No More ABC Pump, used a 2002 Sl500 pump and reservoir


No More ABC Pump, used a 2002 Sl500 pump and reservoir


Rear sway bar, used links from a 2006 E500


This is what the kit looked like when it was completed, sean texted me this photo.


Driver side rear wheel almost tucking the fender, will have to raise it up tho, too low scraps on the freeway dips.


Driver side front left wheel also tucking fender.


Quad Tip axle back exhaust kit from Top Speed Pro 1 Performance has a nice deep throaty sound to it. I didnt cut the resonators just yet. No drone on the freeway and its loud when you want it to be.


Side profile, you can see how low it sits.


Adjustable control arms from F1 Fabrication (hes on IG) will be going in to correct negative camber.

Hello to my Fellow Coilover Conversion People,

I now finally found the time to do a proper review and write up of the VVK Coil Over Kit with Sway Bars on my 2003 SL500. I had the car in the shop for about three weeks, everything was going smoothly and the car would have been done sooner, however ran into an issue with the front sway bar being off by an inch on the driver side but all is good now got a new sway bar from Sean.

Overall I gotta say the kit does a damn good job at everything that the ABC system would do. I know a lot of people say it wont ride the same like ABC but I think it rides better. I had the dampeners set to 15 clicks at first but found that it was too soft for my liking and there would a lot of shock travel on the freeway dips. 30 clicks was way too stiff so I set it to 25 clicks all around and I think this is the sweet spot for this kit. The car immediately felt a lot lighter by having all the weight removed from the ABC components. I will be adding adjustable control arms in the front and rear to correct my negative camber. Highway cruising is great with the kit and I haven't found any issues on the turns or freeway on ramps. Since my car is a SL500 and not the SL55, the canyons do feel a little slower but the coil over kit with the sway bars does a damn good job on the keeping the car planted and stable.

I have not had the chance to turn of the ABC light in the dash and been driving like that since March 20, don't think its an issue but my Mercedes mechanic said he can turn it off no problem. For the power steering pump conversion I used on from a 2002 SL500 R129 chassis with the reservoir along with Mercedes Benz Power Steering fluid which fit perfectly.

 

I can't wait for mine to be finished

 

Update!


Finally had a chance to drive the car 100+ miles on Saturday. The car handles great. The ride is more refined and now feels like a true GT car. It's less comfortable than ABC at stock height, but definitely much more comfortable than lowered on end links. The car handles the railroad tracks like a champ, in my opinion SWIFT springs play a big role handling the road imperfections. I think I did some sliding at 45 mph with a full throttle for several seconds, I was actually amazed how good is the handling and how responsive the car is now. I decided not to buy the camber kit right now. Alignment was done last week, the toe is within specs and camber is -2.5 all around. The car sits pretty low right now. I will post more pictures in the build thread. Will definitely recommend vvk kit to anyone who wants a reliable suspension and sport car feel.

 

What front bumper is that? never seen it before. Do you have more pics of your car?

 

 

 

I finally picked up my car. Big thanks to JM Motorsport who did a tremendous job.
I will do a full review shortly, going in to details of my experience with the system.

So far, I’m very happy !




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Awesome stuff. I noticed a drop of fluid on the ground for the first time the other day. So I'm sure I'll be right there with you soon. Good to know it all works out!

I may have to copy you on that Prior Design bumper too. Love that. Looking forward to your review.

 

Looks great!

 

 

Was the V12 swaybar issue soved?

 

That was my question. I have followed this on and off for quite some time, but don't remember a definitive answer an the SL600 or SL65 sway bar fitment issue.

 

I'd like to know that too....

 

Yes, our sl65 has VVK sway bars. I posted more information above

 

Looking good!

 

So Ive been waiting over 2 years for the V12 sway bar? Can I get mine mailed to me now lmao.

 

Did you email or called Sean?

 

 

Your sway bar has been ready for quite some time but I haven't been able to get hold of you. The phone number I had was for the shop that installed your coilovers in VA I think, but this post actually just reminded me, maybe you will see my post here and get in touch. Same number as on our website 561-542-2810

Best regards,
Sean@VVK

EDIT: I think I just found your number under my VVK contacts, I sent a text, please get in touch with where the sway bar needs to go.


Also, for others curious, we did actually send two different sway bars up to the shop doing the installation, but they had issues making it work. I believe the customer doesn't use that shop anymore, or they closed, but the second bar we sent is VERY VERY close to the final V12 design. We needed ED954's car here to get exact dimensions and had to create a lower brace extension setup to give clearance with the large V12 oil pan.

In the course of working hands on with ED954's car we learned a lot about how drastically different the actual body shell and forward frame of the V12 cars is.

 

Sweet! May be looking at this in the future! Now to plan a road trip to Florida...

 

Just an fyi, I completed my Yellow Spring Racing coilover conversion about two weeks ago now. I ordered the 20kg spring rate for the rear coilovers but, I'm discovering that they are a little too stiff for what I'm looking for. I'll be replacing them with 14kg springs in a few days but thought I would see if someone on the forum would be interested in a set of 20kg springs. BTW, these are on a W220 03 s600 TTV12. Please PM me if anyone is interested.

 

would they be willing to sell just the sway bars? already have someone with coilovers for the r230.

 

Yes, they will sell them separately.

 

Anyone out there have these on their V12, any reviews?

 

I posted my thoughts about the kit earlier in this topic, see above. Been driving for couple months now. Still very happy that we went that route.