Recommendations for E320 Sportline Coupe rear shocks?

[andyR]

Hi,
MB shocks seem to be about £160 for a rear pair; pattern ones about half that, but is it worth considering Spax's or other reputable alternative make?
This is for a factory-fit sportline coupe that spends it's life on B-roads; C-roads and dirt tracks!
cheers

 

[COUPE FREAK]

try "bustergasket" on ebay for bilstiens, quite a few on here have bought them, including me,, £70.00 for a set of 4,,

 

[KLP 92]

£160 for a pair of genuine MB sportline rear shocks sounds on the cheap side to me!

 

[grober]

Think the original factory shocks were made by Boge. Bilstein do a perfectly adequate sports substitute. http://katalog.bilstein.de/ part no B36-1612 You can compare this with the comprehensive list of original MB part nos too.

 

[andyR]

Thanks for replies, I'll chase up some Bilsteins and compare them with the OEM ones.
cheers

 

[Huntertitus]

Keep us posted on the ones you get and how well they work. I've only had my 1993 E320 coupe for a few weeks - (my 1st MB and still I smile with a smug expression each time I go out! ) - so haven't had to do any work yet. I'm trying to find a good mechanic near Battersea SW London as the mot is up in October.

 

[Howard]

www.colinferns.com

In Richmond, not far from Battersea ..... we use him, he's very good !

good luck

H

 

[andyR]

Hi,
Fitted a pair of B36-1612 Bilsteins to the rear of my sportline coupe, when I took the originals off they were Bilsteins as well and still had the Mercedes stickers on them so I'm surmising they were original equipment?

I'm surprised how much the new shocks have tightened up the handling.

Interestingly, the offside came off fairly readily (because it was weaker?) but the nearside was a pig and cost me skinned knuckles which is unusual because it is normally the nearside that wears the most. Problem is not undoing the bolts, but compressing the dratted thing to give enough clearance to lift it out - with the anti-roll bar and everything else in the way you need a serious amount of strength in your fingers to lift it free!!

In answer to Huntertitus - if you have a genuine sportline, then I can recommend the Bilstein B36-1612

cheers

 

[Rob77]

Where did you get them from, in the end and what did they cost?

 

[andyR]

I did a quick search on the net and found Proven Products in Tavistock had them for £101 a pair + £9 postage which was a couple of pounds cheaper than Motorsport World. Delivery was within two days.