Lowering/stiffening A 1996 500sl
 

Hi guys.....does anyone know the best people to talk to regarding the above ??..... I am based near London England !!

At present my car feels a little soft for the windy country lanes where i live !!

Thanks in advance !!

Hey Surfer-

This past summer I replaced my stock 16 inch alloys with 18 inch AMG's. I feel the car corners better and the ride did not suffer too much. May be a good place to start.

The downside seems to be that, if the roads are at all rutted, the car darts back and forth between the ruts.

Good luck!

Re: Lowering/stiffening A 1996 500sl
 

Hi

I'm in Essex - so I know the wind around here :)

I also found that by moving from the std 16's to 17's help - but you probably already have at least 17's anyway!

As a word of warning - my mate had a set of lowering springs on his 300SL when he got it - and the ride was destroyed! - Its alright having slightly better handling, but his was so low it even caught the front wheelarch in the tyre tread on a hard corner - time for a visit to the bodyshop.

If you are going to lower it - use reputable springs from one of the performance specialists - the car deserves it!

Mark

Surfer, I agree with the above, moving to 17" AMG's and lower profile performance tires did wonderful things for my handling, and no real loss of ride quality. I would look into stiffer shocks maybe, since the car seems low enough after the change.
Eli.

Thanks guys !!.....Ill maybe give the wheels and tyres a try first !!.......

I think the AMG alloys look far superior !!!

I'm over here in Dublin. I got some nice 18 inchers from Eurocarparts in Belfast, along with 235-40-18 tyres fitted. Had a lot of grief getting the correct wheel studs but it was worth it in the end, and dramatically cheaper than MB/AMG. My car has original ADS adaptive damping, but the new setup improved things substantially. Cannot get my traction-control light to wink at me anymore.

What kind of money are we talking Eddie ??....... and what was wrong with the studs ??......is that something to look out for ??

It was all a bit of drama, but worth it. Wheels and tyres cost about STG£900 delivered, I think I paid no VAT due to export. I originally ordered them for a W140 500SEL. When they arrived we excitedly fitted them with the studs provided and I drove about 10 feet then bang. The studs were too long and poked through the hub. They snagged the handbrake shoes and broke the adjustment screws. (Un)fortunately the car needed new shoes and calipers anyway. Lots of shouting at Eurocarparts got me nowhere. I eventually tracked down the German manufacturer. After months of emails and faxes and 2 more wrong sets and a change of car, they went on the SL about 9 months after I originally ordered them. And they're gorgeous. They car is nailed to the ground. On the original 16's I could get the tail to wag, but not anymore. I can dig up the specs if you like.

The wheels were Dezent type RH 8.5x18. Eurocarparts Part Number 921220771 and they cost Stg£99.99 excluding delivery and VAT. The tyres were Falken (aka Yokohama) FK451 235/40ZR18 and they were Stg£122.11 each fitted, excluding delivery and VAT. These prices are from last October. The correct wheel studs for an R129 are "M12x1.5x27/28", Dezent Part No. MAF-0041.
www.eurocarparts.com
www.dezent-wheels.de

wow !!.... Eddy yr a star !!........ Thanks very much indeed !!!