HI,

I am thinking of replacing the factory shocks and springs on a 97 E420 to the Bilstein Sports Shocks and the Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set. Does anyone have experience with this setup? Is Tirerack.com the best place to buy the Eibach pro kit springs? Does anyone know any other place that sells it at a lower price than tirerack.com? I already bought the Bilstein sport shocks from ebay.com. One of my mechanic keep telling me not to buy aftermarket springs for mercedes, he recommends only the stock springs. As he had lots of problems installing after market springs on diff mercedes. Will I have problem installing the Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set on my E420?
My car now have 110,000 mi and the shocks and springs have never been replaced. The rear of the car is already sagging and is a lot lower than the front. I figure if I am going to replace the shocks and springs, I might as well get the performance ones to improve the handling of the car. How well will the Bilstein sports shocks and the Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set improve the ride?
I kinda feel the stock suspension is a bit soft when travelling at high speeds and over bumps.

Would you rather spend $800 on suspension or on a set of 18" wheels and tires? or what about a pair of new projector headlights with after market HID? Which one is more important?

Thanks

Ed

 

I love my Koni adjustables and H&R springs. Since you already bought the shocks I guess there is nothing to talk about. As far as springs, the H&R are lower and I have head ride a bit tighter. Also something to consider when dropping your car is the spring pads. You can get them in 1,2,3,4 (5mm all the way up to 17mm). My car came stock with #3's and I went down to #1 for a lower drop. The Eibach's are great but if you want a lower stance and a firmer ride get the H&R. The spring pads are up to you and they are cheap, $6 bucks each.
Good luck
Mario

 

I just bought the Eibach Pro Kit, this morning, for my 01 E430. I got it for $240.00 with free shipping from the following site. I found them to be the cheapest and the free shipping was great.


http://www.jdmautogames.com/product_2885_7396.html

I also bought the Bilstein HD's and will install them as soon as I receive the shocks and springs. I will post the difference in ride quality, please do the same. I was looking to get E55 springs but was told that they were harsher in ride quality than the Eibach's. I was look for a comfortable yet sporty ride.


BTW anyone know of a good place in Houston, TX to get the shocks and springs installed?

Good Luck with your upgrades.

 

THanks for your replys.

I think I will get the Eibach Pro Kit springs from the website you provided too. as it is cheaper than tirerack and also tirerack is out of stock until feb.

Thanks

Ed

 

I have Eibach+Bilstein Sport. The wobbles round bends that the stock suspension produces is elimintated with very minimal sacrifice on comfort - feels much better than the stock setup. Handling is great.

However, you might have to play around with spring pads to get the front/rear level the way you like it as the Eibach springs tend to keep the car very level which somehow makes the front visually, if not physically, higher due to the higher fender arch in the front of the W210 (H&R and other springs lower the front farther relative to the rear).

 

I'm not sure where to get your cars labor done but I paid $250 in Cali for all four corners. I later landed up doing it over again by myself because I wanted to play with the spring pads. It was fairly easy as long as you have air tools. If you want the dropped look make sure you get the #1 pads for all four.
Mario

 

Whitey,

I have no experience with suspension upgrades so please dont mind my silly questions. As I said before I already bought the bilstein hd's and eibach pro kit. I am waiting to receive the parts before taking it to a shop to get it installed. I have a 01 E430 Sport, should I buy the spring pads before taking it to the shop? Or will the stock spring pads be ok. I am not going to use the MB dealer to get the shocks & springs installed. Do you know what #'s the stock spring pads are or can I tell by looking behid my wheels?
Also do you have to remove the shocks and springs to replace the pads if they aren't the correct height?

I appreicate your help.

 

No worries about the questions, we're all here to help each other out.

The stock pads are fine, mechanically, but many of us feel thinner pads gives a better drop and having them ready before you get the springs install simply saves you cost and time later as you're already paying for the spring install - might as well do it all in one go i.e. yes, you need to remove the brackets for the springs which requires a compressor (very expensive!) - not something you could do easily at home without the right tools.

I believe the stock pads are #3 but you can see little "nipples" on the pads - each nipple stands for the # (i.e. 3 nipples = #3). The fronts are easy, just full lock your steering wheel and peek inside with a torch/flashlight and look for the nipples on the pads at the end of the spring (can't remember whether its on top or bottom, but I think it was the bottom). The rears might be a little tricky.

With Eibach's even #1's all round as a general rule won't be too slammed (if that's what you do'nt want) and shouldn't give you any rubbing problems but that depends on the agressiveness of the offset of your wheels and tire width. A number of members here found that having the same number pad all round on EIbachs will give the appearance of the car being a little high compared to the rear as I said (but that's predominantly an illusion). I am on #4 in the rear as my wheels are almost behind the fender with #3 and #1 in the front but still feel my front is a little high. However I seem to be the only one who's had this problem, so it could just be my car (which is spec'd slightly different to the US versions), so I wouldn't go to that extreme on your car. Staying #3 or getting #2 in the back won't be too much of a gamble as a slightly raised back (if that's what you end up with) simply makes the car's stance a little more agressive.

Hope this helps in your decision, good luck and do post some pics when done.

 

Thanks Whitey,

I have stock 01 E430 Sport wheels and tires 17".
I have attached a before pic, hope I did it right. I used the Manage Attachment when replying to upload the pic.

I will post pics of the car after the susp. upgrade.

I will take you advice and buy the pads in advance.

 

Hey sbarsap, just trying to help out. Did you say that you are going to install the Eibach Pro Kit with Bilstein HD's? I hope you know that your ride might suffer some because the Bilstein HD's are direct factory replacements by size and if your going to a shorter spring, you won't be using the full potential of your shocks. It will be just like replacing the springs to sport springs only and leaving the stock shocks in. The Bilstein shocks you need are the Sport shocks. They are shorter than the HD's and are used with short spring kits, such as the Eibachs. If possible, can you return the HD's and purchase a set of sport shock?

I had the H&R Sport/Bilstein SP Sport combo on my E420 with #2 pads all around and it was great! The ride was nice and sporty but if you're looking for a bit smoother ride, you might go with the Eibach springs. I also really like the H&R Cupkit. Not too low (but that can be adjusted with your spring pads) and a great smooth ride.

Much luck and post some pics!

Just my $0.02...

 

Thanks Jimmy,

I just ordered the shocks a couple of days back and will try and get them exchanged before they ship out.

 

Hope I'm not making you go through too much trouble but I figure you'd want to do it right the first time. Btw, like Whitey said, that's what we're all here for, to help each other out right?! Let us know what happens...

 

Jimmy,

I just got off the phone with the place I ordered them from and luckily they hadn't been shipped as yet. I was able to change the order. Thanks for saving me the extra shipping costs to return my original order. Also the Sports were $35 cheaper than the HD's.

I wil try experimenting with the #1, #2 and #3 pads and see how it goes.
I can't wait to experience better handling on my E430 sport. I had test driven a 01 BMW 540 with the Sport Pkg. before buying my car and loved the way it handled but it was not too spacious inside hence I went with the E430, which I love.

Thanks again for the good advice as always.

 

Glad it worked out. I avoided the topic assuming it was too late to change Good catch Jimmy

 

I have the koni yellows with eibach springs and #1 pads--it seems the h&r's are more popular for ride height and feel. I find the eibach/koni combo to be stiff for a passenger car. I like the look but am not really a racecar driver so it feels a bit harsh.