C43 Suspension pads

[MeanC43]

Hey guys, I want to lower my car, but I am worried about lowering it too much. I dont want to have to roll the fenders, and I want to be able to put 3 other people in the car with me. I was wondering if anybody knew how thick the pads are in the suspension of a 1998 C43? i know they come in 4 sizes and 9mm is the smallest. If anyone has any other suggestions they would be muuch appreciated! Thanks Everyone!!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d36/MeanC43/Picture021.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d36/MeanC43/Picture007.jpg

[SLAMMED_C]

no one can tell you for sure.. you would have to check for yourself to see what shim pads you have.. each car may vary on pad.. depending on what options the car has and what not..
but even if you have #4 pads in thre.. the most your car will drop is like 1/2" by going to #1's.
the best thing to do is to get a set of lowering springs with a minimal drop and fine tune it with the shim pads...

[undercover]

lower it on some VOGTLANDS or H&R's they both go the same height and have the same design but different brand name and coloured spring hahahaha :D it will give you a 55mm drop on the rare and 58 on the front depending how heavy your engine is..i suggest to leave the back pads out of the rare and leave the front ones in the front..your rolling on 18" ae?

[MeanC43]

Their 19"s, are the H&R springs much stiffer? Bilstien? The front needs to be lowered more than the rear also.

[undercover]

Originally posted by MeanC43
Their 19"s, are the H&R springs much stiffer? Bilstien? The front needs to be lowered more than the rear also.

ohhh must be the photo..lol looks like 18s lol..algd..umm well i'd go for VOGTLANDS or H&R cos they'll give you the nice laggit height your looking for ae, when you lower the car and either you DIY it or get someone do to it for you get them to take the pads out and the car goes lower then..it'll be pretty much sacked on 19's it'll look mean! honestly! i will!! :) your rims would come up to the gaurds and probly have enough clearance onthe front to turn!! just depends on you weight at the front on your car..do you know what # pads are in the front?

[MeanC43]

Dont know the # pads.... the thing is I am worried that I will have rubbing issues. Ive already had to take out the front portion of the wheel wells in the front to allow room to crank the wheel. If I lower it too much it could rub the front bumper when driving and possible rip it off! Ouuch!! So hopefully I will have a fairly large pad # in the front so I can size down on that. Can I take it to a shop and have them tell me what size I have? And do most shops stock new pads, or should I order them from a Dealer?

[undercover]

Originally posted by MeanC43
Dont know the # pads.... the thing is I am worried that I will have rubbing issues. Ive already had to take out the front portion of the wheel wells in the front to allow room to crank the wheel. If I lower it too much it could rub the front bumper when driving and possible rip it off! Ouuch!! So hopefully I will have a fairly large pad # in the front so I can size down on that. Can I take it to a shop and have them tell me what size I have? And do most shops stock new pads, or should I order them from a Dealer?

the shops dont stock pads cos of our type of car you'll have to get them from a MB dealer. and it'll MOST likely cost you to get the pads checked.

decided on the type of spring you want and roll on through to the garage thats doing your install and tell them when they pulled out the springs tell them you want to look at what size pads you have.
if they are quite thick at the front it means you got quite a heavey engine. and you should ( i recommend) leave them in when they put the new springs in and take the rare ones out your 202 will look level'd as tthe front will always be lower anyways. so it all depends on wheather you wana sack it out or leave it to a reasonable height.

if you scared your bumpers gona fall off, or rip off..get the original stock rims onto the car and the lower the car and then put on the rims yourself..when you have finished the install cos that way you wont have to worry about your front bumper falling off...but thats quite rare to happen..what size tyres are ur 19's rapped in?

[Metromoto202]

There are five different spring pads... the lowest is 5mm, 9mm, 13mm, 17mm, 21mm. They all vary by 4mm each, if you couldn't tell. Thats for as of MY97.

[MeanC43]

235/35/19 front and 245/35/19 rear

[undercover]

Originally posted by MeanC43
235/35/19 front and 245/35/19 rear

ooo that pretty wide tires man..err.. i think you might have to roll your gaurds..might..not to sure..it might clear..but i reckon just leave the front pads in at the front and the rare out..your car will still look slammed!

[The LO C]

I say you just don't mess with the pads and just the springs and put them in now the way it is.

I can help you do it, it's not hard.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/trefiveincognito/C43/c43dawg004.jpg

[MeanC43]

Thanks, Hey Lo C .... Did u have to modify anything on your car to fit those Carlssons? Looks like it would rub for sure when you turned the front wheels. Does it hit the wheel well in front of the wheels? Also can you put people in the back seat without rubbing when you hit bumps? So Installing springs isnt that difficult? Do you need a spring compressor? Thats awesome of you to offer to help me !

[The LO C]

The wheels don't rub except on giant bumps with people in the rear. But keep in mind that I am running a +40mm offset and 225/35/19's front and rear. I shouldn't say it's easy, but between my C43 and my brother's C230 (OC Klasse), I've done it enough times to know what I'm doing. I haven't needed a spring compressor yet...but I guess it depends on the drop (shortness of the spring).

[undercover]

yeah..LO C has gona straight to the point.. :D hehe just tryna help out! thanks for making it more clear bro! hahahah :D:D:D loving your ride too..mmm nice!

[jnolte]

whats your offset? whats your wheel width? i betcha its gunna rub, that wheel sticks out like a mexican lowrider

[MeanC43]

I think you were lookin at a picture on my cardomain that was taken from a wierd angle ... they dont stick out...... Their 8.5" in the front and 9.5" in rear..... 35 offset for both
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d36/MeanC43/Picture062.jpg

[SLAMMED_C]

Originally posted by MeanC43
I think you were lookin at a picture on my cardomain that was taken from a wierd angle ... they dont stick out...... Their 8.5" in the front and 9.5" in rear..... 35 offset for both
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d36/MeanC43/Picture062.jpg

What trunk lip spoiler is that?

[jnolte]

Originally posted by SLAMMED_C
What trunk lip spoiler is that?

looks like the M3 one on ebay...


well if they are et 35. you can slam your car, get some H&Rs and do her good. thats the same setup I have on my car.

H&R springs
1998 C43 19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear
35 et

225/30/19 front and 265/35/19 rear

[polar202]

I think the best is h&r Springs which lowerd the car -35mm
and them in front the lowerst spring pads and in the back the
2nd lowerst.
That a good style for driving every day, and its not to low.

greetings,

mike:)