Ride height adjustment to dial in LR and slightly taller rear tires
12-10-2012, 01:44 AM
#1
Ride height adjustment to dial in LR and slightly taller rear tires
Well after reading many threads and thinking about a suspension controller. I decided to experiment with the simple adjustments first and see how the results worked before spending the extra cash on a controller.
03E55 that I have had into the dealer many times for alignments but after installing a slightly taller/wider rear tire to more match the sidewall of the front and fill the rear arch. I noticed the RR would sit alittle lower than the LR. Ditto on the fronts RF lower than LF. I needed to do two things...1. Lower the rear just a tad to make up for the very slight sidewall increase and 2. Figure out the RF/LF issues.
I know STAR could do it all but why didnt the dealer mention it all the times I had them do alignments. I read thru the shim threads and decided to try two things first. 1. Lower the rear by a slight tweek to the height sensor bracket. 2. Lower the LF by installing 2 washers. My thinking was by lowering the LF which was high it would in turn raise up the RR which was low. Old corner balancing idea.
Presto. This balanced the front and rear side to side and I was able to lower the rear just .5 inch and the tires are nice and flush to the wheel arch. After the adjustments I drove the car on my favorite twisties to make sure nothing was altered on suspension actions. Funny thing was this. I noticed a change in handling(for the worse) after installing the 275 rears on the stock rims but now that I have lowered the rear and matched the fronts side to side the car is even better than before.
FWIW I would suggest making sure your L to R suspension heights are balanced. I dont know why I waited so long. I will post some pics this week.
03E55 that I have had into the dealer many times for alignments but after installing a slightly taller/wider rear tire to more match the sidewall of the front and fill the rear arch. I noticed the RR would sit alittle lower than the LR. Ditto on the fronts RF lower than LF. I needed to do two things...1. Lower the rear just a tad to make up for the very slight sidewall increase and 2. Figure out the RF/LF issues.
I know STAR could do it all but why didnt the dealer mention it all the times I had them do alignments. I read thru the shim threads and decided to try two things first. 1. Lower the rear by a slight tweek to the height sensor bracket. 2. Lower the LF by installing 2 washers. My thinking was by lowering the LF which was high it would in turn raise up the RR which was low. Old corner balancing idea.
Presto. This balanced the front and rear side to side and I was able to lower the rear just .5 inch and the tires are nice and flush to the wheel arch. After the adjustments I drove the car on my favorite twisties to make sure nothing was altered on suspension actions. Funny thing was this. I noticed a change in handling(for the worse) after installing the 275 rears on the stock rims but now that I have lowered the rear and matched the fronts side to side the car is even better than before.
FWIW I would suggest making sure your L to R suspension heights are balanced. I dont know why I waited so long. I will post some pics this week.
Last edited by 03RSTT; 12-10-2012 at 12:24 PM.
12-10-2012, 08:39 AM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Well after reading many threads and thinking about a suspension controller. I decided to experiment with the simple adjustments first and see how the results worked before spending the extra cash on a controller.
03E55 that I have had into the dealer many times for alignments but after installing a slightly taller/wider rear tire to more match the sidewall of the front and fill the rear arch. I noticed the RR would sit alittle lower than the LR. Ditto on the fronts RF lower than LF. I needed to do two things...1. Lower the rear just a tad to make up for the very slight sidewall increase and 2. Figure out the RF/LF issues.
I know STAR could do it all but why didnt the dealer mention it all the times I had them do alignments. I read thru the shim threads and decided to try two things first. 1. Lower the rear by a slight tweek to the height sensor bracket. 2. Lower the LF by installing 2 washers. My thinking was by lowering the LF which was high it would in turn raise up the RR which was low. Old corner balancing idea.
Presto. This balanced the front and rear side to side and I was able to lower the rear just .5 inch and the tires are nice and flush to the wheel arch. After the adjustments I drove the car on my favorite twisties to make sure nothing was altered on suspension actions. Funny thing was this. I noticed a change in handling after installing the 275 rears on the stock rims but now that I have lowered the rear and matched the fronts side to side the car is even better than before.
FWIW I would suggest making sure your L to R suspension heights are balanced. I dont know why I waited so long. I will post some pics this week.
03E55 that I have had into the dealer many times for alignments but after installing a slightly taller/wider rear tire to more match the sidewall of the front and fill the rear arch. I noticed the RR would sit alittle lower than the LR. Ditto on the fronts RF lower than LF. I needed to do two things...1. Lower the rear just a tad to make up for the very slight sidewall increase and 2. Figure out the RF/LF issues.
I know STAR could do it all but why didnt the dealer mention it all the times I had them do alignments. I read thru the shim threads and decided to try two things first. 1. Lower the rear by a slight tweek to the height sensor bracket. 2. Lower the LF by installing 2 washers. My thinking was by lowering the LF which was high it would in turn raise up the RR which was low. Old corner balancing idea.
Presto. This balanced the front and rear side to side and I was able to lower the rear just .5 inch and the tires are nice and flush to the wheel arch. After the adjustments I drove the car on my favorite twisties to make sure nothing was altered on suspension actions. Funny thing was this. I noticed a change in handling after installing the 275 rears on the stock rims but now that I have lowered the rear and matched the fronts side to side the car is even better than before.
FWIW I would suggest making sure your L to R suspension heights are balanced. I dont know why I waited so long. I will post some pics this week.
...Can you post a link to the other thread describing what is needed ?My understanding is the rear has just one sensor so right and left heights could not be adjusted ? (I understand how you lowered the left front to get the right rear to raise, but now your left front will be low...)
Did you measure the center of the rim to the top of the fender lip (or a similar technique) to setup the car ?
Thanks in advance!
12-10-2012, 11:43 AM
#3
The long suspension thread is up in the stickys under the DIY section.
Yes, the rear has one sensor. It will move the rear as a matched set. I used the method to just bend the sensor bracket instead of notching holes in the frame mount. The bracket is not that stiff at all. I would not recommend slamming the car with these adjustments but if you want to lower the car .5in it would be fine.
Because the RR sat a tad lower than the LR (.5in) and the LF sat higher than the RF (.7in) I decided to lower the LF only and see what happened.
So I used the shim/washer method to lower the LF only. Presto, after the RF and LF were equal the rear is now perfect as well. Side to side LF/RF and RR/LR are spot on.
You can measure center hub to arch or floor to arch to determine ride heights. The whole process took an hour because I would drive it down the street with each adjustment and remeasure before moving on to the next. Then after it was done I took the car out for a 1hr drive to make sure suspension action was equal and balanced F/R and L/R.
Yes, the rear has one sensor. It will move the rear as a matched set. I used the method to just bend the sensor bracket instead of notching holes in the frame mount. The bracket is not that stiff at all. I would not recommend slamming the car with these adjustments but if you want to lower the car .5in it would be fine.
Because the RR sat a tad lower than the LR (.5in) and the LF sat higher than the RF (.7in) I decided to lower the LF only and see what happened.
So I used the shim/washer method to lower the LF only. Presto, after the RF and LF were equal the rear is now perfect as well. Side to side LF/RF and RR/LR are spot on.
You can measure center hub to arch or floor to arch to determine ride heights. The whole process took an hour because I would drive it down the street with each adjustment and remeasure before moving on to the next. Then after it was done I took the car out for a 1hr drive to make sure suspension action was equal and balanced F/R and L/R.
Very interesting....My car has a similar problem and it has always bothered me, but not enough to fix ...Can you post a link to the other thread describing what is needed ?
My understanding is the rear has just one sensor so right and left heights could not be adjusted ? (I understand how you lowered the left front to get the right rear to raise, but now your left front will be low...)
Did you measure the center of the rim to the top of the fender lip (or a similar technique) to setup the car ?
Thanks in advance!
...Can you post a link to the other thread describing what is needed ?My understanding is the rear has just one sensor so right and left heights could not be adjusted ? (I understand how you lowered the left front to get the right rear to raise, but now your left front will be low...)
Did you measure the center of the rim to the top of the fender lip (or a similar technique) to setup the car ?
Thanks in advance!
01-21-2016, 02:10 PM
#5
Senior Member
01-21-2016, 04:16 PM
#6
MBWorld Fanatic!
https://www.google.com/search?q=e55+..._AUIBigA&dpr=1
01-22-2016, 01:02 AM
#7
Senior Member
?
Google, Yahoo, AOL, Bing, MB World Search, youtube, etc etc etc
https://www.google.com/search?q=e55+..._AUIBigA&dpr=1
https://www.google.com/search?q=e55+..._AUIBigA&dpr=1
