W124-Lowering

[///AMG55]

Good afternoon everybody

First of all, I have a 1992 face lifted W124 230E. Members here have been very helpful to give me tips on choosing the best bumper for my ride and on the steps to fix it.

There has always been a big gap between my car's tires and wheel arch. In the past, Mercedes service centre fixed lower springs. The car dropped very mildly. The drop cannot be noticed.

As a second attempt to solve this matter, I installed the thinnest spring pads and the car dropped by around 2cm. However it is not enough.

On this forum, I found that some members lower their cars by using H&R or eibach springs, changing the roller bar and by changing the shocks.

My car has the bilstein HDs fitted and I wonder what I should really buy for a perfect set up.

It would be nice if members could help.

Thank you,

///AMG55

 

[d w124]

Whatever you do,don`t buy eibach.Also change the shocks if you`re going too low

 

[John Jones Jr]

My car has the bilstein HDs fitted and I wonder what I should really buy for a perfect set up.


///AMG55

I understood HD's were mainly for off road use & 4x4's. If I'm correct I'd change those shocks and get new springs as well. Sticking with Bilstein I'd pick B4's and a set of springs from the likes of Eibach, H&R, Vogtland etc. Look for springs that have a drop of about 30mm F&R, you won't lose any comfort but it will improve driving characteristics. You'll need to shop around for best prices, check out eBay.de too - I found the best value there.

 

[///AMG55]

Whatever you do,don`t buy eibach.Also change the shocks if you`re going too low

I had a search on eurocarparts website and I found that they are selling H&R springs at a great price in April with the 25% discount offer on all car parts!

Maybe I should go for H&R. The problem is that I cannot find the part number for my Car on H&R website.

 

[///AMG55]

I understood HD's were mainly for off road use & 4x4's. If I'm correct I'd change those shocks and get new springs as well. Sticking with Bilstein I'd pick B4's and a set of springs from the likes of Eibach, H&R, Vogtland etc. Look for springs that have a drop of about 30mm F&R, you won't lose any comfort but it will improve driving characteristics. You'll need to shop around for best prices, check out eBay.de too - I found the best value there.

I have heard that the bilstein HD and H&R springs make a good combo.

 

[John Jones Jr]

It seems H&R don't have a listing for the 230, you can get them for the 300 but they won't suit your car.

If you are happy using the HD shocks, great, just get some springs and try that combo out. Anyway you can always change the shocks later if needed - much easier to fit too.

Eibach part number E2505-140-3, approx 35mm F&R.

 

[RBYCC]

I understood HD's were mainly for off road use & 4x4's. If I'm correct I'd change those shocks and get new springs as well. Sticking with Bilstein I'd pick B4's and a set of springs from the likes of Eibach, H&R, Vogtland etc. Look for springs that have a drop of about 30mm F&R, you won't lose any comfort but it will improve driving characteristics. You'll need to shop around for best prices, check out eBay.de too - I found the best value there.

HD's should be the same as the B6.
B4 are what we call in the US: "Comfort", not really that compatible performance wise with lowering springs.
In the USA there are both HD's and Sports in the B6 range.
HD's have identical valving with the Sport, but Sport uses an internal stop to limit the travel by 1".
I run HD's with H&R Sports lowering springs ( about 1.3" drop) and front and rear Sportline swaybars and front and rear strut/sgocktower upper bracing.

Ed A.

 

[balge]

mine iz teh lower

 

[effbee584]

There has always been a big gap between my car's tires and wheel arch.

Don't think 2 cms is lower enough.

When both front springs cracked on my H reg 260E, I arranged for lowered springs to be fitted all round. Like your car, mine had sat very high at the rear with about 4inch gap between tyre and wheel arch.

From memory they were 1-2 inches shorter for the front and 2-3 inches for the rear. I bought them from what was then Eurocarparts in Wembley, they had a range of shorter springs, these were sort of in the middle of what could have been fitted.

The results were terrific, not only did the car look better -

but the handling was transformed for the better. I had the front tracking adjusted back to where it should be, and all was well.

Looking at the picture now, I do like the way the car looks level, although when heavily loaded, I broke the exhaust on a speed hump at about 2 mph!

 

[effbee584]

AMG55 - There is also a thread lower down, entitled ' 124 DIY Spring replacement woes', you may find of interest. DIY for this job is not for me.

 

[John Jones Jr]

HD's should be the same as the B6.
B4 are what we call in the US: "Comfort", not really that compatible performance wise with lowering springs.
In the USA there are both HD's and Sports in the B6 range.
HD's have identical valving with the Sport, but Sport uses an internal stop to limit the travel by 1".
I run HD's with H&R Sports lowering springs ( about 1.3" drop) and front and rear Sportline swaybars and front and rear strut/sgocktower upper bracing.

Ed A.

I would have presumed simply by the fact that one is known as HD and the other is known B6 there's a difference. I use B6's currently in one car and to me they are all about handling. Also if you look at comments about HD Bilsteins you'll notice most if not all are related to 'trucks' i.e. 4x4's like Jeeps etc. And, as you already stated there's a different in travel between both. Both designed for different jobs? Stand to corrected as I said in my original post.
As for B4's, they are what Merc fitted as standard to the Sportline models along with 20mm lower springs, hell I even think the old 16V's had them as standard.

Regardless, as I already suggested the OP should get the springs and see how they get on with his current HD's.

Can I ask why you have used upper braces (strut bars) between the shock towers? I ask, as I reckon they possibly add no improvement to handling as they are only attached to the shock top, now if your car had a strut with spring & shock combined, I reckon they could be worth while.

 

[///AMG55]

HD's should be the same as the B6.
B4 are what we call in the US: "Comfort", not really that compatible performance wise with lowering springs.
In the USA there are both HD's and Sports in the B6 range.
HD's have identical valving with the Sport, but Sport uses an internal stop to limit the travel by 1".
I run HD's with H&R Sports lowering springs ( about 1.3" drop) and front and rear Sportline swaybars and front and rear strut/sgocktower upper bracing.

Ed A.

To be honest, I am now not too sure that I have the HD ones. All that I know is that they are black. How is it possible to identify the model? The shocks have been changed by Mercedes Service centre andI have doubts whether they are HDs.....

And... Is there source where I can check which H&R part number is for the w124 230E?

Thank you

 

[///AMG55]

Don't think 2 cms is lower enough.

When both front springs cracked on my H reg 260E, I arranged for lowered springs to be fitted all round. Like your car, mine had sat very high at the rear with about 4inch gap between tyre and wheel arch.

From memory they were 1-2 inches shorter for the front and 2-3 inches for the rear. I bought them from what was then Eurocarparts in Wembley, they had a range of shorter springs, these were sort of in the middle of what could have been fitted.

The results were terrific, not only did the car look better -

but the handling was transformed for the better. I had the front tracking adjusted back to where it should be, and all was well.

Looking at the picture now, I do like the way the car looks level, although when heavily loaded, I broke the exhaust on a speed hump at about 2 mph!

Your car looks amazing! I am actually trying to make my car sit at the same height as yours.

 

[///AMG55]

It seems H&R don't have a listing for the 230, you can get them for the 300 but they won't suit your car.

If you are happy using the HD shocks, great, just get some springs and try that combo out. Anyway you can always change the shocks later if needed - much easier to fit too.

Eibach part number E2505-140-3, approx 35mm F&R.

Hey thanks for the help. Do you know where I can get eibach springs at a good price? I tried eurocarparts but they sell only H&R springs.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Well, generally the best prices I find are on Google.de or eBay.de , that's for H&R, Eibach, Bilstein & Koni. For certain you'll get Eibach springs for your particular model on eBay.de.

HTH

 

[John Jones Jr]

To be honest, I am now not too sure that I have the HD ones.

I'll have bet you haven't.

Clean down a shock if you can and see if there's a part no.stamped on it or there may be a silver label stuck on, that will tell what shocks you've got.

Don't get too hung up on the brand of spring, just make sure that they are the right height.

 

[RBYCC]

To be honest, I am now not too sure that I have the HD ones. All that I know is that they are black. How is it possible to identify the model? The shocks have been changed by Mercedes Service centre andI have doubts whether they are HDs.....

And... Is there source where I can check which H&R part number is for the w124 230E?

Thank you

The USA uses different designations, but both the HD and Sport would be to the B6

The HD is black, Sport is yellow.
Notice the only physical difference is the overall length with the Sport about 1" shorter in stroke length.

The front strut part number is V36-0361, rear shock is B36-1385.
Part number is on the silver band around the black strut/shock

 

[John Jones Jr]

Yes, different shocks!

 

[RBYCC]

I would have presumed simply by the fact that one is known as HD and the other is known B6 there's a difference. I use B6's currently in one car and to me they are all about handling. Also if you look at comments about HD Bilsteins you'll notice most if not all are related to 'trucks' i.e. 4x4's like Jeeps etc. And, as you already stated there's a different in travel between both. Both designed for different jobs? Stand to corrected as I said in my original post.
As for B4's, they are what Merc fitted as standard to the Sportline models along with 20mm lower springs, hell I even think the old 16V's had them as standard.

Regardless, as I already suggested the OP should get the springs and see how they get on with his current HD's.

Not sure of the rest of the world but in the USA both the Sports and HD's have recently been categorized as B6. It appears that the HD's are now also yellow in color. The difference in travel ( identical valving ) is that the Sport is recommended for lowered suspensions. This is more a matter of product liability as Bilstein is concerned that a "slammed' car may cause the spring to dismount with a longer travel.

BILSTEIN B6 - HD Passenger Car

Can I ask why you have used upper braces (strut bars) between the shock towers? I ask, as I reckon they possibly add no improvement to handling as they are only attached to the shock top, now if your car had a strut with spring & shock combined, I reckon they could be worth while.

First I have an extremely well balanced and engineered suspension using Bilstein HD's and H&R Sports.
Proof of balance and weight transfer can be seen by the even traction with an open 3.07 differential:



With 400ftlb torque and a unibody construction the upper braces give additional support to prevent the top of the struts/shocks from flexing

Front strut tower brace



Rear shock tower brace

 

[RBYCC]

Yes, different shocks!

No...you're not understanding..

Same shock as far as valving and all other features.
Yellow Sport has internal stop that limits travel by 1".
damping, rebound, stiffness, etc.