Yahoo! New Bilsteins installed!
 

I finally got around to putting a set of Bilstein HD's in my 84' 300D today. Shoulda done it a long time ago. Much nicer ride, more composed, etc. Bilsteins ain't cheap but quite worth it. RT

hey, that makes two of us! i just installed my Bilstein HDs yesterday. in my case, i swapped out a completely blown Sachs shock on the drivers side, and a leaking Bilstein comfort on the passenger side.

much more taut ride, but doesn't take away too much from the Mercedes "experience."

needless to say, it feels like i went from driving an old land-yacht-cadillac to a feisty little German sports car!

what's the main difference between the HD's and the comforts?

I put a new set of HD's on my 124 when it had 170K on the origionals - what a difference. I soon followed with new sway bar bushings and tie rods - all very easy to install. I think the sway bar bushings and tie rods made just as big a difference as the HD's.

It is amazing how well these things can handle when they are not ridding on 15 yr old rubber bushings!!!

Maxwell,
I was told the comforts are for a nice ride and get a little softer over the first 10K of use and then stabilize. The HD's are pretty firm, good if you live in a place with crappy roads like Rhode Island. Again I was told the HD's start pretty firm, almost un-MB, but then break in to slightly more taught than the comforts are when new. Hope this helps. This info from a local MB guy... FWIW, when I "bounce" the 300D with the new Bilsteins it returns to ride height and just stops. Very taught. RT

RWT--I hope you'll keep us posted about the 'break-in' aspect of your shocks. I'm looking at shock replacement on my 126 and have always found the comforts a little too soft for my taste. The only time I owned a MB with HDs, it was a full house Brabus that was lowered, etc, so I'm reluctant to draw a comparison. On the Brabus the HD's felt pretty plush, considering...

You might be waiting a while Rich, I don't drive her much as I used to. Maybe 500-1K a month. The more I drive with the Bilsteins the more I like them. More importantly the Mrs. likes them so the money was less of an issue. RT

If your wife likes them then I'm willing to guess they aren't too rugged right out of the box, which is what I was sorta waiting to hear. I think you helped me make up my mind what to get. Thanks for your input.

Same thing- new Bilsteins HD with some new rubber. No harshness, all firm restraint of any bounciness. Definitely worthwhile maintenance.
I always have the mechanic check the springs because a lot of POs don't ever think about replacing them.

When replacing shocks, do you have to replace BOTH front and rear pairs ?

Thank you

Steve,
No, you can just change the fronts or rears in pairs. In my experience the rear shocks seem to last longer. My car had the OE Sachs shocks in it with the MB star and PN on them. Surprisingly the rears still have some life left in them. I am saving them for a homemade trailer project. I just like to change them all at once and know its done. RT

Changing my rear shocks made a HUGE difference. The KYB's that were on the car were really bad I guess.

Changing the fronts didn't make that huge a difference, but I can feel that it's more comfortable over irregularities in the roads