400 E Upgrade - Lowering Springs - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mike400E · #1 04-15-2004, 02:40 PM

In addition to my rear dif change out, I also bought K&R lowering springs from Carl at BergWerks. Please see the attached pics for the "after" picture. (I will try to add a "before" shot soon.)

The springs lower the car about 1.3", which isn't a lot. Until you get in - then you really feel like you are stepping DOWN into the car! The visual effect is quite subtle. Unless you are a Benz fan, and really know what the E class looks like, you may not even notice. I also have 16" wheels, which further narrow the gap between the tire and wheel well. I also did not want to lower so far that I wouldn't have room for a 17" wheel some day. I think from the front, it looks a bit like a 500E. A little more squat and aggressive.

They are somewhat stiffer in every day driving, although I hardly notice it over normal bumps and dips. Sharp edged bumps definitely come through more, and of course, I have to be careful parking next to curbs and going over tall speed bumps. The suspension hasn't really lost it's overall quality though. It's still very supple.

The car does handle better. There is less body roll, as you would expect, and it is more stable at 8/10th's and up. It's certainly no racing suspension, but it is a step up from stock.

The springs were $269 plus about $35 freight from BergWerks. Labor was an hour per wheel, or $450, plus a full front and back alignment, which the car needed anyhow, so the total bill was about $900. Definitely not the value I think I got with the rear dif swap, but a subtle upgrade that fits with the charater of the car. Somehow an E class doesn't quite fit into the "boy racer" mold!

Post with questions!

#2 04-17-2004, 05:26 PM

Looks great Mike, love those wheels.

Matt.

renyf1 · #3 04-22-2004, 12:45 AM

very nice mod

i have a normal e320 and don't like that big gap between the body and wheel

good to know it can be cured for about $1000 :-) maybe once i get my refund

Mike400E · #4 04-22-2004, 05:24 PM

I measured a 300E yesterday to see just how much difference there was in ride height and tire-to-wheel-well space. The 300E must sit a tad higher than a stock 400E, because it was at 27 inches, and the space between wheel and tire was 2 1/2. My car is now only 25 inches from the ground and about 1/2 inch wheel space. The lowering springs were only supposed to lower it 1.3". I do have 16" wheels, but they are 55 series tires, so I'm not sure what total difference in diameter that would make. Anyhow it does look quite different from the front.

This is another mod that should really be done by a mechanic. The springs are tricky things to get in, and require some kind of compression to tool. I also can't imagine not doing this without a lift! I think at $90/hr my mechanic is on the high end of the labor spectrum, and that's where most of the cost is. If you can find a cheaper mechanic, you could save some bucks.

400ERACER · #5 04-27-2004, 06:16 PM

Nice looking car Mike .

I just put on H&R lowering springs ($40.00 for all 4!!! ) that I purchased new ! They were supposed to be for a european 500E
without the leveling system . I installed them with new Bilstein sports shocks as well. All springs were installed without the rubber pads . The front of the car now measures 24 1/2 ", to the underside middle of the fender , and 25 3/8 " at the rear . I still plan to cut off an inch off of the rear springs and use a 8mm pad . I will be autocrossing the car this sunday in F Modified with The Madison Sports Car CLub ( Part of the Midwestern Council of Sports Car CLubs ) The car will now only see very limited (TESTING ) street use . Next up is replacing the stock seat with a Butler aluminum race seat left over from my 190E 16V ITE /ITS racecar . Still in the works are installing a rollcage -gutting the doors -removing the airconditioning - removing the sunroof etc.

Mike400E · #6 04-28-2004, 09:29 AM

Racer:

Wow - I am surprised someone would take a $58,000 car (New, of course.) and gut it for racing. I don't think I could do that. You are obviously much better at scrounging for cheap, quality stuff than I am.

Where did you get the chip for $125, and do you think it was worth the money and effort? I have heard and read from several sources that they don't think any chip for the 400E is worth the money. Most chips increase top end, and our motors are already pretty peaky! We also get really crappy gas here in Denver due to smog regulations. It has lots of alcohol added in the winter, so I don't know how a chip would react to that.

Do you like the Magflow muffler, and where did you get that? I had my resonator removed, and it adds a little edge to the exhaust note, but I would like something louder and less restrictive. Any photos of that?

THANKS!

400ERACER · #7 04-28-2004, 12:32 PM

Hi Mike,

I purchased my 400E in Feb. 2002 for $8,000 . It had 176,000 miles on it at the time . At this same time I was considering installing a turbocharger on my 88 300TE (Euro model ) wagon .
The cost to retrofit the 300TE ,with a turbocharger, was estimated at about $6000 with myself doing all the work .
On Feb 14th (Valentines Day ) 2002 , my son was on the internet
looking for cars in this area and found a early 90's Audi for $1000
that he was interested in . At the same time he saw the 400E for $8500 . I said " How far away is that car" and he said "It is the same phone number as the Audi and is just south of town"
I had not seen one of these models for sale in our area before.
We called the guy and were at his house within the 1/2 hour.
One stomp on the gas of that 400E and I was sold!!! Paid him $8000 for it . I think the 400E is the best bang for the buck of the 124 series cars.

Now why would I want to gut this car to race it? Well about a year later , when I was teaching my 15 year old daughter to drive,
She accidently hit the accelerator instead of the brake and drove the 3800 lb car under full acceleration into the side of my house!!!!! With me in the passenger seat!!!! We hit at about 10-15mph I guess . No air bags went off . The right side headlight area -hood and fender hit the corner of the house . I let out a few classic words -Oh @#$% and what the @#$% . but did not get on my daughters case about it . It was an accident and nothing was going to back up time to change it . We were both fine except of course she was very shook up about the whole thing. I joked to her that she would just have to work for me for the next 10 years to pay it off! Estimated damage to the car was about $5000 -$7000 . i did not report it to the insurance company . No major structural damage was done to the car. I had a 86 300E parts car (the same color as my 400E and my 300TE by the way) So I salvaged the right headlight ,the hood and purchased a new right fender for about $75 or so and with the help of a comealong and a tree was able to get the right side of the car back into position . I have had several other things go wrong with the car in the last year --Ignition failure -key would not turn -
ended up having to drill the thing out . Sunroof failure and a few other strange things --. As far as i am concerned once the car hit the house the cost to bring it back in shape correctly exceeded its value . so it was on it's way to being a racecar from that day .
It was now in my mind a $3500 400E -- since I run a Mercedes business (dealing in parts for the 190SL and 230SL -250SL-280SL ) I can write this car off as an advertising tool .

The $125 chip was purchased from JRF engineering -email
jforgione@prodigy.net I think it gives a little bit more power but without a dyno test I can not say . It was not that much of a noticable change in performance .

Magnaflow websight
http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/mirrorfinish/streetseries.htm

You can click on the dealer icon on the top to punch in your zipcode for the nearest dealer. The muffler was well worth the money just for the sounds!!!!! i drove around for the next 10 days or so with the window down and the stereo was never turned on in that 10 days!!!!! It sounds as good as it goes!!!! I think this also has a second effect in making me want to race this car -It just sounds so great !!!

92400E · #8 04-29-2004, 01:38 AM

Hi Racer,

I'm thinking of going to K&N airfilters on my 400e, can you tell any change from the standard filters.

Thanks

George

ksing44 · #9 04-29-2004, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike400E

I measured a 300E yesterday to see just how much difference there was in ride height and tire-to-wheel-well space. The 300E must sit a tad higher than a stock 400E, because it was at 27 inches, and the space between wheel and tire was 2 1/2. My car is now only 25 inches from the ground and about 1/2 inch wheel space. The lowering springs were only supposed to lower it 1.3". I do have 16" wheels, but they are 55 series tires, so I'm not sure what total difference in diameter that would make. Anyhow it does look quite different from the front.

My 1995 E320 is 25 & 1/8" from the ground after installing Eibach Pro Kit springs, Bilstein HD shocks, and 16" x & 7.5" wheels with 205/55/16 tires. I had to use 1-bump spring pads front and 3-bump spring pads in the rear to get a symmetrical drop, because the Eibachs dropped my car more in the rear. My car does not look quite as low as yours does.

My car was 1 & 1/8" higher before I added the springs and shocks. I also have just a little variation from the driver’s side to the passenger side of the car. The driver’s side is exactly the same front and rear, but the passenger side is just a little lower in front and a little higher in the rear. It might all be the same, however, when I sit in the car.

400ERACER · #10 04-29-2004, 11:16 AM

Hi George ,

The K&N filters have a good history of increasing HP in any car.gains are usually in the 5 -10 HP range depending on the vehicle ( Or how poorly the factory air filter was!)
Again without a dyno test I do not know how much of a gain
these have given me -but based on the many articles that I have read, where they add K&N filters and then do the dyno test, I can see that these are a worthwhile investment . I have a K&N in my 88 300TE also and have always used them in my racecars. Do a search on the web for k&N filters hp gain ---and you can see the results of others using these filters. Also it will be the last air filter you will ever need to buy as it is reusable!!!!
Good Luck
Racer Sam

Numbers and class FM -F-modified now on car --
forcast for autocross on Sunday -53 degress -cloudy chance of rain !!!!!!! Perfect racing conditions -NOT
How well to KUHO Victor racers work in cold temps????
My guess is I might be better off running my winter tires from my 300TE !!!!!!!!

Mike400E · #11 04-29-2004, 12:56 PM

ksing: Very nice looking - thanks for the photo. It's cool to see what other people are doing!

Racer - what a crazy mix of competition! Good luck and let us know how it turns out. You might want to start your own post on results since I know MANY of the guys on this site would be interested, 400 owners or not!

delsman · #12 04-29-2004, 05:44 PM

I think that's a great idea to turn her into a racer. I'm sure it will get much interest, especially when they see how fast it is down the straitway. I wonder how it will do in the turns? Sounds like very exciting mods.

Good luck! Beat the 5 series.