Any modifications to my 1995 E420?

[Dr. Julio Fuentes]

Hello! I have found these forums very useful in the past, and since having recently purchased a 1995 E420, I thought I'd ask what kind of modifications I can do to my car. Does anyone have any experience with Superchips for this model? Popped in two K&N air filters? Swapped the entire unit for the Renntech Carbon Fiber one? Dyno-ed a Remus? Any information would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks again! Dr. Julio Fuentes, 1995 Mercedes E420

There's currently a forum discussing the intricacies of swapping a lower-ratio diff to gain mucho acceleration potential...

I would think K&N and chip definately (do post search to see if a chip is avail) and if you're fanatic, diff and exhaust.

Oh - and from what I hear, best thing you can do is better suspension, wheels and tires.

I've been whining about acquiring one of these for awhile (wife is at the front of the line for her MDX tho). Interested in what you end up doing so keep thread informed.

[Dr. Julio Fuentes]

Thanks for the info! The chip/filter combo will probably come after I do the wheel/tire/suspension upgrade. I've decided on 17x8 Mercedes Replica Rims with 235-45-17 Potenza RE730's. (This is Seattle, so I've got to get a good all-season performance tire) I'm also installing Eibach progressive rate springs to lower the car about 1.5 inches. I'm wondering about the "gains" the chip promises... 15% more hp and 18% more torque? I've ordered the precision auto catalog, so I'll also see if the airbox is a substantial improvement over just adding K&N's to the stock unit. As far as the diff swap... I'm waiting to see if someone else can do it on their car first. : ) I'm quite happy with the power of this car, but hey, you can never have enough power, right? Tire quibbles aside, this is an amazing car- I just love the solidity and torque.

Bob Johnson recently ordered the chip from P.A.D.--he is supposed to install it and let us know how it goes. Weird thing: SuperChips doesn't have a chip for the car, but PAD sells one for $250 that they SAY they get from SuperChips! I don't know what the real story is. Hopefully, Bob will know.

P.S.: will those tires "fit" if you don't get the fenders rolled, or are you planning to do that?

[This message has been edited by MitchLampson (edited 10-27-2000).]

[Dr. Julio Fuentes]

According to Discount Tire, Bekkers, and the tuning shop where the car will be lowered, 8" wide rims with 235's is as wide as I can go without rolling the fenders. I *will* doublecheck with the 235 series tires however, as this will give me slightly larger total wheel height of 25.32", as compared to stock of 24.98". If it looks like it'll be a problem, then I'll just go a step down to 225's... they're nearly perfect, with a 24.97" height. I just want as wide a tire as possible, since it's *REALLY EASY* to get the back end loose on this car, as I don't have ASR.

[ATATEXAN]

Dr. Fuentes,

I just changed my entire suspension on the 1994 E420 to "500 spec" and it is superb. I got exactly the result I wanted in terms of looks and handling with STOCK M-B PARTS. The inventory is as follows:

500 front and rear sway bars
500 front and rear springs
Bilstein "sport" shocks front and rear

I also bought AV8 16X7 wheels plus Potenza RE730 205X55X16 tires from The Tire Rack. With the car lowered by virtue of the 500 suspension, there is NO WAY you can get any wider rubber on the car, nor do you need it. The 500's have wider wheels and tires because the fenders are flared.

I love my E420+. I hope this helps.

Charley Cleaver
1986 190E 2.3-16
1994 E420+

The 500 has the accursed self-leveling rear hydraulics set up. I wanted no part of that after my 190E 2.3-16 experience. The rear springs required the 18mm spring pads plus an innovative "wafer" to get the height and camber right. When combined with the 8mm pads up front, the result is perfect.

The car is incredible; ride is firm but not harsh and it corners like a Corvette.

[DuckMuck]

Dr. Julio Fuentes,

235/45R17 or 225/45R17 on rear AND front? Are you sure this will work? If you plan to try it out, plz post on the board tellin' us how this turn out. I was just planning to do 215/45R17's all around...

Anyways, welcome to the M-B board, it is always nice to see another '95 E420 owner floating around...

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<- WaVe & DaNCe the DiScO DuCk if you spot a '95 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420!!!

[Dr. Julio Fuentes]

Thanks for all the information, guys! These forums are such a great resource. I'm curious about the 500e suspension mods... where were they bought from? (and was the purchase price/labor costs reasonable?) All I know that Bekkers carries is a 500e front sway bar, but that needs a bit of modifying to fit (or so I'm told from the Bekkers folks). Getting back to the tire/rim stuff, I was at Barrier Mercedes in Bellevue last week, checking out the cars (next to the auto shows, it's one of my favorite pasttimes!). Well, there was a new E430 4Matic, wearing... you guessed it... 235-45-17's. Looked *great*. So I called the service department later and asked if that combo would fit on my 95. The tech there said it was no problem, but he didn't know
if there would be any rubbing if I lowered the car too much. So, I've still got some homework to do, eh? The folks at Discount Tire said to lower the car first, then buy the rims and just try on a few sizes to see what fits. Guess that couldn't hurt, eh?
On a completely unrelated topic mentioned prior regarding the 16V's, my dream car is still a 1990 2.5-16V Evolution II. But, even though I've found a place in England that get them in stock once in a while, the import restrictions and regulations have hindered it's purchase. Some day, perhaps. : )

Again, thanks for all the info so far guys! It's greatly appreciated.

[ATATEXAN]

I spent three months exhaustively researching the E420 suspension project and found much idiocy and misinformation. You need to gather info from reliable sources such as Renntech, CEC, Tire Rack, knowlegeable mechanics and hopefully someone who tells you the things NOT to do.

As I said previously I took the conservative approach of getting M-B parts from the dealer combined with the correct shocks from Bilstein. I would NEVER believe anything Discount Tire tells you about wheels and tires. There is a reason the Tire Rack has a high JD Powers rating. They do so much business and the customer feedback helps a prospective buyer from making an expensive mistake.

Charley Cleaver
1986 190E 2.3-16
1994 E420+

[Michael]

Felt the need to chime in on the adaptive rear suspension bashing. It's a significantly more developed system then the one in the 2.3-16. Both my cars have such a setup, but the 500E's has the considerable added benefit of virtualy eliminating squat on launch...it reacts very quickly. And regardless of load the car's attitude is always very controlled...never a headlight pointing at the sky 'cuz you have 4 big people aboard. Keeps the car real solid & straight on launch.

I think it's a great, well-designed system. When I Sportline my wagon I plan to retain the rear strut setup.

Just my $.02; no offense anyone in case you think it bites

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All the best, Michael
500E
300TE

[MikeyE430]

Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in concerning the E420 mods. I had a '95 and did the following mods with absolutely NO PROBLEMS whatsoever.

Eibach ProKit springs (lowered about 1-1.25")

Bilstein Sport shocks

AMG 7.5" x 17" alloys

235 45 17 Pirelli P7000 SuperSport tires

Got everything from Tire Rack-always have since the late 70's. They advised me that I might have to roll the rear fender lips. Didn't have to. NEVER rubbed even with 4 people aboard.

[DuckMuck]

MikeyE430,

WOW...you did 235/45R17 ALL AROUND and no rubbing?!?!

[MikeyE430]

Duck,

Nope, no rubbing at all! I was a very happy camper. That was a great car. Perfect body, 87,000 miles, carefully maintained, etc. 6 weeks after I sold it, the doofus that bought it wiped it out.