How best to increase ride hight w123 wagon - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

chiwanga · #1 06-02-2017, 05:29 PM

How have people successfully increased the ride hight front and rear on a wagon? I'm looking for an extra 2-3" all around. I don't mind eliminating SLS and going with conventional rear suspension.

moon161 · #2 06-03-2017, 09:15 AM

Why not see how high the SLS can go and see if that's alright? Fully shorten the link between the sway bar and the lever on the SLS valve. If that's not enough lift, pop the link off and push the lever up till it tops out, then maybe adjust the lever to level and see if it maintains the height. I don't know if theres any consequence to just leaving the the lever on the SLS valve pointed up all the time. I adjusted the rear height with the motor idling so it would lift as required.

I parked the rear wheels on some stacked lumber to give myself room under the car to do this, and used jack stands to protect myself in case the SLS dropped the car, so I didn't get potentially squished. Treat this like an active suspension that may do something unexpected when you are under the car.

There's an optional 'rough road' spring listed in one of the shop manuals, I think leathermang might be familiar with it.

97 SL320 · #3 06-03-2017, 09:31 AM

2 to 3 inches is a lot, you are going to run out of droop travel making uneven road travel more difficult as a wheel will be lifted from the ground.

For the rear, the most direct route is to push the rear suspension cross member / cradle down, however this will _REQUIRE_you to convert to a full U joint driveshaft as the stock flex couplings can't tolerate much miss alignment. ( and no, the stock center u joint alone won't help matters )

For the front, this becomes more difficult unless you have a bolt on cradle that can be pushed down. The goal is to move all of the suspension pickup points down along with the steering gear.

If you are just looking for minor changes like 1", have a look at this thread and ignore the original poster. www.peachparts.com/shopforum/performance-paddock/342744-w123-racing-setup-serious-questions-within.html?highlight=adjuster

leathermang · #4 06-03-2017, 09:42 AM

Somewhere in the archives I am pretty sure I posted the pictures of the chassis manual page showing the numbers for springs ' for countries with rough roads ' or something meaning that...
I do not know or think those will raise the height of the car... I think they have the same number of coils and are in their uncompressed height the same as standard...
BUT that the ' wire ' size is bigger... giving more stiffness to them across potholes, etc.. I am not sure of that .. that is just my impression... as higher sitting and running height would also change the specs for doing a front end alignment.. and I did not see any indication that was needed with the stiffer springs.

sixto · #5 06-03-2017, 09:56 AM

Get your car on a chassis hoist and lift the body 2-3 inches. Look how far off camber the wheels are. There's no compensating for that much negative camber within the suspension adjustment range. You'll need custom LCAs and that's just a band aid fix. Maybe you can drop a 617 into an AMC Eagle

Soxto
83 300SE can be yours
98 E320 wagon

leathermang · #6 06-03-2017, 09:59 AM

[QUOTE=sixto;3716231]Get your car on a chassis hoist and lift the body 2-3 inches. Look how far off camber the wheels are. There's no compensating for that much negative camber within the suspension adjustment range. You'll need custom LCAs and that's just a band aid fix. Maybe you can drop a 617 into an AMC Eagle

LOL, AMEN.

t walgamuth · #7 06-03-2017, 11:02 AM

I think you'd be ok with 2" but I'd not try 3".

sixto · #8 06-03-2017, 11:14 AM

You're halfway there if you can fit 205/75-15s in place of the OE 195/70-14s. You might need custom springs up front. A pair isn't obscenely priced but it's the trial and error to get it right that costs you.

Sixto
83 300SD can be yours
98 E320 wagon

crazy4diesel · #9 06-03-2017, 12:20 PM

When I did the SLS delete on my wagon the ride height increased quite a bit. I do think I'll do a slightly larger tire/wheel combo, but I won't go much over 3% of the original diameter.

southofantarctica · #10 06-04-2017, 02:37 PM

I had 27.5x8 x14 (stock wheels) tires on my 300D, drove great and had very minimal rub under max compression. I also gain over .5" from swapping out my front shocks to bielstien HD, even though logic says that it shouldn't.

You could run some oversized spring cups, or even the 4 nub stock ones if you don't have them already.

pragmatic · #11 06-04-2017, 03:33 PM

I think folks have very different approaches, but I've been round the block on this one and this is the combo that I ended up with.

I've rebuilt my wagon for light off-road use (camping, dirt roads in North Georgia) but to have decent manners on the highway.

REAR:

SLS delete, Lesjofors 42 568 69 springs, Bilstein HD's, 2 nib spring cups. The Lesjofors are a bit beefier than stock and definitely cause the car to ride higher. Camber seems OK.

FRONT:

Bilstein replacement springs specified to match MB Part No: 123 321 3604; Manual transmission swap; 1 nub spring pads.

Note: the manual swap caused the car to ride TOO high. After some research, I found out that my car had the extra heavy duty taxi springs (123 321 4104) installed, so I substituted the REGULAR 300TD front springs (123 321 3604) for the heavy duty ones. They are about a half millimeter narrower and have more give (but are still considerably more stiff than a 240d spring). Together with the manual swap, this gives me adequate clearance for ...

TIRES:

Here is where I'm more aggressive than many will want to be - Maxxis makes an AT, but still relatively well-behaved tire (Bravo 771) in 215/75 r14. This size fits, and with the extra ride height doesn't rub. The larger tire fills out the wheel wells pretty nicely without looking ridiculous.

Overall the car drives nicely. I can cruise all day on the highway without too much noise or wander, but am comfortable off it, within reason.

Hope this helps!

crazy4diesel · #12 06-04-2017, 03:42 PM

Very nice looking set up!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pragmatic

I think folks have very different approaches, but I've been round the block on this one and this is the combo that I ended up with.

I've rebuilt my wagon for light off-road use (camping, dirt roads in North Georgia) but to have decent manners on the highway.

REAR:

SLS delete, Lesjofors 42 568 69 springs, Bilstein HD's, 2 nib spring cups. The Lesjofors are a bit beefier than stock and definitely cause the car to ride higher. Camber seems OK.

FRONT:

Bilstein replacement springs specified to match MB Part No: 123 321 3604; Manual transmission swap; 1 nub spring pads.

Note: the manual swap caused the car to ride TOO high. After some research, I found out that my car had the extra heavy duty taxi springs (123 321 4104) installed, so I substituted the REGULAR 300TD front springs (123 321 3604) for the heavy duty ones. They are about a half millimeter narrower and have more give (but are still considerably more stiff than a 240d spring). Together with the manual swap, this gives me adequate clearance for ...

TIRES:

Here is where I'm more aggressive than many will want to be - Maxxis makes an AT, but still relatively well-behaved tire (Bravo 771) in 215/75 r14. This size fits, and with the extra ride height doesn't rub. The larger tire fills out the wheel wells pretty nicely without looking ridiculous.

Overall the car drives nicely. I can cruise all day on the highway without too much noise or wander, but am comfortable off it, within reason.

Hope this helps!

crazy4diesel · #13 06-13-2017, 03:03 PM

I just did some calculations that tire increases the overall diameter by 8.1% or two full inches. And you have no issues there? I was worried about going up 4% or one inch in total diameter.

I'm looking at going with new wheels, and a 205/60 R16. Any thoughts out there?

OM617YOTA · #14 06-13-2017, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pragmatic

I think folks have very different approaches, but I've been round the block on this one and this is the combo that I ended up with.

I've rebuilt my wagon for light off-road use (camping, dirt roads in North Georgia) but to have decent manners on the highway.

REAR:

SLS delete, Lesjofors 42 568 69 springs, Bilstein HD's, 2 nib spring cups. The Lesjofors are a bit beefier than stock and definitely cause the car to ride higher. Camber seems OK.

FRONT:

Bilstein replacement springs specified to match MB Part No: 123 321 3604; Manual transmission swap; 1 nub spring pads.

Note: the manual swap caused the car to ride TOO high. After some research, I found out that my car had the extra heavy duty taxi springs (123 321 4104) installed, so I substituted the REGULAR 300TD front springs (123 321 3604) for the heavy duty ones. They are about a half millimeter narrower and have more give (but are still considerably more stiff than a 240d spring). Together with the manual swap, this gives me adequate clearance for ...

TIRES:

Here is where I'm more aggressive than many will want to be - Maxxis makes an AT, but still relatively well-behaved tire (Bravo 771) in 215/75 r14. This size fits, and with the extra ride height doesn't rub. The larger tire fills out the wheel wells pretty nicely without looking ridiculous.

Overall the car drives nicely. I can cruise all day on the highway without too much noise or wander, but am comfortable off it, within reason.

Hope this helps!

Beautiful car. Looks very solid and practical. Capable.

Maxbumpo · #15 06-14-2017, 03:25 PM

I don't think 2-3 inches is possible, maybe an inch or two, but you can install the thickest spring pads, and replace all the springs (old springs get tired). There are many variations of springs for the front suspension, but I think you only have one choice for the rear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moon161

Why not see how high the SLS can go and see if that's alright? Fully shorten the link between the sway bar and the lever on the SLS valve. If that's not enough lift, pop the link off and push the lever up till it tops out, then maybe adjust the lever to level and see if it maintains the height. I don't know if theres any consequence to just leaving the the lever on the SLS valve pointed up all the time. I adjusted the rear height with the motor idling so it would lift as required.

Bad idea, the SLS control valve will die a quick death if you do this.