When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have an 05 SL55 AMG and am getting ready to pull the trigger on a coilover conversion. I've looked at the other threads, but still had a few questions. Hoping for some help/guidance:
- From what I've researched, the VVK system looks solid, given it has a sway bar and power steering. Thoughts? I assume the power steering and sway bar fixes are mission critical when doing a conversion.
- I've found a local MB specialist autoshop that has done a couple coilover conversions and they said they can do it and "figure it out". How cautious do I need to be about finding a shop to do the install.? I don't want anyone to mess things up.
- Any other things I need to be aware of or other advice? Are there other risks of doing a conversion that would justify just keeping the ABC and throwing money at it when it fails?
My current ABC is currently sagging to the floor and the shop gave a rough estimate of over 4k to fix. I guess I could fix the ABC and just run with that, but from what I've read it's just a matter of time before it needs to be fixed again. The car has close to 70K miles.
I am in the middle of doing VVK with Silver's NEOMAX with an independent...I'll let you know how its going. Look for other posts by me in some other like minded threads.
I am the process of doing VVK. I did coil overs end of last year and will start the sway bars this week.
I am doing the work myself and figuring it out as I go. A couple things come to mind when dealing with an independent that is "figuring it out".
1. Most coil overs are adjustable height. It would take experience and good record keeping to get the height where you want it the first try. Front coil over adjustment is easy since the coil over is accessible. In the rear the adjustment is up in the body area and you either need to remove the lower swing arm to rotate the bottom of the shock or get a tool to reach up in the body recess. Depending on how it works out you may want to ask about how much adjustment they are willing to do and at what price.
2. In the rear I cut a hole above the rear strut and bought extended length damper adjuster. Dampening is something you can adjust yourself.
3. Ask how they plan to handle getting out the old lines and other ABC parts.
4. The ABC parts have some value depending on condition. I would say $800 at a minimum. Ask if you get the parts to sell or if they take them.
5. I am planning to drop the driveshaft and grease the spline and centering pins while I have everything apart for the sway bars. I am also doing new motor mounts - depending on your maintenance history think about other work that may need done.
Lastly, I don't know where you are located but there is a guy down in Cincinnati that does coil over conversions and I have found his YouTube videos very helpful. I don't know him personally and have never had him work on any of my cars but he seems to have a lot of experience in coil over conversions. www.goldelementautoworks.com
Second lastly, do the power steering pump change. It will clean up a lot of clutter in your engine bay.
I am the process of doing VVK. I did coil overs end of last year and will start the sway bars this week.
I am doing the work myself and figuring it out as I go. A couple things come to mind when dealing with an independent that is "figuring it out".
1. Most coil overs are adjustable height. It would take experience and good record keeping to get the height where you want it the first try. Front coil over adjustment is easy since the coil over is accessible. In the rear the adjustment is up in the body area and you either need to remove the lower swing arm to rotate the bottom of the shock or get a tool to reach up in the body recess. Depending on how it works out you may want to ask about how much adjustment they are willing to do and at what price.
2. In the rear I cut a hole above the rear strut and bought extended length damper adjuster. Dampening is something you can adjust yourself.
3. Ask how they plan to handle getting out the old lines and other ABC parts.
4. The ABC parts have some value depending on condition. I would say $800 at a minimum. Ask if you get the parts to sell or if they take them.
5. I am planning to drop the driveshaft and grease the spline and centering pins while I have everything apart for the sway bars. I am also doing new motor mounts - depending on your maintenance history think about other work that may need done.
Lastly, I don't know where you are located but there is a guy down in Cincinnati that does coil over conversions and I have found his YouTube videos very helpful. I don't know him personally and have never had him work on any of my cars but he seems to have a lot of experience in coil over conversions. www.goldelementautoworks.com
Second lastly, do the power steering pump change. It will clean up a lot of clutter in your engine bay.
The car is in North Carolina...and your points/experience is right on!
I'd like to see a picture or further discussion about this: 2. In the rear I cut a hole above the rear strut and bought extended length damper adjuster. Dampening is something you can adjust yourself.
When I put my coilovers on, the most difficult part was deciding on how far to thread the bottom mount and coil mount in. It’s seemingly infinitely adjustable and the emotion kit has no directions. Adjusting the front was easier than the back, which is difficult because it’s up in the body so far.
The rest is easier. Removing the abc valves is time consuming. I don’t miss it, and like the fact that it takes some of the Rube Goldberg engineering out of the car.
When I put my coilovers on, the most difficult part was deciding on how far to thread the bottom mount and coil mount in. It’s seemingly infinitely adjustable and the emotion kit has no directions. Adjusting the front was easier than the back, which is difficult because it’s up in the body so far.
The rest is easier. Removing the abc valves is time consuming. I don’t miss it, and like the fact that it takes some of the Rube Goldberg engineering out of the car.
We are going through this now. On first drive, I like it a lot. I do think that I "feel" more road...probably due to brand new components/bushing etc...as opposed to 15 year old stuff.
I have an 05 SL55 AMG and am getting ready to pull the trigger on a coilover conversion. I've looked at the other threads, but still had a few questions. Hoping for some help/guidance:
- From what I've researched, the VVK system looks solid, given it has a sway bar and power steering. Thoughts? I assume the power steering and sway bar fixes are mission critical when doing a conversion.
- I've found a local MB specialist autoshop that has done a couple coilover conversions and they said they can do it and "figure it out". How cautious do I need to be about finding a shop to do the install.? I don't want anyone to mess things up.
- Any other things I need to be aware of or other advice? Are there other risks of doing a conversion that would justify just keeping the ABC and throwing money at it when it fails?
My current ABC is currently sagging to the floor and the shop gave a rough estimate of over 4k to fix. I guess I could fix the ABC and just run with that, but from what I've read it's just a matter of time before it needs to be fixed again. The car has close to 70K miles.
Thanks!
SUBSCRIBED (sorry I posted this originally on the wrong thread) - I'm in the same ABC predicament as you unfortunately as I just got a dealer repair bill of over $6k to replace leaking pump, accumulators and some other ABC items as I'm leaking significant ABC fluid from under the front and getting some low pressure codes here at 72K miles. The ABC system is still functioning but it just keeps leaking about 1/2 liter of fluid ever time I drive the car so I'm torn here about going to throw more $$$ at attempting to repair the ABC or going the coil over route which I've seen many forum members do with various pros/cons but certainly is a more permanent fix vs ABC repair which will ultimately leak somewhere it seems. My SL55 is a 2004 and is driven maybe 1k miles per year as its one of 4 older sports cars I have and drive purely for leisure so the softer ride really isnt an issue to me considering my old Z06 and 996TT ride really firm already.
There seems to be numerous coil over options (Strutmasters, RebuildMaster Tech, VVK, SL350 OEM parts -- per list here from another post ) so I am struggling to determine which is best to go with based on reliability of the coil overs once installed and quality of the coil over kit and its install instructions?
My indy who's done a few of these recommends going the route of the R230/SL350 OEM parts (attached super helpful PDF from another Benzworld member who did this and documented EVERYTHING) and perhaps an aftermarket sway bar but several forum members have given positive reviews of the other kits too....
After reading all of these related SL55/Coil-over threads I'm fully convinced this is the best route for me based on needing reliability more than comfort - but still undecided about which path to go down here... welcome any others feedback who have done this. Thx J
A lot of people probably disagree but if you are only driving a 1,000 miles/year and don't plan to run at the track or do other "spirited" driving maybe no sway bar option like Silvers NeoMax would be best. I installed VVK system but haven't gotten to the sway bars yet. I am going to tackle that over the next few weeks. I have not taken any hard corners or made any emergency maneuvers since switching to coil overs but for normal driving it is fine. More body roll but I don't feel like I am driving a boat.
Key difference I found is spring rates. Various vendors are all over the map.
You will definitely want a set that is easy to adjust the height.
Key difference I found is spring rates. Various vendors are all over the map.
You will definitely want a set that is easy to adjust the height.
Height adjustments on NEOMAX are pretty easy, spring pre-load on back is pretty tough.
NEOMAX standard spring rates are: Default Spring Rates: Front 28K (1568#) Rear 20K (1124#)
I am in the middle of doing VVK with Silver's NEOMAX with an independent...I'll let you know how its going. Look for other posts by me in some other like minded threads.
@Tomcat SL know this is a couple year old post but I wanted to ask how are you liking your silvers coilover swap on your SL55?
Also - what height did you set your Silver's coilovers at for your front and rear wheel? I've had mine for 2 years now and been very pleased with them for the most part. My height on front and rears was set at 68 cm's which feels a bit low especially considering the rough roads I have in Chicago where you feel all the bumps in the road. I thought the stock height (with ABC) is 70 cm's but would welcome any feedback you have as to what you set yours at and how you like the ride.
@Tomcat SL know this is a couple year old post but I wanted to ask how are you liking your silvers coilover swap on your SL55?
Also - what height did you set your Silver's coilovers at for your front and rear wheel? I've had mine for 2 years now and been very pleased with them for the most part. My height on front and rears was set at 68 cm's which feels a bit low especially considering the rough roads I have in Chicago where you feel all the bumps in the road. I thought the stock height (with ABC) is 70 cm's but would welcome any feedback you have as to what you set yours at and how you like the ride.
thanks ! john
I still like the set-up a lot! The car has many thousands of miles without any ABC worries, I did the height by "look" with a little rake and I remember that the adjustment threads on front shocks were just beginning to show in the view hole. The front is probably a little lower (~1/2") than I would have preferred BUT my independent and I decided that the more thread engagement was better/safer. Later I read (in the instructions) that it was safe to have a few less threads engaged than we did but no big deal. Picture attached for you to see.
I still like the set-up a lot! The car has many thousands of miles without any ABC worries, I did the height by "look" with a little rake and I remember that the adjustment threads on front shocks were just beginning to show in the view hole. The front is probably a little lower (~1/2") than I would have preferred BUT my independent and I decided that the more thread engagement was better/safer. Later I read (in the instructions) that it was safe to have a few less threads engaged than we did but no big deal. Picture attached for you to see.
@Tomcat SL thanks for your update and I think your height looks perfect! I think mine was set a bit too low as I have the SL65 rims that are 19" and my indy went used the height of 68 cm's which is the low setting on ABC with 18" rims and seems a bit too low for me as I've had my front scrape a few times when going over sizeable dips in the road.
i'll get the height increased and share a picture would welcome your feedback if it looks too high!
@Tomcat SL thanks for your update and I think your height looks perfect! I think mine was set a bit too low as I have the SL65 rims that are 19" and my indy went used the height of 68 cm's which is the low setting on ABC with 18" rims and seems a bit too low for me as I've had my front scrape a few times when going over sizeable dips in the road.
i'll get the height increased and share a picture would welcome your feedback if it looks too high!
Glad I could be of help! The SL55 is my car of choice for long drives.
01-03-2022, 11:21 AM
