W124 Coupe Suspension Advise

[AndyWirral124]

Evening All

I have a few questions to ask around the suspension set up on my car and W/C124 Coupes in general.

To give you the lowdown on my car I have given an overview below.

Car: E320 Coupe with Sportline Suspension factory option.
Suspension Mods: Eibach pro Kit, 4 nib spring pads on front and 1 nib pads on the rear (took a few attempts to get the car sitting right)

The questions I have:

Do most W/C124's have a rake to them? i.e. Lower front than rear?

Why does it appear that the rear nearside sits slightly higher at times compared to the offside? (see this on other coupes as well)

I have attached some pictures to give you an idea as to how my coupe sits currently on 17" AMG monobloc's which look cool :bannana:

Hope you all have a good bank holiday weekend and look forward to the comments.

Andy

 

[WDB124066]

As you load the car up with more weight the rear tends to sink more than the front - that's why I think the rear looks higher than the front.

Fuel load could explain the nearside height difference.

 

[CreosoteChris]

Hello Andy

Lovely-looking C124 you have there. I don't actually have a good answer to your question - just to say that I've frequently wondered the exact same thing.

My 220CE (I've owned it for just over a year, pics in sig link) has always given me the impression that the front end was either lowered or slightly sagging with age.

However, at the same time I like that slightly raked look, and still have adequate ground clearance for speed humps and the like, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

So dunno really - sorry for the useless reply.....


Regards Chris
93 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 108k, Manchester

 

[AndyWirral124]

Hello Andy

Lovely-looking C124 you have there. I don't actually have a good answer to your question - just to say that I've frequently wondered the exact same thing.

My 220CE (I've owned it for just over a year, pics in sig link) has always given me the impression that the front end was either lowered or slightly sagging with age.

However, at the same time I like that slightly raked look, and still have adequate ground clearance for speed humps and the like, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

So dunno really - sorry for the useless reply.....


Regards Chris
93 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 108k, Manchester

Hi Chris

Thanks for your reply, its not useless at all. Theres no such thing as a stupid reply to a forum

I quiet like the raked look and I think that the lower the car goes you notice the rake slightly more due to the arches being closer to the car... just my thought?

My car doesnt rub, bang or feel harsh at all really suprised actually even with the 17's on it! Th shocks are all Sachs and are factory sportline specific.

The mystery of these is really when the near side rear is slightly higher than offside, could it be due the set up for UK roads i.e. camber?

Thanks again.

Andy.

 

[AndyWirral124]

I was thinking it was fuel related too! the tank located more to the nearside im guessing??

 

[CreosoteChris]

Hi Andy - not sure about any n/s - o/s disparity - I'll put mine on some really flat ground tomorrow and let you know if it's properly level or not

Regards Chris

 

[AndyWirral124]

Hi Andy - not sure about any n/s - o/s disparity - I'll put mine on some really flat ground tomorrow and let you know if it's properly level or not

Regards Chris

Thanks Chris I appreciate it, by the way I love your Coupe. Theres something about the CE I really love more than the facelift E!

 

[hotrodder]

The fuel tank sits pretty much centrally across the car over the back axle. As said they all sit slightly nose down when unladen as standard, even estates with self levelling rear suspension. The body shape tends to exagerate the nose down look IMO, this side on pic for example

The chrome trim running down the side is pretty much horizontal as is the bottom of the sill between the doors. Arch gaps, the subtle 'coke bottle curve' kick up at the C pillar and the line over the top of the car still give a slight nose down look though as does the difference in ground clearance at the front and rear overhangs. That helps from a aerodynamic stability POV too. Set the car up so it looks level from an arch gap POV and the trim and roof lines will make it look like it's dragging it's butt. That look only works with certain cars, old Yank stuff like a '50 Mercury sled with a healthy roof chop for example

Dunno about the side to side thing... tired suspension sometimes shows more on the drivers side for obvious reasons. Obviously doesn't apply to yours and is maybe more prevelant in the land of supersized big mac meals?

 

[AndyWirral124]

Thanks Hotrodder what you have put certainly makes a lot of sense.

Do you think shock absorbers could play a part in the side to side difference? The shocks feel fine but could they play a part?

Thanks.

 

[WDB124066]

No. Shocks affect dynamic ride height not static as such apart from the E500E which has springs in the front struts.

Low at the front, higher at the rear also helps stability through aero effects, see the 107's rear end especially, very open/high compared to the front.

The spring rate is typically less at the front of these types of cars than the rear and so when you load the chassis roughly evenly between front and rear axles the rear will drop more per kg than the front, that's one reason why they look higher at the rear when unladen....

 

[CreosoteChris]

Thanks Chris I appreciate it, by the way I love your Coupe. Theres something about the CE I really love more than the facelift E!

Thanks Andy

Yeah, I really love that car – it's a reasonably nice example – not a pampered classic, and a daily driver that serves me in all weathers. Not garaged, so I guess it has a limited remaining lifespan, maybe a couple of years, before the inevitable death-by-rust. Cost me £1650 with 98k miles at the time (I immediately got the wheels powder-coated, £220, to give that “showroom” effect)

I wanted a C124 for many years – in the early 90s I used to work quite a lot in Central London, staying in the Russell Hotel Bloomsbury. Wandering around that area at the time, with its profusion of embassies and diplomatic activity, I'd see C124s very frequently, usually 300CE-24s. They had diplomatic plates, were usually parked illegally (nice perk, that), and I wanted one sooooo badly. 20 years later, and depreciation took its inexorable toll. Having spent the last couple of decades running late-ish model cars bought for their practical qualities, I decided last year “sod it, I'm going to get something that I actually want.....” and bought my CE220. And it's easily my favourite vehicle I've ever owned.

Running a 22-year-old car as a DD certainly has hassles and drawbacks, but it's no more expensive than the depreciation on a 10-year-old vehicle, and I've done 10.000 miles without once finding myself stranded at the roadside. And every journey is an event, every time I get in the car, I feel happy and proud.

Despite the anaemic performance, it's super-satisfying to drive – even with the 4-pot lump. It retains that “magic carpet glide" feel to it – that legendary Mercedes 80s/90s engineering quality is still in evidence. It's taught me a lot about motoring – some cars reward sedate driving, and you just don't need to go fast to have fun. And for the same reasons, the gas mileage is fine – high 20s, maybe 30mpg.

Anyway, going to give it a wash, get my spirit level out, and I'll let you know what I find about side-to-side ride height.

Cheers, Chris
93 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 108k, Manchester

 

[CreosoteChris]

OK

First thing I learned.... it's really difficult to find a piece of tarmac that you know to be perfectly flat! I ended up trying two different locations, in each case I parked up, did my assessment by visual and spirit-level means, then turned the car 180 degrees in order to validate.

Results were:

1. I was unable to detect any difference in the rear ride height (spirit-level in boot)

2. The front driver's-side corner was definitely measurably lower than the passenger-side, but it's pretty minimal, - 5mm, 10mm max perhaps - and of course I have no way of proving whether that's intentional-by-design or age-related sag. (spirit-level on top of radiator)

Cheers, Chris
93 220CE, auto, red / black leather, 108k, Manchester

 

[AndyWirral124]

Hi Chris

Thanks so much for your input and I really appreciate you taking the time out to measure up your car.

I know how you feel about your coupe im the same, mines done 168k miles with full mercedes history. I have done a lot of maintenance, full suspension overhaul, gearbox and engine service, replaced suspension bushes, new drive shafts and a full on 10 hour machine polish with detailing.

Im confident my car will go one for many more miles, flew through last MOT with no advisories and thats through an MB specialist!

In regards to suspension differences, I noticed a couple of times today when the car was parked that the nearside was actually lower than offside so iv concluded that its just been a case of parking the car on roads with different camber angles so im settled on that

Thanks again and enjoy your coupe!

Andy

 

[WDB124066]

For those who may stumble on this thread later ride height is officially measured from underneath the car using tool 201 589 00 21 00 for the front, and 201 589 01 21 00 for the rear. The rear tool pointer touches on the Axle Shaft itself, not like the front tool which touches on the Lower Control Arm.

The max permitted difference between left and right ride height is 9 mm using the measuring tools above or 15 mm measuring from road wheel center to the underside of the wheel arch lip - so long as the lip hasn't been rolled or damaged in an accident that is.

If you are measuring front ride height you may as well take the extra 20 seconds or so and measure the ball point position of the steering joints, BPP affects toe out on turns.

 

[WDB124066]

A petrol station usually has a nice flat forecourt - or even the truck stop part if you are looking for somewhere a little bit quieter....

 

[219]

When I had my estate cars , I used to adjust the link rod for the SLS to make the top edge of the bumpers/Sacco panels the same height up from the ground at each end ( I always reckoned that line should be level ) .

 

[WDB124066]

Couple of Official Pics.

Looking at those you'd have to say that would be about right Pontoneer...