eibach or HR
 

which is "better". looking to lower the c36. other options? thanks in advance

Springs
 

Hi,

I'm a C43 owner and am looking into lowering my car. I've used H & R on a BMW but felt that they wore out rather quickly. I had Eibachs on my 1990 300e and they worked beautifully. What I'm keenly interested in is the Eibach Pro System Kit which includes the shocks they developed to work with their springs. Seems like it might be the way to go.

Regards,

Richard

I believe H&R lowers the car more but has a slightly harsher ride.

thanks for the info. my wrench is against lowering though. he says while it improves appearances i will regret it later.

As long as you can get the alignment all straightened out, you shouldnt regret it. Makes it look like a whole new car.

Regrets?
 

Hi,

What was he referring to when he said that you would regret it?
As long as the alignment is done to spec after lowering, everything should work out. I did that procedure on my 300e and it never caused me any problems.

Regards,

Richard

To: rcapi
 

To: rcapi

On your 90 300E, what spring pad did you use with your Eibach? After it was lowered and aligned, did you have to install a camber kit for the rear or was your camber O.K.

I've read that MOST using the HR springs NEEDED a camber kit for alignment. I haven't read much about the Eibach though. I am thinking about lowering my 86 300E with the Eibach, but I don't want the headache of the camber beign out of wack.

My mechanic is also advising me to just leave the car alone. But as someone posted, I don't see the problem as long as the car is aligned to "normal" range. Lowering definitely makes the car look good. I don't want it too low, but I want it (what I call) "BMW" low (maybe a finger or two between the tire and the fender).

I'd like to see pics of your car if you have any.

jrmd01@yahoo.com

we didn't have time to get into it at length but i believe he meant ride quality and accelerated wear on other components. but as posted perhaps a proper alignment would prevent the negatives.

Box of Chocolates
 

As Forest Gump would say, "it is like a box of chocolates". You never know exactly what you are going to get when you drop your car with aftermarket springs.

I started with 3-bump pads all around when stock and then switched everything to 1-bump pads when I had the Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Bilstein HD shocks installed. I then switched back to 3-bump pads in the rear because the rear dropped a lot more than the front on my 1995 E320 SE. I also added the K-MAC bushings when I increased the rear spring pads because my camber was almost -3 after dropping the car and it could not be adjusted without the new K-MAC bushings. The camber is now adjustable to within specifications. My mechanic used the alignment specification defined for a sport suspension.

With 1-bump pads in front and 3-bump pads in the rear, my car is about 1 inch lower all the way around, but I do have some differences from side to side. The driver side is exactly the same gap front and rear, but on the passenger side the front is about 0.25 inches lower which makes the back look a bit too high. I am not sure how my own bodyweight affects the ride height and gaps. Maybe when I am in the car, the driver and passenger sides are the same. I am thinking about switching the rear pads one more time to 2-bump in the rear but I don’t like the car to look like it is hauling heavy weight in the trunk. To me, if it is too low in the rear it looks like your car is old with a broken down suspension. I am constantly looking at the car, measuring, and wondering if I should try 2-bump pads in the rear. I am getting a little crazy I guess. Each bump is 5 mm in pad thickness, but I was told that the geometry of the suspension translates the 5mm to about a 7mm or 8mm change at the gap between the fender and wheel.

I LOVE the way my car sits now that it is just a little lower. I think the W124 really does sit way too high in stock form. I am very happy I made the change, but it was a bit of a struggle to get it the way I liked it. It also wasn’t cheap to have to pay for two trips to my mechanic, two alignments, and the price of all of the parts.

If I did it again, I would start with Eibach springs, Bilstein Sport shocks, 1-bump front pads, 2-bump rear pads, and the K-MAC bushings. With that combination, I think there is a chance that it would be perfect with the first try. You might get lucky and not need the K-MAC bushings, but if you wait it will cost even more to go back under the car and adjustable rear camber is a nice feature regardless of absolute need.

E320
 

HI,

Your car looks great! Mine was charcoal grey with black leather.

Richard

I get a little jealous
 

Hello rcapi,

My parchment interior is nice, but I think your black leather looks best. Black leather is definitely one of my favorites and charcoal gray is a classic exterior color. I am always jealous of the gray or silver cars, because I don’t think they have to wash their cars as often as I do. Those gray and silver cars always look clean, compared to my dark blue or a black car. The again, the dark cars look very nice when they are all cleaned up.

ksing44 you have the drop I'm looking for...I call it the "BMW" drop (about 1-2 fingers between the fender and tire). It's not slammed but it looks good and you can still carry 5 people in your car (please correct me if I'm wrong). What do you think about those "arms" that "speedybenz" make? I've read they work great on the W210, but I haven't seen much post for the W124. They seem to be the cheaper way to go and it also looks like you can adjust it more if you go the SLAMMED route.

Comments anyone?

Dark Cars
 

Hi,

I hear you on the dark cars, my C 43 is black/black and it looks wonderful after having been washed. That lasts about three days if I'm lucky.

Regards,

Richard

NEED FOR SPEED
 

Hello jrmd01(JR),

To me, many of the BMWs seem to be just a little lower in the rear than mine. The tires on the BMWs are often tucked under the fenders. My car was like that when I had 1-bump pads all around. It looks fine on the BMWs, but on my car it looked like I had too much subwoofer in my trunk.

I am absolutely sure you could carry 5 people in your car if you went with the set-up I have. Last summer, while on vacation, I had no problems with 4 people, an absolutely full trunk, and three bicycles on my trailer hitch bike rack. That was quite a load and I could still drive at 100mph in perfect comfort with no issues. I do have the Bilstein HD shocks, so that may contribute to my load carrying abilities and it may also affect my ride height. The Eibachs, with the Bilstein Sports, might be just a little lower than my set-up. As I said above, if I had to do it again, I think I would start with 1-bump front pads, 2-bump rear pads, Eibach springs, Bilstein sports, and the K-MAC bushings.

As for the camber arms, based on what I have read on the forums, they do allow for more adjustment, they are easier to install, they are easier to adjust, and they cost less. There was some concern, however, about vibration, since some of the adjustable arms don’t have rubber or polyurethane bushings. One of the guys, that fabricated the arms, did make a version with bushings, but I think he stopped making parts. There was also an issue about the way the camber is adjusted. The camber arm pushes the top of the wheel out, whereas the K-MAC bushings pull the bottom of the wheel in. If you have maximized your tire width, I suppose pulling in would be better than pushing out.


Hello rcapi (Richard)

WOW, and M3 and a C43. You must have a NEED FOR SPEED. How does the C43 compare to your M3? I have to admit that I think about M3s a little. My W124 is great, because it is plenty fast for me, it handles very nicely, and I can still take the family on vacation. My W124 is just a perfect automobile, but I do think about M3s and Porsche 911s.

NEED FOR SPEED
 

Hello Again,

Yes, you could say that I feel the need for speed. The two cars are wonderful, but the M3 is the better all 'round performer.
It not only goes like mad, but it rides and handles extremely well.
It's the first BMW with Benz-like build quality. But, the C 43 is an amazing machine as well. It's really solid, and that V-8 is just wonderful. I'm the second owner, but this one has been really reliable. I took it to the Warbirds Airshow in Chino, CA yesterday,
and I literally flew low all the way there.

Regards,

Richard