Suggestions please, What is the go to redily available front and rear springs?

[Stevester 500E]

I want to upgrade my front and rear suspension.
I just bought new accumulators and I think I might also want to upgrade my rear suspension.
I also want to upgrade my front suspension.

I will upgrading to 18 inch after market monoblocks knock offs.
Any suggestions, not wildly expensive or dreamy (E60, or custom)

 

[szvook]

Why not just keep the factory springs or do you want to lower the car? Better struts might be a quick and relatively inexpensive upgrade over factory, I'm quite pleased with the Bilstein Sports I'm running now, very noticeable difference over factory struts.

 

[gsxr]

There really isn't much available that works well. E60 springs would be the best, but they're insanely expensive. I am not a fan of H&R's, my 92 came with them, and I ended up going back to stock springs and selling the H&R's.

Bottom line, I would not waste the money on springs, especially if you intend to sell the car. It won't increase the value at all and might even hurt it. You can install thinner spring pads if you want the car slightly lower, but you'll need to adjust the rear SLS as well.

 

[szvook]

Dave, what about the Limited springs, or are those only the front springs?

 

[jhodg5ck]

I like H&R's, Sporting/Firm but not obscene.

Coupled w/ a bilstein sports, proper wheels/tyres and you have a 36 that will Surprise people through the corners!

jono

 

[JordiC]

Dave, what about the Limited springs, or are those only the front springs?

AFAIK, Only the rear limited springs are available. $91 each at parts.com. The LTD's are approximately 1/4" shorter in length.

 

[sheward]

I like H&R's, Sporting/Firm but not obscene.

Coupled w/ a bilstein sports, proper wheels/tyres and you have a 36 that will Surprise people through the corners!

jono

I have this setup installed with Michelin Pilots and could only be happier if the car was slightly higher. So when I get around to installing my Wilwood brakes I'll go from 3 nub to 4 nub pads in front and see if that satisfies.

Stevester, I have a set of SL 2pc reps listed for sale if you're interested.

drew

 

[gsxr]

AFAIK, Only the rear limited springs are available. $91 each at parts.com. The LTD's are approximately 1/4" shorter in length.

Correct. The Limited springs are rear only, and will drop the rear slightly, which is perfect IMO. I have both my 500's set up like this.

I have this setup installed with Michelin Pilots and could only be happier if the car was slightly higher.

Exactly. That was the problem I had. With H&R's, I used 4-pt front pads and it was still too low, and even with the rear as low as possible (1-pt and SLS tweaked), it was still uneven (front lower than the rear). IMO, H&R screwed up, and made the front springs too short. I know, I know, they may work great for handling, but I was just not impressed with them.


Funny thing is, the H&R front springs are only 0.15mm larger wire diameter... while the H&R rear springs are 0.50mm smaller wire diameter!

 

[szvook]

So are there Limited front springs to match the rears, or are the Limited models running mixed springs?

 

[gsxr]

There are no Limited front springs, period.

I think MB finally figured out that the 500E always had a minor "stinkbug" stance, where the rear was just a smidge too high. So for the Limited, for whatever reason, they lowered the rear just a tad via shorter springs. You could get the same result by cutting approx 1/4 coil off your stock rear springs.

 

[Stevester 500E]

gsxr. So you have Limited in the rear and stock in the front?
And do you still have the rear at 1-pt and SLS tweaked?

 

[gsxr]

gsxr. So you have Limited in the rear and stock in the front?
And do you still have the rear at 1-pt and SLS tweaked?

Yes and yes! (Actually I might have 2-pt pad in the rear... need to check my notes.)

 

[IBNR]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but can someone point me to the part numbers for the OE springs including the Limited rear springs mentioned here?

My car is a '94 E500 and it was lowered at some point in its life. Don't know if that was done by installing aftermarket springs or cutting down the originals, but in any event the whole car is about an inch lower than stock. Looks great, but a pain in the ass going over curbs, etc. I'd like to return the car to stock ride height (though the *slightly* lower Limited rear springs might be nice).

Thanks!