73 220d LOWERING

[Pjay]

I know a lot of ppl lower these cars a bunch of diff ways.

Until i have the funds to bag her. I plan to cut the springs, any one have experience doing so? How many coils off before it starts to rub? Orakes driveability too poor? I know some purists would tell me not to. But any first hand tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

[mike-81-240d]

This isn't the best forum for that kind of stuff.

I'd go register on stanceworks, and ask for 114/115 owners insight over there.

[Pjay]

True enough. Will do.

[TheDon]

Cut springs will ride ok

Make sure to use a cutting wheel and put a bag of ice over the coils so to lessen any heat transfer. Not many posters here lower their cars so the guys on stance works might be your best bet.

Also, I need to buy up all of the 115's before the stance work crew ruins them all

[jake12tech]

Please don't. It is a 73 220D, they really aren't mean to be cut up and butchered. That's more for a different style of car.

[DieselMedic]

2 coils cut on my 300D. I was happily surprised at how the ride was still stiff afterwards. Not quite sure the bags would be worth the extra bucks.

Mine ended up being a little too low for me though. Messed up the exhaust real good on a roadtrip to Cape Cod, and got stuck on a bump 10 meters from the customs when coming back to Canada. Just a little bit embarrassing... You should have seen the officer's face.



Don't mind the purists, they don't understand that we love these cars just as much as they do. Just do your thing.

[Skippy]

When you cut coils you increase the spring rate. I can get the formula out of the book if you're interested.

[gatorblue92]

Originally Posted by DieselMedic

2 coils cut on my 300D. I was happily surprised at how the ride was still stiff afterwards. Not quite sure the bags would be worth the extra bucks.

Mine ended up being a little too low for me though. Messed up the exhaust real good on a roadtrip to Cape Cod, and got stuck on a bump 10 meters from the customs when coming back to Canada. Just a little bit embarrassing... You should have seen the officer's face.



Don't mind the purists, they don't understand that we love these cars just as much as they do. Just do your thing.

Anyone who keeps these cars on the road is fine in my book.

Nice 300D BTW.

[snorider]

Originally Posted by Skippy

When you cut coils you increase the spring rate. I can get the formula out of the book if you're interested.

Plus the many online calculators available. In addition to the length change the angle in relation to the suspension arm will be steeper further increasing the spring rate. Post up a few pics of your car if you don't mind.
Thanks,
Michael

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by gatorblue92

Anyone who keeps these cars on the road is fine in my book.

My gut reaction when I first saw one of the old diesels lowered was negative.

However, as I have seen more photos of the work some of these guys put into their cars overall, I have to tip my hat and agree.

If you haven't checked out some of the "youngtimer Benz" photos, particularly from Europe, it's worth a look even if they won't be your own taste.

[Pjay]

Thnbks dieselmedic and gatorblue. I respect everyones opinions. And Skippy, thatd be great if u could. Thanks. I was thinking cutting1 1/2 coils

[TheDon]

I was thinking of cutting a coil and half from my 240D and running wide white walls just to be cool. Having a hard time finding a tire with the narrow white strip.

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by TheDon

I was thinking of cutting a coil and half from my 240D and running wide white walls just to be cool. Having a hard time finding a tire with the narrow white strip.

Not sure if they do narrow, but I seem to recall seeing an ad for a specialty tire manufacturer offering self-adhesive coloured sidewalls for the custom set.

Maybe Coker?

[TheDon]

Those are called port-o-walls and have been around since the 50's. They are meant for bias ply tires and even then they rip off and shred.

I just need some white lettered tires or skinny whites that I can take a grinder to the surface to remove the very thin layer of black rubber that's over 5" wide strip of white.

[Skippy]

Spring rate for a helical compression spring obeying Hooke's Law:

k= F/y = (d^4)(G)/8(D^3)Na

Where:

k is the spring rate
F is the applied force
y is the deflection
d is the wire diameter
D is the mean coil diameter
G is the shear modulus of the material, which should be about 11.7 million psi for steel
Na is the effective number of coils. Depending on the end treatments this will be between the actual number of coils and the number of coils minus two. I'm guessing you'll most likely be dealing with plain ground ends, so Na will be the actual number of coils minus one.

Source: My old machine design textbook, Machine Design, An Integrated Approach, Robert Norton.