808-E-320

Hey guys, ive been lurking around here for a while since my Dad gave me his 97' E320 and have been researching and soaking as much info as i can.

I have already made up my mind on rims and have decided to get some chrome 19" ADR Sterling rims (Good CHoice?)

anyways, before he hands me the keys he said he was going to do a complete tune up of the car, and he also said he was going to change the already dead shocks, my question was that i am planning to "drop" or lower the car to enhance looks (BTW im only 18 so im still in the "show off" stage). Should I spend MY OWN money to get some bilstein, eibach, or even an H&R cup kit shocks to lower the car or should my dad spend HIS OWN money to have the dealership replace the dead stock shocks with new stock shocks and have me replace the springs with aftermarket lowering springs (H&R, eibach etc.).

so really the question is: do i change the whole suspension or should i get new STOCK shocks and just put some aftermarket lowering springs

money is not really an issue but i want the benz to look nice and lowered as possible with the 19" chrome rims

BTW i dont really care about the quality of the ride only the looks, and one more thing: what are spring pads? do they matter and how do i know what type i have in my car??

sorry for all the questions, im really excited about my 1st car

thanks

jimmydagreek

Welcome to the family 808! I'm sure you will find a lot more useful info. in this board than you ever imagined. Anyway, what color is your W210? I'm just wondering because if you are going to put chrome wheels on it, I just hope it's not silver, hehehe. Also, how wide of 19's will you be getting? Are you going staggered like 8.5 or 9's in the front and 9.5 or 10's in the rear? If you are in the "show-off" stage, staggered would be the best with a 10' rear for that nice fat lip...

In regards to shocks, for the price that your dad would pay to have the MB "stealership" instal stock shocks, you can probably replace your entrie suspension. I currently have H&R Sport springs and Bilstein SP Sport shocks. The ride is a bit stiffer, let's say in comparison to the H&R Cupkit but I love the ride, more aggressive. I personally think you can't go wrong with the H&R Cupkit for what you need. It has a pretty smooth ride and a nice drop.

Spring pads are what the springs sit in/on. MB make them in 5 different sizes from 1-5 (1 being the thinnest of course) in 8mm gaps. For the maximum drop I and smooth ride, IMO would recommend the cupkit and #1 pads all around. That would be sweet. You can find the cupkit on line for around $600 bucks. Install would be another let's say $300 at the most from what I've seen, depending on where you are and where you go. Don't let the stealership do it because they'll charge you an arm and a leg.

I hope all of this info. helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions or any other help you require. Have fun with the mods. and post some before and after pics.

808-E-320

thanks for the warm welcome Jimmy,im very glad to have joined the E-class family!

anyways i would have prefered black, but the color is dark alpine green(?) so i think it will look good in chromes. Unfortunately the ADR rims only come in 19x8.5 (5x112) all around with a 38mm offset, but i dont really care cuz they're CHROME (bling!) rims on a benz, u hardly see that in hawaii cuz there are way too much "ricer boys" here

well ive only heard good things about the H&R cup kit soo i'll definetly be considering them. but will there be any problems with rubbing of fenders or scraping the ground (speedbumps) when i combine them with the 19" rims???...

my friends always have that problem with their "dropped" civics...

also how much will the "stealership" charge if i want the all spring pads changed to #1??

thanks

jimmydagreek

I agree, chrome will look nice on green. I have 19X8.5's all around as well. You will find a pic. of my ride in the Events & Gatherings forum under the Eurofest gtg. thread if you would like to check it out.

When you drop on 19's you might have a slight rub in the front of the front fender near the bumper. I just had mine rolled and that took care of it.

As for the stealership, I don't know what they'll charge but I'm sure it will be a lot. You might already have that size pad on your rears, check before you buy them. My 97 E420 came stock with #3's in the front and #1's in the rears. The way to check is to take a flashlight and look from under your car, up into the tops of your springs. The black rubber things that sit on top of them are the spring pads. Look around from the bottom where the spring meets the pad for little bumps, like nipples. Count how many are there and that's the size of your pad.

If you are going to go with new shocks and springs, have a suspension shop or custom shop do the work for you to save a lot of cash. Trust me, don't ask the dealership to do it. Btw, if you will be replacing the shocks and springs anyway, that is when you should replace the pads because the springs will already be off the car. You don't want to have the dealer charge you to remove the springs and change the pads when you will be removing the springs anyways to replace them and the shocks.

808-E-320

if that is the case, then will some custom or suspension shops carry the spring pads for our car?? or do i have to buy the spring pads from the dealership and have some other custom shops install them??

jimmydagreek

No, you have to buy the pads from the stealer, they are not expensive at all, like $6 bucks each, then take them to the shop that will install your new suspension. Make sure you look at yours before you buy them just in case you already have #1's in the rears...

808-E-320

I see, I see, cool

will it be okay to change all of them since i am putting in a new suspension system or will it just be an added expense?

BTW how bad will the rubbing in the fenders be with the 19's? do i absolutely need to have them rolled? if so, how do you do it and how much will it cost?

thanks

Renn 208

Hey there. Are you actually from Hawaii? If so, what island? I believe that there are at least one or two other members running around that area...

If not from HI...perhaps just a fan of music?

In any case, welcome, and good luck with the project!

808-E-320

Im on the island of Oahu,

The import scene here is pretty big and i just wanted to be a lil different cuz u hardly see any pimped out benz' here on the island

thanks

808-E-320

...

Whitey

Hi there 808,

You got a pic of the ADR's? I'm a bit of a "wheel man" and like to explore anything I've not seen.

A thing to note with chromed rims is make sure they're real chrome and not the PU painted chrome cuz the painted chrome, although looks very good and will last, is not repairable. I curbed one and discovered that it has a very hard black undercoat which will show thru if you try to file off the curb rash. I tried to remove the whole lot from the lip to expose the metal but found the ***** is so hard, it'll need an acid bath for a week to get rid of all of it! In the end I swapped my rims for ones with genuine chromed lips and have proven that repairs are definitely possible.

Hope this helps.

808-E-320

here are the adr's, a wheel shop here in Hawaii quoted me about $2100 with tires and installation

I really like the style of these rims, ive seen the Lowenhart version of these rims (BR5) but i dont wanna spend over $5000 just for rims. My budget is about $2500 since ill be adding a H&R cup kit to it.

as far as the chrome thing, i'll definetly be researching and asking about it BEFORE i buy it

if u see any rims comparable in style and price, please let me know

thanks

808-E-320

here are the adr's, a wheel shop here in Hawaii quoted me about $2100 with tires and installation

http://adrwheels.com/wheels/?sfID1=12&sfID2=60

nice choice?

I really like the style of these rims, ive seen the Lowenhart version of these rims (BR5) but i dont wanna spend over $5000 just for rims. My budget is about $2500 since ill be adding a H&R cup kit later to it.

as far as the chrome thing, i'll definetly be researching and asking about it BEFORE i buy it

if u see any rims comparable in style and price, please let me know

thanks

Whitey

Nice wheels - I've always liked the Lowenhart version but only in isolation as I'm never been real sure how they'd look on the W210 (I'm real particular about looks - the other guys will tell you this ). IMO, its very difficult to get wheels to match the E's design if you don't go with the common choices - that's why I did millions of photochops on my car before I finally got some.

What I found as a general rule is that thin spokes don't go real well with the W210 body (unless there's lots of it like the Brabus iV, VI, BBS and HRE's/IForge's).

As for the chrome thing, my painted ones were only painted chrome half way on the inside of in the rim - that's how you could tell. Having said that, there's a chance other brands may be completely painted on the rim so beware. It looks like the ADR's are chromed all over the inside of the rim.

Whitey

What's the width and offset on those BTW?

Edit: oops, just read your comment.

For a staggered look:

235 tires up front, 255 in the back (use 235 all round if you wanna rotate them)

If you can get matching bolts, add 5-10mm hubcentric (MUST) spacers on the rears (i.e. making them ET33 - ET28) for even better looks and handling - 5mm will be very close to the AMG setup but 10mm would be even more agressive. My $0.02

The Godfather

a green '97... mmmm another "BENZ" in the making

zx11blade

Welcome to the forum 808. Good choice of wheels. I have the same wheels in 18s all the way around with Michelin Pilots AS. I like the look and the ride.

Whitey

Hey zx11blade, so are they real chrome or PU? Do u have a pic of how it looks on an E?

jimmydagreek

Hey 808, in answer to your question, if you have #1 pads in the rear already, no need to buy them again, just purchase the ones for the front and have the suspension shop install them when they put in your new springs. As for the front fenders, I guess it will depend on your offset and size of tires. If your tires are 235/35 19's then you shouldn't have much of a problem. The only problem I really had was when making a really sharp turn in and out of driveways or over bumps, otherwise, they didn't rub. Once you have your suspension of and wheels, check your clearance, if you rub, let me know and I'll take pics. of what we did to mine and I'll send them to you with instructions, very simple. Good luck!

808-E-320

THANKS ALOT GUYS

gee, u all seem like cool people to work with and i look forward to joining the E class family

at least now i know that i have some friendly and knowledgeable people to turn to when i have a problem

Right now, i'll be working my a$$ off to save up for the rims and the cup kit

But I definetly will be taking some before and after pix of the benz with the chrome rims and the drop

thanks again guys, i really appreciate it