I've had some recent spring cutting adventures, and figure I'd share the knowledge. To start... When done right, cutting springs can be an effective way of lowering a vehicle, it is not always ghetto. Those Hondas you see bouncing around on their bump stops with blown shocks give it a bad rap. The main advantage for us W123/W126 guys is we have huge amounts of suspension travel where as most other cars have a very narrow range. Also when cutting springs the ride is only affected when you go too low and exceed the damping range of your shocks and/or start hitting your bump stops. Here's my experience with my W123 300d... When I bought the car I had 4" of front wheel gap and it drove me NUTS so after much research and thought I decided to cut some coils and see what happens. I bought the correct spring compressor on eBay (quality tool!) and replaced my lower control arm bushings while I was at it. I decided to take 3 coils off the front (2 nub spring pad) and 1.5 off the rear. The handling was quite compromised and my new Bilstein (comfort) shocks could not suppress the bounce on rough roads. It sure looked nice though... I bought a used *uncut* set of front springs on eBay and they came with a set of 1 nub spring pads. I chopped 1.5 coils and used the 1 nub pads, the lowering was not nearly as extreme but it is now level (measured the bumpers) and rides quite nice. So here's my verdict, 1.5 coils off the front and 1.5 off the rear with new Bilstein shocks will give an OEM ride while lowering the center of gravity to improve handling slightly. The non-4x4 look is just an added bonus. If I get bored I may try taking another half coil off the front to get it even with the top of the tire, but I'm concerned that may be pushing the limits of the shocks.

I know there are many of you out there that will not be a fan of this, but let's keep this positive and informative.

OEM, 2-nub front pads and 2-nub rear pads





Cut 3 front coils w/ 2-nub pads and 1.5 rear coils w/ 2-nub pads (sub-standard handling, looks awesome)





Cut 1.5 front coils w/ 1-nub pads and 1.5 rear coils w/ 2-nub pads

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<insert>clever statement</insert>

very nice. I want to do that.. But me I'd cut two in the front and two in the rear

look good ! my cd will be getting the chop soon. nothing wrong with cutting linear rate springs if done correctly (without overheating the spring) and within reason. the rate will increase slightly but the total load of the spring will conversly decrease.

Actually, the rate will increase, as stated below. The CAPACITY will decrease, not the LOAD. Since the car is lowered, raising the camber rate, one might make the case that the load is slightly increased, as well -- at least for same sized road undulations.

And since you're now operating at a higher load point of the spring's lowered CAPACITY, the ability to absorb "hard bumps", a.k.a. CHUCK HOLES to us midwesterners, will disproportionately decrease.

Look very cool, though! But those of use who have already BENT custom aluminum-bodied $trut coilover$ on the street will submit; sometimes there is a price to pay.

--f

Not my opinion...

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Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

I lived close to Ol,Brenner and after taking a ride in his car, I can say I'm glad I didn't do this to mine! The ride kinda sucked and the wheels rubbed the inner fenders and if you were making a hard turn over bumps, your tires would grind away at your whell well outer ridge as well. I'm sorry, but there is a reason that lowered cars look ghetto! Go do that to a Honda and put a loud muffler on it. No one will car when it gets crashed or crushed. Hell, you might even make neighborhood hero!

looks very nice. may i ask about the spring compressor? did you have to grind out the hole in the fendor for it to work? I have a set of lowering springs and an ebay compressor but it wont fit through the fender.

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1982 300CD Turbo (Otis, "ups & downs") parts for sale
2003 TJ with Hemi (to go anywhere, quickly) sold
2001 Excursion Powerstroke (to go dependably)
1970 Mustang 428SCJ (to go fast)
1962 Corvette LS1 (to go in style)
2001 Schwinn Grape Krate 10spd (if all else fails)

Me, I want as much suspension travel and ground clearance as possible. Glad you're happy with your car, though.

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1982 240D automatic
Odometer quit at 307K...about 325K now

Yeah, Amen to that! Me too. If your going to do this though, better do it right.

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"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

The Greatest Arizona Senator ever, Barry M Goldwater. I hope you can see from heaven how much you are missed.

I like the ground clearance of these cars stock but somehow with the different wheels the lowering really looks good. Nice mod.

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Kevin

1978 300D
1979 240D

Funny, but I was kinda thinking the opposite myself.

My 300CDT is at stock height, but the rear looks a little higher than the front (haven't gotten around to measuring it. I was thinking of either lowering the rear a little - or more likely raising the front to match the rear.

I'm a 45 year old fatboy though, and I'm more concerned with making mine comfortable (nice ride, easy to get in & out of), than I am with the "cool looking" factor....

Anybody got any suggestions on how to raise the front an inch to an inch and a half?

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

Nice! I want to do that to my W126 eventualy, its on my very long "to do" list.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The rear is supposed to be a little taller than the front so you get better traction at high speeds.

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"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

The Greatest Arizona Senator ever, Barry M Goldwater. I hope you can see from heaven how much you are missed.

How many nubs are on your front pads now? If you have 1 or 2 nub pads I could sell you my old 4 nub pads that would raise it some...maybe an inch?

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Thanx,
Alberta Luthier
1983 300CD ('Stinky')155k miles, 2.47 diff, EGR removed, AAZ injectors with 265 nozzles from Sean,and vogtland lowering springs.
1984 300SD ('Old Blue')150k Klicks from Japan originally, came with rear head rests, no sunroof and never had an EGR

Nubs? Pads? You're talking to a guy with decades of mechanical experience but a relative MB newbie (I've only had my 300CDT for a little over a month).

Are you talking about spring isolator pads that go between the top of the spring and the body? What are nubs? How tough would they be to install? Just trying to gauge whether they'd be worth the effort. Got any pictures? That would probably help...

And if the 4 "nub" "pads" will raise the front an inch, I'd probably be interested in them. Send me a PM letting me know what you'd want for them, please.

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown