W124 handling

[30something]

I'm very pleased with my car overall but being used to much more modern machinery I would like to sharpen up the handling a bit.

I was thinking 16" rims with 205/55 tyres and new (uprated?) front dampers would help but what did the 'sportline' package for the estates consist of?

 

[Howard]

Shocks (there are so many different models of Sportline shocks, as Mercedes even took into account all the possible equipment options you might have , when they designed them )

Springs, Bushes, thicker Anti roll bars

Will work out to a few hundred quid , even before you buy the wheels.

Janner is the expert on sportline kits for w124's , i'm sure he will point you in the right direction..

Read this thread , in the latter stages is some sportline info, it regards coupes but the info is useful....

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=19944&page=3&pp=15

 

[bolide]

Define "Sharpen"

Define "Sharpen"!

I had the same feeling on and off for 10 years with my old W124 estate. At times it felt lumpy and leaden and I wanted to change it. But then I'd throw it down an A road and realise that it handled beautifully and that I'd be mad to try and change it

My "new" W124 estate doesn't handle as well as the old one, quite, but I'm not going to try & change it as I think the compromise MB engineered into the car is not going to be improved upon by a bit of tinkering

I've driven a few Sportline cars and am ambivalent about them. They seem to run out of ideas on bumpy roads and are markedly poorer at filtering out sharp shocks like road surface joins & etc, but they are a little more precise at the front end. For my money the best improvement in Sportline is the steering rack which I believe is quicker

If I were to try and "improve" (actually change) a W124 I'd do the following:

* check or replace the front balljoints, springs & ARB bushes
* fit 205/65 x 15 tyres, on wider rims if possible
* fit a bigger front antiroll bar
* check or replace the rear track / diagonal tie rods
* 4-wheel alignment

Sportline does succeed in making the cars turn in better, but it's at the expense of the ride and I feel it's a trade off not worth making. I don't think changing damping at the front will help at all

For my money the worst W124 traits are the failure of the front end to turn in quickly and body roll. A 4-cylinder engine will help the former and a bigger front bar will help the latter. But a bigger bar will make the car understeer more and make it trickier in the wet. As these cars are superb in the wet & in bad conditions I never changed the bar on my car

Of course the upside is the traditional W124 ride & security - the refusal to understeer unless you provoke it, the great ride and the security in the wet

Driving a W124 after a modern car is like a Porsche 944 after a Golf GTi - it feels soft & flabby and like it doesn't go round corners. A few weeks later you realise it does go round corners, it delivers amazing amounts of grip and it drives like a proper car, not a shopping trolley

I strongly suggest leaving well alone


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[30something]

food for thought there, I must admit I was chucking it about today in the wet and like you say it feels very safe, I don't want to spend loads and I don't want to spoil the ride so you could be right.

 

[Dave Lewis]

you realise it does go round corners, it delivers amazing amounts of grip and it drives like a proper car, not a shopping trolley
I strongly suggest leaving well alone

Very well put! It's what the 124 is all about.

 

[willy]

if your shocks are soft or still on its existing shocks at 100k, its worth changing them or upgrading them to slightly stiffer ones.

i've upgraded to bilstein sport dampers on my 190 and it definately tightens up the handling without destroying the ride comfort.

 

[bolide]

if your shocks are soft or still on its existing shocks at 100k, its worth changing them or upgrading them to slightly stiffer ones.

i've upgraded to bilstein sport dampers on my 190 and it definately tightens up the handling without destroying the ride comfort.

Bilstein make great dampers and I believe they do a Comfort and a Sport version for these cars. But the rear end of a 280TE has rising-rate hydraulic suspension so no joy there

It is possible to play with damping of hydraulics by varying the gas pressure in the spheres. But I can't see there being any room for improvement


Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk