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Well I'm writing that my car is being converted from the ABC suspension to Coilovers. The suspension of a used NON-ABC SL350 R230.
Monday the car will be done, I can't say that I'm not afraid of the changes that might occur to the driving quality. I'm concerned about the stability of the car, and the danger that those struts will not handle the power of the 55 AMG.
I took the risk to be doing this conversion, knowing that I might regret it. But ABC became tiring with too many failures occurring.
The conversion costed me 800$ + all the ABC parts. Including the installation. I noticed that the new struts have H&R Springs Lowering kit.
On monday, I will get back to you either telling you guys to do this conversion, or never consider it.
Here are the part numbers you might need for the conversion:
A coilover setup will more than handle the power of these cars. Post some completed pictures when finished.
Hopefully.. I'm just afraid the car will lose its stability, but hopefully not. Monday is less than 36 hours away from now. Hopefully all will be as fine as I wish. Will do my best to take pics for the kit before being fully installed, because the workshop doesn't allow me to stand close to the car, to avoid employee distraction. (its their workshop policy)
Ok man, what I can tell is that you will need between 12 and 24 working hours to complete this project. You will need to take down the whole exhaust, and the differential for installing the torsion bars.
Details about the driving differences will be posted next weekend, I'll need to drive the car for some time to make sure if everything is really fine.
Originally Posted by Geo3
Very well done!
Wonderful; finally we're getting somewhere.
Really looking forward to the details, pics, etc......Geo.
I'm looking forward to your experience with the conversion and I realise feedback will take time. Fingers crossed that it drives well; I think it should, as the parts are from the MB SL350......Geo.
@m-svt.. lol if it goes well hopefully and the car drives well, I'm gonna tell you to replace the system anyway even if you have a good pump, you know even the hoses leak? I'm tired of this crap system. I emailed AMG with what I'm doing to know what do they think, I assume they will reply by tomorrow.
@geo3, I have read it, but the fact is that the SL55 is almost 200 KGs heavier than the SL350, and the torque of the 55 during hard acceleration, which makes me afraid that this suspension will not do the job of the hydraulics. But I hope tomorrow will be the good day for me and you, I will have to drive the car for 70 KMs, I guess this will be enough to know the driving quality on the bumps and all the stuff.
Bilstein already made shock absorbers kit that fits the SL55, they say its for Non-ABC SL R230, when checking their German online catalog, I found out that those number are specific for the 55 and 63:
@m-svt.. lol if it goes well hopefully and the car drives well, I'm gonna tell you to replace the system anyway even if you have a good pump, you know even the hoses leak? I'm tired of this crap system. I emailed AMG with what I'm doing to know what do they think, I assume they will reply by tomorrow.
I doubt they will respond but you don't have to look any further than the SL65 black to see an SL AMG without ABC. If you could get the SL65 black electro hydraulic front shocks at an affordable price, it would be even better.
I would love to do the KW V3 conversion but I would like to have it done by a mechanic that has already done one which is not likely to happen.
On that revolution247 link they also sell the engine bay struts( May not fit the 55 ) and a multi point chassis reinforcement bar. These may be a good ideas with the conversion as well as some sway bars.
Well, the car is finally done, what I can say is the following after driving the car for almost 70 KM. The wheelspin is less than it was, the suspension makes it feel like a race car. It feels stiff, though until now I could feel that the car is more stable.
The car lost at least 40-50 KGs, the ABC suspension is a heavy one.
The kit I bought had H&R Lowering springs, which made the car stable and low.
Until this moment I can say that I'm glad I did this conversion.
Well, the car is finally done, what I can say is the following after driving the car for almost 70 KM. The wheelspin is less than it was, the suspension makes it feel like a race car. It feels stiff, though until now I could feel that the car is more stable.
The car lost at least 40-50 KGs, the ABC suspension is a heavy one.
The kit I bought had H&R Lowering springs, which made the car stable and low.
Until this moment I can say that I'm glad I did this conversion.
Wonderful news!
Congrats on being the first to attempt this and to being successful in your endeavour.
I thought the ABC would weigh a fair amount. Helps to bring the SL55 closer to SL350 weight.
Did you also change out the tandem pump for a single power steering one?
Please provide updates as you put on a few more kms........Geo.
I just want to know if the ABC errors are gonna be phased out or not. If they can be completely phased out then this is prob worth looking into.
On the Black Series SL65 (coilovers and no ABC), when you do a "quick test" via the Star Diagnosis, there are current fault codes in control units that show as "this fault code can be ignored in Black Series models" after the DTC.
Therefore, it appears possible, with any similar coil-over conversion, to simply have the Star Diagnosis, clear the codes and warnings.
In an an email reply I received from "Rebuild Master Tech", in Florida, following their installation, you only need a Mercedes scanner to remove the ABC option out of the car's computer. No module is necessary.
Concerning the Pump, yes it was replaced with an only power steering pump instead of the tandem pump.
The errors were hidden from showing on the instrument cluster. But you still can see them when a diagnosis of the car via Star diagnostic is being made.
Will write more by the weekend, I'll not be driving the car within those 3 days. Until friday night, and during the weekend. Will give you a more detailed opinion about it.
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