W124 suspension upgrade
 

Dont know if this is the right place to put it but if it isnt ill move it.

I want to upgrade the suspension on my W124 diesel, i would go full out for a sportline but to many parts to upgrade and to much $$$

Ive come up with a combo that might work tell me what you guys think.

VOGTLAND springs with bilstein sports.

http://www.progressiveautoparts.com/servlet/Detail?no=78496

http://***************/search/productx.aspx?sid=b1hhjlrdvnwp4045asjb5gf1&partnumber=V360365

http://***************/search/productx.aspx?sid=b1hhjlrdvnwp4045asjb5gf1&partnumber=B36-1470

I can get the billy sports at a discount from my work but not the VOGTLAND springs, so as a alternative could i use real sportline springs with the billy sports or would i need all the other components to make them work.

Tell me what you guys think.

I bought a set of these on a whim:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fat-Grip-Performance-Fahrwerk-Mercedes-E-Klasse-W124_W0QQitemZ230038330804QQihZ013QQcategoryZ70154QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

They're being installed by my mechanic this week so I'll let you know what they're like.

yeah let me know! for the price even with my work discount it will be $460 in total for vogtland springs and the bilstein sports. How much was shipping to the US? And please take some pics!

I'm in Australia and shipping them here cost AUD$310 (around US$230).
Once I get the new suspension and wheels installed I'll have to borrow a camera and take some pics.

The problem you're going to have is that almost all the aftermarket spring sets are designed for the generic 300E, and usually for a pretty major drop in ride height. So, you may end up with the car lower than you want, even with the tallest spring pads. I had a set of Carat Duchatalet springs on my car for years but they were just too low. I recently bit the bullet and bought the factory Sportline springs, raising the car to where I wanted it (about 14.0-14.25 inches from the wheel center to fender lip.) The 1987 300D lower radiator support is the first thing that will kiss a curb stop, and when it does, it will shove the bottom of the radiator into the fan blade. I've seen this happen on several different cars, it's not a rare occurence. If you want the car in the weeds, great, but you've been warned about the clearance issues. ;)

That said, why not just get the Sportline springs? There's a reason why Eibach, H&R, Vogtland, etc only have a few different springs while Mercedes offers a whole range of springs for the W124... they need to be properly matched to the exact year, model, AND options installed. Should only be about $250 for all four, not much more than the Vogtland stuff. The Sportline springs were also used on the late W124 AMG models (E36, etc) sold in Europe. So you can call them "AMG springs" if you want bragging rights, lol.

Bilstein Sports are good dampers, they should work fine. I like KONI as well. The 500E front struts with internal rebound limiting springs are way cool, but not cheap, and require a particular ride height to work properly.

:scholar:

Also check out JB's W124 suspension upgrade in progress, with lots of photos, over at this thread:

http://www.***************/forum/showthread.php?t=860

He is using Sportline springs, 500E front struts, Sportline rear struts, and replacing just about everything that's a wear item while it's apart...

:wacko:

Well thanks for warning me, i dont want to mess up the front end by scrubbing the floor with it.

I assume the reason the 300D would dropped down so much is because of the weight of the diesel compared to the 300E. So its probably the reason why jonhef's 300D drop down really low with the h&r springs.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/1277848-post9.html

Well ill probably just go for real sportline springs and billy sports then.

thanks for the info gsxr!

No problemo. You might want to either stick with the "#30" front Sportline springs, which is what I have in my 1987 300D at the moment, or wait and see how JB's project turns out as far as ride height measurements. The #30's were just a tad low for my liking, and JB is trying out the 400E Sportline front springs (#42), which should be a bit higher. Out back is tougher... the 23's are a bit short, the 28's are a bit tall, and there's no option in between. If you have stereo equipment in the trunk and/or carry passengers or luggage often, I'd go with the 28's. If you don't often carry any load at all, I'd go with the 23's. Tough call though.

If JB's 400E front springs work out well, I might swap out for the #42's myself, so I can use a 1-point spring pad instead of my current 3-point pad. The thick pads crush down over time, lowering ride height... see photo below.

http://www.w124performance.com/image...ring_pads1.jpg

http://www.w124performance.com/image...ring_pads2.jpg

http://www.w124performance.com/image...ring_pads3.jpg

:)

yeah i do have stereo equipment in the back and often carry stuff around in the trunk. So #28's might do, You can see in this pic my rear end is lower then the front becase of the weight of the woofer box in the trunk.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...z/AAAA0069.jpg

Can you give me the part numbers for the front #30's and rear #28's.

Thanks for all the help!

Sure... here ya go:


Front: 124-321-30-04 ($82 list)
Rear: 124-324-28-04 ($83 list)


Full details:
http://www.w124performance.com/docs/mb/W124/124_suspension.txt

:kid:

thanks ill see if i can special order them from work. If not ill go to the dealer.

You can get them from Caliber, Rusty, or Duval for approx 20% off list... not sure what FastLane can do.

:cool: