it is GREAT. beyond my imagination. Also did my control arms, as the bushings were shot.

H&R with Bilstein Sports. I thought that it would be stiffer than it is. It is not stiff at all. Bumps are actually smoother than my old worn stock suspension. Turns are amazing. Roll is minimal. Stopping and starting is much smoother. Gear shifts are smoother. Power is applied directly.

The car should have came like this from the factory.

It's bull**** that the American market gets cars that are softened up.

 

Though the drop was not as significant as I'd hoped. I will need to change the spring pads. Can I do this without taking out the springs?

 

#1 - let the springs settle first. drive for a week or two

#2 - no, to change pads, the springs must be removed. not to worry. because
you now have shorter springs, the change out should be easier. last week, I
swapped both front pads in less than 40 mins.

did you do the springs/shocks yourself, or did you have them installed?

 

settle you say?

Okay, I will drive it around for a week and re-access the situation.

 

how much did this suspension project run you? Where did you get the suspension from?

 

yes, settle. new springs require a few miles before the metal memory takes
a 'set'. off the top of my head, I'll say something like 1/2" or so, but natch,
this will depend on each manuf, each coil design and material used, the weight
of the vehicle, etc. e.g. my Vogtland settled just shy of .5" after a 100
miles of driving.....after installation.

 

Where did you buy the shocks and springs from? Also how much did everything cost to complete this project.. Install and everything.

 

you're probably asking Rostam, because he has similar model. but in case it
helps, my 99 E320 has very similar suspension as you two. I shopped Ebay
for Vogtland springs (about $250), and shocks were $400 shipped. I purchased
the Klann clone spring compressor and have been mixing and matching...and
experimenting with the suspension for months. so in that respect, the labor
cost me $200, but as many times as I've swapped out parts such as shocks
and spring pads, it would have costed me upwards of $700+ had I opted to
have a commercial outfit do this for me. I must have changed removed the
springs about 6x, spring pads about 4x, and shocks 3x. I'm happy now, with
about a 1" gap

 

Give it some time to settle in!

 

I got the springs shipped from VA. $640 shipped. If you need the number, PM me.

I had my control arm bushings done, and the mechanic threw in the front springs no charge. I did the rear myself. So labor on the suspension was negligible.

I should have taken before pics, but I'll post some after pics once it settles and I get it aligned.

 

+1, my new springs settled about a half inch after installation. I've got about 1k miles on them now and love the drop. Not slammed, not 4x4.......just right.

 

So raymond im sure you have tried almost every combo out there right. I am debating on either going with bilstein sport shocks or koni adjustable sport shocks. One of the two with H&R SPRINGS.Just want your opinion as to what you think is best.

I want the car to be stable at high speeds, lane changes, i want it to handle and corner well, and i want the steering wheel to be tighter(heavier) and more responsive. What do you think.

 

ns-
i'm far from an expert. I did read as much as I could and had a darn good idea
what I wanted. your description of preferences sound near identical to mine.
so I selected the Koni adjustables, yellow bodied shocks. 3 settings: soft,
medium, and firm.

note that I had OEM and Bilstien HDs previously. the HDs are said to be 10%
firmer than OEM. my seat-of-pants confirms this, as did family members in
somewhat blind test. Bilstein Sport has same dampening rates as the HD
but slightly shorter. the shock travel is identical to the HDs.

after I purchased Vogtland lowering springs, it was prudent for me to swap out
the (long) HDs for shorter shocks. I selected the Koni adjs, figuring that I
could simply dial and select the desired dampening. it is my experience that
the firmest setting of the Koni adjs were perceptibly less firm than the
Bilsteins. spirited driving through freeway on/off ramps induced more body
roll and lower speeds than the HDs. missing this sure footedness, I bought
the Bilstein Sports and am quite satisfied with the overall balance of ride
and roll control. too bad Konis couldn't have been valved to start off on
med/firm/firmer instead of soft/med/firm.

the above are subjective responses, based on both cheeks and visual indications
of body roll and speedo readout.

other factors/details....
99 E320 sedan, RWD
18" staggered 211 dbl spoked rims,
F - 8.5" ET31, 225/40, #4 pads
(removed 245/40 due to rubbing)
R - 9.0" ET39, 265/35, #1 pads
Vogtland lowering springs (1.5")

oh, after changing from from 245 to 225, the steering lightened noticeably,
allowing me to flick the wheel quicker/easier. I actually liked this, as I'm use
to a 14" steering wheel and the much larger MB 210 wheel annoyed me. I
felt it slow and required much more hand-over-hand than I would like. but
I gave up trying to find a smaller wheel which would retain OEM airbag and
decided to accept the 15 incher.

hope this helps give you some insight into what I did (and wanted). I'm
quite happy now.

(have Koni adjustables for 210 if anyone is interested, about 500 miles on
rear and 50 on front shocks. asking $275.75 shipped CONUS)

 

Hmm thanks a lot raymond. yes right now i have the 18inch e55 amg monoblock take offs with 235/40/18 up front and 265/35/18 in the rear in high performance summer tires. Also i have #5 front and #4 spring pads or vice versa i forget.
I really want to get this car cornering nicely and stable at higher speeds, etc. etc. etc. I want to feel more in control.

I read a little more and realize some other people said the same about the konis as you say. If i were to get them i would want to put them on the stiffest setting anyways. So i think bilstein sports are for me with H&R combo. I don't hear to much about the Vogtland springs so i dont know how they compare to the H&R.
How about rear camber kit? Don't you have to do that or else you get lots of negative camber?

Thanks

 

i cant remember what/why i ended up with the Vogtlands. i recall spending a
lot of time trying to find progressive wound coils....and perhaps felt that the
Vogtlands I was buying was. when it arrived, i was disappointed but had waited
so long that I just tossed them onto the car.

so far, no radical negative camber. i'm a little odd. I wanted the car lowered
but only an inch. I wanted approx 1" tire/fender gap....not the slammed look.
so instead of letting the car drop its advertised 1.6" drop, I actually swapped
spring pads to maintain the 1" tire gap....even though the fad is to have the
tire riding up and inside the wheel well. nah......

so far, tire wear is very even, the springs have settled, but haven't gotten
around to bringing it in for wheel alignment. when I do and the results indicate
camber kit needed, then yes...I'd gladly consider the purchase of something
like Lensolo's kit.

the gap is a little smaller than appears in this pic. camera point of aim is
closer to the ground (making the gap appear larger).

http://i17.tinypic.com/53ijpky.jpg

 

Raymond

The suspension alterations I have performed to my E look essentially identical to yours, but my rear camber is negative (-1.7 per side) and front is (-1.5) per side. Do you recall your alignment camber specs? I'm working with Lensolo for a pair of camber arms for my rears as they are wearing the tires down