cap'n jasper

I've just removed my Ventura springs and replaced them with H&R.
The Venturas were too low causing some rubbing and a really bumpy ride. Here is a picture of the front springs. The black one is the H&R and the orange one is the Ventura.

You can see how much lower the Ventura is!
I was using 4 bump pads on the Venturas but with the H&R I've swapped to 1 bump.
My question is....Is the front now too high with the H&R?
Should I chop a bit off the spring to lower it about another 10mm?
Check out this pic. Top is the Ventura, bottom is H&R.

The ride is certainly a lot better with the H&R.

Bobbisboy2

i would put 2 or 3 bumps in the rear to raise it, instead of lowering the front

Sp!ke

Very interesting comparison. It does look a little lower on the back now than the front but not by a great deal. Perhaps a bump or two up on the back. (I wouldn't cut the front springs)

I too will soon be going down this route but don't want to sacrifice ride quality if possible so these H&R springs have caught my attention.

What sort of money are the H&R Springs?

cap'n jasper

Well Mr Sp!ke,
It's a real can of worms! The Venturas are crap and best avoided (£80 from Eurocarparts).
The H&Rs (£190) are available in two different types (29569-1 and 29569-2) http://www.hrsprings.com
The '1' version is listed for saloons the '2' version for early coupes and both are listed for the E320 coupe.
I went for the '2' which has less of a drop on the front (hence my dilemma?). Will cutting a small part off the '2' make it a '1'?

ksing44

As you may remember, the same thing happened to me with the Eibach Pro Kit springs. For some reason the aftermarket springs seem to drop the car more in the rear. I hated how it looked with the rear lower than the front. It made the car look old, like it had a broken down worn out suspension. It certainly didn’t look "sporty". I added thicker spring pads in the rear to get a symmetrical drop, but now my car really isn’t very low. You wouldn’t even know it was dropped, unless you were familiar with how high the E320 sits when stock. I am happy with the subtle drop, but I understand wanting your car to be lower in the front, rather than raising the rear with thicker spring pads

Some people are adamant about not cutting springs, but just taking part of a coil off the bottom of the spring doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to do. On the other hand, simply cutting a lot off an OEM spring would be bad, because without increased spring rate, I’m sure there would be too much suspension travel and the car would bottom out or rub. Since you have the aftermarket springs, with increased spring rates, I bet it would be OK to trim a little off the bottom. I think it is OK to cut a little, but I am certainly not an expert.

They say to be careful not to heat the metal when you cut the springs. I suppose the heat can change the metal, although I would think it would take quite a bit of heat.

cap'n jasper

I think I will chop a bit off. I've got till Friday morning to decide because that's when it's booked in for wheel alignment.
While I was messing about I also changed the rear sub-frame bushes for Sportline ones. I wonder if I'll notice any difference?

ksing44

It is reassuring to see how good the old sub-frame bushings look. Makes me feel like I don’t have to rush out get new ones.

Sportline stuff is COOL

Be careful cutting your springs. You can always cut a little more, but you can't easily add the material back after it is cut.

kth286

cap,n

As you know, Mercedes offer a selection of spring lengths depending on the options on the individual car.

It works on a points system. When you give your chassis number to the parts man, he can see the factory options on your particular model ie. Air conditioning, adjustable steering, (optionals in UK) etc etc and he works out the points allocation of your car.
The springs are then listed according to your total points band.

One way for you to get a lower spring from Mercedes is to ask for the front springs for the 2 litre coupe, which is a lighter car and therefore, that spring fitted to your car will make it sit lower - and for minimal cost ie. about £40 per spring.

Worth investigating ??

Regards

David Williams
E320 Coupe (W124) 1995

kth286

Cap'n

Whilst I am here, I will just mention a couple of jobs I have recently done to my car, and which you may be interested in.

ONE.

I replaced the three major links on the rear suspension, each side, as I was having to correct my steering in a straight line, when accelerating and decelerating.

The links being the 'torque' 'thrust' and 'camber' links.

The end result is the rear suspension is a good half inch higher.
The car drives better and feels very good and 'tight' - like new.
The car has done 133,000 miles.

TWO

I had a clunk from the front suspension, and I have replaced the NS front wishbone. This includes the knukle ball joint which is integral on my 320 model.
The front swivel joint was rusted and the bolt had to be drilled out. The rear joint of the wishbone was very badly worn and was causing the 'clunks'.
The car now drives even better with a very direct steering and smooth suspension.

Hope you find this useful.

cap'n jasper

Thanks for the advice David.
I wanted Sportline springs but my dealer was his usual unhelpful self, muttered about the points system for different specs and ended up saying he would only order the original springs for my chassis number.
My car has only done 65000 miles and the rear links look fine (same for the front). I did consider changing the front wishbones for Sportline ones but the cost was quite high (£250) and there's nothing actually wrong with what I've got. I susppose I could have just changed the front bushes but it all seemed like a lot of hassle for a tiny benefit.
If anyone's considering changing the rear sub-frame mounts I can tell you now they're a ***** to get out (and in!)
The more I look at my car now the more I think I like the new height. I think the previous picture makes it look worse than it is. Perhaps I'll take some more tomorrow with the car on the flat.
Sportline stuff is WAY COOL