that would solve the problem, but my dad did that with his volvo wagon and it made the rear end very bouncy and too stiff. it does the job but very ineligantly, if that is a word.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Well, when brand new springs from Meyle don't restore the ride height of the vehicle, I'm not sure what to attribute this to, other than poor quality control.

Nice try Coach.

Where would you put the shocks?

as per previous post i am not convinced that they are the correct springs.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

............and where would you put the shocks??

Well, the number of coils is correct, the diameter of the wire is correct and the height of the spring is correct. The number on the outside of the box is correct.

You may not be sure, but I am.

i see your point about the bags in the springs.... obviously a case of posting before thinking.


however because the spring in question doesnt solve your particular problem on your particular car does not mean that mb springs are low quality. i dont know what needs doing to solve your sagging either, unfortunately.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Hasn't anyone given serious consideration ot pouring custom sping pads (buffers) from Eurothane? its not that outlandish......figure what you need make a mould...mix the Eurothane and pour...

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

A lot of pretty smart guys believe that springs really do not wear out as most people would think. It will be interesting to see the tests on the old and new springs. It's interesting that the new springs give the exact same ride height as the old springs. Also, why is it that the front springs never seem to need replacement, even though they are supporting way more weight? It could be because the front suspension does not have the critical rubber bushings between itself and the body, as the rear does.

What size tires do you have on your SDL? I have 14 inch 205-70's and my fender is 26 inches from the pavement. With the oem size of 14/195/70 my 300sd sits half an inch lower at 25.5 inches. So, I just wondered if you might be using a low profile tire?

Could you measure from the pavement to the center of your wheel hub? From pavement to center wheel hub I get 12 inches with 14/205/70's, and I get 11.5 inches with 14/195/70's.

I can imagine how frustrated you must be after all that work.

brian were you able to get actual specs for the height of front and rear? i also seem to remember you saying the camber was too negative in the back... did you get actual specs on that, too? sorry to be mr obvious but sometimes it ... well you know.

my personal observation is that the 126 cars sit high in the front naturally. there is a line along the rocker that is i think rising to the front and it is a natural thing... a styling device.

i would think that the specs for a 126 would vary a little depending on options installed on the car which would change the weight distribution a little. also with age everything gives a little so with 150# in the back as a routine (is it evenly distributed or at the rear or at the front of the trunk?) one might get some permanent distortion.

my uncle a manufacturing engineer used to say a feather dropping on an anvil will deflect it... you will just have a hard time measuring how much.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I've sent one of the 18 year old springs down to Kansas for a measurement. I will know the spring rate in a few days and can compare it to the factory spring rate. I probably will not send one of the replacement springs down there, although I would love to, because I'm running out of time to return them.

The front springs don't need replacement, presumably, because there are a lot more coils supporting a similar load, therefore, the stress in each coil is reduced.

The SDL is using 215/65/15's. It's one size larger than stock. This would cause a natural decrease in camber, without regard to the height of the body.

I could measure the distance from the pavement to the center of the wheel hub, but it's not relevant to the discussion. The concern is the height from the pavement to the inside of the fenderwell. The height should be about 26.75 inches or so, and this one is at 25.50 on a good day.

i dont understand how a bigger tire will change the camber. it would just raise the car i think. changing the offset of the wheel would change camber i think.

did you get the measurements from the factory on the fender ht?

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

After thinking about it, I concur. You can raise the centerline of the axle and raise the body by the same amount with a larger tire. The trailing arm angle should not change.

The offset of the wheel has nothing to do with the camber, AFAIK.

I did not get the measurements for the factory fenderwell height. The indy can't seem to locate them. In any case, I'm quite sure that the camber needs to be less than 1 degree negative (closer to zero).

Brian wrote, "I've sent one of the 18 year old springs down to Kansas for a measurement. I will know the spring rate in a few days and can compare it to the factory spring rate."

That is going to be so interesting and helpful for everyone here. I appreciate that you were curious enough to go through the trouble...very cool.

As far as measuring from the pavement to the center wheel hub; I guess I should have stated it another way, as in "what is the measurement from the center of the wheel hub to your fender.?" I'm just trying to take the tire-rubber out of the equation. If you put super-low profile tires on the car like 15/205/40's, your ride height will be quite a bit lower. However, the distance from center wheel hub to fender will be the same as if you had 205/70's. I think we should start measuring center of wheel hub to fender to get a solid number. I know for the 300sd the repair manual doesn't have a pavement to fender measurement; all of the MB meaurements are done from within the suspension elements.

wols, and SDL should have 15" tires. The stock size is 205/65/15. Brian's are one size up. Why would you want 14" tires? especially on such a large car? I think 15s are too small personally. A 17" would fit nicely to the eye.

Thanks
David

__________________
_____________________________________________

2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

_____________________________________________