TX E430

I am driving a '01 430 and I am purchasing my new rims and tires this week and am now looking at also lowering my ride a little. I am wondering what type of $ am I looking at to drop this thing. I want it to look great, but I dont have a ton of $ to throw at it either...

any help or suggestions is appreciated.

ohlord

how low do you want to go?
You can remove the springs and go with the smallest number 1 pad and cut the coils with a cold saw(never torch) Free or nearly free
or spend about 8 bills on spring kit and sport shocks before installation labor if you don't diy.
You should get it aligned which will add additional parts depending how low you go and how far it throws the camber into the negative.

I hope you did not get 19-20's and that you got the correct offsets.

BordeauxW210

I did an some Eibach springs and put #1 spring pads on all 4 corners. It gave it an ok drop; it looks good and I don't worry about scraping anything.

TX E430

I am only wanting to lower it enough to sill the wheel wells with the rims/tires maybe an inch or so tops.

I have not yet ordered the rims, was actually planning on doing that tomorrow. you mentioned NOT going 19" or 20" I was planning on 19" and what are you referring to when you say offsets. I am ordering from a shop on EBAY and when I called and asked if they would fit they said they would. What should I be concerned about? I dont want to order 2 grand worht of rims and have to sink a bunch more money into it because they dont fit properly.

raymond g-

there may be an evelope of 'fit-ability' for the 19" rims, but only if unaltered.
did you check with the vendor on that?

unless you've been clear with the ebay vendor about your plans for lowering,
it would be unwise to accept their green light on fitment. do they know what
ET/offset is required for your car or are they simply eyeballing things?

go to tirerack.com and read up on offset/ET. your car is designed to work
with rims which are centered along a predetermine axis. new rims is likely to
modify this. if you're unclear with this measure, you may inadvertently intro-
duce suspension problems.

we see this time and time again on the forum. people buy for looks, then try
to force fit the design onto their car which calls for different specifications

ghaffar23

Yep, so corect. I went with 19's on my 2001 E430 4Matic. I found some Lorinser springs, new shocks, front camber bolts, and rear camber arms to correct for excessive tire wear. My offsets for my 19's are 34mm for the front 8.5 and 31mm for the rear 9.5, as mine is a staggered set-up. If you're going to do it, do it right, and put the time into researching. Good luck!

bmroxm5

offset is nothing without width. for example, an 8.5inch wide rim with an offset of 35 (measured in mm) will have 12.5mm more inner and outer clearance than a 9.5inch wide rim.

most 18s should fit no problem, i have 18s but now wish i went with 19s as I feel they're a bit 'small'.

do your homework on the 19s and you shouldn't have any problems.

ohlord

than it will ride like crap
and look like a pimped out honda

bmroxm5

ride quality is subjective, however its granted that most 19s will fare worse in ride quality than 18s.

there are plenty of nice designs in 19inch that will still look good.

OP, most people here won't recommend 19s but it's been done before and it's up to you how you balance the dilemma that is looks/ride quality/scrubbing & vehicle issues.

BlackE320

i had 19's for 2 years and got rid of them recently for 18's. im lowered 1.25 front and back on eibach springs. the 19's def look better but the 18's ride surprisingly better and much more smooth with the 1 inch difference. i do not regret the downsize, it also keeps me from cringing everytime i hit a bump or hole. no need to freak out with 18's. its a personal choice if you want your car to look better than it drives get the 19's if u want practicality get the 18's

armaniE55

+1

Don't forget that decent low profile tires in 19'' are also pricey. Either way good luck

Edit:
I remember when I had my 99 E430. When I dropped it using Eibach springs I also changed the shocks as well (Bilstein). I would recommended this even if you go with 19'' or 18''. Top off with alignment and hope that you don't have purchase camber kits. (front and rear)

Red66GT

Also, dont forget if you lower it, there is the chance that you will need to buy rear adjustable camber arms. People are split 50/50 on whether you need them or not, and I did. I also needed to buy the front adjustable camber bolts. Wore out the insides of my first set of rear tires in a few months. Now I have the added expense of having to get a 4 wheel alignment every once in a while. I am very happy with the car though. Rides nice. I chose 18's though. H&R Sport springs, stock pads, stock shocks. Here's a post on the rear costs....

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...cs-inside.html