Bilstein shocks & braided brake hoses on C43

[MarkCL]

Just wanted to let people know my experience of having had some replacement Bilstein shocks & braided brake hoses put on my C43. The existing stock shock units were getting a bit tired as the car has covered just over 100k miles now and so I asked Olly at PCS to look in to some options for me with regard to getting them replaced. Since I wasn't looking for anything that stiffened or lowered things beyond stock there were only two options in the end - stock shocks from the dealer at around £147 ish each or after market Bilstein units for about £90 each. Needless to say I went for the Bilstein solution

Anyway - I'm very pleased to report that the improvment to the ride and handling is very noticeable indeed and I'm well chuffed with the results to say the least The ride over bumpy roads is much improved, feeling much more progressive and controlled now, and the handling is as sharp as a new pin and with no change to the stock ride height etc If anyone is in the same boat as I was then I can heartily recommend the Bilstein solution.

The braided hoses on the brakes have also made an improvement in braking even over the stock set up, with more control using even less effort than normal. Two little changes that have actually improved on an already good set up

If anyone wants more details about either the shocks or hoses then just contact Olly at PCS.

Andy - I think you're supposed to be getting the braided hoses fitted to your C43 soonish and all I can say is that you should be happy with the result

Cheers,
Mark

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
Yes I,m having the Hoses fitted the day of the GTG hopefully, and if finance allows new discs, pads all round and front springs (there going rusty at the bottom and this is where they normally snap).
I,ve got to pop in and see Olly soon regarding this but its finding the time at the moment as i,m working 7 days a week, (to pay for it).
Mark with the new Bilstein Shocks are they any firmer than your original ones?
I have absolutely no interest in lowering her and decided a while back now that if the suspension was ever replaced it would only be with OEM parts.
I did however enquire about Bilstein replacement shocks at ECP and they list pt. no.'s specific to the C43 rather than a Generic one which would do numerous models and as Bilstein are OEM, i had decided to use these with genuine springs, so I would be interested in any additional comments and critiscism you may have.

 

[Bolide]

There's normally more than one type of Bilstein - usually Comfort and Sports

I would think that Comfort would equate very well to the original shocks (which might be Sachs, Bilstein or another make) and that Sports would have slightly tighter damping

I don't think you'll ever go wrong fitting Bilsteins on a Mercedes

WRT braided hoses, it's worth checking them a couple of weeks after fitting to make sure there is no weeping from any of the fittings. Also check the path of the hose as you swing from lock to lock at the front - the braiding is quite abrasive and it will cut through anything it rubs against

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[television]

We should all pay more attention to the hoses, and the ones on the rear, it has been shown that the inside of the pipes slowly collapse, eventually this leads to a situation where the rear pads do not back off.

I too have had good results from braided hoses,they are standard on my V70R

 

[bigasotonuk]

On my motor bike the Owners Handbook says to replace the brake hoses after 2 years!
Goodridge Hoses are a very common mod on motor bikes.

 

[delboy777]

On my motor bike the Owners Handbook says to replace the brake hoses after 2 years!
Goodridge Hoses are a very common mod on motor bikes.

First thing i did when i bought my new 1250 Bandit was to replace the hoses with HEL items, gives a more posative feel on the brakes and no loss of power due to expansion in the hoses.

 

[MarkCL]

Andy - re the shocks: They're no firmer at all and if anything have made the ride more relaxed/comfortable if you see what I mean? They don't feel any softer as such, just better damped. The best way I can describe it is that whereas before it sometimes felt like the car was banging a bit over bumps, now it just bumps in a very controlled way - it's the best way I can describe it really I'm afraid. There's no change in body roll as far as I've been able to tell, handling is still spot on and everything else like ride height etc seems identical. Exactly how much of that is just down to the fact that these shocks are brand new whereas my old ones had done 100k miles who knows, but I do know that the car is better to drive now I've had them changed so I'm a happy bunny The shocks are Bilstein B8's, part fitment specific for the C43 - if I get any issues I'll let you know but so far nothing but praise

Getting 4 new tyres fitted tomorrow (Goodyear Eagle GSD 3's all round to the replace the Conti's which I really didn't like much I must say) and a full alignment done front & rear - after having all the shocks and front lower arms/ball joints changed it's going to need it. I'll report back again after that lot is done and let people know how things go 8)

Cheers,
Mark

 

[bigasotonuk]

Thanks for your feedback Mark, i,ll look at those for replacing my Shocks later in the year as i find mine like you found yours to bang over bumps.
Regarding tyres i,m running with Goodyears on mine (new 5,000 miles ago) not sure if there GSD 3's or not but to be honest i,m not that impressed with them, and was going to go for Continentals next time as they were what was fitted from the factory, but if you don,t like the Conti's i may go for Pirelli's instead.

 

[television]

Thanks for your feedback Mark, i,ll look at those for replacing my Shocks later in the year as i find mine like you found yours to bang over bumps.
Regarding tyres i,m running with Goodyears on mine (new 5,000 miles ago) not sure if there GSD 3's or not but to be honest i,m not that impressed with them, and was going to go for Continentals next time as they were what was fitted from the factory, but if you don,t like the Conti's i may go for Pirelli's instead.

I am having Pirelli's fitted to my new wheels on monday, kwikfit when you buy 4 work out at £175 cheaper than anyone else on the net,and I have been searching for 4 weeks now,, you just get the online price quote and take it into any branch and they match it

 

[MarkCL]

Interesting to hear about your views on the Goodyears Andy - I had them fitted to my Celica GT-Four and also my supercharged Corolla and in both cases was very impressed with both the levels of dry & wet grip as well as wear rate. In fact I managed 30k miles on the Celica before they needed to be changed! I was at least able to rotate the tyres on that car though as I had the same (235/40 17) all round. It was those previous good experiences that made me want them on the C43 :?

As far as the Conti's are concerned, they managed about 12k miles and are now down to the tread wear indicators on all four wheels. Also I've noticed that even though there's still what looks to be a fair amount of tread/grip left, the rears spin very easily - far more so than they used to at least. Ah well, guess we'll see. The Pirellis should be a good one to try - usually I found that they had a stickier compound providing good grip levels in dry & ok in the wet, but they wore quickly. The Michelin Pilots I had on my old BMW were also a good tyre up to a point - that point being where traction was lost: up to then they were fine then they'd suddenly go. I prefer a tyre that's a bit more progressive with the way it loses grip, something I found very good with the Goodyear Eagles. Fingers crossed these work out or that at least they don't turn out to be worse than the conti's!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[bigasotonuk]

I might just be expecting to much from them then, i did have an old 2.8i Capri which i had Eagles on it and always considered them as excellent tyres though thought they were a very soft compound and did,nt last very long.
It just does,nt seem as "planted" as my C230K that has 15" alloys with 205 Pirelli's on
I have just found the reciept for the 2 front tyres in November and it says they were Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD 3 so they are the same.
What are you paying for them? my fronts were £79.57ea which i was well happy with. The rears were just over the £100 mark £105ea I think.

 

[MarkCL]

Hi Andy - just back from Protyre now Cost was £88 each for the fronts and £103 for the two rears so very similar cost to yours really. They still feel like they have a bit of release compound on them at the mo and haven't really bedded in yet - only done 15 miles on them so far so might take a bit more before they properly settle in. I'll give them a more thorough "test" after 100 miles or so and let you know.

Alignment showed that despite the change of shocks on the rear, that was all still in spec - only needed a minor tweak to the front to put things right - after the lower arm change I'm not surprised. Still, all feels ok at the mo so fingers crossed

Cheers,
Mark

 

[MarkCL]

Just a quick update on my views on the tyres now I've bedded them in a bit:

Goodyear Eagle GSD3's
So far I've noticed that when cold they don't grip that well but once the rubber has warmed up a little things are much better In the wet I'm not getting anywhere near as much slip and the traction control light is staying off for a change. How much of this is down to just new rubber though who knows. All I can say for sure is that once warmed up the levels of grip are as impressive as I remember from my other Goodyear equipped cars - next test is to see how long they last Happy so far though

As far as the suspension etc is concerned, that still feels great - no nasty surprises now that it's all settled down and the handling is lovely. If anything I'm enjoying driving the car more now as the level of comfort and control seems much improved Big thumbs up from me as it's made the car even more of a joy to drive

Cheers,
Mark

 

[MM's C43 London]

Hi Guys I am also running a C43 AMG (Blue Saloon), 80K miles on the clock. I stopped taking it to Merc cause they would charge me fortunes and never deliver on results. I am now using BSG in Ladbroke Grove. There is a guy called Stewart down there and he has so far been brilliant with the car!

Anyway she is in this morning for a B Service. I got a call saying the front Shocks were rusted, stuck open and I have to replace them as they are not dumping at all. Having seen your post I am also going to try the Bilstein Shocks. Are you still happy with yours...

on the tyres I had put on the best Continentals I could get but this year I changed to the GSD 3 Goodyear F1. I have to say that I noticed a significant improvement. When I first got them there was some wheel spinning when cold but after a few weeks they have come to their own. They are really good in the dry but for me and the C43 they really came into their own in the Wet (I had some moments in the Conti's when I could feel the grip reduce in the rain). With the F1s so far I have alot more control in the wet especially conering and braking (Improved by a really huge amount). I would recommend them to anyone.

 

[malcomP]

Hi guys I see you mentioned "Olly at PCS" Who is this and how do you contact him. After a fair bit oif searching, I'm told that Bilstein B36 are the shocks for the C43, but their are several B36 for example 54 and 55's. Which Bilstein is the original part as Mecedes in Aberdeen want £177.00 + Vat for the front and £172.00 + Vat for the rear. Their part numbers are front 202 323 4100 and rear 202 326 3000. My front tyres pilot sport two were wearing excessively on the inner and outside. The cure was some form of steering drag link. The scrubbing has now stopped when on half to full lock and the wear issue I beleive will disappear.

 

[malcomP]

The original tyres for the C43 were Continental, Its a bit cooler in Aberdeen and the were not good at low temperatures, and even worse on cold slippery mornings, I converted to Pilot sport 1's and then 2's when they came out. The improvement is massive, although I still think I will buy a winter tyre for next year, as anything below 4C performance drops off noticeably.

 

[malcomP]

Which Bilstiens did you buy for the C43

 

[BlackC55]

I fitted the B8 shocks.

I am so pleased with the result. They are so much better than standard.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
I have been running Goodyears on my 43, and to be honest i have,nt been that impressed with them though i know of other 43's with them and the owners say that there great but i found i did,nt have that much confidence in them when pushing the car on the bends an more importantly they made the car tramline and have not lasted very long, I did,nt note the mileage when they were fitted but they are slick at less than 10,000 miles, and i really don,t drive it that hard.
Olly will be replacing both my springs and shocks, front and rear in the not to distant future, so with that and new rear tyres i,ll hopefully regain my confidence in the handling.
I,ve decided to go for a slightly harder compound tyre now, hopefully the road noise won,t be to bad. I have been given a price of £88 each rear tyre fitted, I have decide to give Marshall tyres a try.

 

[Cole@MBS]

Did you try Micheldevers Andy, they are normally the cheapest in our area??