R129 SL320 Ride Hight

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Motomax

New Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
17
Location
Kent
Car
SLK 55 AMG
Hello

What is the correct right height of a 1995 SL320 and a 1998 SL320 special edition as the latter seems to be too high on one side. The car has the 17" EVO style alloys and from the top of the tire to the wheel arch is 65mm. Where as the 1995 is only around 40mm. Is this too high?

Thanks
 
If it's any use to you I have a 2000 SL320, stock not a special addition, on which I can measure the gap from tyre to wheel arch this evening when I get home? :)
 
129s are well known for not sitting entirely evenly, you can usually adjust it out with a change of spring pads.
 
If it is possible could you measure the distance, as one Sl is considerably different to the other, was wondering if it was due to the lower profile tyres and bigger wheels.

I have one Sl on the 16" "Light alloys" and the other on the 17" EVO II style wheels.

Also I seem to have a wobble on the car. The wobble is not pulling side to side nor is it wobble on the steering wheel. It up and down, and at lower speeds it feels like the wheels are egg shaped. Now the wheels have been previously redone and in the process has lost the Mercedes locking wheel nut. The one on there is considerably smaller. Looks like one from a Peugeot or Citroen, could this be causing this shake? Or could it be cheap tyres which have just been put on by the garage. Due to the car sitting for around 6 years.
 
If it is possible could you measure the distance, as one Sl is considerably different to the other, was wondering if it was due to the lower profile tyres and bigger wheels.

I have one Sl on the 16" "Light alloys" and the other on the 17" EVO II style wheels.

Don't get caught up on this - provided the tyres are the right size on both sets the rolling radius (and therefore overall height) will be approximately the same.

16s should be on 225/55R16, 17s on 245/45R17.
 
Also I seem to have a wobble on the car. The wobble is not pulling side to side nor is it wobble on the steering wheel. It up and down, and at lower speeds it feels like the wheels are egg shaped. Now the wheels have been previously redone and in the process has lost the Mercedes locking wheel nut. The one on there is considerably smaller. Looks like one from a Peugeot or Citroen, could this be causing this shake? Or could it be cheap tyres which have just been put on by the garage. Due to the car sitting for around 6 years.


The locking wheel nut will not be the cause, it's too close to the centre of the wheel. Could be tyres, (flat spotted, pressure, cheap, old) or buckled wheel, maybe the back. Try swapping wheels around to see if the vibration moves.
Does it change when on/off the power, with different road surfaces, of is it a constant speed related thing?

Start with the simple things 1st, tyre pressure and I've known flat spotted tyres improve with driving. Try running them on maximum pressure for a while.
 

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