Hello Gents,
Lately there has been some talk of the progressive rate springs, and anti sway bars--tools used to improve the handling of the 113. As I am always trying to achieve something better, these topics are interesting to me, and I think to quite a few of us.
I drove Tom Sargeant's car last year and would agree that it handled very well, and much improved over my own. Tom attributed this to the John Olsen progressive rate springs. However, I understand from Gernold at SL Tech in Maine--one of our "gurus"--that perhaps these have been removed from Tom's car recently. I hestitate myself to make such an investment, because not only are the springs costly at over $1,000 for the set, but the installation and realignment necessary (to do it correctly) is a very labor intensive process which could easily double the cost. What if, then, you are
not satisfied with this $2,000 investment?
Recently there has been some talk of this "Cox" 30MM anti-sway bar, but I have yet to have anybody reply to me on just where this is currently available, if at all. Tom Sargeant cryptically indicated he got it from "an enthusiast" and left it at that. Is Cox a company still in business and do they still make this bar?
There is a body of evidence out there that says you can achieve some measurable, if not significant improvements in handling (applies to any car, not just the 113) by changing the thickness of the anti-sway bar.
For those that are interested in learning more about this, I'd strongly suggest visiting the following website and drilling down into all the information they provide on anti-sway bars: http://www.tlssteel.comOne thing you will find out at this site is that
small increases in bar thickness provide
significant increases in stiffness. The formulae they provide indicates that the difference in
stiffness is equal to the cube (4th power) of the difference in
bar thickness. Cutting to the chase here,
a 1 MM increase in bar thickness yields a 24% increase in stiffness.Gernold informs me that the stock anti-sway bar on the 230SL is 22MM; and the stock anti-sway bar on the 280SL is 18MM. Therefore, one should be able to achieve a significant increase in handling (read that TLS Steel information to get a better handle on what this means) on their 280SL by
simply installing a 230SL anti-sway bar. Certainly this is easier and considerably less costly then a spring change, and can even be done by the average shade tree mechanic rather then the expertise, tools and probably assistance required to change all 4 springs and then do a 4-wheel re-alignment and ride-height adjustment.
I'm probably willing to make that change myself from the 18 to 22MM bars, and perhaps even go to a
thicker custom bar if the 22MM bar provides a better feel. Apparently, TLS will custom fabricate a bar if you send them a pattern; i.e. another anti-sway bar.
Does anybody have any experience with this kind of stuff, or have anything to add?
Caveats, I'm sure are the following: first, why was the bar reduced in thickness in the first place, particularly with the increased weight of the 280's and the increased body roll that the weight provides? If anything, based on my limited knowledge, one would think that they would have gone to a larger, not smaller bar! Second, can it be that easy? Can we really increase the handling feel of our cars with a simple anti-sway bar change?
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored
