W124 Sway Bar - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

DieselPaul · #1 10-12-2010, 12:24 PM

Hey guys, I managed to find a Sportline Front sway bar, so I've got two questions, with new bushings will it fit my 87 300D, and will I see any any handling gains, just upgrading the front bar?

Thanks

lee polowczuk · #2 10-12-2010, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselPaul

Hey guys, I managed to find a Sportline Front sway bar, so I've got two questions, with new bushings will it fit my 87 300D, and will I see any any handling gains, just upgrading the front bar?

Thanks

you just need sportline bushings to go along with the bar. yes it will work

DieselPaul · #3 10-15-2010, 11:37 PM

Thanks!

I bought the bar, probably overpaid for it, but I couldn't find another.

gsxr · #4 11-12-2010, 03:15 PM

You'll notice a difference with the front bar alone, but the chassis will be more balanced after you add the matching rear bar. BT, DT...

400Eric · #5 11-13-2010, 05:39 AM

Hey Dave, there is a R129 at our local yard that has been stripped of just about everything but the front bar is miraculously still there. It looks huge! Will that thing work on a 124? What about the rear bar? (If it's still there.)
Regards, Eric

JayRash · #6 11-13-2010, 08:00 AM

eric man ur alive

yes the bar should fit and so would the front springs and i think even the control arms
but if u use that bar with no change on the rear the car should understeer more but get the bar

gsxr · #7 11-13-2010, 05:49 PM

I've never had a 129 bar to compare, but I'm not sure if the shape or width is correct. Probably worth a try if you can get one cheap. Post some photos of the 124 and 129 bars next to each other!

iwrock · #8 11-13-2010, 06:39 PM

This is interesting!

Please let us know the sizes of the R129 front bar...

I am looking for something bigger than the 500E bars I have now (thats also reasonably priced)!

gsxr · #9 11-13-2010, 06:57 PM

The 400E front bar is 26mm, 500E is 28mm, the E60 bar (no longer available) is 30mm, and the RENNtech bar is 32mm. All three are designed for the V8 engines. Normally I recommend the "limo" front bar for a 6-cyl car which is 28.5mm. The RENNtech 32mm bar is still available but isn't really "affordable" at $595 (but at least they include new OE bushings). On my '87 300D, I have the limo front bar with 500E rear bar. It handles VERY well (with Sportline springs and KONI yellows).

In the rear the only bar larger than the 18mm rear bar in the 500E is an aftermarket bar that is 20mm, however the 20mm bar won't fit V8 models due to the different subframe, and I don't think it's notched to accept the SLS bracket on wagons or the 500E. The 20mm bar is also wide by an inch or two which could cause minor problems with fat wheels. I think an 18mm rear bar is about the limit for real-world driving, with 20mm (or more) you'll likely end up with too much oversteer. I find it interesting that while most of the MB tuners (AMG, RENNtech, Brabus, etc) all offered larger front bars for the 500E, none offered a larger rear bar. This most likely wasn't an accident.

A few people have looked into having a custom production run of larger sway bars for the W124 (either 6-cyl and/or V8 versions) but nobody has actually done it; although two were pretty serious about it. I suspect the costs were too high, while the resulting bars would be far cheaper than the RENNtech, not many people would be willing to shell out $300/ea per sway bar. Given the need to do 20-50 copies of each bar to get the per-unit costs down, the cash outlay up front is significant... someone would have to be willing to front $5-$10k to get it done, then hope to sell them and recoup the $$$. Then do yo offer them separately and hope you're not stuck with leftovers of a particular size? Or only offer them as matched front+rear kits? What sizes would you have produced? How would they work in the real world on the street and racetrack? Lots of variables. One of these days I'll look into it myself... haven't had time yet.

Ortolan · #10 11-13-2010, 10:41 PM

My custom front bar was a one-off and only cost AU$345. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a shop that would make you one for US$300.

gsxr · #11 11-14-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ortolan

My custom front bar was a one-off and only cost AU$345. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a shop that would make you one for US$300.

You'd think so, but so far, I haven't heard of a single person in the USA doing this, at least nobody who posts on MB forums. If the shop isn't local that also adds some nuisance for shipping bars both ways.

What size custom one-off bar did you have fabricated, btw? Front, rear, or both?

JayRash · #12 11-14-2010, 09:48 AM

dave there is a guy on mbworld who had custom bars made for the 202 C 43AMG
ill post more details shortly.

gsxr · #13 11-14-2010, 09:50 AM

I should have clarified - I've never heard of anyone doing it on a W124. But I would be interested in the W202 custom bars, just to see how it worked out!

JayRash · #14 11-14-2010, 09:54 AM

dave that guy is also in australia
he didnt mention how much he paid but IIRC he made the front 32mm and the rear is 22mm
huge stuff
dunno how good the car might be with such setup

gsxr · #15 11-14-2010, 10:10 AM

Exactly... I mean, we could put on a custom 40mm front bar and 30mm rear bar, but will it really make the car handle better? I think 32mm front and 20-22mm rear is the reasonable limit in size for a 124/202... would be fun to test different combos on a racetrack or autox though.