I put Sports on the front of my '93 500E with an AMG front sway bar & H&R springs all the way around & I love it. It is firmer but not overly rough.
Jay

Jay- would you say the Bilstein Sports are softer, harder, or the same in everyday driving?

When driven hard/pushed around in the corners, do they firm up like the stock 500E front struts. Do they fell any better or different than the stock 500E struts?

Thanks,
:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

Neil,
They are firmer around town but I have always loved the feel of the sports in the twisties. I have had them on every Porsche street/track car that I have owned. They are not cushy so I guess it is all about what you are after.

I had them all the way around on the 500E for a couple of months but finally gave up on getting the camber correct in the rear with the car sitting as low as it does without the hydralics. (It was a fiasco. Trust me, you don't want to go there. Be happy with the hydralics as they DEFINITELY do support a bunch of the weight in the back all the time.) MULTIPLE spring swaps, shock swaps & a KMAC rear camber kit later, it is finally where I want it although I do still need camber plates to get my front specs a little more conservative.

Jay

Jay are the Bilstein SPORTS softer, firmer, or the same compared to the factory MB struts?

Do the Bilsteins feel better or worse (than stock) when driven hard?

Thanks,
:-) neil

Neil,
They feel firmer than the stock shocks & much better when pushed hard.
Jay

Jay- forgot to ask what camber plates in the front are you looking at? Also, can you share your alignment specs front & rear with us.

Rick Ellinger or RC-Imports races MB's competitively and has some kits for the suspension.

:-) neil

Check it out here:
http://www.rc-imports.com/Parts&Services/projects.htm

Here's his front camber kit:

Jay- what about LEAN? Does it lean less, more, or you can't tell since you went to the AMG swaybar?

The 500E shocks have internal springs that limit the extension and compression of struts and "assist" the swaybar.

:-) neil

Neil,
Feels about the same. I do think you would need the addition of the bigger bar to offset the loss of the helper springs.

I have emailed Rick to see if he can help me with the front camber. I love plates for the adjustability. Thanks for his info! Here's how the car sits as of today. Still need to align the rear after this past weekends mods but it is now much closer since it has Hydralics in the back again.

Jay

Jay- she sure looks nice. Is she "smoke silver"?

Regarding the H&R's, do you hit parking stops in the front, and will you hit the tips of your muffler on a steep incline?

Do you think going to a THICKER front swaybar has made the car understeer more since the rear swaybar was not increased proportionately?

I noticed that going to a SportLine front swaybar caused good front handling, but the car understeered/pushed more. It wasn't until I went to a 500E rear swaybar did the balance come back.

Moreover, the change from Bilstein SPORT front struts to SportLine front struts (now matching SportLine front springs) have now made the car very neutral (I do have a 4 PSI differential front (34PSI) vs. rear (38PSI).

:-) neil

Neil,
Color is kind of an anthracite. Probably is smoke silver.

I am careful but you will hit parking stops if you don't watch it. It has to be VERY steep for me to hit the exhaust pipes.

I would love to find a bigger rear bar but since it is also used for the load leveling, I don't know if one is available. The car does push a bit more but I am running a slight stagger in tire size front to back which contributes a little (245 & 265)

Without running a few laps on a real track, it is all pretty subjective. I may try to take it to an event this season just to try it out but I really built it for high spirited country touring. I have a C2 widebody that I track so this car has been street only.
Jay

'Cuz I'm an Idiot

It was really bugging me-the 500 handled worse than my 300D; how could the front shocks be blown already?? Indeed-they aren't. whilst snooping around in the nether regions of the 500, I noticed a tear in the vertical noise encapsulation panel that the front sway bar passes through, on the passenger side. Hmmmm...how could that happen? Well, turns out that the pressed metal sway-bar "holder" (attaches the sway bar to the chassis) was completely fractured! Can't believe I misssed that earlier, hence my drawing the conclusion that I am a dolt sometimes

Anyway, it goes in on Monday (actually plan to replace both sides), as we're going away for a mini-vacation. Sorry I won't be able to report on those earlier-model OE struts, but the opportunity to save $400 was quite compelling.

Think about replacing these parts, guys, if you run your car hard. I paid something like $15 each (and makes for a perfect time to replace your sway bar bushings)

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Yep, the W124 design for the front swaybar mount is poor. My mechanic says he gets them fairly frequently.

Perhaps someone can redesign just the front mount like Delsing Motorsport's.

:-) neil

Neil,

See where the Delsing bar attaches to the frame? Basically looks like some sort of pressed steel? Well, to me it looks exactly like the part currently in the car, and that's where it broke!

I just installed the new part-all better!

__________________
"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Perhaps having it break under too great a load is some sort of "fuse" . . .

:-) neil

When I bought the 84 2.2D that I put the 5.6 Ford motor in, it also had a broken sway bar mount. Now who would 'push' a 75 hp diesel enough to break the mount?? These have to be very flexible to follow the path of the lower control arm and hence are made of spring steel. The only way to bypass it would be to use aircraft joints on the frame and that would entail frame mounts for the joints. Wouldn't be hard to do though given time, initiative and money!!

TobiasMB
4 MBs