I know this isn't a "performance" car, but what could I do to enhance the handling of my 300cd? I'm considering new shocks in the very near future. Do I get factory replacements with 20year old technology or is there something better? I'm putting 16inch wheels from a 99 clk this week. I noticed the sway bars front and rear. Do they come in different sizes? How about urathane bushings? My car is not fast, once it gets going it's great. I love taking it on long curvy drives. I still want a smooth ride, but if I can make it tighter with less sway that would be nice too. Thanks for any help, andy

Koni's or HD Bilstiens will really help handling on this car.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Having auto crossed a 280CE not so long ago, here are some ideas:
set 1 degree or so negative camber in front wheels;
substitute smallest rubber spring seats front and rear;
add rear sway bar from station wagon (1mm thicker)
fill holes in front sway bar bushings on firewall with 1/4" aluminum rod;
substitute shorter slightly stiffer alternate rear springs.
I think I can scrounge up MBZ part numbers if you need them.

Be careful with front wheels and tires. Those tie rod ends are very close. That can be fixed too but you may not want to mess with the spindle assembly.

If you're interested, I've got a set of Performance Friction Z rated pads that will fit your car. Drop a note.

How much effect will this have? I will be auto crossing my sedan next month and noticed how much better the W114 handles. Cheap is good for me right now and 1/4 aluminum rod is easy to come by.

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

Cutting springs so that you end up with better handling is a tricky business. The first thing you ought to do is insure you have the smallest spring cap you can. I do not know if the springs on non turbo models are shorter or stiffer, but they certainly did the trick in my handling/high front end problems. I had a 80 wagon and it was much better handling at ALL speeds than my 82 wagon. I went to the junkyard got some 80 wagon front end springs and small end caps and had my indie swap them out. The car was a completely different animal after, and I really liked the results.

The front sway bar is already thick enough... go bigger and you'll be plowing off the side of the road. Get a thicker rear bar, get some lowering springs (easier said than done), some new shocks, replace old sway bar bushings front and rear, and some speed rated tires with stiff sidewalls and it should handle a lot nicer and shouldnt ride too hard.

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Do you know the part number for the non-turbo springs you found? The FSM has all the spring properties, but there are multiple springs listed for most models.

I bought some W126 300SD springs from the junkyard yesterday. Only the fronts, though since the car was resting on the rear rotors and propped up on spare tires in the front. The springs are part number 126 321 16 04. I haven't tried fitting them to my W123 yet, but the outer diameter of the W126 spring is roughly 10mm wider than my current springs. Anyone know if the rear springs are interchangeable?

Also, does anyone know the front/rear weight distribution of the 300D-T? I'm working on a spreadsheet to calculate which spring to use and how much to cut off.

Thx

__________________
Dave

2002 Audi S6 Avant
1983 300D
1984 300D (sold)
1990 560SEL (sold)

Thanks Autox10, I just put my CLK wheels on and they look great. I had to take the rear ones off. The bolts were too long. I'll buy some shorter ones tomorrow. The rear has all kinds of room left(wheels are 16x7 37mm offset with 205/55 tire). The front wheel comes very close to the tie rod. But it doen't touch. The sway bar from a station wagon sound like a good idea. I'll have to check out the front sway bar to see what you suggested. Do the rubber spring seats come in different thicknesses for my car? I think the car would look much better lowered a bit. What's the best way to do this for my car? Does anyone make "sport" springs for this chassis? Thicker, shorter springs, thicker swaybars, new shocks and new swaybar bushings(polyurethane if possible), I think these things would be perfect if I can find them. Thanks for your help. andy

p.s. do you have part numbers?

I second M.B.Doc's comments on shocks. I used the HDs and was v. happy with them.

Rick Ellinger has a set of springs available, check out:
http://www.rc-imports.com/Parts&Services/racing_parts.html

Front spring seats nub height
123 321 13 84 1 8
123 321 14 84 2 13
123 321 15 84 3 18
123 321 16 84 4 23
Each 5 mm difference changes vehicle height 8mm

Rear spring seats
115 325 22 44 1 9.5
115 325 23 44 2 14
115 325 24 44 3 19
Each 5 mm difference changes vehicle height 7mm

STD front spring 123 313 36 04
Std rear spring 280CE 123 324 06 04
123 324 29 04 lowers car 30mm
Std rear spring 300 CD 123 324 35 04 (I think)
If so 123 324 34 04 would lower car 30mm or so

Std rear sway bar 123 326 45 65 is 13mm
123 326 46 65 is 15mm, that doesn't seem like much but it"s 77% stiffer!
Bushings for 15mm bar are 124 326 21 81.

I've got 2 2 nub front spring seats and 2 1 nub rear spring seats left
over. Let me know if you're interested in them. They cost less than $10 each new.

If you're going to swap springs yourself, use the right spring compressor and be careful. Good luck.

Thank you very much AUTOX10. andy

Autox10(or anyone else that can help), thanks for your help so far. I do have a few more questions. I checked my car and I feel that I would like to bring the front down about 2 to 2 1/2 inches. The springs that Rc imports has will lower the car 2.5 inches. I need to call them to ask how much they cost and how they will affect the ride. Also, can I use stock shocks with the car lowered up to 2.5 inches? One more thing, Is there any way to tell wich springs seats I have on the car right now? I think it would help to know my starting point before I try to go up or down. I'd also like to bring the rear down about 20mm. I think I can get close with the spring seats if I have one of the thicker ones to start with. I appreciate your help. thanks, andy

Count the number of nubs. They should be visible around the top of the springs. The spacing on my post didn't transfer very well. The 1st 10 digits are the part numbers. The next column is the number of nubs for ID, and then the last column height.

The rears run from 9.5 to 19mm, so the max you can take out is 9.5mm which would reduce ride height about 15 mm.

You may like the back end higher than the front for appearance but if your looking to improve handling you want the back end down as it's the only way to improve camber.

I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you or anyone else have done these modifications to their coupes?

No, Not yet, I am planning on it however.

I do have AMG 17x8 ET28 Aero wheels on my coupe though, actually I have three sets of those wheels. Right now I am on pirelli P7000s, but My pilot sport a/s tires ride much better than even the stock tire size.

I think instead of messing with the swaybar on the top of the car, I am going to make a lower sway bar to fit down there.

Putting on a wagon sway bar is a good improvement.

when I take my engine out I am going to put on 560 SEC brakes on the front, which will be pretty soon.

__________________
Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

I did find a British company that sells a "lowering spring kit" for 123 cars. Lowers the car by 40mm, which is, I guess about 1/2 inch. Made by Ventura for 99.00 pounds. They're at www.europarts.com. Now if I could just find a stiffer front sway bar everything would be all good.

Ray