I don't usually corner my 123 hard enough to cause it to slip out, but the few times that I have lost a bit of grip (with almost worn tires), the car slipped and slid extremely predictably. The problem with these cars I think is it's high center of gravity due to it's ride height and hefty weight (which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing). Because of this, I think it wide sweeping curves the car feels more cumbersome than it is as the shocks slowly give and the car begins to lean so much that you really have to hold on to something to keep steady in the seat (certainly not fun for passengers). In short "switch backs," the car is actually almost a pleasure as it can feel very tossable in short turns. I came across some lowering springs for a W123 280E and have always wondered if they could be applied to the diesel. I'll look up the website later on and post it here.

Power on these cars is surprisingly acceptable. I think tighter, tauter, lower springs made by a good manufacturer could make these heavy cars much much more enjoyable.

Going along with this same theme, would new springs help out the ride and handling of my car a lot? I just changed my old original bilsteins with new bilsteins and it made an incredible difference. I now wonder if I should have replaced the springs as well.

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside