Just a quick question as i said in another post i am thinking of doing a coilover conversion on my sl500. I have heard people say they have done the conversion without putting anti roll bars on? Would this be correct?

 

Yes, I'm sure some have done just that, and it should work, as long as you're not going to take turns at any meaningful speeds, and you don't do any hard braking. But if you want to do a coilover mod, AND have a decent handling car, I highly suggest using sway bars.

 

Ok thanks for that. The reason i ask is because apparently it's a bit of a job installing sway bars due to having to drop front and rear sub frames. It's ok doing that if i had a vehicle lift but doing on the floor could be a nightmare.
Also there's a fella from the States who has
done a video on YouTube on this conversion
he is using aftermarket sway bars. Would sl350 sway bars work ok. I can't seem to find aftermarket here in England.

 

There is no OEM front bar that fits the V8 and V12 cars, so you’re looking at after market brands. I learned in this forum that opinions about those are mixed.

 

I know RMT in Florida do aftermarket sway bars for v8 but here i can't get one. The sl350 bars is the only other option here. Unless i get one from Florida .
i have heard that some people don't bother fitting them.

 

As said, the 350 front bar does not fit under a V8 or V12 engine.

 

Ah right sorry i think i misread you post.
someone did say about a w211 e55 front bar. I haven't done any research on that yet though.

 

Here is my SL55 AMG (owned for twelve years) with all OEM parts applied for full removal of ABC.


On OEM SL350

I am thrilled with the conversion, which I had carried out by my local Canadian Mercedes-Benz dealer two years ago.

Please find PDF attachment, listing all parts/numbers, etc. available through Mercedes-Benz in Canada. I had to do much research prior to this, so I hope it now will help others.

 

Here is the PDF attachment for SL350 coilovers :

 

Needless to say there will be reactions pro and con the conversion, but to know it can be done all OEM, with the exception of spacers for the front bar, is interesting enough. (I own a 350, so conversion nor cost of OEM parts is a concern to me).

 

Very nice write up. I just find it really extraordinary that a Mercedes dealer would do this conversion. I don't think this would be possible with ANY dealers here in California. They simply would not even consider it. Independent shops, sure but not a MB dealer.

 

Awesome doc! Thank you!

Do you know the ballpark figure for what the parts did cost? I am evaluating this route vs VKK's-kit vs Strutmasters+RMT-swaybars

Doing all OEM is appealing.

 

The only coilovers i can get in England are BC Racing at about £750. Sway bars i'm still searching for a supplier.

 

I spent a little time through my MB dealer requesting that as the SL350 was not an import, they could have the computer parts list moved from Germany on to the Canadian computers.

Happily this was done and I easily ordered all OEM SL350 parts from Germany through Canadian dealer. It did take over six weeks to arrive and as all parts were Mercedes-Benz OEM packaged, my MB dealer had no issue installing.

 

Including purchase and replacement of the two engine and one transmission mounts, all OEM struts, sway bars, links, etc., P/S pump/bracket, all ABC components and lines removed, plus all dealer labour, the total MB dealer bill was under c$10,000.

At the time, one rear strut was bad and I was required to replace both rear struts. The MB dealer quoted a cost of c$6,600 to replace only two ABC struts. Ridiculous!

 

ABC struts can be sourced from China or Arnott in Florida for c. $600 per strut, and it is well within the capabilities of a typical DIYer to install them.

 

Would i be right in thinking Mercedes made an sl500 r230 without active body control & running with sway bars & shocks? Just someone said about it when i was saying about converting mine.

 

No....... the only SL that came without ABC, was the SL350 (as standard, but could be ordered optionally with ABC).

The SL350 was never offered in North America (only the rest of the world).

The advantage of going this route, is the fact that you maintain your SL with ALL factory OEM parts and have MB dealer approval along with follow-ups, etc.

Over six years ago I dealer priced ABC with associated parts for reference and here is the Canadian price list at that time, plus labour time (all costs will now be significantly higher). NOTE : labour time to install is far right column.............



None of the above items are currently present on my SL55 AMG and I still have a totally MB OEM vehicle, that drives even smoother and better than with ABC.

 

I thank the member for sharing his car and experience You sir are very bold.
Although; The idea of an AMG handling like a Yugo is something you expect as cars get older and owners just don’t feel vested enough in their cars by providing the level of engineering built in to the car and quality parts afforded the level of an AMG or for that matter a base R230.

Which leads to a serious question. Why buy an AMG to castrate it like that? You could probably put a shoe on top of the tire, the wheel well gap is 4X4 reminiscent.

FWIW $10,000 CDN is $7600 US approx that much an SL55 would be devalued if sold

Bon Chance
Hary

 

FYI wheel arch heights are identical to SL55 AMG before work done and parts being OEM (not one aftremarket part used) and car rides better than with complicated and over-rated ABC.

I didn't buy the SL55 AMG 11 years ago with a plan to change anything, but if you were to review my earlier posts here, you would see why I was forced to go this route.

Having owned the car 9 years with ABC and now 2 years with MB coil-overs, it's a far better car and one I plan on retaining for years to come.

 

NFN; It has little to none of the road handling characteristics it was designed for.
You merely chose to neuter a perfectly good AMG and add the lowest performance level available. Bold choice

Cost of performing this is actually a mute point. Point being the easiest route is not always the best just to gain the present owner is satisfied . An AMG like this is dangerous. Maybe you are not aware of it's capabilities or just like the badges. I personally wouldn't allow my wife or son to drive a car of this caliber with such incapable suspension. But it is yours sir.
Even though I'm a Pastor I wouldn't feel safe in such a car
Drive carefully my foreign friend

 

i have found a company in Florida called rebuild master tech who have a front sway bar for a 2003 sl500 can't seem to find a rear one.
i probably would be right in thinking that a sl350 rear sway bar would be ok to use as i wouldn't of thought there will be any weight difference on the rear of the car.

 

I don't feel capable at all throwing in an opnion in here, but I would be very interested to see these statements pos or neg critizized by others. My 350 is factory limited at 250kmh, and there probably isn't much more to be had from that V6 3.7L, but I never doubted or noticed its road holding capabilities as scary. Acceleration and all that, sure, no match, but mass and speed are roughly in the same range and so is the platform. The extremes should fit the envelop, right? (now, re-read my opening statement and treat me gently).

 

Cars with base engines behave like a base vehicle should. AMG cars ^ accelerate much higher and accordingly they are necessitated to brake AND corner as well. Imagine removing the disc brakes from the front of your SL350 and fitting drums. Changing one parameter adversely effects the others.
An SL 55 can reach 0-60 in < sub 4seconds. An SL350 is less than 1/2 as fast. Even an SL55 on sport settings could behave better. If choose not to drive it in the spirit it was intended then it and a much lesser handling R230, 911 Carrera, M3, Corvette Z06 would all be quite safe.

SL55
0 -60 3.6 seconds
1/4 mile 11.0 @120 mph
SL350
0-60 7.3 seconds
1/4 mile 15.8 @ 97mph

 

SL55 would need to be heavily modded to do these times. Stock is 4.5 to 60 and 13.0 1/4 mile.