I've been searching around for a set of coilovers that are ride height adjustable on the car. I like the KW's but don't like the fact that you have to take them off to adjust the ride height. I found the KSport and D2 coilovers but can't say I know much about them. Then the other day I ran across the Bilstein PSS9 for Mercedes and need opinions. Will they fit? It looks like they do. Is the weight difference between the Crossfire and MB enough to negate these as an option? I have a high opinion of Bilstein and they have what I'm looking for. On the car ride height adjustability and damper and rebound adjustability. Informed and uninformed opinions welcome.
The car is used 50/50 for racing and cruising. Not my daily driver. It's my show off and thrill car that I'm racing whenever possible. 1/4 mile and solo 1.

Les

http://www.bilstein.com/mistore/prod...pany_id=100484

 

The 170 SLK and the SRT-6 share the same suspension. If you find an application for a 98-04 SLK, it will fit the SRT-6.

 

Then I'm out of luck. They make it for the 32AMG 2002-2004 and various others but not the 170 SLK.

Les

 

The KWs supposedly have to have something modified in the rear for clearance. Thats what the directions say. I would lean towards thoughs if nothing had to be permanently modded. I dont want to cut/drill into the SRT-6, im fine with unbolting things, but a car that is so few I think its in my best interest not to start cutting.

The Ksport and D2s ARE the same. Some say D2 is good stuff, Ive heard the same about Ksport too. However Ive heard people differ on Ksports. Some say they are cheap, they all dont dyno the same. Ive had a set of Ksports, they looked nice, but I dunno.

I guess if I didnt care if they were cheap, id go D2, but I wouldnt exect them to be all that great. Cheap coilivers.

KW makes good stuff and would gladly pay twice over D2/Ksport if it was a direct bolt in.

Until then I have a set of Konis sitting in the trunk just waiting.

 

They should work... 170 slk is 98-04... I was off a few years.

 

they will work on the SRT6 for sure, but be ready for a NASTY-rough ride. i had a KW variant coilover setup on my jaguar. handled like a go-cart, and felt like riding the rockies. very very uncomfortable, but functional.

the weirdest thing about this car is that when i lowered it with H&R springs and put in the Koni adjustable shocks, the ride got BETTER than stock!!!! i've NEVER had that happen with a car i've owned!

if you know your way around cars, the KW's will still take you quite a bit of time fabbing to make them fit right, but they will fit.

 

Hi Les,

I've been following your exploits for a while, quite inspirational. If you are going coils overs just be prepared for a much (did I say MUCH?) harsher ride. I have had coil overs in the past on other cars and while they "can" exponentially improve handling performance; that performance usually comes at the cost of "normal" drivability on the street.

I say "can" because you still have to set the car up correctly for how and where you are driving. Maybe your best bet is to talk to Jane Bridges since she just did coil overs on her race SRT 6 and has the stock SRT 6 for direct comparison. I know in her recent posts she does mention the on road drivability.

My current Roadster is lowered with HR springs and Konis. Excellent handling and is very drivable on these Midwest roads; but then again I am not racing on the track. Best part is there is no cutting (except for holes for the rear shock adjustment ***** on the wheel well interior covers). I cut a vehicle once to do suspension mods and was very sorry that I did and will never do it again.

What ever you do TAKE Pictures! We can never see too many mods, especially racing mods or of the paradise that you live in (I got 3 more frigging inches of snow last night). Stay safe...


Respectfully,


Paul (MisterTaz)

 

The main reason I'm looking at the Bilstein is the adjustability. I want something that will ride acceptable on the street. The roads in P.R. are mostly horrible. The entrances and exits to parking lots or driveways all have sharp angles or deep crevices. I need to have the car close to stock height to get to the track and then lower it once it get there. I still need to do some intell on the Bilstein. If it wont work for me I'll do what most do. Lowering springs and good shocks and leave it at that.

Les

 

I couldn't find anything except the shocks in the USA so I went looking in Europe and they list 3 Bilstein coilover products for the Crossfire. B-12 which is non adjustable. B-14 which is height adjustable and B-16 which is height and rebound adjustable. They claim to be tuned and tested at Nuremburg and be vehicle specific. Sounds promising.

Les

 

well Les, then the koni adjustables with either H&R or eibach will work. very nice ride. i say better than stock. at least in my case. the koni's are quite easily adjusted, and can suit just about any ride needed. the car will still not handle as well as many sports cars out there, but it is improved, and can be adjusted to be quite 'cushy.' even TOO CUSHY if you set it too soft. (it will feel like the backseat of your grandmas buick that you got seasick in as a child!!!!!)

 

well are you plan on tracking your car like on a race track or autox or just drags? I think for drags it won't make much of a difference long it as damper adjustment.

If you plan on tracking you car a lot, i would go with blesteins or a konic shock and spring combo.

I have d2's on my c32 and i'm pretty happy with them. I go canyon carving but i dont drag or track the car. I'm pretty happy with there performance, all the understeer is gone. They actually oversteer slightly at the limit which i like.

here's my review on my d2's

http://www.mbworld.org/forums/c32-am...er-review.html


Also on a side note...all d2's, ksports and apexi's are made by apexi in taiwan. Differences is the spring rates. D2's have softer spring rates and the ksports are stiff. I would opt for thd d2's for a daily driver.

 

Thanks for the reply and link. It's really helpful. My emphasis is solo 1 or autocross. I do enjoy going to the drags every week but what really trips my trigger and gets my competitive juices flowing is a road circuit. I will almost certainly be staying a weekend warrior however, and I am soul searching as well as investigating the options out there. You know, do I really need a professional system to begin with? If I have height adjustability will I actually adjust the height? Will I take the time to experiment with the rebound? My fear is buying a static setup that I end up hating, be it lowering springs and shocks or coil overs. Therefore my emphasis on adjustability. The car is driven to the track so I worry about being too low. I see many cars everyday that have been lowered with damage to the front of the car. I'll be getting out the ruler and analyzing just how low I can safely go and get in and out the driveway. I don't expect to make a decision for a month or two but all opinions, observations and experience is welcome. So thanks again for the input.

Les

 

i would say bang for your buck....the d2's are probably the best. They come with damper adjustment and height adjustment.

You can order springs with custom spring rates if you prefer a stiffer setup.

I got mine for $950shipped with the stock spring rates shipped from taiwan to california in 3days via fedex.

i'm sure the suspension pros will chime in soon.

 

I sell quite a few K-sports, but never for our cars. Typically just the import guys. I have had nothing but Positive feedback, including an employee that got some for his CRX. These were going to be my choice... hopefully this year

 

What about a non srt-6 xfire? Will the d2s work directly with them as well??

 

I have been looking around quite some time before I bought the Vogtland spings combined with the Konis. In the beginning I wanted to buy D2 or the Ksport but after several companies here in Sweden stopped selling them and after reading negative reviews I wanted to go with the Bilstein. As mentioned earlier in the thread only B16 was adjustable but the price for the B16 is a bit to high for me. But I think that is the way to go. Maybe in the future I will have a pair of B16 all over

 

I have KW-V2's and they are great. Installed by a professional shop, they needed nothing to be cut/altered to get on the car. Lowering was 1.5 inches (2 -finger gap in rear, 1 finger gap in front, slight rake). Setting is two clicks softer than recommended settings for nice daily driver ride that handles way better and corners even better than stock. Much more comfortable than stock springs/shocks , especially in the rear. Needed rear camber arms in the back and camber bolts in front. Camber in front is still more negative than stock settings due to the fact camber bolts only give you about 0.5 adjustability. KMAC front camber bushings were just too much $ to invest. I can get front tires for way less than that, when they wear out. The negative camber makes it handle better in turns anyway. Rear camber is dead-on with the camber arms. Install of the KW's and camber arms/bolts was around $300 in San Jose, CA.

I got the MBarts camber arms, but these look pretty good too:

http://www.needswings.com/MikeR-Adju...amberarms.aspx

 

I've had the K&W's on my car for over a year now and IMO they are about as far as you can go with a daily driver and still live with the ride. For track duty they're not stiff enough. A huge improvement and probably more than most would ever need but I'd like a stiffer spring on the front. I've lost the bump stop on the drivers side rear. It split after a month and I zip tied it so it wouldn't fall off but, I lost it eventually. One of the front shocks is leaking. I just spotted it this week. Even with these problems they were worth every penny. I had ebay camber arms (too large of a diameter) Speedybenz camber arms, (bent both and broke one in half) and now have Kmac's in the rear and stock camber arms. They don't have enough adjustment to remove negative camber on a severely lowered Crossfire. I've had to settle with -1.2º. But, I'm not banging the arms on the swaybar and frame. Well, I had to clearance the frame. I have 1/8th inch rake. The front is as low as it can go without severe rubbing under braking. The rear too. I have the eccentric bolts on the front to add negative camber. I'm at -2.4º which is perfect for track duty. I have Kmac's in the closet for the front when the stock bushings tear. They will tear, I know because I've replaced them once already.

Les