W124 E320 Coupe - Stiffer Suspension

[Martin Kelly]

Hi there.

I have a 1996 E320 Coupe, which I LOVE. The only weak point is suspension. 2 things :

1. Car seems to sit very high - 4inch gap from front wheel arch to top of tyre, and 3 inches on rear wheels. (I have 195x65x15 tyres). Front suspension bushing have 2 'dots'. I think changing bushings to 1 dot would make very little difference. Ideally I would like to lower fron by 1- 2 inches. Any suggestions ?

2. Also, at speed the car can become bouncy, esp in rear, and can roll quite abit. Also very sensitive to strong side winds. The shocks are all new (MB). I want to stiffen, and lower somewhat the suspension, but do not want to feel (and hear) every bump in the road - ie I don't want it too stiff. I was considering changing shocks and springs to Sportline and have the following questions :
- is Sportline too stiff ? Is there any recommended halfway house ?
- has anyone done this conversion for this car? If so, any comments / lessons? What parts are required ?

Thanks a lot.

By the way, I see some threads on W124 pulling to the left
- I had that problem, and had to send it back for wheel allignment twice, but that did the trick. It appears that this car is VERY sensitive to a) allignment settings - need to be precise, and b) road camber.

Cheers

Martin

 

[Terminator]

I replaced the standard MB Coil Springs with Eibach Pro springs which lowered the ride height by about 3 inches. I have retained the standard shocks but replaced anti roll bar bushes and had the steering geometry checked afterwards. The handling is now much tighter and the ride quality is unaffected. When the shocks need replacing I shall upgrade to Bilstein Gas (as per Sportline) or Koni Sports.

 

[pascal]

Welcome to the forum Martin,

The W124 is indeed sensitive to alingment, and I used to get mine fully aligned every 18 months or so. If the job is done properly it makes a huge difference.

Pascal

 

[sooper coop]

I'm quite interested in having mine lowered the Eibach way seems to make sense as i dont want to mess with the car setting just lowere it a bit and improve the handling a little.

Who fits the springs Merc specialist ? how long would it take them to do it .?

how much for the bush replacement ?

 

[Martin Kelly]

Thanks and Eibachs

Thanks for responses. Am getting quote for Sportline shocks & springs - I'll let you know how I get on.

One question - lowering with Eibach springs - 3" is a lot - how can they lower by 3" and not change ride (they must be stiffer or alternatively botom out sooner ??)

Thanks

Martin

1996 E320 Coupe Green Black
1999 BMW 323i Convertible

 

[pascal]

The sportsline option, will only lower the ride height by 23mm and is still a very soft.
If I was going to spend the money on lowering, I would go for the Eibach option. With the right wheels they look pretty good too.8)

pascal

 

[Bolide]

Lowering an E320 Coupe

One question - lowering with Eibach springs - 3" is a lot - how can they lower by 3" and not change ride (they must be stiffer or alternatively botom out sooner ??)

I think the answer is they change all three - there's no way of making a car stiffer without altering the ride, and no way of lowering it without making it bottom out sooner

I'd ask why you want to modify the car. If the suspension isn't right I'd recommend fixing it, getting it as close as possible back to "factory" spec, then thinking again. A "factory" car might be just what you want (and I'd think it'd be just as good as you expect) whereas every modified car compromises a very good suspension system

There's a lateral track control link in the rear suspension that is cheap (about £15) and makes a big difference to the way the car handles. Also the frontmost rear subframe bushes (the big vertical buggers) will make a difference. I think a lot of the wandering around that some W124s do is due to the rear of the car steering it around. Some cars do this and some don't so I think it's related to worn parts

Test drive a sportsline car and see if you like it. There's a list on the web somewhere of all the parts that need to be changed in the suspension to retrofit Sportsline so you can easily cost it. Just remember it includes new antiroll bars, bushes, springs and shockers so be prepared for some expense

Remember that when Mercedes wanted just to "improve the handling a bit" they probably took a dozen suspension engineers, a few months of computer time, several dozen prototypes and a few hundred laps of the Nurburgring to set a spec. Then they'd test it to make sure it met their original design specs. And durability specs

Somehow I don't think you or I or Eibach can achieve the same with a set of springs!

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Martin Kelly]

Thanks Nick. I've driven a couple of Sportlines since, and am happy that's the way to go - stiff, but not too stiff for me, and as you rightly point out - Merc have done the engineering part for me! Looks like around £1,000 in parts, plus labour, but I think it will be worth it.

Will let you all know !

Martin