Performance mods for '94 E320 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

naschbac · #1 08-18-2004, 02:26 PM

Hi guys,

I have a '94 E320 that I'm interested in messing around with to increase performance and driving experience... it's already a massive improvement over the '86 Volvo 240 that I used to drive :p , but I think I'd like to see what this car can really do

So far here's what I'm doing for sure...

- Upgrading to H&R Sport springs which should tighten up handling as well as drop the front ~1.5 inches and the rear ~1.3 inches.

- Upgrading the sway bars to the Sportline bars in the front and rear.

- Throwing on some nice looking older model Lorinser 17" rims that I got a great deal on (free

) because the chrome was damaged, but $200 later I had the chrome stripped and the wheels powder coated to the same silver color as the stock 8-holes, and they're lookin' sharp.

Here's what I'd like to also do...

- Twin turbo the engine... I know the engine can manage it because there are a couple of turbo kits for this car... but they're ~$10k for no perceivable reason, and the only supercharger kit I've found is even more. So I'm all up for going the DIY route which should be nice because I can better tune the kind of improvement I get... in the end I'd like to get around a 100hp improvement which I think on a solid I6 engine like the M104 that shouldn't be that much of a problem.

- Potentially throw a sleek body kit on... I cracked the lower front bumper assembly in the snow this last winter and I'm ready to replace it, but having to replace it just sort of started me thinking on getting a kit instead of going back to stock... I don't like the Lorinser or Wald V4 kits because they look a little too bulky, well and the Lorinser is UBER expensive... the AMG kit is nice, but it doesn't look that much different from stock, and it's also very spendy... I like the Wald EX kit, it has svelte lines that flow with the lines of the rest of the car's body, but it's a special order item so it's going to run me $1600 or so... and honestly for a Wald kit I think I should be paying about half that...

Anyway so here starts the beginnin of my trek to tuning my E320, and there appears to be a pretty healthy contingent of adventurous DIY's on this forum, so I figured this was the place to come and start looking for advice

Thanks a bunch,
-Nathan

wbain5280 · #2 08-19-2004, 12:33 AM

The biggest bang for the buck would be larger sway bars. Fix your suspension first, ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings etc, then upgrade to 500E bars front and rear. Reduced lean in the corners and thus better able to put the power to the pavement.

An alternative might be a 400E or 500E.

naschbac · #3 08-19-2004, 01:35 AM

I really like the characteristics of a relatively large bore inline engine configuration... good low end power, large performance improvement from even low pressure turbo boost, etc.

It's a smaller engine, easier to work on, cheaper to work on, blah blah blah

Anyway I think what I really want to do is just tune and turbo the M104.992 engine I've already got

I don't mind learning all the things I need to learn to do it myself on the cheap... that's part of the fun

I just need a little direction starting out.

Cheers!
-Nathan

ksing44 · #4 08-19-2004, 05:33 AM

I don't know anything about turbos, but here are some links about the suspension.

Suspension Upgrade On My 300E

Eibach vs. E500 swaybars for W124

gsxr · #5 08-20-2004, 12:44 AM

Forget turboing the engine unless you have an unlimited budget. Sway bars would be a great place to start. Consider the "sportline plus" bar setup, which is a Limo front bar with a 500E rear bar. Sway bar specs & photos are here:

http://www.meimann.com/images/mercedes/W124_sway_bars/

If you get lowering springs (H&R, Sportline, or Eibach) then you will NEED struts & shocks - either OE Sportline, Bilstien Sport, or KONI. That turns it into a $1000 project. Do the swaybars first.

Body kits get VERY expensive, I'd think twice about doing ANY body mods. The wheels help with appearance and handling in a big way. If you have 7.5" wheels get 225/45/17 tires, if they are 8.0 get 235/45/17 tires. I hope the offset is correct. You may need to roll the fenders if they stick out too far and rub (this is pretty likely, even with the proper offset.) Details on fender rolling here:

http://www.meimann.com/docs/mercedes/AMG_wheel_install_01.pdf

ksing44 · #6 08-20-2004, 08:01 AM

I thought this thread might attract the proper audience for my questions. It sounds like the most common site for rubbing is the lower plastic panels behind the front wheels. I don’t think fender rolling will help with that problem. I know for sure that the slightly taller tires do rub on the plastic. I’m not absolutely convinced the same is true for the wider tires that are the same diameter as OEM. I am running 205/55/16 tires, but I want to try 225/50/16 on my 16" x 7.5" ET37 wheels. I am just afraid of damaging the plastic panels. I could live with an occasional rub inside the fenders, but I don’t want damage the outside appearance of my car. Am I correct about the site of the rubbing? As a point of reference, the more common set-up of 225/45/17 tires on 17" x 7.5" ET37 wheels should be almost identical to my desired set-up. My 1995 E320 is ridding on Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, so although my car is very slightly lower, the stiffer suspension may help prevent the car from bouncing down onto the tires. Do you guys think 225/50/16 tires on 16" x 7.5" ET37 wheels will rub on the plastic, or only inside the fenders during aggressive driving?