Spring pad height for olson coil springs

[Bob G ✝︎]

I am in a quagmire. As much of the information and post as I have collected I am frozen to decide what is the correct spring pad size to go to for the John Olson Progressive rate springs. I have Wednesday to get these pads and need some input from some others who did this job.

My car measuresLeft & right front from ground to center of wheel arches 25 1/2 inches

Rear left side 24/3/4  right side rear 25 inches

Also the distance from the top center of the wheel arch to center of wheel is :
left front 13 7/16       Right front 13 10/16


left rear  12 10/16      right rear 12 15/16

I am running Michelin rain force 185 TR 14 tires
any and all recommendation would be apprecciated.
Bob Geco
310-839-8337

[hauser]

Bob I was just reading about this yesterday when I did an MSN search for 1969 280sl. Tom Sargeant did the type of setup you are dealing with. You can do the search your self or try to contac Tom Sargeant himself. classic280sl@yahoo.com  Hope this helps!

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[113gray]

Hi Bob, I also have the new springs as yet uninstalled & have been trying to educate myself about pad thickness for the past year before installing them.

I have come to the following conclusions thus far:

The factory installed 3 different sping sets according to curb weight of each individual car which is affected by such options as AC, manual vs auto tranny, model year, etc.

However, even knowing which color code of springs & rubber thickness of pads installed on your particular car might not help as the Olsen VR springs are said to be +/- 20% stiffer than stock & thus presumably will not compress as much thus making your car sit higher than it did with stock springs.

One member (who loves the new ride) returned his front springs to Olsen "who was kind enough to exchange them for ones 1" lower".

Bottom line, it appears to be a trial & error deal with lots of variables; I am strongly leaning toward identifying the PN on my stock rubber pads & starting with these pad heights recognizing that I may have to change later.

I would be very glad to read other opinions & ideas as I plan to do the spring exchange in the next few weeks. And FWIW, my '66 230 SL w/ 5 speed tranny  (no AC) measures very similar to yours. F DS, 25 1/4"; F PS, 26"; Rr. DS, 26"; Rr. PS 25 3/4"; tires P185 70R 14.

While I have a parts book w/ PN's & price, Tom Hanson can provide more up-to-date info.

Regards & good luck to both of us.
-JP-

[jeffc280sl]

Hello Bob,

I would "start" with the same size pads that the car came with.  In my case these would have been fine.  If you don't know the size pads look for colored stripes on the springs themselves.  They tell you what size pads were used via a table in the BBB.  If I remember yours had heavy duty springs.  I don't know how to factor this in the equation.  I assume Olson sized the new springs to match regular OEM springs versus heavy duty.  That's my two cents worth.  You may need to resort to trial and error using a variety of spring pads.



Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[Bob G ✝︎]

Thank you all this is like having a baby!

Bob Geco

[Tom]

Bob,

I received your email on this and read the other posts as well.  This is a trial and error process.  However, these springs are 10-20% STIFFER than original spec, which means that all else being equal, the car will sit up higher.  For this reason, start off with the smallest pad and work up from there-I think the smallest pad is an 8mm.

Best,

Tom

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1971 280sl Tunis Beige Metallic (restored & enhanced)
1971 280sl Tobacco Brown (low mileage stock)
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