It was probably just the driver Did you make any changes to your suspension?

Could've been the driver. He drove like a lunatic.

Yeah, I put on Bilstein HD's and changed the bump stops to one's on the front and three's in the rear.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Sounds very nice....any pics?

You know, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I haven't taken one pic of the car since I bought it.

I don't have the same level of pride in this car that I had in my W124 chassis car. It was the older body style, and was such a clean, well-cared-for example. I also did a large number of upgrades to it that set it off from other W124's.

The only thing kind of unique about my E430 is that it has a brand new European version of the Command navigation, and it looks different from the U.S. versions that were installed as a factory option.

What's also neat is that since my navi is a Euro model, the voice is a female with a British accent. I'm told the U.S. versions have a man's voice with an American accent.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I'm debating the same... selling my 95 E420 and getting a 2001 E430 Sport.

The 420 becomes a bit of a garage queen because of its condition. I don't drive it when the roads are salty and sandy, i don't drive it to bad neighborhoods, etc.

So, contrary to common belief, I made my Porsche 944 turbo my daily driver. But, now I work in downtown Boston, I take the bus to/from work.

I'm debating which one I should keep as the weekend / evening car, or just get rid of both and get a Starmark'd E430 and just use it as an everyday/anytime/anywhere car.

Problem is, I bought my E420 thinking the same (it's just a 4-door non-500 W124).

__________________
2008 BMW 335i Coupe

Their is a member on MBworld or Benzworld selling a very nice 560SEC AMG. It seems to be a real AMG with all the good euro/AMG parts. The car looks pretty nice and has only 34k miles on it. I don't think it has the 6.0 though just a tweaked 5.6.

It might make a fun weekend ride.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

FYI, you changed the spring-pads, not the bump-stops. The bump-stops are those celluose/spongy type of buffer that is between the strut and the strut mount, to limit travel.

:-) neil

I stand corrected.

In any event, the car came with 5's on the front and rear.

Changing the spring pads to 1 in the front and 3 in the rear gave it a slightly raked stance.

I met up with Ernesto "Hi-Power" a while ago, and he thought I had the car lowered.

I really do like the firmer ride quality of the Bilstein HD's. A huge improvement over the stock ride.

As I've posted before, the stock ride was more like the old Buick "Dyna-ride" than the typical Mercedes ride quality.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

I think the 95 E300D was the best of all time..........PERIOD!!!!!
I am only selling mine so I can try to find one that has maybe 20K miles on the clock or less and enjoy it for the next 20 years!!! Definately rare but I saw one about 6 months ago so one is bound to come up. I'll keep on looking till I find her.

Nice to see my old thread come back to life.

I still hold the same opinion now as I did when I wrote the post. In fact, I am holding the same feelings even stronger about the differences between the two chassis.

I am enjoying the refinement, quiet ride, and power of my E430, but miss the unique Mercedes-life feel of the W124 chassis. Mercedes engineers seem to have distilled some of the unique qualities that all Mercedes have enjoyed out of the car.

Yeah, the W210's don't feel quite as special, but they are still a nice ride.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Hi Paul. I read your comments (and others) concerning shocks. The front-left strut on my 95 E320 is leaking and I'm going to get new fronts, both sides. 138K mostly interstate miles in the past 30K. I have read nothing but good things about the Bilsteins and so, will probably go with them. What about rear shocks? Wait? get them now? Get the same brand?

Thanks,

Bot

PS I bought the car mainly because of the nice things you used to say about your E320. I haven't any regrets and will keep this can probably another 50K or so. I'll miss the ride.

I'd only buy Bilsteins for the car, front and rear. I prefer the ride of the HD's over the comforts.

PS Yeah, I still miss my '93 300E (3.2) "E320". It was a real nice ride. There is still something very special about the W124 cars, and I still might own one again.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Using the search function (yes boys and girls, I did use it), I found several lengthy discussions concerning the Bilstein shocks. The issues that interested me most were whether to go with the sportline or OEM and the degree to which either of those choices affects ride height.

As I understand it, the OEM-style Bilsteins are somewhat firmer than the actual original equipment and that the Sportline is significantly firmer. I'm okay with either choice really, as I didn't buy the car as a racer but I do put a lot of miles in a variety of driving conditions and road surfaces. More important to me is maintaining the profile of and balance.

Comments?

I've always gone with the OEM-style and I agree with your research - they do seem slightly firmer than the original equipment shocks. I never tried the sportline versions because as I recall they calibrated for use with the shorter sportline springs. Make sure the sportline shocks are recommended for use with a non sportline spring setup.

I think the HD's slightly change the profile of the car if you keep the original bump pad height.

The profile can be changed by going with shorter bump pads.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".