New Coil Springs Have Changed Ride Height

[silversurfer10]

Hello everyone,

My 2010 Mercedes CLS Grand Edition recently had its rear coil springs replaced as the old ones had fractured.

Following this, the rear ride height seems to have been raised by a few centimetres.

Is this normal? In time, will the ride height settle back to how it was prior to the springs being replaced? Many thanks.

 

[Stratman]

No, it's not normal. Who did the replacing? Did they use the correct springs for your specific vehicle? Are they seated properly?

 

[KennyN]

Original springs will have had coloured bands on them , the replacements will need to have the same colour coding to keep the ride height the same.

K

 

[BigJase88]

New springs do take a couple of weeks to settle. The old ones may of been a bit tired giving it a saggy bottom

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

If the old springs had broken then it could make the car look lower than it should be - was the gap between the tyre and the wheel arch the same on both sides.

After installation of new springs (or jacking the car up), the ride height may appear to be temporarily high until settled, however a short drive would usually see to that,

The first priority is to make sure that the springs are the correct type for your car as thy is perhaps the most likely explaination for a permanent and significant difference.

 

[grober]

Aftermarket or MB springs?

 

[silversurfer10]

Thank you for all the responses.

The replacement was carried out by an independent specialist. Beforehand and now, the gap between the tyre and wheel arch on both sides, was almost identical.

To the best of my knowledge, the springs that were fitted were not original Mercedes springs, the specialist said they checked with their supplier that the springs that were fitted, were compatible with my car.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

To the best of my knowledge, the springs that were fitted were not original Mercedes springs, the specialist said they checked with their supplier that the springs that were fitted, were compatible with my car.

I don’t want to read too much into one word, however “compatible” might explain it, ie those spring will fit, they’re not necessarily the same spec in terms of ride height, spring rates, etc.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This thread may be of interest:

CLS Grand Edition springs | Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

I've just had both rear springs replaced on my 2010 w219 Grand Edition, but now the rear of the car is about 40mm higher than it was before the spring change. Did the GE models have lower suspension as standard? My garage bought the springs from Mercedes Benz in Harrogate so I'd think they'd...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[geoffus]

Can you send a photo so we can see, could it be the front springs are tired so it looks different ?
Are you worrying about nothing, as long as they are replaced in pairs on the same axle, is it a problem ?

 

[KennyN]

Here is a pic of mine , standard springs all round but with the spacers on the rear springs removed.



K

 

[silversurfer10]

Here is a pic of mine , standard springs all round but with the spacers on the rear springs removed.



K

Thanks, are the alloys 18"? Mine are the stock 18" alloys. Is it usual to have the spacers removed i.e. is that how they would have been from the factory? Thank you.

 

[silversurfer10]

Can you send a photo so we can see, could it be the front springs are tired so it looks different ?
Are you worrying about nothing, as long as they are replaced in pairs on the same axle, is it a problem ?

Please find photos of the car attached with closeups of the front and back ride heights (rear ride height is greater than front)

 

[BigJase88]

https://mercedes-benz-media.co.uk/en-gb/releases/510

If you look at the above link your ride height looks in comparison to that.

I would say it is now how it is ment to be

 

[KennyN]

This was mine on the day i picked it up with 18k miles on it and totally standard.



Yours ,now, looks to sit similar to the above.

K

 

[PhantomF4]

These were removed from our R230 during a suspension overhaul. They’re by KYB, not originals so were replaced with genuine MB items. They were exactly the same length off the car but clearly had different spring rates.
Clearly not all springs are created equal.

As a result the car now sits level instead of nose down. (Thanks Merparts).

 

[Stratman]

To go over old ground, when MB make a new car they take the list of all options ordered and turn this into a number of points, which tells the man who fits the suspension which of the many different springs to use on that particular car, different in terms of free length and spring rate. This means all cars leave the factory with the correct ride height and suspension compliance, whether they have a V8 or I4.

An MB dealer will be able to tell the correct springs from the car's VIN, and to be honest they're not that expensive from there.

 

[BTB 500]

To go over old ground, when MB make a new car they take the list of all options ordered and turn this into a number of points, which tells the man who fits the suspension which of the many different springs to use on that particular car, different in terms of free length and spring rate. This means all cars leave the factory with the correct ride height and suspension compliance, whether they have a V8 or I4.

An MB dealer will be able to tell the correct springs from the car's VIN, and to be honest they're not that expensive from there.

I recently had a front spring go on our 2007 Vito, and MB replacements are unavailable with no ETA. So 'compatible' ones were the only option (they were fine in this case).

 

[Teem50]

New springs do take a couple of weeks to settle. The old ones may of been a bit tired giving it a saggy bottom

From my motor racing engineering days this reminds me of Carroll Smith's (well-known race engineer) rule for testing old springs. You throw them into a lake and if they float they're good to put on the car.