heyyy.....hadn't thought about it from that angle (pun intended). good thinking!

__________________
-- raymond~
47º 34'N 122º 18'W

Thanks for the replies. The w201 in question doesn't have sls- but the spring pads would have a similar effect on both vehicles, I think. There is a change in ride height (or fender height) depending on the spring pad used, and like MTI said- its NOT 1:1, due to the geometry of the suspension components. Despite installing a set of "lowering springs" my front end is sitting 2.5" higher up front than in the rear after an increase of 1 size spring pads all around.

After fiddling with the numbers (and I thought/hoped I'd never use algebra again...) it looks like in the REAR there was close to a 1:1 change resulting from the spring pad change- 40mm drop from the springs plus 5mm increase in spring pad- and I'm sitting just under 24" compared to the original 25."

Up front tho- I'm baffled. I've spent HOURS trying to find info on this- and have come up with nothing. The only thing I found was on a euro board- where they described an estimated 2mm change in height for every 1mm change in spring pad thickness. This would give an estimated 10mm change in height for a change in 1 size of spring pad. That wouldn't account for the drastic increase in ride height in the front of my 190 though....

satyr-
i'm not familiar with the 201 suspension system, ergo my question: is the top
of the spring secured within a spring perch, like a big hollowed donut (which
is turn, welded to the car frame)...and the bottom of the spring nesting within
the lower control arm?

if so, the lower control arm is likely to include an indentation in which the
spring is to reside within....and importantly, indexed against a stop. if you
didn't, and simply inserted the spring in blindly then it's certainly possible
that the spring will be as much as an inch higher than it should had the
spring been indexed properly.

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=48pwb5s

video shows individual shock and spring system, which is what i'm picturing
for your car

__________________
-- raymond~
47º 34'N 122º 18'W

Nailed it. I dont think they were installed right.

Wow- excellent video! Thanks! Well, the W201 is similar- and does have a perch for the spring on the lower control arm, and an inverted cup where the spring pad and spring reside above. I backed the 190 out of the garage and checked it- and the spring is resting in the perch properly. It appears everything is where it should be. I found some more info on a euro site- and the #3 is the thickest pad MB used on the 201, which was what I replaced with the #4 to partially compensate for the 40mm drop by the springs.

I suppose I should go with #2 pads and see what happens. I wonder if she'll start hitting the bump stops or rubbing the fender in pot holes....