W124 - Bilstein B6, or B8 for Sportline

[MotardMan]

Hi everyone,

I have to replace the front dampers which are SPortline. I cannot for love nor money find a pair of B6's in the UK. I can however, get the B8's.

From my research it seems the B8 and B6 are valved identically, and are the same physical external sizes. The difference being that the B8 is intended for lowered cars. Now, the B6 is fine for a car lowered by <30mm, so would work, but I can't get a pair.

My question to you is, "will the B8's work?". Has anyone replaced Sportline dampers, with B8's?

 

[rayhennig]

We had a Bilstein B12 kit that included B8 dampers. We then changed back to standard Sportline with all new springs and dampers. The B12 kit was just a bit low for the horrid roads around here.

The front damper options for my coupé were:
Front strut (damper): A1243206030 Bilstein: B4 22-040534 V36-4053 B8 22-003652 Sachs: 115 070 Boge: 36-612-C.

We chose Sachs but I also bought 2 Boge that I keep in stock.

The Sachs work well and were cheap at around 80€ each.

I suggest you start with the MB number to be sure you get the right thing.

Good hunting.

RayH

 

[LostKiwi]

Personally I wouldn't go B8 as the reduced stroke will make it more prone to topping out on UK roads making the ride feel more choppy on anything but smooth surfaces.

 

[MotardMan]

We had a Bilstein B12 kit that included B8 dampers. We then changed back to standard Sportline with all new springs and dampers. The B12 kit was just a bit low for the horrid roads around here.

The front damper options for my coupé were:
Front strut (damper): A1243206030 Bilstein: B4 22-040534 V36-4053 B8 22-003652 Sachs: 115 070 Boge: 36-612-C.

We chose Sachs but I also bought 2 Boge that I keep in stock.

The Sachs work well and were cheap at around 80€ each.

I suggest you start with the MB number to be sure you get the right thing.

Good hunting.

RayH

The issue with cross checking the MB part numbers, is that most of the vendors lump all of the damper options into the listing, so you have no chance of finding a specific replacement for Sportline from the cross reference. It is infuriating!

Thanks for the info though, really useful.

 

[MotardMan]

Personally I wouldn't go B8 as the reduced stroke will make it more prone to topping out on UK roads making the ride feel more choppy on anything but smooth surfaces.

That is what I was thinking too. Thank you for the advice, I will try to find the B6's.

 

[LostKiwi]

Have you considered Koni Yellow? Expensive but adjustable damping.

 

[MotardMan]

Have you considered Koni Yellow? Expensive but adjustable damping.

I hadn't. Mainly because this is a wagon and has SLS. Would be at odds with the ethos of the car as a comfy cruiser to have adjustable dampers up front, and the rear being managed, and damped by the spheres and struts. I don't drive the car hard on the road, or use it on track at all, so they are probably overkill for me.

I'd just like it to be nice and controlled, like the OEM Sportsline stuff was in 1995.
If this was a saloon, I'd be tempted, very tempted. My road bikes have magic Ohlins on them, one of them the electronic adaptive system which is incredible. Rebound, compression, anti squat, anti dive all controlled in conjunction with the IMU and ECU. So I get my fixes for "fiddling" on the bikes.

 

[rayhennig]

The issue with cross checking the MB part numbers, is that most of the vendors lump all of the damper options into the listing, so you have no chance of finding a specific replacement for Sportline from the cross reference. It is infuriating!

I don't really understand that. I found it very easy to get the Sachs number from AutoDoc when I Googled A1243206030.

This from AutoDoc UK with a filter on Sachs:


And this from the Sachs site so you can cross-refer to other MB references:

SACHS

For more than 100 years, SACHS has stood for German brand quality. The products stand out with their safety, innovation, durability and reliability.

aftermarket.zf.com

RayH

 

[MotardMan]

Hi Ray,

The part number you used isn't the right one for Wagon Sportline damper, the right one is I believe; 124-320-35-30. So if we cross ref in Autodoc we get:



And they list the below as also being equivalent, which clearly, they are not:

None of this matters now, I bought a pair of B6's, new strut mounts, gaitors and bellows.