it's a well-known fact that w201/w124 struts all were the same overall length, and the only difference (between billie sport/hd/comfort) struts was the distance of travel of the piston

That's funny. I just put HD's on mine and I thought they were a little harsh. I actually really like the ride, but with a wife and a 4 month old I now think it might have been a better choice to go with the softer ride.

Though I don't have much to compare it to because all the shocks were shot when I bought the car.

Bilstein
 

HD's on a W124.

Okay, they are a different FUNCTIONAL length. However, you want to put it, the sports were designed for the shorter travel suspension.

Why do you want this sway bar? What are you hoping to achieve with it? Sway bars are for fine-tuning. They are NOT for stiffening up your suspension. Suspension is a system. Changing out parts willy nilly will result in one bizarre handling vehicle. Putting on a significantly larger rear sway bar without touching the front bar will increase the tendency for oversteer by quite a bit. Are you prepared for that?

FYI One big advantage to the Bilstein HD's is that they will last a very long time. Probably double the service life of the KYB's, making the HD's cheaper in the long run. Just put the HD's on my E300 and I'm very pleased with them.

x2 you do not want sports on a "stock" height springs. Sports are for use with lowering springs only, and are valved accordingly. They are going to feel strange and also wear out sooner if you use them with stock height springs.

There is someone on the Tech forum (can't remember his handle) who has made several swaybar changes and claims that this one change made his car handle beautifully.

I can't speak for the OP, but perhaps this is the reason.

That's why I want it.

I believe it was LarryBible who recommended it.

He said all he did was install Bilstein HDs and the 500E rear sway bar to get his ideal handling.

(I don't listen to lupin anyway as he seems to have some issues.)

Personally, I wouldn't go any firmer than Bilstein comforts which went into my 1987 w124 300D. No HD for me thanks. I changed out my rears mostly in doubt of previous shock age and condition, and since I replaced all 4 rear suspension links on each side I didn't want those new rubber bushings to be the main damping factor... and wear out too quickly again. So, new shocks.

The old shocks were marked with both Mercedes and Bilstein names stamped on them, could have been original for all I know (196K mile). They were not shot, but maybe 50% easier to compress by hand than the new comforts. I also noticed the old shocks were "upsidedown" (the piston bar direction orientation w.r.t. the car) compared to new Bilstein comforts.

With Bilstein comforts right away I noticed much more bump transmission from the road, and more audible tire noise over pavement imperfections. Every tar-filled crack running across the road is "whack - whack" and a noticed vibration. All of which used be muted thuds and almost no perceptible vibration with my "shot" shocks.

My advice? If you love a smooth ride and cruisin' highway miles and you're not bounding up and down in oscillations after hitting a bump... and your shocks have life in 'em I recommend staying put. I never knew how this car drove new, so can't compare any shock replacement to that. But comforts is enough for me.

Are your tires set to the recommended pressures?

Once I got mine right all the rough riding symptoms you just described went away.

I trust MB and their tire pressure recommendations.

On the blown shocks and struts I had on there I had to air up the tires to keep it from wallowing so much in corners and in high wind days.

With the correct tire pressures I am sure that most of what you describe will go away or be significantly lessened.

The correct tire pressures can be found in the driver door jam and in the fuel door.

I like Bilstein HDs on my cars, but I mostly drive on smooth highways. If you think the HDs are too harsh, consider the Bilstein comforts.

Absolutely, always are. 29F 35R

This is INCORRECT! Stiffening the rear sway bar removes understeer while stiffening the front bar ADDS understeer. You would virtually never reach a point of oversteer on these cars. You would have to do all sorts of stuff to ever make it even totall neutral.

The reason you change swaybars as opposed to springs is that it has no effect on ride quality except in extreme situations such as going across a speed bump at an angle.



Yes the HD's are noticably harsher. This part is probably just personal preference.


I've been running 32 front and 35 rear tire pressures on every MB I've ever owned EXCEPT my W203 car. It's always been perfect for me and seems to give the best tire wear. I went to these pressures on my W114 car way back when in order to prevent tire wear problems and it has just worked out.