Big Brakes W124

[lino]

I am interested in upgrading the brakes on my W124 - 1989 300ce.

I have spent much time reading about this subject and still haven't been able to come up with an upgrade package. I read many posts with wonderful contributions from such members as GSXR and Omegabenz.

I don't need the extreme. I am looking for an easy upgrade no extra-special fabrication. I will be buying the calipers and possibly other parts used so Mercedes oem parts or Porsche would be good.

Has anyone completed an upgrade using parts from an R129 500sl? I can get Porsche parts easier than 500e parts.

[Pete Geither]

I read on one post that the brakes on the TE's were bigger and also on the V8 cars. Don't know what your needs are, but those sound like reasonable upgrades to me.

[lino]

I read the same thing and I am looking to upgrade along those lines. I don't need $30,000 Enzo brakes, parachutes, twin-caliper setups or anything like that, just an upgrade so that when I replace my brakes next, I have something better than what I have now which is the stock setup.

[Blackbenzz]

I believe the 400E has 4 piston calipers.

[ZorroAMG]

Is your car turbo charged? Did you do an engine swap? If you haven't made any significant power upgrades, why waste your money on bigger brakes? They won't make a difference for daily street driving and your oem setup is more than adequate to stop your car.

Put the money into suspension and powertrain before brakes.

My $0.02

[lino]

Engine is still stock Zorro. A salvage yard owes me money and I thought that getting better brakes might be a good idea since they don't have many things that fit on my car.

You're right about putting money into the suspension first. That is exactly what I'm working on now. I think I know what I want, just keeping my eyes open for some good deals since I'm in no rush. My car goes into storage in under a month anyway so a couple of winter projects would be fun.

Thanks again

[ZorroAMG]

Hey, no prob, just trying to keep you out of the "wow, that mod was a waste of money" club

Post pics when you do more stuff to your car!

[lino]

Will do..gotta try to keep up with ENZO

I've been doing mostly maintenance right now and research for the upcoming mods. I do have a big list I'm working on. I am designing the whole package and then it'll be like an assembly line, one mod after the other. This will be the learning grounds, because after I'm done with this car, I'll be doing something quite similar to my other coupe as well.

[wbain5280]

If you want improved performance, put on 500E sway bars and wider tires. Make sure your front suspension is in tip-top shape first.

(Less lean in the corners)

[lino]

I believe this is what I will do regarding upgrading the suspension of my car. (This is as far as I got with my research):

Sway Bars
28.5mm Front Bar OEM# 124-323-77-65
18.0mm Rear Bar OEM# 124-326-25-65
or
Eibach if I can come across a set

Struts/Shocks

Bilstein Heavy Duty Front Part # V36-0361 - Already have these
Bilstein Heavy Duty Rear Part# B36-1385 - Already have these

Springs

Eibach Pro Kit Part# 2517.140
or
H&R Part# 29569-2


Strut Brace

Weichers Sport Bar


Wheels and Tires

Probably 17 inch

[ksing44]

Although some guys do it, I was told that strut braces don’t really do much for our W124s, because we don’t have struts. I was told that since our springs and shocks are separate and the brace simple holds the top of the shock towers, the braces just don’t do very much for the overall rigidity of the suspension. I don’t really know much about suspension tuning, so you certainly shouldn’t weight my opinion very heavily. I am just passing along information that I found when I was doing my own research about tuning my suspension.

Your other choices sound good, except maybe the Bilstein HDs with the H&Rs. As you probably already know, most people recommend the Bilstein Sports if you lower your suspension. The general consensus on these forums is that the H&Rs drop the car more than the Eibach springs, so the HDs might not do as well with the bigger drop. I have the HDs with Eibach springs and I love the combination. I ended up with only a 1-inch drop, after playing with the spring pads and installing the KMAC bushings, and I think the Bilstein HDs are fine for such a minimal drop. In addition, I think the HDs may actually help support the car, along with the springs, and that added support seems to keep the springs in the more comfortable portion of the progressive spring rate. This is true when just cruising, but the stiffer component of the progressive spring rate takes over when the car is pushed hard into a turn. I am just saying that I like my set-up with the Bilstein HDs and the Eibachs, but the HDs might not work as well with the H&Rs.

I want the big swaybars too, but my wife stopped working to take care of our son and we are still adjusting to the reduced cash flow. My wife already agreed to let me get the bars. She knows how much I love my car. I just have to budget our expenses and wait until I have a little extra cash to get those great big OEM bars. Yahoo, I can’t wait to get those bars.

I am also dying to fit 225/50/16 tires on my AMG 16" x 7.5" ET37 wheels, but I am still afraid that the wider tires will rub on the lower plastic cladding at the bottom of the front wheel arches. I might go for it in spite of my fears, because I just love big fat tires. I am glad I purchased the 16" wheels, because of the comfort thing. I think tires are more important than the suspension, when it comes to getting a comfortable ride. The 17" wheel and tire combos can’t possibly be as comfortable. It isn’t like you can get wider tires, just because you have the bigger wheels. When it comes to fitting wider tires, you are limited by the space under the fenders, not by the diameter of the wheels.

As for the brakes, my brakes are already amazing. They can bring you to a very quick stop, from very high speed, and the car never drifts out of traveling in a straight line. I have 1995 E320, so maybe my brakes are a little different. I am totally satisfied with my brakes. Maybe I am just a lightweight, when it comes to performance, because I am also totally satisfied with my awesome little straight 6-cylinder engine. I think it is an amazing "little" motor.

This is a panoramic view of my car. (Sorry, I can't help myself)

[lino]

ksing44:

Here is the info on the 2 spring kits:
Eibach Pro-Kit Front 1.2 in Rear 1.2 in
H&R Kit Front 1.3 in Rear 1.3 in

Not much of a difference between those two. The spring pads will make most of the difference I think.

I spoke with an Eibach tech (Blain) and he said that their springs work well with oem struts/struts regarding travel and since the Bilstein HD retain the same travel I think that I will get a better ride. If not, then maybe I will have to get the Bilstein sports. Blain has a 1989 300TE with 1 bump pads up front and 1 bump pads in the rear, front fenders rolled and 18x8.5 rims with 235 40 18 tires.I think he has Eibach and stock struts/shocks. I don't remember.

[omegabenz]

I have a set of 996 carerra front brakes (calipers, rotors, pads, bolts) if you are interested. Email me if you want.

[lino]

Austin, you always have the goods
I'm still reasrching what I want to do and if it does happen that I need the 996 brakes, you will be first to know. I can only Imagine what you have in parts. You seem to have all the quality goods.

Do 996 brakes fit on a W124? Have you tried them on any MB application before?

[2phast]

I should add that the strut tower bar (better known as an chassis stiffening bar) is designed to strengthen the rigidity of the chassis and it does not make any different if the car in question uses shocks or struts. This is a usefull upgrade if your planning on using your car on the track.

See www.2phast.com/190e for info on installing bars and 400E brakes.