Colinporter

Hi all i'm seriously considering swapping the abc out for coilovers on my sl500 r230. I can get the coilovers from BC Racing here in the uk but anti roll bars i can't seem to find here only in the States. I know the 350 has spring's & anti roll bars. The ones from the States are apparently stronger but would a 350 rear be ok because i can't think there would be any weight difference on the back of either car.

Hary Gahtoe

Sure you could use an SL350 rear sway bar.

You also might want to do some research on W211 E55
Also search R230 black series
The difficulty for fronts is the body mounts, nothing that cant be fabbed

Good Luck

MarkCan

Colin,
Last year when my ABC experience some minor glitches I looked at some conversions just in case.
The conclusion that I arrived at was that properly setup coilovers with anti roll bars may actually cost more than a major repair on the ABC. There is no of the shelf substitute. If your plan is to go racing than yes, sure slam your car down and have fun. Otherwise you are talking black series or custom made parts. $$$
I spent couple of hundred on new accumulators, flush the system and it performs just like new. Ride quality is amazing,not to mention the convince of ride height adjustment. The key here is to be proactive. Service the system before it fails.

Ducatic230

There is a company in Florida called VVK. I have ordered and I am waiting to get there swaybar kit. I will post pictures when the kit arrives. I will be doing the conversion myself but I believe I am in 2300 for swaybars and coilovers.

gaazmon

From what I've researched, it seems a lot of people don't mind paying more than what it costs to repair their ABC system because of the future reliability of a coil-over system (e.g. not getting left stranded on the road with a blown hydraulic hose or strut). The VVK seems to be the most comprehensive (from my reading of the forum) due to the sway bars (most of the original kits out there had no sway bars and I personally wouldn't gamble with that, just to err on the side of caution).

The ABC is definitely a work of science and a superior system than most conventional setups (especially at that time when ABC was first introduced on the R230/W215/W220). Just comparing it to a vehicle with airmatic semi-active air suspension even, the ABC just pulls the car through the corners much more smoothly (versus the airmatic still has a sort of weighty feeling, though still impressive in my book). I had an 04 E320 with the airmatic so the real-life difference with ABC is noticeable (and so is the upkeep ). The ride height is awesome for those nasty high up sidewalk curves or treacherous driveways (especially, again, since it goes higher than airmatic does).

Personally, I'd have to drive a car with a VVK setup or similar to make the plunge into investing and removing the entire ABC system or not.

MarkCan

What’s the expected ride hight? If memory serves me right it was 1/2 to 3/4 inch lower than normal setting on ABC. Is this still the case?

Ducatic230

That's what is said. Haven't installed coilovers yet. Waiting for swaybars.