joeyza

I just finished a 1,400 mile round trip last week in my '13 E350 luxury and didn't experience even the slightest bit of discomfort. It was 11.5 hours each way. I'm 6', 205lbs, 46 years old. Not huge, but definitely not a small man. I can say from my experience, this is a divine machine for highway cruising. No creaking, bountiful passing speed, plenty of storage, etc. Again, YMMV. I hope you figure out the solution to the issues your experiencing.

jbak31

Wow, that is funny because we actually have identical builds. I'm also 6', 205, but 32 y/o. I don't know, I guess comfort is just too individual. After a few hours of driving in this car I get absolutely numb, and have to shift in the seat constantly. My long distance trips were not pleasant by any measure.

DC-IT

Perhaps check your tire pressure to see if they're over inflated?
Try lowering the pressure and you'll get a more comfortable ride.

jbak31

The recommended pressure is 35 front, 36 rear, if I recall correctly. Right now I'm running 31 front, and 30 rear. Car is already complaining that it's too low.

DerekACS

Having just returned from a 6500 km road trip through 8 states, driving my E350BT, I am bewildered by some of the negative comments in this thread.

My wife and I spent many days driving, 8-10 hrs per day, and neither of us ever felt any discomfort with the E's seats. I injured my back three years ago and endured L3/L4 surgery. If a seat is uncomfortable, my back signals its displeasure quite quickly, as often happens when I sit on a straight back chair in a restaurant. But for me at least, the E Class seats (especially the driver's seat) are superb for long distance driving.

With non-RFT 18" Conti ProContacts, my E350BT ride is firm at times, but very compliant with rough surfaces. I have experienced RFTs in the past with various BMWs; I would not wish to have them on my E350BT. RFTs have stiffer side walls that transmit more road surface chatter into the chassis. In the event of a flat tire, my car is equipped with a MB TireFit kit.

mikemargolis

I am a little (OK a lot) smaller than you guys, 5'8" and 170lbs, but I can ride in my E350 Luxury Bluetec WITH the run flats for 10 hours straight, only stopping for bathroom a couple of time.

That car just loves to run on the highway.

Have said it before, I like the run flats, and don't notice any difference between them and my non-run flat snow tires.

Perhaps it is Sport vs Luxury?

pamiboy

I have the sports version and agree with the recent comments about highway driving. The seats are one of the best I've sat in and I can drive for several hours without even stopping. It's an absolute highway cruiser.
But I agree that not everyone's back and "butt" is the same and would behave differently in similar situations. May be you guys should try the multicontour seats. There's another thread where someone mentioned that the ventilated seats are harder than regular heated seats.

Trancebolt

Mine is e350 bluetec, goodyear runflats z02 or something, sport package but comfort suspension.

Im 5"8, 140lbs with my pockets full of change and heavy shoes on... and the car is riding entirely dependant of the road/fwy condition. Nothing else. I can watch the patterns of freeway texture and anticipate exactly what im going to feel as it comes at me. My lady says the seats make her tired, and are too comfortable...plus said with the 10 way lumbar and the seat adjustments that it would take forever to get the seat just right...

There are some downsides to runflats but the positive outweigh the negative. The boatyness of the E class which can make people carsick is nicely negated by the diesel engine and road feeling grip these tires.

My research shows these tires are more resistant to damage, and among a number of positives, if you have TWO tire issues at the same time, no gas car with a spare is going anywhere. As in nail bed on one side that you drive through... Glass from an accident... Ditch swerved into and popped two right side tires? Who knows.... but Either way, you have two 'spares' automatically put on to make it 50miles with.

OR, you have one tire blown out... keep a spare in the TRUNK itself for long distance driving, and not only do you have 50 mi @ 50 mph on your runflat, you can then swap it out for the spare for another 50 mi @ 40/50mph depending on the type.

Convenience of making it to work and having AAA fix it while im at my destination, or wait on the freeway or at a gas station to have it put on then. I drive 30 mi each way and can comfortably know almost any place i drive within 50mi i will always reach my destionation.

And goodyear and tirerack state multiple extra benefits to using runflats, if you can stand the road translating harshness over certain types of unevenly paved road/fwy

Edit: Delighted to have seen replies across these forums mentioning lowering the tire pressure to 36.... The dealer gave it to me at 38/40 or 39/41 depending on cold conditions.... So i dont know why its setup with uneven pressure when i believe they should be all even.... Albeit 36 being a softer ride. Will test this out very soon

pinebaron

Did you consider altering your car suspension? Mine's an older car now done 50k miles since I bought it new back in 2007. Check my signature.

ss3964spd

I'm pretty certain if you have an actual "blow out" on a run flat - one that damages the sidewall, you're not likely going anywhere either - or certainly not far.

Pros and cons to both. Most common cause of tire deflation is a simple puncture so a RF will allow you to continue driving for a distance or at least get the car off the road. If I understand correctly though, if you do drive on a flat RF, the tire is sacrificed. If all the air gets out of a non RF, and if you catch it/stop in time and throw the spare on, good chance the tire can be saved.

pamiboy

I don't know how much or how long I will trust that tire. Anyway it's much cheaper to buy a new regular tire c/w a RFT.
Unfortunately all the premium car makers are gradually moving towards RFTs.

PeteInGilroy

Great observations. Sort of what this article states:
http://tires.about.com/od/understand...flat-Tires.htm
I plan on swapping out my runflats for conventionals as soon as I get my C300 next month.

Sal_S

Car makers in general have become mediocre. Case in point upper back support in seats. Most seats dont have a curved cushion to support the shoulder ridge area just below neck even if you are say 5' 10". As far as noise is concerned cost cutting and incompetence is evidenced in just about every manufacturers models. It can be grating and tiresome. Silent smooth ride is a true hallmark of luxury. Most cars today can give a migraine and back pain. Dual pane laminated windows are a must and a whole lot of other things that only manufacturers can do while building the car. Back in the late nineties I once had a ride as passenger in brand new toyota avalon and despite its transverely mounted engine driving front wheels felt buttery smooth and silent while providing good fit and finish and soft touch materials. Seats were cloth and slightly firm. I bet most cars including todays avalon cant touch that quietness. Cost cutting is also evidenced in suspensions where its marketed as sport and some people believe it. There is nothing sport about crashing suspensions. Overall as an industry almost all manufacturers are lazy regardless of price points even in basic things such as seat back heights and length of thigh travel etc..forget nvh / sound insulation and smart suspensions.

GoBlando

Do you ever feel the car's suspension bottoming out on bumps?

BeachBunny

My gripes with the runflats are that they fail far more often than normal tires, can't be patched, and good luck getting a replacement tire when you do blow one. And that's before you get to the stiff, noisy ride. The majority of my tire problems have happened at night or on weekends, with many happening out in the boonies away from cell coverage. So, the entire premise of run-flats would have left me screwed.

I'd agree on the quality issues. My 1994 Q45 would tell me there's a light bulb burned out and which one it was. My 2004 M45 doesn't. Nothing in Infiniti's lineup currently does. Similarly, the Q45 had leather on the doors, entire dash, and part of the headliner. 10 years later all of that became plastic. Similarly, the Q45 had real leather seats, the M45 has bonded leather.

When it comes to ride, I want to feel the road, but don't want to get pounded by it. It should be smooth without being disconnected. Cadillac made absolute boats which floated along the road in the 1970s/1980s. In my book, that was FAR from luxurious and was just sloppy. I've not been impressed with the Lexus ride as it's smooth but disconnected from the road. I know many Americans like the disconnected feeling, but America's #1 car usually is a Toyota Camry, which is a rubbish car in just about every category. Even GM/Ford are making better cars than a Camry these days.

Trancebolt

Okay. The tires are literally 70 dollars more than its non runflat counterpart to replace and who the hell repairs damaged tires on a 60000 mbz. Ive noticed with my 17 inch rims that these run flats take horrible road better than normal tires. They do not however like concrete freeways... Now with almost 3k miles on the tires they have smoothed out immensely. I feel opposite of most people on these tires. Quite novel for this particular car Id say, but CERTAINLY not universally applicable *cough* bmw; Plus if youre willing to give up the 100lbs grab a spare and put it in your trunk. Not like theres not more room even still


Hold on, which bulb was burned out? I mean come on... The new infinits are leagues more advanced than youre giving them credit. Some car companies do certain things better. japanese cars have great menus, german menus systems, well at least we can say their unique =D. Not copy-pasted from another company, but still halfway to terrible... Not a reason to slight the car company.. My dad sold mbz for 20 years and he said htey had to BEG the germans for cupholders. Now, one of the noisiest features, the damn cupholder... So technically we asked for that one..

As for the mb tex vs leather, I prefer vinyl. takes to rain better, you dont have a heart attack when a scratch gets on it, cleans stains easier, and feels decent enough in comparison to real leather. Plus they offer you real leather anyway and if its like the steering wheel in my bluetec, omg is it touchy! i put a permanent scratch in it due to my friggin nails being a tiny bit long.. WAYYY to much maintenance for me. (1600 EXTRA for those who can stomach it =D )

Fords quality has improved, but GM thats a give or take. Toyotas hybrids are progressive and cheap but YES the lexus ride is uninspiring. You said it there, disconnected and fairly cadillac-boat like. /agree

ph350

Try getting tires with slightly higher sidewalls to give the car extra cushion from the road. 235/45/17 sizes won't be more than one mph off at 65 mph. Heck, see if you can fit 16 inch wheels on there. Don't forget to play with the tire pressure too. I looked on the recommended inflation rates and they allow for an extra -4 psi if you aren't planning on exceeding 100mph. Just reset your tire pressure warning if it complains as long as you are within the safe limits for that tire.

Carpenter Maass

Please for the love of God will someone take pictures of how to access this area and what needs covered with insulation? I have 20 sq feet of Second Skin Luxury Liner Pro (I cut the initial 12 sq ft down to fit underneath the floor mats) and I would love to line the area under the rear seats with what remains.

I have seen my E class in the shop without the rear seats in it but I have no clue if they fold down or not? Is this an option that's not available on all E-classes?

konigstiger

http://workshop-manuals.com/mercedes...st/page_10155/

http://workshop-manuals.com/mercedes...ion/page_9943/

Load through (at cost option) see illustration + http://workshop-manuals.com/mercedes...on/page_10207/