingys for alignment adjustment or were you okay with the stock stuff, I already know an alignment is mandatory! I'll be doing the springs myself
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1990 300ce 24v I6
I'm not active because I don't have a cent to put toward my car anymore 
I still owe my dad a significant amount of money for the repairs that were only halfway done right :L Putting the amount of money we did into the car to be screwed over the on the repairs really took it out of me.
I still check daily though
I still owe my dad a significant amount of money for the repairs that were only halfway done right :L Putting the amount of money we did into the car to be screwed over the on the repairs really took it out of me.
I still check daily though
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From: REHOBOTH BEACH DE
88-300CE TWIN TURBO, 99-C43, 05-G55K, 71-280SL, 94-E320 CAB, 08 CLK63 BLACK SERIES
Not sure how you can get so excessive but some do with their drops and end up with poor handling.
You can see in the pic below how square to the ground my tire is..
Front and rear swaybar upgrade is essential especially with more power.
Can the chassis handle over 425HP...possibly depending on the condition of your drivetrain and how you drive...difficult to really "drop the hammer" with an auto trans...weak link may be the flex disks so be sure to replace with new oem.
Ed A.
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
i'LL ONLY BE RUNNInG THE REAR FLEX DISK from what I see, I just possibly came across a deal on some 20's as my friends '98 e320 was totalled when he let his lady drive it and somebody pulled out in front of her shes says....and I know how you guys might dog me out for going that big but check this out...my front bumper is as low as my amg side skirts which is really a concern to me when lowering. I'm thinking about trying these for compensation of not lowering my ride...already have the hd's all around and stock springs no spring pads. The 20's have a nice deep chrome lip and possibly thinking of painting the inner face black......
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
WOW no response? Just looking for opinions...if alot of you can do 18's with a 1.5" drop and no rubbing I feel I can do 20's with stock height....Right?
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From: SoCal
'91 C124 300CE,'06 ML 500 W164, '00 BMW MCOUPE, '65 COBRA REPL.
Well, in your initial post you said you wanted a soft ride etc.
20s will not get you that. The tire profile will need to be too small, thus much harsher ride.
Also the unsprung weight of the 20s will diminish ride quality even further.
I can't answer if they will fit, the look etc. but to me the 20s are just too big for this car. It was not designed to handle that much unsprung weight.
17 or 18 and the recommendations by Ed are the ideal.
I have Eibach and HDs, 17s and like the ride. Sporty but still supple enough.
HTH
20s will not get you that. The tire profile will need to be too small, thus much harsher ride.
Also the unsprung weight of the 20s will diminish ride quality even further.
I can't answer if they will fit, the look etc. but to me the 20s are just too big for this car. It was not designed to handle that much unsprung weight.
17 or 18 and the recommendations by Ed are the ideal.
I have Eibach and HDs, 17s and like the ride. Sporty but still supple enough.
HTH
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
I think I found out the real dislike I had was bottoming out without bumpstops, with a 2.5 inch drop.....picture that! I'm still in my 20's but 30 next year the looking cool thing isn't completely out of my system I'll admit.
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
95 E320 Cab (new toy), 06 Range Rover (Hers), 97 Ferrari F355, 05 Ariel Atom 2 (the other toy)
Just picked up a 95 E320 cab. It is black with stock rims and tires with a lot of space between the top of the tire and the fender. I'd like to lower it by 1.5" and still keep a decent ride but up the handling quota.
I've read posts about the H&R lowering springs: can anyone provide part numbers or a good place to buy them?
Also, the shocks seem bad - pushing down on the fender gives a lot of movement. So I'm planning to replace shocks and springs. Any advice on what else I should do?
Thanks in advance.
Background: I had a 93 300ce cab that missed so got this one. The ce was lowered by previous owner by cutting springs - not good but still loved it.
I've read posts about the H&R lowering springs: can anyone provide part numbers or a good place to buy them?
Also, the shocks seem bad - pushing down on the fender gives a lot of movement. So I'm planning to replace shocks and springs. Any advice on what else I should do?
Thanks in advance.
Background: I had a 93 300ce cab that missed so got this one. The ce was lowered by previous owner by cutting springs - not good but still loved it.
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2018 GLE350, 2014 G550, 2000 SL500, 1980 TR8, 1995 E320 Cabriolet
I have been tied up and away from the boards because I've been doing a restoration on my Triumph TR8 (including enlarging the engine to 5.0 liter and 350 HP) this year. That left me with enough time to drive my W124 Cabrio, but not quite enough time to post about it.
As for lower with a good ride, Sportline springs, Bilstein heavy duty struts/shocks with the thinnest spring pads is probably the best setup, although I personally haven't run this setup. It will give about 0.5" to 0.75" drop.
The next best (in my opinion) is H&R lowering springs with the thickest spring pads and Bilstein heavy duty struts/shocks. This will give you about 1.0" to 1.24" drop and a crisp, but reasonable ride over most surfaces. This is what I run on my Cabrio and it has served me well.
Keep in mind, whatever you do, the Cabrio has approximately 1 inch less suspension travel in the front that the coupe/sedan. MB installed spacers on the upper strut mounts in order to lower the strut top nut to allow clearance for the "vibration absorber" that is installed on the left strut (LHD drive cars only). This can cause some real bottoming on the bump stop for lowered Cabrios.
As for lower with a good ride, Sportline springs, Bilstein heavy duty struts/shocks with the thinnest spring pads is probably the best setup, although I personally haven't run this setup. It will give about 0.5" to 0.75" drop.
The next best (in my opinion) is H&R lowering springs with the thickest spring pads and Bilstein heavy duty struts/shocks. This will give you about 1.0" to 1.24" drop and a crisp, but reasonable ride over most surfaces. This is what I run on my Cabrio and it has served me well.
Keep in mind, whatever you do, the Cabrio has approximately 1 inch less suspension travel in the front that the coupe/sedan. MB installed spacers on the upper strut mounts in order to lower the strut top nut to allow clearance for the "vibration absorber" that is installed on the left strut (LHD drive cars only). This can cause some real bottoming on the bump stop for lowered Cabrios.
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
95 E320 Cab (new toy), 06 Range Rover (Hers), 97 Ferrari F355, 05 Ariel Atom 2 (the other toy)
I found these springs on eBay. Any thoughts?
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...id=92369110630
Seems like a good price.
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...id=92369110630
Seems like a good price.
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From: Massachusetts
2018 GLE350, 2014 G550, 2000 SL500, 1980 TR8, 1995 E320 Cabriolet
I found these springs on eBay. Any thoughts?
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...id=92369110630
Seems like a good price.
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewi...id=92369110630
Seems like a good price.
BTW, it seems that mbworld is now infected with that damn viglink virus. I really, really, really, hate being tracked like that. Now I've had to update my greasemonkey script to kill viglink on this site too. I need to re-write the script to kill it on any site. See this thread if you want to get rid of it too: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/sugg...glink-com.html
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
95 E320 Cab (new toy), 06 Range Rover (Hers), 97 Ferrari F355, 05 Ariel Atom 2 (the other toy)
Thanks for the link. They seem pretty we versed with these.
I found a set of KYB shocks / struts for the car on eBay. They are local and am thinking of going there for a visit.
This may take a brief hiatus as the car failed California smog test. Need to get that fixed before I start the mods.
Thanks again for the Info.
I found a set of KYB shocks / struts for the car on eBay. They are local and am thinking of going there for a visit.
This may take a brief hiatus as the car failed California smog test. Need to get that fixed before I start the mods.
Thanks again for the Info.
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
95 E320 Cab (new toy), 06 Range Rover (Hers), 97 Ferrari F355, 05 Ariel Atom 2 (the other toy)
I finally got the springs and shocks: H&R lowering springs from ALLSPRINGS.COM (thanks for the link). Struts and shocks from eBay: KYB set. But here's where I went wrong: I replaced the front shim pads to 8mm instead of the 2 bump (13mm) that was on there. What ended up happening is the front dropped 2" and the rear went down 1 3/8". Didn't change the rear shims (don't know what was going through my mind).
Anyway, took the car to get it aligned and was told the camber adjustment was at the limit (-1.4 degrees). "Nothing can be done since it was lowered." I was told.
Since I didn't like the raked forward look, I was debating bringing up the front or lowering the rear. I ordered 18mm (3 bump) shims for the front to give me a little more height and help with the camber. I plan on doing it next weekend.
According to my calculations based on posts here on the forum, 5mm increase in shim height translates to 7mm height adjustment. Based on that, the 10mm increase would end up with 14mm (.7inch) ride height increase that should level the car up with the rear.
BTW, did all the work witha friend using the special spring compressor I got new off ebay for $165.
Anyway, took the car to get it aligned and was told the camber adjustment was at the limit (-1.4 degrees). "Nothing can be done since it was lowered." I was told.
Since I didn't like the raked forward look, I was debating bringing up the front or lowering the rear. I ordered 18mm (3 bump) shims for the front to give me a little more height and help with the camber. I plan on doing it next weekend.
According to my calculations based on posts here on the forum, 5mm increase in shim height translates to 7mm height adjustment. Based on that, the 10mm increase would end up with 14mm (.7inch) ride height increase that should level the car up with the rear.
BTW, did all the work witha friend using the special spring compressor I got new off ebay for $165.
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
Wow, I have changed the spring combination over 10 times on my ride and never once did I use a spring compressor, make sure you use jack stands and a jack that gets high enough and your good to go.
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Youngtimer
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
I'll admit the very first time I rented a coil compressor tool at autozone, which was less than fifty but you get your money back after you return it and that did the trick. But after that I found out if you hold your foot down on the control arm while pulling at the bottom of the spring it will come out and no it's not maxed out and installing is the same in reverse. Of course I always do it by unbolting my front struts at the top first maybe even the whole strut (been a while). I'm a diesel mechanic, so its not like I don't know what I'm doing!
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From: Long Beach, Ca
lots of cars
It's a lot easier to just use a spring compressor (KLANN type) and a lot safer for the front. The rears can be removed by just unbolting the LCA and then using a jack to put them back on.
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W124 300d
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From: Denver,CO USA
"88 300CE- First Year Production
They are sitting on the side, haven't drove the car in over 3 years, I've been busy with gatherings parts for my 5.0 mustang motor I'm putting in the CE. Just about done as I finally have the cam, aluminum heads, and transmission build I wanted. All I have left is a universal style wiring harness and stand alone computer to time in on nitrous and this car will be the new ugly w124 of the forum
