Bilstein HD shocks are great!
 

My '92 300D, at 112 k miles, had a very "bouyant" ride, putting it nicely. Poorly dampened, but still in all very smooth riding. Too smooth, actually, so I popped for a set of Bilstein HDs. Boy, talking about getting things under control! I just drove 250 miles on the new shocks/struts, and they are 1,000% more controlled than the OE setup. Perhaps a tad bit busier, but so what? The busy-ness is not intrusive, but the control is staggering!

Now I can hustle the Diesel-dog along....previously anything over 60mph was so floatly I was worried I'd lose control!

So, if you want to button down your W124, this is the trick!

500E front bar & Sportline rear bar next...then springs.

rear sway
 

Hey Mike whats up Guido here. Listen Mike what do you think about our rear swaybars on our 500's. You think there a little skimpy. I experince excessive body roll on mine. It has new shocks and accumalators in the rear leveling valve works great. Power bleeded the hydraulic system. . I found a set of brand new take off H&R's im picking up today. If you saw my new tire set up. The thing is rubbing in the rear because of the rolling condition especially when i have passengers in the rear or taking hard turns. I hope the H&R's fix it. But **** im a little ticked off after all the money Ive spent. Thats why I was asking about the rear swaybars. Give me some feel back thanks.:(

Guido,

Having autocrossed my 500E a few times, and having run it on both Lime Rock & Pocono Raceways, I think I've gained a fair amount of understanding of a 500E's handling traits. And I think the rear roll bar's fine! My car's plenty stiff in the rear, at least as stiff as I'd ever want a road car. I think the front's set up right too, although many feel that the front's the end that can be stiffed up a bit. I simply don't feel that way. I think the suspension setup, front and rear, is a very effective compromise between roadability and track characteristics.

Sorry to hear you've heard some rubbing...kind of surprising. What's the offset on those huge wheels???

As to the suspension stuff, just my opinion:)

Hi Guido...I feel for you man. The hardest thing for a car freak is to know when to stop! ;)

I just posted a 1990 Car and Driver review of AMG's 300TE V-8 conversion on my website and was struck by their comments that AMG fiddled too much with a good thing (the stock suspension) and ended up with a whole bunch of handling problems. :eek:

Guido,

Have you driven another 500E, and did you feel the same way? Did it have 17" or 18" rubber? All these things, as I'm sure you're aware, make big impacts on the feel of these cars.

I can't wait to drive Hendy's 500E again-he's on 17s with Koni's up front and an AMG front bar. I'll report in:)

Mike. whats up friend. I drove Mark stetsons thorugh the Palos Verdes hill sides. Alot of tight right and left handers. He's running EVO's on 17s very smooth. Hardly any body roll. I think I may have an offset problem. But I was told all 129 SL chasis wheels fit on our 124 chasis hassle free. I know im running some big meats.
Even with the E's flared fenders you think clearance wouldnt be and issue. But every time I hit a hard right hander the body is very unstable and leans. My fronts are planted with Koni adjustables at the firmest setting. Im just pissed off. Im furstrated
Im getting some H&R's this friday. Im going to install them saturday and see what happens. A 1995 500E came in last week look hot sat lower than mine with brabus 18s 275/35/18 rears. I drove it no sway at all. It had H&R's with the stock shocks in the rears just like mine. I looked at the offset. It was ET 35 just like mine. Give me some feed back thanks mike.:confused:

New nitro cells? How are your rear swaybar bushings?

Guido, I'm baffled:confused: :mad: :confused:

We'll figure this out. Alain? Dean? Hendy? Lou? Others?? If no additional responses, I'd sugest you post this topic

I really didn't check them. But from my experince as a MB tech I never replaced Rear Sway Bar bushings. Just trialing arms and links. All those look ok. Im thinking hey maybe something is broken,but wouldn't I hear something. I just see my new pilots outside edges being slowing cut into like a sardine can. Hmm lets see ah $300.00 a piece. I going to have my front end man drive it see what he thinks. Keep asking some of your buddies.
Thanks.

I'm still guessing, but maybe 1 nitro cell's bad?

Mike Its been doing this way before .I installed the new accumalators<nitro cells. Im going to do the fender roll this wekend and installed the H&R's this weekend also. If it stills scraps. Im removed the wheels sending them out to get machine.
Sahve off about 10mm or so off the hubface of the rim. I'll make it right. Im not discouraged anymore now Im just mad!:mad:

10mm seems like a lot...have you contacted AMG to ensure that you won't hurt the structural integrity? And if you do lop off the metal, do you still need to roll the fenders? How much more can they be rolled?

If you're gonna drop it, Guido, are you going to do the RennTECH rear links, or perhaps just their rear camber links to keep that dimension under control? And what about talking to them...if you do the fully-adjustable rear, can you have the wheels tuck in more on compression?

Just trying ideas...

Geez Guido, now I'm scared for you! Shaving 10mm of meat off of any rim is going to compromise their integrity. I did that once to a set of wheels and took off only 3mm after consulting with the manufacturer. They said anything more was unsafe. Don't do it! :eek:

During my research before buying new wheels this spring, I found that the SL can carry wider rear rims with greater offset than the 500E can handle without interference. The SL will mount 10" wide AMG monoblocks up to ET 17, while the max for the 500E is 10" wide at ET 19. Small difference but those are the maximum limits. Other variables are the actual shape/profile of the inner rim face, which needs to clear the brake and strut components, which is why various styles in the same sizes may require different offsets.

Guido, didn't you also mention in an earlier e-mail that your rear suspension compresses quite easily and bounces for several cycles after you push down on the trunk? That seems unusual and does not compare with my car. What have you traced this to?

Good luck, but please DO NOT risk your life for a set of wheels!

Well dean here is the latested update. Your totally right. Some told me 10mm I thought was nuts. I went by my friends machine shope all they do is wheels there. 3mm max whew!. Im going to have it done today. Heres the latest update. I installed H&R's all the way aorund stiffened the heck out of the rear no more bodyroll. Rolled the fenders so far. I have to dismount the wheels
today send them to get machine I should be home free.

thanks for all the good input dean. We all worked together and everything works out.;)

here a pic I took this AM