suspension help

[AMGalltheway]

Hey thinking about running my car in autocross and want to upgrade my suspension for that and general purposes. Anyone ever get an HK sport cup suspension kit? Thats the only one i seem to be able to find for my car(mercedes 190) thats not track only(read $$$$ and hard as my pe...er granite) so yeah seems like it would be a good middle ground with that, upgraded anti-roll bars, and a strut bar. Anyone else use that kit? Do you have clearance issues over speed bumps? into driveways? anything? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[DKmotors]

Interesting autocross car! I am guessing you will be autocrossing with SCCA? Before you go hog wild with the car, look into what sort of classifications it best fits now and you feel it will be in the future. Absolutely before you change things (especial with the suspension) autocross the car! Excessively modifying things is the number 1 disease in autoX. There are countless numbers of people that put coilovers and every jack in the box on their car before they even touch the alignment. 190s are excellent handling cars and are not excessively large, could make a great autocross car. What have you done the the car besides the gearbox swap? Any suspension changes/mods? Tires? Tires are just about the biggest player in autocross, yet still autocross the car the way it is for a loooong time, that is the best way and most cost effective way to learn. Then you can get a second set of wheels and some slicks later (or something of the sort). Assuming your cars suspension is in good condition and does not need any bushings, ball joints, or shocks etc. I would start by taking the car and having it aligned. To keep your alignment adjustable, mark the aligned factory settings (after the shop alignment)! I would start by adding some toe out to the front end. That will cause the car to under steer less on turn and and really rotate. Next thing I would be looking at are some set of adjustable shocks and struts. Koni is a great company to look at for this. When it comes to adjusting, firmest is not the fastest! For good rotation (making the car come around, squirm, slither, whatever you want to call it) I would run soft in the front and firm in the rear. This will cause the dive (weight transfer) in the front and the rebound control of the shocks in the rear to un-weight the car in the back, causing it to rotate. Best of luck!

[AMGalltheway]

Hey thanks for the info and tips on a super old question. yeah i have to find a close by track ( i think theres one by dc or in PA) but yeah the 5 speed swap is actually still in progress my other on (same car without turbo and with an auto) is being sold so modding is back burner for a little but again thank you for the info. Also If i can find an organized event or a safe place to do it i may even try drifting the beast although if i were to be serious about it id put alot into modding(adjustable suspension, possible dry sump, etc.). How didi you first learn about the 190's for as awesome as they are they are certainly not very well known even in mercedes circles.

[DKmotors]

Your best bet is to look at scca. go to www.scca.com and find a region near you. From that region you can go to their website and find their autocross or what they call 'solo' schedule. As far as modifying goes, start simple as I said. Honestly I have got to figure your car is not going to benefit from a dry sump system. Diesel engines rev so low that the paralistic drag on the crank is not going to be so significant. Spend your money elsewhere like on an injector pump from a cummins or something. 190s may not be known in the merc circle but they certainly are in the racing circle. I am sure you know about the cosworth 190es and the cosworth 190 evos. Back in the day the cosworth mercedes and first generation M3 were all the rage. Your best bet is probably actualy to swap in some cosworth suspension parts. I believe your car uses the same differential as well so you could put an LSD from a cosworth in as well. If you really are having trouble putting the power down out of corners then put a bigger front swaybar on the car.

[AMGalltheway]

Yeah i have fairly extensively researched all this for me right now its coming down to money but yeah a dry sump system like i said would be an idea for a full on drift car with other extensive mods yeah keeping my eye out for an lsd diff