I really want the Sportline suspension upgrade.

93 300E

As of this weekend, I went ahead and purchased a set of new AMG 18's with 225 45 Yoko tires. Two days later, went to Sams club and purchsed 15 cases of soda for the 4th of July weekend. The weight of the sodas really LOWERED the rear of the vehicle. Upon driving home, I had notice that the rear was really rubbing when ecountering small lumps in the roadway. Upon many hours of thinking, I can only come to one conclusion. The OEM struts are wearing out. The car has got 120,000 mile and it is time to replace them because they are not performing at 100% capacity, at least that is what i think...

My questions Are: and i really would appreciate any input or experience.



1. How much will the Sportline kit lower my 93 300e? I have heard .5 inches and 2 inches.

2. Can I just installed all of the Sportline parts with out installing the sportline springs in order to retain the stock height and avoid rubbing?

3. If i install all the parts including the springs, will the Sportline suspension be STIFF enough so that loading the car with lots of sodas will NOT lower the vehicle as much as the stock soft oem springs and struts?

Here's my two cents worth.

1) The amount your 300E will be lowered will vary. It has a lot to do with how much shorter the springs you buy are and the thickness of the spring pad used. I have an AMG lowering kit on my 300E. The kit lowered my car approx. 1 1/2 inches front and rear. I still have stock size wheels and tires.

2) A good set of Bilstein sport shocks MAY stiffen the suspension enough so that the suspension travel will be significantly less therefore preventing tire rubbing.

3) Depending on the clearance you have between the fender and the tire will dictate if this would work. Given the fact that you do have 18" rims tire rubbing is a high probability.

BTW, for what its worth MB shocks and struts can and do last well over 100K miles.
HTH

The Mercedes Benz Sportline suspension dropped the height of my car about 3/4" to 1".

The conditions you describe are pretty extreme. 15 cases of soda comes to about 300 pounds hanging out behind your rear wheels - I am not surprised that your car was rubbing on the tires, especially with 18" rims. You didn't mention rim width or wheel offset, which will also have effects on rubbing. Those are some fat tires, if they are on 8" rims you may need your fenders rolled. They are nearly 1" larger in diameter than your stock size tires, and already have cut down the fender clearance by 1/2", besides introducing ~4% speedometer error.

I personally would not install the Sportline kit with only the stock springs, as it was designed as a package, and I don't know what the results would be with stock springs.

The Sportline parts are somewhat stiffer. MB designed a package that would preserve ride comfort and vehicle utility while improving handling. My opinion is the existing wheel and tire size are going to have much more effect on rubbing while loaded than will the new suspension bits.

I would go for the Sportline, verify the proper size tires for your application ( http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html ), roll the fenders as needed, and avoid carrying things like short block Chevy engines in the trunk! ;)

Regards,

[Edited by JCE on 07-06-2001 at 12:34 AM]