So I was browsing around before work and came across this kit on tire rack for $679

H&R Sport Cup Suspension Kit

Seems cheaper to go this route if you don't want to adjust your suspension, just install it and be done with it. With shipping from needswings it is $963 for Koni's and Eibach springs, $1030 with #5 spring pads.

So I'm pretty set on getting the H&R kit, do I need to get the KMAC kit to fix the camber? Also without question I should get the #5 spring pads right?

Has anyone used this kit or know someone who has experience?

 

It's a kit I've been eying for quite some time, for the exact same reasons you list.

Your pioneering and feedback would definitely be appreciated

 

It's a little bit easier to convince the wife I need this kit versus the koni/Eibach set up. We'll see what she says, I'm picking her up at the airport in a few hours. First time I've seen her in 4 months!

 

This is the kit I'm going with, hopefully this summer.. and as far as I can tell, yes you'll need to adjust the camber, especially in the rear

 

I bought this kit a few weeks ago and will be installing it this weekend. I ordered some of the front camber bolts and built a set of rear camber arms from this thread: https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/wheels-brakes-tires-suspension/57739-rear-camber-tire-wear-advice.html (I opted for some steel rods instead of aluminum).

I also happened to find this thread the other day where someone shared pictures of their Cup Kit install.

I'm not sure yet if I'll need to get different spring pads, but I'll let you guys know how it works out.

 

Nice find!!

 

I may be able to get some KMAC kits for a decent price if there's interest... though building your own camber arms is also a good option

 

Okay, so 2 of my friends helped me get the Cup Kit (mostly) installed yesterday.
The rears were pretty easy so the shocks and springs are on. From what I could tell, you don't have to transfer the bump-stops from the stock shocks, just the rubber cap at the top of them.
We weren't able to get the camber arms off to swap them out, but we're going to try that again this week. From what I've read on the forum, that can be done just by taking the wheel off - no need to undo everything else.

The fronts gave us some more trouble. The shocks were no problem, but the springs require you to remove the 2 bolts from the upper control arm, and we could not get those to budge. So we couldn't do the front springs or put on the eccentric bolts for adjustment.

In short, I have a weird half-lowered car right now.
But it drives great. The whole car stays flat through corners and grips like crazy. The ride isn't especially harsh, just more bouncy from the quicker rebound.

A warning: The rear is LOW. Like REALLY low. I went from a 4-finger gap to less than 1 (a full 2-inch drop). I love how it looks but I'm worried about rubbing one I get the camber arms on top push out the top of the wheels. I'll try to actually measure it today to confirm if everything will fit OK. This could probably be corrected with some bigger spring pads.

Once I get the front end figured out, I'll let you guys know how that looks.

 

Do you guys have the Mercedes spring compressor? Fronts should be just as easy as the rears, no need to unbolt the control arms.

And from what I've heard, the sport kit is quite low. HR makes a "Touring" Cup kit for the SLK (same setup) that is a little less severe. That will likely be the kit I go with.

 

No, we don't have the spring compressor. We have been mostly using this guide from downwardspiral.
I would run out and get one, but I still need to be able to get those control arm bolts off to put in the eccentric bolts.

I purchased the kit from Tirerack. It looks like they only sell the Sport Kit, so that explains the extreme drop.
I love the look and the ride, I just wanted to warn everyone that it's lower than I was expecting. As long as nothing rubs, I'll leave it as it is.

 

Did you happen to notice which spring pads you had in the rear? Some of the Crossfires came with "1-dot" spring pads, which are the thinnest. So if you bought some "4-dot" pads, you'd raise the rear about 12mm. See the part numbers and respective thickness, below:

Front:
1-dot = A 210 321 01 84 (5mm)
2-dot = A 210 321 02 84 (9mm)
3-dot = A 210 321 03 84 (13mm)
4-dot = A 210 321 04 84 (17mm)
5-dot = A 210 321 05 84 (21mm)

Rear:
1-dot = A 210 325 01 84 (5mm)
2-dot = A 210 325 02 84 (9mm)
3-dot = A 210 325 03 84 (13mm)
4-dot = A 210 325 04 84 (17mm)

 

thanks for the update... I WANT LOW!

Tirerack seems to be the best price out there.. I checked with Rob at Needswings and he can't match their price

 

"H&R Sport Cup Suspension Kit"

Sounds like something a female athlete would be interested in .......

 

LMAO good one... I prefer it when they let them puppies fly

 

Just a minor update on my progress.
I installed my custom Camber arms last night. It took me about 1.5 hours for both sides.

I also have a picture of the drop in the rear. I'll try to get some better pictures if it ever stops raining/hailing here.

 

Raining here too. No wiring tonight. Interesting read.

 

I took a drive around town yesterday with my wife. We were on some of the less-maintained roads in town and we agreed that the ride was just terrible.

I did a lot of research and found that the rear Sway bar is the culprit. Because of the extreme drop in suspension, the sway bar has way more load on it than it should.
As a test, I completely removed the sway bar links in the rear and took it for a (gentle) drive.

It might have even been more comfortable than stock - besides the sway bar banging around a bit.

So, I'm going to need a way to adjust the length of the sway bar links. It looks like MikeR was making these, but now there's no source for adjustable links.


Since I'm not very smart with this stuff, does anyone think it's possible to make a parts list similar to these Camber arms? By comparing some photos of MikeR's and some rough math, I think the bar would have to be 4" + the ends. I'm just not sure what ends we would need to make everything fit nicely.

I was also thinking of using links from another Mercedes model, but it's impossible to find specs on how long the factory links are for other models.

 

Contact Rudy (rcompart).

He's picking up where Mike left off... So far, he's only designed a set of adjustable camber bars (you'll need those too eventually) but I know a set of adjustable swaybar links is in the works.

 

Another (probably final) update on this kit.

I took my car to Road America this weekend for some track time. I put around 60 laps between Saturday and Sunday.

Here's what's needed with this kit if you want the car to be drivable:
-front eccentric bolts
-adjustable camber arms
-adjustable sway bar links

My local import shop was able to get the rear aligned within specs, but had to adjust the toe a bit to make the front right.
Without the shorter sway bar links, the ride was seriously painful. I ended up building my own using parts from speedway and they've held up just fine under a lot of abuse.

I have not had any issues with rubbing, even on the track. I'm using the same 3-dot pads all-around that came from the factory.


Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. Looks and performs great. It just took more work than I was expecting to get everything just right, but I'm a newbie when it comes to suspension. I definitely learned a lot in the process though.

 

I think you'll find that many Crossfire owners would be smart to do this, regardless of the kit. Honest owners with lowered cars would agree.

The swaybar, even if it's not making direct contact, is still pre-loaded and the ride will be unnecessarily harsh. This adversely affects handling as well.

As for the camber/toe, both ends suffer from an inability to hold alignment, even in stock form, as the car ages. I know my toe is slightly off spec, and I'm still at OEM height. So a lowering job simply aggravates the problem.

The only difference between the H&R Cup Kit and any other spring/shock combo is the brand, and the fact that the shocks are tuned specifically for the Cup Kit's spring rates.

So with that being said, all suspension modifications should include the extra adjustable bits to keep everything in proper spec. You can cheap out and avoid it, but in the end you're stressing the mounts and wearing through tires prematurely, so the savings are temporary at best.