W124 E420/400E Overall Best Suspension Upgrade?
 

Greetings,

Been a while; sold my 300E 7 months ago, bought a '04 330i with ZHP package. But, my commute went from 60 miles/day down to 2.2 miles/day, so the depreciation machine had to go!

I happily picked up an excellent 75K-mile E420 Saturday morning in Salt Lake City, and drove it back in one day (885 miles) through blizzards from the Oregon border all the way through Snoqualmie pass to Everett, WA--500 miles on near-bald MXV4 Pluses in snowstorms, over 6-7 passes. Interesting. Not good snow tires! I used to ride bikes at breakneck speeds through those same mountains, and it was nothing as harrowing as this drive....I was praying to my patron saints of car control the whole way--Masten Gregory, Sebastian Loeb, Jean Alesi, and Nuvolari.....

That aside, its amazing to be reminded that the essential competence of these chassis is such that I will likely never miss my 330i, however great a handler it is--and it is! It just feels like a Tonka toy in comparison. It's shocking how cheap these W124s are for the amount of car one gets. Amazes me every time I drive them.

So, the E420 needs to be sharpened a bit. Track-ready suspension doesn't work on the street; one needs something a bit more supple for the real world. I do want firmer, stiffer, flatter cornering, but without turning it into a buckboard. It still needs to be somewhat supple going down the freeway, but I do want it to turn and burn when chasing my BMW club buddies in their 540is and E36 M3s. Well, it'll do that stock, but you know what I mean.

I've been through all the W124 suspension posts here, but can't find a consensus of the best overall compromise. The car will run on 17" X 7.5 AMGs with Goodyear F1 all-seasons.

Choices:

500E struts, Euro E420 Sportline rear dampers ( I think they're actually E320 Sportline parts), 500E swaybars, bushings.

-Or-

Bilstein HDs w. Eibach or H&R springs, 500E swaybars. Which springs' characteristics match the dampers best?

Then, there's the question of camber adjustment; I do not like too much negative camber. For the front, there's http://www.rdmtek.com/index.html , and for the rear, there's K-Mac or Speedybenz. I seem to prefer the all-metal approach of the Speedybenz links, as they cannot easily go out of alignment by turning in their holes. Is this wrong? Do the Kmacs ever lose their alignment by turning in the holes?

Oh yeah--a 500SL 2.66 rear end is going in, too.

Thanks in advance!

Kristian S.

Hmmm... Choices....


On my 300TE, I am running 500E Sway Bars, 17 inch Lorinser RS Wheels, Stock Springs/Stock Bushings, Bilstein HDs up front, SLS in back, and its got an awesome ride, with pretty good handling.

Anyone? Anyone? Consensus? None?

After making sure everything underneath was in top shape, Koni Reds and fat tires. I don't like Bilstein HDs, had 'em on my Golf - too harsh.

That's all.:D

Kristian

I'm biased toward H&R Sports ( about a 1.5" drop ), stock spring pads, and Bilstein HD's with OEM Sportline anti-sway bars.
I use this combo on a M103-12V twin turbo 300CE.

Many feel if you lower you MUST use Bilstein Sports....you really don't.
You might want to look at 500E anti swaybars as you have a V8.

Anti sways make all the difference in the world.

I'm running 18 x 8 ET35 wheels with 225/40-18 Falken FK-452 tires.

Did not need any special camber adjustment and run the stock alignment settings.

No interference, rubbing, scraping, whatever.

Ride quality is better then when I bought the car new in May of 1988.

Handles extremely well and keeps the twin turbo power flat to the ground !!!

Ed A.

Thanks for input, all!

Ed,

I read a pile of prior posts regarding my questions, and came across some photos of an Aston Vantage you used to drive; got green with envy. What a gorgeous car! Thanks for the straight-talkin' advice; it's well taken. It's the set-up I'm going to run--500E bars, Bilsteins, and H&Rs. Nice CE, too!

You find the car is still tolerably supple over the average road imperfections?

Thanks,

Kristian

i'll throw my 2c in ~~~ lurked for the last 6 months on multiple mb forums trying to decide on what suspension set works for the w124

the consensus is h&r springs and bilstein sport shocks, due to their being shorter, compensating for the lower springs ~~~ alot have used the heavy duty with no complaints, but have not read anybody that has used the comfort setting ones with lowering springs ~~~ very few have gone with koni ~~~ some have done the kyb shocks and mixed reviews on those

as for any mods or the first mod, the larger sway bars are the best bang for the buck, and one can notice the difference instantly

another must do are the suspension bushings, the 8 arms on the diff, and cradle bushings to make sure your alignment adjustments hold where one sets them (assuming tie rods, drag link, ball joints, etc are tight)

now comes the springs and shocks, i am going to go with the h&r and bilstein sports, alot more raves than boos ~~~ like to really see what the comfort combo would do though ???

going to push the limit on an aggressive alignment with the stock adjustments ~~~ then go with front and rear camber kits if i feel more potential exists

probably will run a set of kumho ecstas ($250) and if they wear out in 3000 miles (maybe 2 years the mileage i drive) just get another set ~~~ if you have ever driven a car with a super tweaked alignment you just wouldn't care about tire cost

every owner has their style and budget