Hello everyone, recently purchased a 1999 E300TD and thought I would restore the front end and lower it a bit. The problem is once I installed the Eibach Sport Springs with the Bilstein Sport shocks (Yellow) all around, the front end sagged too much (I was advised to go with a thinner spring pad - #1 I think - but had to reinstall the stock spring pad and it is still to low for my taste). I want to raise the front a little bit more as there is a noticeable difference between the height of the rear and the front. Now I read in another post that the reason for the additional sag is the weight of the diesel engine. If that is true what should I do to raise the height of front safely? I assume that I cannot simply reinstall the stock springs since I have installed and want to keep the shorter Bilstien Sport shocks (Or can I go back to the stock springs without an issue?) . Finally, I have 17" rims on it and want to go to 18" rims. What I would like to know is:

Should I simply look to install a taller/bigger Spring Pad? Isn't my stock pad the largest?
If I can't install a larger spring pad, should I consider taking a band saw and - I know how silly this sounds - cutting off one of the rungs of the factory spring. I did this years ago in Nissan with great results.
What is the best way to achieve a more balanced ride height and less body roll without going too severe in standard daily driving?
Considering my desire to go with 18" rims, any advise to avoid the rear camber adjustment, while maintaining the lower Eibach Springs?


Any help is greatly appreciated.

C-

you already have one of the answers: the size of your stock spring pad is
indicated by the number of exposed nubs on the spring pad. there are 5
different thicknesses for the front...1 being the thinnest.

basically you're taking a calibrated suspension and modifying it for aesthetics
and handling. much of that is subjective. you're also asking folks to make a
stab at what they feel would be successful for you with minimal information.
you really need to proceed carefully and be prepared to mix and match...
and even redo something which hasn't proven to be successful. that's the
nature of the mod game.

negative camber has little to do with size of the wheel. it has to do with the
modifications to the suspension height. aftermarket parts are needed to
correct excessive lowering (ergo undesirable camber)

cutting metal, if done improperly, can skew metallurgy and cause problems,
notwithstanding your past success with a bandsaw.

you're really reaching for answers where some trial and error is needed....
or someone who can coach you through this step by step. the course(s) of
action depend sometimes on the exact make/model of the part you select.

otherwise, it would be easy for folks to post suggestions from their keyboard
but they're not there subsidizing your purchases should the wrong call be
made.

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

What was the reason for wanting to lower the front end?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

The switch to lower, stiffer springs should make a world of difference in the amount of body roll. To properly install lowering springs on this car you need this eccentric bolt kit to the alignment can be corrected with the new ride height:







If you get the thickest spring pad and the car is still too low, I'm not sure where you can go from there aside from locating and installing some UHMW or metal spacers.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Thank you all for aiding me on this project. SKIPPY, I simply wanted to decrease body roll. I was moving away from my old car - 2005 Volvo V70R that was costing me too much on gas and upkeep - but NOT FUN - and wanted something a bit more sedate.

I ended up changing the front Eibach lowering springs that I purchase to a pair of Bilstein springs for an e55. Got em cheap on eBay and matched that with the #1 Spring shim/pad for the ride height I wanted. I went with Eibachs in the rear, but installed a #1 pad/shim instead of the stock #3. It looks great, but may be too low once I have a full tank and passengers. May have to take it back up.

Today I had new tires and a four wheel alignment done. Front and rear toe in were corrected, but unfortunately they could not correct the 1.18 Drive side and 1.16 camber offset - I hope that I am stating this correctly - that they finally came up with in the front. Earlier when I was replacing Inner and Outer Tie Rods, Upper Control arms, Tie Rod ends and Lower control arm Bushings I installed those notched Camber adjustment Bolts with the locking washers into each side of the control arms. I thought that this would allow me to correctly set the camber in the front, but unfortunately, they still remain skewed toward the center of the engine. Any advice? Or should I just accept that i will have uneven tire wear? Thanks in advance for your advice.

C

If I'm reading this right, you have about one and a quarter degrees of negative camber on the front. That's really not a lot, and depending on how you drive, you might have acceptable tire wear. Since you installed adjustment bolts, I would think you would have a greater range of adjustability though. Not all alignment shops are equal. Does this one know what it's doing?

How does it handle now?

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Skippy, finally got the correct read out sheet. My corrected camber readings:
- Front: LEFT = -1.6, RIGHT = -1.8
- Rear: LEFT = -2.4, RIGHT = -2.3

She handles a lot better. The Toe was pretty off so she tracks better, but since I am concerned about tire wear, I think I better reconsider taking it somewhere else for the front.

Do you suggest switching the Pad/shims on the rear springs from the current #1s to something like a #3 - which I have? Or, am I better off looking for one of those rear adjustable camber kits? Thanks again for the help.

C