I am slowly working my way into buying some 18s for the E430 as my new job is taking off, BUT, this suspension is pretty dang firm I must say. With stock 16s it's almost annoying. Roads here in Dallas vary widely, and my neighborhood sucks. Coolest neighborhood in town with the worst roads. Go figure. I'd almost rather drive my X5 with 20s all day long, and that's no cakewalk either. My thought is, that with 16s the ride can be jarring. With 18s who knows what I'll get. Maybe I am *****ing, but I am in the dark as to the firmness issue with these Bilsteins. Why are they so damn firm? Just as an aside, I have NEVER had a car with this firm a ride. My X5 has 20s. My 540 had 19s. My M5 had 18s and so did my 528. The Benz with dinky donut 16" wheels is the worst. Unfortunately the car needs 18s if I have to drive it as the above mentioned wheels are so totally lame.

Rant off.

 

am presuming you have HDs. why not switch to Comforts or touring....which
should be a step below and offer softer compression/rebound damping? maybe
even the Koni adjustable?

 

I hate the eibach springs. You would have been better off cutting 1/2 a coil off the stck springs and using the bilsteins with them. H&R's suck too. Stck springs on my AMG have giving me back my ride comfort and handling.

 

I've got H&R (and Eibach) with Bilstein sport + AMG 18" wheels on my car. Our local roads are a horror show. Ride quality is best described as punishing with the H&R. The Eibach springs are a little better as they're a progressive rate spring. I am in the process of fitting adj KONIs all around...they're much more street-friendly than the Bilstein sport.

 

Konis were on my 540 with the 19s. Plush but firm.

 

I second that.

Your ride comfort is determined by the shock, not the spring.

I upgraded to Koni Externally Adjustables + H&R Sport Springs and it is more firm, more quiet, and more comfortable than stock. Plus with Koni externally adjustable, I can adjust my ride softer or harder with a twist of a knob on each shock.

 

whee did you gets get the adjustable shocks. I was about to bo bilsteins....

 

You can find them here: http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...ORT&perfCode=S

 

i got the eibach springs, and bilstein shocks with 18's, ride is not bad at all. i actually like my setup. by the way, i live in dallas too. ride is great on highways... that's what we drive on most of the time anyways. but overall ride is good everywhere..... hit me up if interested.

 

thanks guys.

 

are we talking about the OEM bilstein HD or sport shocks here?? my OEM black bilstein black shocks are very soft