Medium Pimpin' - 1995 E300 diesel build

[mikey G]

That is so cool. Do they come factory with plexi, to expose the circuitry? Or did you mod that?

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

i like how you didn't go overboard with camber and kept it classy

Thanks! Yeah, I'm a big fan of natural camber, and beyond that, things start to get a little silly for my taste. One of the driving factors of this build is my belief that you can build a very low car with a lot of presence without sacrificing practicality. To put it another way, I firmly believe that form vs. function is a false dichotomy. Adding a load of camber solely for the sake of looks contradicts my fundamental approach to design.

I'm a sucker for amp guts.

Me too, especially when they're pretty amp guts, like Sundown does:



I do wish Sundown had brought the black circuitboard on the monoblock over to the 2-channel, but what can you do? It does look like the current upgrade from mine (the SAX-150.2) has the black board, which is nice.

[speakerboy]

I'm a sucker for amp guts.

[P78]

i like how you didn't go overboard with camber and kept it classy

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Looks awesome man, I love this car

Thank you! I love it too

not sure why the title of this is medium pimpin because your benz is big pimpin..I love love love it. Keep up the great work

Thanks so much! Lots more is in store - your patience will be rewarded.

I don't comment often in random threads, started by random people I don't know... but that last picture you posted is ridiculously amazing. Great car and shot.

Carry on!

Gracias! I have to admit, I was pretty happy with how that photo came out as well, especially considering it was taken by me (A.K.A. not a photographer) and with an iPhone.

I spammed these all over Instagram a while back, but I guess I never posted them in here, so here's some more from that shoot:

[moist taco]

not sure why the title of this is medium pimpin because your benz is big pimpin..I love love love it. Keep up the great work

[lamsv]

I don't comment often in random threads, started by random people I don't know... but that last picture you posted is ridiculously amazing. Great car and shot.

Carry on!

[Azrial89]

Looks awesome man, I love this car

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Thank you, sir!

Sadly, the kitty passed away over the summer at the age of 16

However, this little critter is coming home from the breeder in about a month, which is causing a lot of excitement at Casa de Sam


As for the car, it's still around. I've just been doing maintenance and a few little things here and there, and basically just enjoying the hell out of it. I've made a couple of minor modifications to the air ride plumbing to help it air up and down more smoothly, which are reflected in the diagram I posted earlier in the thread. Basically, it runs good, it drives good, it gets 30 miles to the gallon, and I love it to death.

Currently saving money and planning for the next phase of the build.



See you out on the highway...

[Dr.AK]

How did I miss this thread?

Great build, great attention to detail and there's even a cat picture in here somewhere, which is always a plus, heh.

Seriously, this has quickly grown to be one of my favourite threads on here. Carry on with the great work!

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

That's a great video! That really showcases how much the strut-spring clearance changes over the suspension's cycle in the front, and why the bags have to be bent at such a goofy angle to clear everything up front.

Come on, guys, make us a skinny double-bellows bag!

[scientific]

Thought this might be relevant/explain the sideways orientation of the cup/bag relationship: http://youtu.be/tA0KNSvZWFU?t=9s

[scientific]

You've really made me think. I'll wait till my cars back from the mechanics and I'll start measuring and figuring it out... I'll post back and update though it may take me a while.. Thanks so much for the info and detail it's literally priceless!

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

This is exactly the part I'm unclear on

$200 for redundancy isn't going to break the bank.. then again having fat bump stops would still probably get you home wouldn't it?

Depends on how tight your fitment is, I suppose. On mine, with the car aired out, I can't steer at all without tires running into fenders.

Sorry I forgot to reply to your question before! My w124 is a 260e running on petrol/gasoline (m103 I believe) - a lot less heavy than the diesel for sure.

It seemed from looking around that people seem to end up at 4-5 gallons.. . i just defaulted to that but wondering if 'package' has a specific meaning here? (fit?, cost?) Why would or wouldn't you go bigger/smaller?

Package means only what you can accommodate in terms of space in your trunk or wherever. Because of how I wanted my trunk to be laid out, I could only really fit a 2.5 gallon tank in the space where it sits. Most people go for 4-5 gallons because 1. that's what most packages come with, 2. they run 150 psi in their setups and need the additional volume, and 3. have bag-over-strut setups that require quite high pressure to raise the car.

The pros/cons of a bigger tank are pretty much exactly what you'd think: bigger tanks are bigger, which means more air, more movement before the compressor has to refill, and less pressure drop from small adjustments. The downsides are that they cost more, take up more room, and take longer to fill. That's kind of it.

Don't hesitate to have a look at the other tanks Bag Riders offers; there are a lot of shapes and sizes out there that might work better for you. The pancake tank is particularly cool if you have a matching spare, as it'll just nestle into the backside of the wheel. I think were I to revise my setup (which I will eventually), I might go for a couple or three AVS slim tanks hidden in a false floor.

I know this all sounds bloody complicated, and there are a lot of decisions to make, but it's not as bad as it sounds. I think you need to get out there, take some measurements of the trunk, and start thinking about where you want to put everything. It'll all start falling into place from there.

[scientific]

$1600 for V2 management, 4 gallon tank, twin compressors, blah blah blah.

This is exactly the part I'm unclear on

$200 for redundancy isn't going to break the bank.. then again having fat bump stops would still probably get you home wouldn't it?

Regarding tank size: A little bit depends on what drivetrain you've got. Part of the reason that a 2.5 gallon tank at 200 psi is so barely sufficient on mine is that the OM606 engine is just absurdly heavy, meaning a lot of air is required to lift the front of the car to ride height. My front bags sit at about 130 psi at ride height, which is a lot for a bag as big as the SS-5. Nevertheless, if you can reasonably package a 4 or 5 gallon tank, go that route. You'll be glad for the extra air.

Sorry I forgot to reply to your question before! My w124 is a 260e running on petrol/gasoline (m103 I believe) - a lot less heavy than the diesel for sure.

It seemed from looking around that people seem to end up at 4-5 gallons.. . i just defaulted to that but wondering if 'package' has a specific meaning here? (fit?, cost?) Why would or wouldn't you go bigger/smaller?