I am willing to bet that a decent aftermarket shock will make a big difference when used with the lowering springs, since they will be firmer. Maybe one of the more experienced shops in Miami can recommend shocks. It's just more money.
IMHO, I am not surprised by the degraded results with lowering springs and stock shocks. After driving my stock (steel springs) ML for 11K+ miles fairly hard, I've noticed the following. Lots of suspension travel, soft on large bumps, some low speed harshness, no bottoming on big bumps taken at speed. Yeah the large fender gap is like an SUV and yeah the suspension feels soft at speed. But the control at speed on bad roads is very good and the cornering power is good for an SUV (I have OEM-sized 255/50/19 tires). I am reluctant to mess with this well-engineered suspension.
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Well after about three weeks and 600 miles on the H&R springs, I finally decided to go back to the stock ones. The final straw was the day I got car sick from driving my OWN car. Driving surface streets wasn't all that bad. There was the occasional harsh bump, but generally speaking I got used to the firmer ride. The problem was driving on the freeway. At high speeds the excess bounce from the suspension would get magnified. With the freeways in LA being in as sorry a state as they are, the thought of enduring another few years (I'm on a lease) with that ride was just too much. I had the H&Rs replaced with the old stock springs last week. MB-SV, I probably could've found a set of shocks to match but I didn't want to throw more money into a car that I didn't own. Incidentally, the front wheel gap is actually about 1.5" higher than it was pre-lowering. Anybody have an idea why?
Incidentally, the front wheel gap is actually about 1.5" higher than it was pre-lowering. Anybody have an idea why?
Yes, maybe the front springs were in back and the back springs were in front. Sounds lame, but it's possible, I've seen Wheelworks here make that mistake.
Oh and thanks for the good feedback. I've concluded that the ML is a poor candidate for lowering springs, especially when used with stock shocks.
this post has kept me from experimenting and buying the lowering springs that are out there ...... but i soooooooooooooooo hate the wheel well gap. has anyone shelled out the 3k for the entire brabus lowering set up? are they happy with it? what about the guy that paired the eibach springs with the bilestin b6 shocks -- is he happy with it?
what about oversized tires? has anyone tried that -- am i the only one that really and truly hates the "underwheeled" look and wheel well gap. it's pathetic that the mercedes designers can't see how proportionally it looks odd.
Yep, I've learned to live with the fender gap, since this is an SUV with decent ground clearance and 4wd. I did not like the "underwheeled" look of 2006 w/17's, so I upgraded to 19" wheels, which is the standard wheel size for the 2008 ML's.
Try a search on the Brabus springs, I think it's been done by another poster.
I already have the eibach springs installed and for now it´s fine, any way, it looks like that you can lower the car a little without changing the springs, the rubber that sets the springs, for the Canadian(and I guess for all north american) market, are bigger than the european ones, because they are 2 or 3 instead of one in europe. You can take one of that parts out and the car will be lowered a bit. Instead of a big block of rubber they´re 2 or 3 pluged on each other to make a biger space, if you take one of it, it will be smaller and wil lower the car.
I already have the eibach springs installed and for now it´s fine, any way, it looks like that you can lower the car a little without changing the springs, the rubber that sets the springs, for the Canadian(and I guess for all north american) market, are bigger than the european ones, because they are 2 or 3 instead of one in europe. You can take one of that parts out and the car will be lowered a bit. Instead of a big block of rubber they´re 2 or 3 pluged on each other to make a biger space, if you take one of it, it will be smaller and wil lower the car.
Location: Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada
Posts: 284
Quote:
Originally Posted by philport
I already have the eibach springs installed and for now it´s fine, any way, it looks like that you can lower the car a little without changing the springs, the rubber that sets the springs, for the Canadian(and I guess for all north american) market, are bigger than the european ones, because they are 2 or 3 instead of one in europe. You can take one of that parts out and the car will be lowered a bit. Instead of a big block of rubber they´re 2 or 3 pluged on each other to make a biger space, if you take one of it, it will be smaller and wil lower the car.
I'm guessing that's due to the different bumper height standards in diff countries.
At $3K for the Brabus set of shocks/springs, I'd rather just order the Airmatic suspension (assuming this thought is pre-purchase of the car!) and be said and done. That's what I did with mine, as I wasn't happy with the stock ride height either. Then I had it lowered a tad
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