advice please people w208 with 18's looks too high

[kid320]

HI there , i could really do with some help of of the all knowing MB club. i have a 99 w208 eligance with 18's and 235/40/18 all round and it looks so sweet acept for one thing it sits a little too high for my liking, now ive done some looking around and it seems my best option is to lower it with eibach pro's but im not sure if this will cause rubbing issues, ive spoken to mercedes performance and they tell me it will be fine , i think i need some reasurance before i part with some cash. Any help would be great thanks for youe time
Taff.

 

[kid320]

Oh and i could do with a good gararge to fit these either in rugby or leicester and help with this would also be great.
thanks again
Taff

 

[Howard]

I don't think you should deal with Mercedes Performance for a start, there have been several horror stories on here concerning them ...

do a search for 'mercedes perfomance'

We have a CLK430 (Avantagarde spec) that is on BBS 18's , the Avantgarde spec i think is about 20 mm lower than the Elegance spec, you might be able to do it with OEM parts ....

Good luck

 

[kid320]

ive been quoted £162 for the springs direct from eibach as they happen to less the 5 mins from my house and they only lower the car by 30mm and im told i dont need to change the dampers as its only a 30mm drop. i hear what your saying about mercedes performance so i wont be using them so again thank you, also are the springs hard to change i.e is it something i could do myself with the right tools and i dont suppose you know how much a garage should charge to do this for me.
Thanks Taff

 

[Shude]

the W208 also has spring perches on top of each spring that can be used to adjust the ride height by up to about 20mm - no manufacturer can definitively say what difference the springs will make to the ride height because it is dependent on the perches. The perches are about a fiver each from the stealership parts counter. Labour to fit is probably about the same as fitting springs however...

Worth looking into!

 

[kid320]

Well ivr ordered the springs, found a garage also ordered two new back tyres so fingers crossed ill have it all sorted in a week or so, ill post some pic's and info on how this all went so hopefully will help people in the future
Taff.

 

[Alps]

id seriously consider H&R springs too to keep the rise quality!, as mentioned above the spring pads are also used to determine ride height and only cost a few quid each from stealers.

 

[aka$h]

Eibach prings are not the best of quality, I know of 2 people who have had them takend off due to the reduction in ride quality. H&R are more expensive but Ive heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[kid320]

ok right now i m not sure what to do , i thought h&r lowered the car by 40mm thus meaning i'd need to switch the dampers as the drop would be to large for the originals.also please keep in mind that i have 235/40/18's all round and the front tyres are very slightly proud of the front arches, im now scared that if i go ahead and pay for the drop the fronts will rub on the arch lip.does any body know what pad sizes are in the front and back and which ones i need to swop to to reduce my wheel arch gap(but by doing this when cornering will i not get rubbing) So many questions i know but im really stuck now, has any body drop a w208 with 235/40/18's on before, thanks for all your help guys and girls
Taff

 

[Shude]

does any body know what pad sizes are in the front and back

It can be worked out from what options your car has, but that's a very long process.

You can find out for yourself: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=2498

 

[sportyreptile]

This is what I'd do in your position, find yourself a friendly MB Independent Garage nearby, take your car along and explain what your trying to achieve. They could get your car up on a ramp, whip off all four wheels and check what size springs and pads are fitted then could advise you accordingly.

I replaced the front springs last year with new MB springs, they came with 3 different sizes of spring pad so as to get the car level with what was fitted on the back.

Maybe worth an hours' labour to find out your current setup and then decide how to proceed.