Recently after return from a pleasure trip in Hokkaido and numerous comments from Steven about his C36, I have done much in the front suspension and also replaced the shocks in 4 corners in my C36. The shock replacement, to say the least, is a needed but a pre-matured one. The AMG-Bilstein still have plenty of juice in them.
I have always complained about some looseness and softness in the suspension and the clunking sound in the front suspension when braking or going over a speed bump. However it was a ride and handling issue I have been able to live with for many months.
Finally I bite the bullet to replace the steering damper (kaput) and also the front upper arms. The replacement of the front upper arms turned out to be a mistake because I thought it only brought about 2 to 3% in terms of ride refinement if you would ask me to say. And I was not sure it was brought by the new steering damper. The two jobs were done at Pak Lok, prior to the trip.
And then a test ride in Steven's 1997 C36 in one Saturday afternoon proved that the huge benefit can be realized if I changed the twice more expensive AMG-Bilstein factory shock absorber with the Bilstein B8 short stroke "Sprint". Initially it felt quite firm and harsh but after 200+kms it felt mellow and fuzzily damped. I love the ride a lot. Also I had replaced the steering linkage (a bit loose) and also the front wheel bearings (also loose and had seen better days). The steering is now much more linear in modulation and direct. The softness and looseness are largely gone for good. However they still give me the old love-boat type of floating feeling going over large undulation that I love most out of the old school Mercedes suspension design. I could hardly believe it would all come from a "sport-tuned" shock design. The whole package is like an immersion in the luxury oil with all the directness and steering feel you could possible get. Wonderful combination I would say. Unfortunately the clunking sound still persisted but the frequency reduced quite dramatically. The last things to change is probably the front wheel hubs assembly and perhaps the front lower suspension arms. But I doubt it. The rear suspension was checked good after the inspection. Nothing to replace there.
I can see now my front tires have already seen 70% of their useful life. I wonder I will keep the choice at Michelin PS2 or change to another brand/model.
Here is a link to Bilstein website about the B8 Sprint:
http://www.bilstein.de/cms_website/english/Products/Product-Details/?cms_produkt_id=7
