Lowering Rhino a bit (well, not little when it was on high ground clearance springs)

I wanted to replace the springs on Rhino and have been contemplating what springs do I get. From the VIN of my car, I would have been supplied with high ground clearance springs which will defeat the purpose since I wanted to get rid of the tall spring look.

So I was considering between the normal height OEM springs and the H&R spring. After doing some research, I have decided to go with the H&R, and that too after waiting for about 7 months for the stock to be available. I also must share that there are different versions of springs that are made and they may look the same but each has a different model code that fits different configurations. The H&R spring version for W124 E280 (24 valves) is 29569-1 which gives approx. 35mm reduction in drive height, however, as mine if on the high ground clearance springs, my height reduction is more than that, approx 50mm or so.

Initial impression, the car lowers nicely and looking sleek, however, under an aggressive high-speed bounce, there was a slight rubbing on the front fender (and it occurred only once on a bad road at speed of about 160 kmh), fender cladding to be precise. To correct this, I will be replacing the front spring pad from the present 1 bump (about 8mm) to 2 bumps (about 13mm), that 5mm will give enough clearance from bad patch bounce without altering the look much.

I also measured where the rear has about 1cm more clearance compared to the front, and changing the front spring pads will certainly address that.

Let me share a little about the ride - as expected, lowering the car on a stiffer spring will make the ride harsher. It is not as cushiony as it was with the old spring. The ride is not overly harsh, as I am using 16 inches wheels instead of 17. The rear wheel camber seems to be more aggressive now. On the initial drive, I was careful to not scrape the bottom. At one point, with my old driving habits, forgotten that I am now on lowered springs ad a speed breaker resulted in no scraping of the bottom of the car. Handling is now improved with sharper and predictable turns. Body roll during corners has significantly reduced, the car is almost flat even in fast corner entry. Definitely improvement of handling over some comfort sacrifice, some gain and some lose for the look and handling.

My only recommendation with this set of springs is the front spring pad must be one bump higher than the rear and it will be perfect.

Pictures:

Front springs - H&R on the left and old original ones on the right

Old front springs - no unusual compression observed

Rear springs - H&R on the left and old original one on the right

Old rear springs - again no unusual compression observed

Before and after - much sportier look now

Comments

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