E-420 Sport vs E-55 / Suspension Difference?
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From: San Antonio, TX
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E-420 Sport vs E-55 / Suspension Difference?
Ok guys well i love my W210 E-420 Sport Package i have 50k miles on her and just recently started to tackle daily driver duties with her since she's a blast to drive. I did a full fluid service and replaced the old original shocks with bilsteins and man does she handle, i have oem 18 monoblocks wrapped in nitto invos and she grips the road quite nicely but i cant help but wonder what the big difference in suspension between the E420 Sport package and E-55. What would i need to upgrade in my car to have exactly the same suspension system as an W210 E-55? Im wondering what the difference in things like sway bar , shock's, spring rates, tie rods, bushings etc. I really dont care about power but i want to make sure my car handles exactly like a W210 E-55 or better as far as balance goes. I drove a W210 E-55 a long time ago and i remember it handled similar but a bit stiffer in the rear which made it rotate a bit better and feel less nose heavy.
Posted this some where else and so far no body has answered, maybe i will have better luck here. Any suggestions are welcome
Here is how she sits as of today.
Posted this some where else and so far no body has answered, maybe i will have better luck here. Any suggestions are welcome
Here is how she sits as of today.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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John Deere
How much do you want to spend? You could lower the car 1.5" all around and it will feel tighter on corners. Anything more and you will be paying about 50% of the car's value to get a little stiffer on cornering with what you already have.
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My parents paid close to 90k for this car in Mexico city back in 97 so she is worth every penny. I got her for dirt cheap when they moved to Canada and love her like crazy, i would not mind spending no more than 2k on suspension though i do think coilovers might be overkill. I think a good combo of my bilstein shocks with a good spring might work im open to suggestions, also what do you think of the rear H&R swaybar? Thanks in advance.
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From: Henrico, Virginia
2014 ML350 4Matic
Back to the first question, there are many differences between an E430 and an E55. Note I said E430, as the E55 was not produced until after the E420 went out of production. This is significant because the E420 has the older, significantly heavier 4-cam engine. While I have not compared them I would assume the front spring rates are a bit higher on the E420 to support the additional weight. Therefore it would be difficult to reproduce an E55 directly.
By the way, the Sport package was simply a cosmetic package; there are no suspension modifications over a "normal" E420.
A short list of E55 chassis mods include springs, sway bars, special Bilstein shocks (not the normal Bilstein Sports), special brakes, etc. If you really want to do this the best thing would be to find a wrecked E55 to use as a parts car. $2K won't get you close if you try to do this with factory parts.
By the way, the Sport package was simply a cosmetic package; there are no suspension modifications over a "normal" E420.
A short list of E55 chassis mods include springs, sway bars, special Bilstein shocks (not the normal Bilstein Sports), special brakes, etc. If you really want to do this the best thing would be to find a wrecked E55 to use as a parts car. $2K won't get you close if you try to do this with factory parts.
