Sport Shocks with Comfort Springs?
 

I'm not sure they're called comfort springs, but my car has the HD Shocks and I assume the "not sport" springs. I say this because my car sits higher than a C280 with the sports setup (by about 3/4"). I need new shocks and was wondering if I can just change to shocks to get a sportier ride or if I have to have the springs changed as well? Will I get some kind of weird ride with the mixed combination of shocks and springs? Anyone who tried this has their experience to share? Thanks. Also will arbitrarily using the thinner shims cause problems. I know the whole "technical" formula of "if you have this option + this option, etc use this shim which causes a higher ride" but was wondering if that's really some hard and fast rule.

Bilstein Sport struts and shock are designed to handle the shorter stroke length that results when lowering springs replace the OEM springs. Using them with OEM springs will result in premature wear and failure, just as using OEM (Comfort) units with lowering springs.

HD struts/shocks are valved a bit stiffer and can be used with either the OEM springs or the Sportline springs which are a modest 0.5" drop.

Lowering is done by springs and spring pads, not the shocks/struts.

i would have said it would be fine, but i have no experience to back it up.

mti sounds authoritative on it.

mti, how premature would you say they will wear out?

tom w

Well, the wrong dampers won't burst into flames when mismatched, and if the owner just wants some time before buying the proper units, it's probably okay to kill off the older existing units.

I don't think anyone can say with authority how long the mismatched dampers will last, since it depends on the weight, road conditions and other variables. In addition to prematurely wearing out the damper, using a shorter stroke unit will also result in "bottoming out" the unit which is going to stress the connected suspension and chassis pieces. Overall, it's just a better idea for performance and cost to use the right unit.

So there are actually 3 types of shocks? Comfort, HD, and Sportline? You also seem to imply that the Comforts are the shocks that came with the car? Do HD's ever come as standard equipment? I know Sportlines are the ones on the sport models.

There are 3 types of Bilsteins for certain Mercedes. The Comforts are the closest to the OEM; the HD are the next step up in harder valving and are the closest to the Sportline units. The Sports are specifically designed for cars with lowering springs, typically with more than a 1" drop from stock.

Other brands, like Koni, Sachs/Boge, KYB, Monroe, etc. have different models or don't have certain equivalents.

Sport Shocks with Comfort Springs
 

You might want to check this out for some info on how to do what you want:

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=11872&highlight=spring+pads

I often hear that 90% of the users on this board can't be wrong using Bilstein. MB, Ferarri, Audi, Brabus, AC Schnitzer, and the entire Formula 1 circuit seem to have gotten it wrong and decided to use Sachs.

Then there's the argument that Bilstein has a lifetime warranty. Sachs does too. They'll even replace an OEM shock if it has their name on it, which Bilstein won't do.

I've used both Sachs and Bilsteins and can't really say I was able to tell much difference in performance. What I can say is that I put 172,000 miles on the last set and I saved a lot of money when I bought new Sachs.

Here's a link to the Sachs Web Catalog if you decide to go that way:

http://webcat.zf-trading.com/index.asp?SPR=4

Thanks for the link. Some good insight. Yes, I think Sachs is about 10-15 dollars less than Bilstein. The posters mention about using the no. 1 spring pads. I'm wondering if I can use those. My car was somewhat loaded with options and I assume they used higher #'d pads. It rides 3/4" higher than another c280 I'm familiar with. And that one feel MUCH sportier than mine with very little tradeoff in comfort, if not better ride feel. Mine feels like it's on springy stilts when cornering.

Is an alignment necessary if the spring pads are changed?

Spring Pads
 

You can use any spring pad you want. MB uses different size spring pads to bring the ride height into the car's design limits so that each one's suspension geometry (read alignment) can be set up the same.

I'm guessing that the other C280 might have a sport suspension (I don't know a lot about the C class but I think they call it the avantgarde option). That option uses slightly shorter/stiffer springs and different struts/shocks that's probably why it's 3/4 in lower than yours. The posters in the link I sent you set their C class cars up using the avantgarde strut/shocks and used shorter spring pads to adjust the ride height. I think overal there were 5 guys that did the same and each of them had very good things to say about that path.

On my 300E I replaced the OEM struts/shocks with Sportlines. I replaced the springs with Sportlines later. Here are some of my observations about doing it that way:

a) With a 300E you DON'T need to get an alignment when replacing just the struts/shocks. You DO need to get one when you replace the spring pads or the springs. I recommen that you check with other C class owners about this.

b) I noticed the biggest difference after adding the struts/shocks. There was a hugh improvement in both the ride quality and in the handling.

c) The biggest difference I noticed with the springs was when driving around town. Small bumps were much more noticeable. I can't say I felt a hugh improvement in the handling. Certainly not as much as I noticed with the struts/shocks.

d) I saved about $35 / wheel using Sachs.

Thanks. Here's a link with good info on spring pads, ride height, and alignment for those interested. I think I will leave well enough alone as the gap on my car looks fine. I was just hoping to see if it would help with the handling by lowering the center of gravity. Thanks for your insight on the improvement after changing just the shocks.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-performance-paddock/64681-w124-spring-pad-height-differences.html?highlight=spring+pad+camber

64 Questions and Answers...all about Bilstein shocks.

http://www.bilstein.de/cms_website/english/Service/FAQ/

Brought to you by the friendly people at Bilstein....

Bilstein B4 = Comfort Shocks?
B6 = HD?
B8 = Sport?

Please tell me Sachs Super Touring are = B6 or somewhere near that!

I bought Sachs Super Touring. Hopefully they're not mushy (a technical term....no, not really)

Bilstein Q&A
 

I probably would have asked that question before I bought the dampers.

Here is what I found in the Sachs catalog for a 1996 C280 202.028:


SACHS170 450
Shock Absorber
Super Touring

• Fitting Position : Front Axle
• Suspension : for vehicles with sports suspension
• Labour [h] : 0,80

• Shock Absorber Mounting Type: Top pin, Bottom eye
• Shock Absorber Type: Gas Pressure
• Shock Absorber System: Monotube

SACHS102 515
Shock Absorber
Super Touring Hydropneumatic damping unit

• Suspension : for vehicles with sports suspension
• Fitting Position : Rear Axle
• Vehicle Equipment : for vehicles with ride height adjustment
• Labour [h] : 0,90

• Shock Absorber Mounting Type: Top pin, Bottom eye

I checked in the online Bilstein catalog but it doesn't tell me anything about the differences between a B4/B6/B8 so I can't say what is equivalent to what.

Q&a
 

Oh, I should mention again that I don't know much about C280s, but my initial impression is that those are the dampers I would have ordered too.

Again thanks for you input. Check my link, the Bilstein Q&A is pretty thorough for B2,B4,B6,B8. Somewhat layman-like and obviously for the European (or not U.S.) parts (with U.S. using "comfort", "HD", and "Sport").

Funny, they use the term Bilstein "black" for the B2 & B4 and "yellow" for the B6 & B8. The HD sold here in the US are black. Based on the description I would have thought the B6 = HD based on everything but the color of the shock. On color alone, B4 = HD.

Of course, I did research before purchasing, and of course, was probably sold when I read your link. However, it always comes down to having it installed and then.....

By the way, got the 170 450 (front) and 170 451 (rears). The 450 appear to be sportier version of the 452 for the fronts based on the application for each (sport suspension vs. standard). Whatever. Sachs websites indicate the Super Touring line, in general, are the direct OEM Replacements, better, but not neccesarily any sportier. Again, whatever that means. I prefer technical data versus marketing spiel in these areas.

I get them installed today, and I'll post my impressions for the heck of it.