[My04230k]

Hello All.

I finally got time to intall my Eibach's. I was thinking it would look a bit lower than it did, but I am very happy with the look.
I can't wait to put my 18's on!! I used eibach part number 2563.140 . I am extremely happy with the way it feels. There is a huge difference in handling compared to the OEM springs. These springs have virtually no sway at all. The ride is a lot stiffer, so I feel more of the bumps but this is another one of those upgrades that I am very glad i did.
I also installed clear corner lights and added a pic of those.
Thanks to MJ50, ( sorry it took so long, ) I have included a pic of my lorinser shift knob.

Let me know what you guys think[8D]

 

[BrabusNYC]

Are you sure these arn't pics before you installed the springs because it dosnt look like the car is lowered at all. I would be pissed if I spent all that money and my car didnt drop. Here is an idea of what an 03-04 should look like with springs (H&R)

 

[My04230k]

Am I sure What?? 4.5 hours of labor,,I'm sure..

I actually felt like It should be a tad lower but, after I realized just how high it was before, I said Cool I'm happy. Eibach say's I shoud have 1.4 and 1.6" drop. I have just about exactly that much. I had to do a triple take, because it didn't look lower at all when I did the back, and you're right I was getting PISSED. Then I did the fronts and the whole car just settled there.
There is a 240 in my hood that was the same height as mine was before and sitting next to it, it's way different. I hated being able to see that strut through my wheel well. Now it's nicely tucked away.

Did you change your rubber cups? Just wondering because I used the one's that came with the car. I know MB used different sizes to vary ride height, but I don't know how they decided which size goes on what car .I'll explore that if I can get another inch, otherwise, I'll be good. Here are a couple of before pics. You can see how high my car was before.

 

[eerola]

Sure that is lower. And to be honest with you, I think the Eibach lowering looks a bit nicer than the H&R one. H&R makes the car a bit too low. IMHO. If you want to fine-tune the stance, you can do so by changing the rubbers.

 

[My04230k]

I agree eerola.

I prefer that look, or maybe somewhere in between. I went with Eibach instead of H&R because all of the cars i saw with Eibach's had a more classy stance to me. I don't really like my rear wheel that far in like the H&R, but that's what you have to go with if you want to close the front gap so much. I think my car now looks very close to the 05' SS's stock look. This is what I wanted in the first place. The bonus being the performance.
I know one thing, either way, there is a big big difference in my handling. I can really tell that I have different springs...

 

[Buellwinkle]

Doesn't look lowered to me either. What's the height of the top of the wheel arch to the ground? C230 SS is already 1" lower than a C240 so 1" lowering springs for a C240/C320 will not lower it any.

 

[My04230k]

Buellwinkle - 2/1/2005 10:04 AM

Doesn't look lowered to me either. What's the height of the top of the wheel arch to the ground? C230 SS is already 1" lower than a C240 so 1" lowering springs for a C240/C320 will not lower it any.

That's not exactly true.. Only the C230SS that came out after Jan or Feb 2004 were lowered. These cars had the drilled rotors and staggered wheels. My car was a sept 03 issue so It was the same height as the 240/320's.And with the 1.8 engine being lighter, sit's a mile off the ground.
This is why I put both photo's. You can't see how far it came down from that?
My "New look" is just a tad lower than the stock 04.5 and 05 SS's. As i said before this is what i was going for in the first place.
It might not be as low as others, but It is certainly much lower than it was. Now I have a nice even1.5 inch wheel gap. Before it was almos 3 inches....[:0]

 

[nasdakboy]

got any before pics? doesn't look lower to me either

 

[My04230k]

nasdakboy - 2/1/2005 6:17 PM
Look up 5 posts. I already posted before pics..
got any before pics? doesn't look lower to me either

 

[eerola]

Here are my reference photos. The car is my previous C320.

Stock:
http://www.iki.fi/eerola/temp/c320.jpg

With Eibach ProKit:
http://www.iki.fi/eerola/temp/c320eibach.jpg

With Eibach ProKit and 18" Lorinsers:
http://www.iki.fi/eerola/auto/MBC320-4.html

 

[eerola]

I've been praising the Eibachs so much that I need to confess something...

I sold my 2001 C320 sedan before Christmas and bought a precisely similar 2002 C320T. The wagon has been waiting for a new suspension kit ever since.

Now the plan is to finally go from http://eerola.home.comcast.net/auto/MBC320T-3.jpg to http://eerola.home.comcast.net/temp/C320T.jpg.

The American Lorinser representative was not interested in talking to me in phone (or was the reason really the phone line, several times - I do not know). The lowest Eibach Pro Kit price was surprisingly hight compared to the best H&R Sport set offer. And the H&R dealer was most interested in talking to me in the phone. Because of these, I ended up in ordering H&R parts for my wagon.

It is interesting to compare the Eibach kit and H&R kit in an very similar car... I hope that the H&R ride will not be too rocky. We'll see it soon.

 

[AhlaEmad]

hey guys whats up
i have a question for u guys i have a c240 2003 and i just bought the h&r lowering kit and im gana put it but do u think if i cut one of the dead coil its gana be a problem so if u guys have some pic for the car that u just lowered to take a look at plz

 

[BrabusNYC]

You can cut half a coil in the front and not have any problems. I do not reccomend cutting a full coil and leave the back alone just change the pads to the lowest ones.

 

[My04230k]

with 17's and Eibach's in the front I still have about a two inch or so wheel gap Do you think cutting half a coil will give me any more drop? I am after about a 24.5 wheel height in the front. Right now I have 25.75.
Is the spring material easy to cut like with a Hacksaw?
I am going to 5mm pads in the rear. tight now I have the 9mm's

 

[C38BENZ]

I can tell its slightly lowered...don't want it too low or you might rub.

Congrats...looks cool [8D]

 

[Storm]

The Eibach drop is great for everyday driving,... and is not very photogenic. I know, I have them on my E280. No rubbing, no scraping,... just a smooth ride.

 

[eerola]

eerola - 2/2/2005 9:42 PM

...I ended up in ordering H&R parts for my wagon.

It is interesting to compare the Eibach kit and H&R kit in an very similar car... I hope that the H&R ride will not be too rocky. We'll see it soon.

Ok. Now I (finally) found the time to do the install. Here is my opinnion after trying both Eibach and H&R:

-Both give ok ride comfort. H&R Sport is a bit sportier (harder) than the Eibach Pro Kit.
-H&R drops more, in my opinnion a little bit too much in the rear. Both my cars had #4 rubbers. The stance after Eibachs was nicer. I would recommend having a step higher rubbers with the H&R kit. Unfortunately, I did not have any extra shims in my pockets on Saturday evening
-First impression is that H&R gives perhaps a bit direct "connection" to the road.
-If you have a S203, H&R kit, and 8.5/ 18 ET 38 wheels with 235 tires, you will need to dremel the rear bumper corner in the real wheel well. This was not needed with W203 and Eibachs.

Summary: Both are perfectly ok. My next car (not in a short term plan) will probably get the Eibach Pro Kit.

 

[eerola]

eerola - 4/10/2005 12:04 PM

...I (finally) found the time to do the install...

Here are some photos of the car after the H&R install: http://www.iki.fi/eerola/auto/MBC320T-1.html

 

[WaveyKat]

so eibach it is i will buy some soon

 

[Arn560]

Now that's what I call lowered!