E420 suspension upgrade

[744Brillantsilber]

Hey guys,
after driving an E500 Ltd. (with the 8.25x17 Evo wheels) not long ago I am really tempted to upgrade my stock E420 suspension!

So far I came across the following solutions (all street legal in German):
keeping it stock, and maybe use some thinner rubber pads
E420 sportline shocks and springs
E420 sportline shocks and springs together with E420 sportline/E500 sway bars (or replicas)
H&R springs (lowering the car about 35mm depending on the used rubbers) together with fitting shocks and maybe E500 sway bars
A KW suspension kit fitting for the W124, maybe together with E500 sway bars. Rumours are that there is one in the making, but no details so far.

I know the bigger wheels play a big part too.
I really like the current 7x16 with 215/55R16!
But the car had 7,5x17 (no ET given, called "MB alloy wheel", probably AMGs with ET42 or 35) with 245/45R17 and even BBS 8,5x17 ET32 with 235/40R17 fitted long time ago and still entered in the papers...

So everything up to 7,5x17 (Et about 35-42) in the front and 8,5x17 (ET in the low 30s) in the rear should be fine to enter in the papers
If I decide to change the wheels too, some lightweigt wheels would be nice to have!

I want to keep the car looking stock or at least period correct! I don´t want it to be a lot lower or harder (not lower and harder than the E500 Ltd) and I am not a fan of huge and blingy wheels too.

What experiences do you have and what do you recommend me for my situation? If you know other good solutions (street legal in Germany), please let me know!

Would you recommend an E60 front sway bar together with a E500 rear bar on a sportline or upgraded E420 suspension, or E500 bars only?

Every opinion and help is highly appreciated!

 

[Gatorblue92]

Can comment on the legality of my setup in Germany but I’ve got H&R springs with Bilstein B8 struts on my 95 E420 and I think it rides like it’s on rails. I’m using the stock 400E420 sway bars and I’m pleased with how it handles and drives. For wheels I used the 17” staggered AMG wheels from a W202 and they fit nicely and look fantastic but I wouldn’t call them lightweight.

 

[gsxr]

The full Sportline kit would be the preferred option. The E60 sway bar is NLA but you might find replicas, or just use the standard Sportline bar (500E front). Rear Sportline bar (500E) is NLA too. If you want it to "look" right, it may take a lot of trial & error with different spring pads, and/or rear springs, as there are 3 different Sportline rear springs available. The problem with H&R is they have 1 set, and if you can't adjust to your liking via rubber shims, you're stuck.

@a777fan, aren't you doing this same upgrade? Howz it going?

 

[northNH]

Shortly after finding a 420 worth spending some real $$ on, I went this route after lots of reading here and sucking Dave’s brain dry:

Sportline springs front and rear with the thinnest pads:
Sportline shocks front (i.e. 500E) and (420-specific non-SLS) rear;
Sportline (i.e. 500E) F&R ASBs with stiffer wagon metal links for the rear;
7.5 x 16 ET40 8-hole wheels with 3mm spacers and 215/55 Michelins.

Me, Dave, and the car, we did good.

 

[744Brillantsilber]

Thanks for the answers!

@Gatorblue92: If I would go by the look, your setup would win for sure! But after re-reading your Owners-thread I feel like the H&R is way too deep for my liking/driving, especially after seeing the car with level 3 pads installed in the rear. But I can not say it often enough: I love how your car looks now (color, interior, suspension, wheels...)

@gsxr and @northNH: Sportline looks like a good way to go for now!

@northNH: Your car looks really good too!
Did you use the same spring pads as before when making the picture?
How does the Sportline suspension compare to the stock E420 setup before? Is it that much stiffer, how did the cornering change...?

I do not see a problem in getting sway bars. H&R wrote me that they are into reproducing the E500 front and rear bars and will have them available in a few months! But so far they did not answer about if they do E60 front bars too.

Every additional opinion is more than welcome! @a777fan, how is your suspension swap doing?

 

[gsxr]

H&R wrote me that they are into reproducing the E500 front and rear bars and will have them available in a few months! But so far they did not answer about if they do E60 front bars too.

SWEET! It would be nice if they would offer the E60 bar instead of the standard 500E front bar... they'd sell a lot more of a 30mm front, than a 28mm. 036 owners would snap up 30mm bars. If they only offer 28mm bars, only 034 owners would buy them.

If they don't have the flat spot on the H&R rear sway bar, that's going to be a real pain for cars with SLS. The flat spot locates the SLS bracket, without it, you have a lot of trial & error experimenting. Guess we'll see what they end up offering, if anything...

 

[a777fan]

Excellent stuff.

I have collected all parts for the full sportline swap, but I am waiting on the refinishing to be complete on the 16” 8-holes I have sourced. Looking forward to a more connected ride and a more aggressive look!

 

[kegmankipp]

I did a full Sportline swap about 8 years ago and love it. Many thanks to Dave and Kwontumspeed for their guidance.

While you’re at it do all the Sportline links, arms, lcas, subframe bushings etc. I’m sure I forgot something at the moment.

Definitely the 500e sways. Tough to find now but you must have a matched pair of front and rear sway bars whatever you do. If you just add the 500 front bar with stock rear bar it handles like a nightmare.

I ended up on the lowest side with one bump pads up front and two bump pads in the rear and she sits just right.

I’d also recommend the AMG fender spacer kit for the front. With that installed I’ve had zero rubbing at any speed with either the flyweight CLK 16x7 et37 wheels or the early AMG 16x7.5 ef40 Monoblocks.

I had a set of AMG Monoblocks 2’s in 17x7.5 et37 for a while but the car felt like it was trying to walk in ski boots so I sold them and went back to the 16” monoblocks.

Lots of great docs on Dave’s w124performance site.

 

[Gatorblue92]

Thanks for the answers!

@Gatorblue92: If I would go by the look, your setup would win for sure! But after re-reading your Owners-thread I feel like the H&R is way too deep for my liking/driving, especially after seeing the car with level 3 pads installed in the rear. But I can not say it often enough: I love how your car looks now (color, interior, suspension, wheels...)

@gsxr and @northNH: Sportline looks like a good way to go for now!

@northNH: Your car looks really good too!
Did you use the same spring pads as before when making the picture?
How does the Sportline suspension compare to the stock E420 setup before? Is it that much stiffer, how did the cornering change...?

I do not see a problem in getting sway bars. H&R wrote me that they are into reproducing the E500 front and rear bars and will have them available in a few months! But so far they did not answer about if they do E60 front bars too.

Every additional opinion is more than welcome! @a777fan, how is your suspension swap doing?

Yeah I wasn't happy at first since it seemed a bit lower than I was expecting but since its been a few months the suspension seems to have settled nicely and is perfectly even albeit a bit lower than I was hoping it would be. Putting some new tires on also really helped improve the ride and I would describe it as firm but not harsh at all. I can definitely say its not for everyone but I absolutely love how it looks and rides now.

 

[744Brillantsilber]

@gsxr: H&R wrote me that they are currently measuring out original MB bars to reproduce them.
I guess they make them with the notch. No sense in making them without...
Hopefully they do the E60 bar too, that would be awesome! I keep you updated

@a777fan: I am looking foreward to see your setup! Sounds great

@kegmankipp: Thanks a lot man! Sure, eighter do all the rubber parts... together with it or leave the whole suspension alone!
Sway bars only in pair of course!
Your description of the AMG wheels is very interesting.
The 2nd owner added the AMG-spacers together with rolled fender edges. So far I am not sure if I will do that again on the new fenders
Agree 100% about the w124 performance website

 

[kegmankipp]

@kegmankipp: Thanks a lot man! Sure, eighter do all the rubber parts... together with it or leave the whole suspension alone!
Sway bars only in pair of course!
Your description of the AMG wheels is very interesting.
The 2nd owner added the AMG-spacers together with rolled fender edges. So far I am not sure if I will do that again on the new fenders
Agree 100% about the w124 performance website

If you look at all the AMG wheel install docs on w124Performance almost all of the wheels need the AMG spacers and most need to be rolled too.

It is definitely worth the effort for the full suspension upgrade. This is the second time I’ve done it. I did it first on a 95 wagon with great results.

Handling is better on the sedan though with a great balance of comfort and performance. It still has that smooth as silk Mercedes ride with 16”s but handles like a MF when needed. It is also noticeably better than my 2016 E350 Sport wagon