Choice of spring/shock kist for my W124

[Niks]

Well the time has come for me to lower my car down as it doesnt look right sitting so high up.

Ive been doing some searches around the forum on lowering W124s but they are all mostly coupe related. As mine is a saloon, im not sure whether the same applies to coupes and saloon or if they are different setups altogether.

Here are my requirements:

1) My daily commute to work involves some roads with speedbumps/humps
2) I do some long journeys in the car at times with the boot full of stuff (e.g. to europe)
3) I would like to achieve a fine balance between the car looking good when lowered but still retaining some degree of a nice comfortable/smooth ride
4) I certainly dont want the "rudeboy/chav" look where the wheels are 1cm away from the wheelarch and you end up with a painful bottom and find half your car has fallen to pieces when you arrive at your destination!
5) Im on a slight budget!

Ive looked at some suspension kits but would like to know the pro's n con's between them and what your opinions are (bearing in mind my car is a 1995 E280 W124 Saloon):

1) H&R Sports Spring Kit, lowers by 35mm all round - £273
2) H&R Cup Suspension Kit, lowers by 30mm all round - £475
3) Bilstein B12 Suspension Kit, lowers by 45mm all round - £640
4) Eibach Pro Kit Springs, lowers by 30-40mm all round - £181

The Bilstein will be a little too much for me to go for but opinions are still welcome.

Cheers,
Nik

 

[pupsi]

1) for me. Not too expensive and do the job fine.

 

[liiive_o]

i would go for the eibach!

 

[grober]

If you want to retain any ride quality then you must change the shocks and springs together . The reason is with shorter springs the effective part of shock travel is different from the normal shocks. Bilstein shorter sports shocks are fine for this. The ride comfort and ground clearance will suffer slightly even with the correct combination. Some people have firmed up the handling ( body roll) with thicker anti-roll bars front and rear which helps without sacrificing ride comfort/ clearance. The Coupe and Saloon are pretty much identical once you get out of the official Mercedes spring rating territory. The coupe is slightly heavier than the saloon but physically the suspension is completely interchangeable differing only in minor changes in spring/shocker rates. The main thing to watch is the weight difference between the 4/6/diesel engined cars for front spring rates. Most aftermarket springs don't distinguish between them.

 

[Niks]

Thanks, mate. I've seen the difference in the ride height between a W124 with sportsline suspension and one without. I actually like the ride height of the sportsline and think it looks good and comfortable. Im sure its a firmer ride compared to the bobbin up and down and swaying im experiencing right now but would it still retain that comfortable ride? Am I right in thinking this? So if this is correct, is there a cheaper alternative from aftermarket components like H&R or Bilstein, or possibly even a combination of the two which will give me the same/close enough results as what the sportsline would give? This is because I know a new sportsline kit from MB would be too expensive for me and im not keen on getting second hand ones either. I would prefer it to be new for piece of minds sake.

 

[Will]

If it were my car, I'd go for new springs and dampers all round.

But, if funds are really tight, I guess you could consider fitting the springs to start with (to see how you like the ride height, etc) and then fit a suitable set of dampers soon after.

I fully agree with Grober that it's best practice to fit the two together, but if you're experimenting with ride height and springs etc, it could be done in stages (if you're paying for labour to fit the parts, might be cheaper done together though )

I think Nik's objective is purely for the aesthetics of a lower ride height/reduced wheel to arch gap etc.

Niks - looking at the price of the springs/suspension kits that you posted, have you considered O.E MB Sportline springs and smaller thickness pads? Might get you quite close to the drop you're considering, and IIRC MB springs are actually quite well priced

Will

 

[grober]

The best combination to me would be Mercedes Sportline springs ( NOT TOO EXPENSIVE) http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...GM=717.433&CT=F&cat=15S&SID=32&SGR=015&SGN=01 and BILSTEIN sports shocks http://www.bilstein.de/cms_website/root/index.php?page_id=32/

FRONT STRUT B4 V36-4053

REAR SHOCK B4 B36-1612

Could be done in stages as Will has advised. The spring page I listed has the dimensions/part nos for the pads also

 

[d w124]

A i`ve told you before that would be best to change the shocks to.I would go for chep springs and bilstein shocks.

 

[MBK]

I've just changed my springs and shocks to the Eibach springs with Bilstein shocks. It raised my car from what it was before and the ride is alot more driver friendly. I recommend them highly in all the shocks and springs set me back £380 from ECP. when you change your shocks and springs do the anti rol bar bushes aswell, they are easy to do and make alot of difference to the drive.

- K

 

[liiive_o]

ECP sell eibach now? I remember buying the bilstein sport shocks from them and then had to buy the eibach springs from CKS, i reckon its the best combination as well. Eibach got it just right by dropping the back by 40 and front by 30, makes the car sit just right

 

[Niks]

Will - You've seen my car yes the biggest reason is to lower the gap between the wheelarch and the wheel. At the mo, you could turn your head sideways and squeeze it through the gap! When you mean dampers, your talking about the shocks right? How much would these O.E MB Sportline springs inc the dampers cost me? It sounds really viable!

Grober - Thanks for that info. Unfortunately im not technical minded so that link seemed a little mind boggling to me You mentioned the Bilstein B4 V36-4053 front strut, is that the actual shock absorber? The second link didnt work.

Dash - Yea the Bilstein shocks seem like a good option there and could possibly be the way im gonna go.

Kully - How do you find the drive and comfort now that you've changed your setup compared to before? Only reason why im asking is because I know a few people who have done the whole Eibach/Bilstein and Spax suspension overhauls to their cars but those were cars like RS Cosworths/Turbos/GTi's and the likes...trust me I hated it. At the time I didn't even know anyone who had gone down this road with a W124 so had nothing to use as a reference.

I appreciate everyones help on this

 

[Dee-124CAB]

I listened to the advice on here & bought the Bilstein B8 Sprint Shocks & matched them with 30mm H&R shocks for my W124 Cabriolet, which essentially gave me the Bilstein B12 kit as Bilstein dont make their own springs & tend to use other top stuff like the H&R ones to make their B12 kits.

I have been impressed with new ride & charactaristics of the car. A bit harsher, but that is to be expected with a reduced car height.

I reckon that if you can stretch it, then go for the B12.... Theres no substitute for quality as they say.

All depends on what you want from the car & if you can justify the extra expenditure.

 

[Will]

Hi Niks,

I think Grober's suggestion is worth looking into - MB sportline springs and Bilstein shocks (dampers).

MB dampers might be slightly expensive, but normally the springs are quite well priced

Can't say for certain what the springs will cost, but typically MB springs for older W201/124s etc have been £40/50/60ish.

Remember to budget for fitting and wheel alignment afterwards.

Will

 

[Niks]

I checked out the Bilstein shocks.. there are 2 types available and there is a vast difference in price and priced each at that....

1) Bilstein from ECP, £55.14 http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/M...00&1&fa3a685701c6233b899ec44f97931294258ab3b1

2) Bilstein Sportline from Europerformance.co.uk, £114.05 - http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/product_info.mhtml?product=3907722

3) Bilstein Standard from Europerformance.co.uk, £84.83 - http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pages/products/product_info.mhtml?product=3905418

1) Is this a direct replacement of what I have right now? Would it make any difference?

2) This is the one Grober suggested, B4 Sportsline version but could end up being costly by the time I end up doing all 4, inc fitting and wheel alignment.

3) Would this be better compared to 1 or is it the same thing but overly priced?


http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/M...00&1&fa3a685701c6233b899ec44f97931294258ab3b1

 

[aka$h]

Niks,

Dont be put off, Ive got the Bilstein brabus shocks on my coupe with h&r springs. Anyone who sits in it is always suprised for well it drives. I took Darren (mercboiuk) out for a drive when he came over. As long as you go for quality springs, you should be fine.

 

[Niks]

I guess im gonna have to do this in stages if I go down the Bilstein route. The other possibility is this, how well would H&R springs or Eibach springs work with my standard current shocks? Im guessing this will reduce the height by 30mm all round right?

 

[grober]

Sorry about the dodgy link I ahve amended it now. to this http://www.bilstein.de/cms_website/root/index.php?page_id=32/ Navigate down the menu system to see the choices you have, It doesn't list the E280 but the E320 is almost exactly the same engine

 

[Dee-124CAB]

Niks, how low do you really want to go?

From the four options you have stated, it looks like 30-35mm, seems to be the starting point.

I dont think standard Sportline will be as low as this.

But with thinner spring pads the cars height could be additionally lowered thus aiding the Sportline set up....But before doing this, make sure you check the thickness of the pads you have in there now.

Because if they already are or near the thinnest, you could end up with a car that has all new suspension but not low enough for your taste....

You can check the thickness by counting the nibs when look up towards the top of the springs. 1- thinnest. 4- thickest

 

[Niks]

Dee- I just measured my car all round and right now its sitting 3 inches (76mm), including the rear which currently has 1/4 tank of petrol and a 15" sub in a MDF box in the boot. I tried to look for the spring pads but looks like they are covered and arent visible.

This is exactly what I want to achieve all in all...

 

[talbir]

For perfect ride height, the rear arch should sit half-inch lower than the front....measurement should be taken from centre of wheel to peak of arch both front and rear.

When changing springs, ideal to change the spring pads, they are pennies from MB and your car may have come with 3 or 4 nib pads....with which lowering springs alone won't make the difference you might hope for. Ideally, 2 nib up front and 1 nib at the rear works well.

When you've changed the set-up, give it a couple of weeks for everything to bed down, before going through any iterations on set-up, i.e. fatter spring pads or thinner ones.

Be prepared for other items that might need a change as well when you start working on the springs and shocks....like the shock tower pads (usually crack over time and need replacement), the lower control arms (where adjustment bolt for tracking seizes up over time) and anti-roll bar bushes.

As for springs and shocks, i have H&R springs on my black 500e and Koni adjustable shocks up front (rear is self-level)...i have yet to experience a better ride in any w124 !


talbir