BlackBear

I'm looking for pictures of the location of the sensors and maybe for information on the exact size of washers to use.

Thank you,

Oliver

Rafal

Knock yourself out, this thread is very long and there are many views expressed.
Bad news: it will cost you 80c not 8c... are you still interested?
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ower+E55+cents

MB Fanatic

Why would you want to mess with the suspension like this. Have it done correctly through the cars computer through Steve. Its much better and he can make sure that each sensor is within specs.

EPower

"It is much better..." , says who? If you really want to spend alot of money for nothing, then it is better. Otherwise, you don't know what you're talking about. The washers on the front and the slots on the rear sensors work perfectly. Done it to a couple of my cars, and no problems. Sure it sounds and maybe looks a bit scary, but if you really understand what is happening, then anything else is just a bizarre desire to spend more money than necessary...

jangy

Hmmm....

MB Fanatic

Just ask Steve, he has found cars to be well out of specs and it has taken him quite a while to adjust the settings with DAS to get Airmatic back into specs. Im sorry but I would much rather do something via a computer rather than fool with sensor physically.

tbone

I took delivery of my car in Dec. 2002. New to this forum, I was unaware of Star Lowering. I lowered my front end by changing the links, the rear end by moving the sensor...3 years and 54,000 miles later, I have not had any problems (**knock on wood**).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Steve can lower a car and keep it "within MB specs" because he will not lower it beyond what is recommended by MB.

Anytime you lower a car, the alignment will change. The more you lower the car, the more drastic the change. I lowered my car 2", which put my car outside of MB's specs. I'm sure my numbers would not be in spec, whether lowered by Star, links, or washers, as your final numbers are dependent on how low you go.

Had I purchased my car more recently, I would be open to lowering my car via Star, as forum members have only positive things to say. That being said, I am happy with my method of lowering.

Good luck with your search!

benzmodz

Within spec is defined as the sensor reading and its voltage output to the diagnostic system. This means that your washer augmentged method is not calibrated. You have effectively altered the range without resetting the zero point. Thus your car electronics store this as an error. Come warranty time all non-calibrated cars with errors stored in memory are not treated the same as customers who had proper lowering and calibration done.

There is a similar thread about this in the S-Class section and one punter who found out the hard way that his cluster and airmatic were extremely annoyed.

Also, dont forget that this is also influencing the operations of auto-levelling on the Bi-xenon system.

On cars with active body control (ABC) there is no such reliable method as the "washer method". In all cases the proper diagnostic software lowering is reliable.

BlackBear

How does the link lowering method work? Where are these links located in the suspension? Where do I get links?

newton22

You'd think Benz owners could afford to professionally lower their cars for ~$350.

Now were talking 80 cents. Just kidding.

stevebez

$350 ... ??? guys charging $2500 here in the UK...

Rgds Steve.

benzmodz

There is something seriously wrong with the UK market. It seems to defy all world pricing.

tbone

Ahh, learned something new today...thanks! Well, lowering via Star seems to be the way to go then. As stated earlier, I lowered my car 3 years ago, well before I was aware of the STAR lowering method and washer method. At that time, the only information "out on the market" was lowering via links.

As my warranty period is already over, I don't see the need to re-lower my car via STAR.

tbone

You replace 2 links (one on each side) with a longer link. This tricks the car into thinking the car is sitting higher than it actually is, which will lower your car.

BlackBear

Where does the link sit? Is it one per wheel, or just one per side of the car?

Does anyone know the part #?

Thanks.

CynCarvin32

u may be kidding but im not

People buy a 90k amg car and cant find the money to lower it the "right way" vs the way that runs a risk of blowing a 1k shock? It has been discusssed a zillion times in many forums here at mbworld.org but people still want to save the 250-300 bucks and go for the washer method.

Some people say that if the car brakes they will remove the washers but trouble is the car already stored the error code as benzmod said and you are stuck explaining to the tech and mb why your car was sitting to low for so long.

BlackBear

If you go the link route there won't be any codes. Also, you can buy a scan tool for $70 to $200 and monitor/delete all codes you don't like.

tbone

There is 1 link per front wheel. The rear was lowered by moving the sensor. I forget where the links can be purchased. Mine were custom made.

tbone

This is a very good point.

BlackBear: This is something you should consider. If I had known about lowering via STAR when I lowered my car 3 years ago, I would have gone that route! But between lowering the car via washers or links, I would choose the links. Washers won't lower your car as much, and I would be afraid of the nut "falling off", since it sits at the end of the bolt.

BlackBear

Thank you.

pas

I would like to have my car lowered via Star Diag but the dealers here won't do it and Steve is not easy to get in front of and won't do lowering alone you have to purchase some other modifications as well. I think if it was readily accessible almost everyone would be happy to spend a few hundred to do it via Star Diag. I think the real issue is access to the equipment, washers are quick and easy you don't need to wait 6 months for someone to come to your area if they show up at all. My car is still stock aside from wheels.

tbone

Very good point. I also went to my dealer, who refused to lower the car via Star Diag. That is why I went with my custom links. I was not worried about something going wrong because the person who made my links is very close to a few service advisors and service techs at a local MB dealer. He could get me in for service and have it covered "under warranty"

OzE55

In the land of the free and cheap, anything is available. Try living outside the centre of the universe, Australia, and these options aren't available.
I must say I have used the washers (I dont know what the 'links' referred to are - just used washers) and my car has been serviced since - no comments from the dealer.
I cannot understand why there would be any error codes. By mechanically altering the angles of the sensors, the system should think its adjusting the body height to keep everything IN spec. I supose if you want radical lowering that could be a problem.

As an example, if you park the car on uneven ground frequently, I would think the uneven weight distribution would result in the car altering the relative ride height for each wheel - does that record an error code?
To each his own.

tommaey

OzE55 you're exactly right.

What if you were constantly carrying heavy loads in ur car? The car isnt going to store an error. Washers move the sensor up, just as a bump in the road would move it up. There is no way the sensor can tell it is doing something wrong.

Rafal's E55 has since been to the dealer a number of times to change alignments etc, and they have no problems with the way the suspension has been lowered AND there are definately no errors coming through the system.

benzmodz

I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding of how Airmatic works. Under heavy loads the system REACTS and gives CORRECTION. When you lower with washers you are telling the car it is too high front and back and the system REACTS by lowering it. Thus creating a ride that is not calibrated.

I think there is more to this than "whatever works is good".