sc_trojan

first off, my 05 g55 will never go off road. my wife finds the car too bumpy to drive on the Los Angeles freeways. I am looking to make the car drive as smooth as possible.

I'd rather not get g500 springs, because I don't want to raise the car at all, I like the lowered stance of the g55.

I know due to the suspension, my g55 will never ride as smooth as a lexus, nor corner like my 911 turbo. Just looking for the best shock to help reduce the bumpiness in suspension and make it as smooth as possible. I do not care about cornering ability. The reason I don't trade in the g55 for a g550 is due to the hp/torque difference.

I have read the posts and people have upgraded to the g500 shocks. what about the bilstein or koni shocks that are also available?

thanks in advance.

benzhn

Brabus has a new kit called BRABUS Ride Control Suspension for Mercedes G-Class, which may help.

sc_trojan

too expensive. The bilstein and koni shocks are roughly $500-600. G500 shocks are around $800.

nyc123

I would be curious to hear from anybody that has actually swapped the shocks to the g550 shocks if it in fact really makes a noticeable difference ?

07g55

I will hopefully get a set of Koni SPX this week to try out on my g55, I will try to let you know how it fells/handles

PCH

Brabus also markets non adjustable springs and shocks that offer a slightly more 'forgiving' ride and also lowers the G's center of gravity by approx. 1.5"

sc_trojan

Funny we have the same cars. All you need to get is a 996 turbo and we will be twins.

Curious why you went with the Koni SPX and not the Bilsteins? What rebound setting do you plan on keeping it? I was told stock was a few turns stiffer than the softest settings.

07g55

Wow - indeed the same cars. Does a 996tt count that was sold a few years ago

I am actually thinking of going the other direction in terms of ride height, I am hoping to evntually gain a bit of the ride height. The Koni I want to try out before I swap my springs the see the impact of the Konis overall. I read in another G community a lot of positive feedback on those shocks in terms of overall comfort and hoping to make some of the slow bumps a bit easier.

I have been very torn between messing with the stock shocks, because when driving fast on dirt roads, I feel that the car is handling great, it's just the slow bumpy stuff that annoys me.

For now it will be mostly experimentation what will work best for my purposes. Not sure if I might end up going to the Koni RAID HT 90s at one point, but I will def. start off with the softest setting and work my way up with the SPXs.

sc_trojan

any updates? where did you purchase them?

sc_trojan

I ended up going all the way- new softer springs (but unfortunately higher) and the koni shocks are ordered. should have them in a week and installed shortly after. I'll post the results.

BlackSL

any updates?

rhyno

My friend has a 08 G55 and is putting in 2010 G550 shocks. He should have this done in about two weeks. I will post his results.

BlackSL

waiting for ur reply.

nyc123

I am very curious to hear feedback from the various changes as I am going to buy a G class and have been debating g55 vs g550. If there was a set up for the suspension that made the g55 ride less harsh thats the way I would go.

Ted Baldwin

.....u should probably settle for the G500/G550. The G55 is stiff. You can change the shocks but when u corner at high speeds, you'll wish you had the stiffer suspension. Too much debate about this. The G55 appeals to a different audience. It's just more raw. This is what makes it appealing! Test drive a Lambo and get back into another car, you'll see what I mean. Just a different raw animal. Some like it, some don't. But if you are fortunate enought to like it, you'll hear music in your soul each that you drive the beast. Nothing quite like it.


Ted

BlackSL

I see a lot of Japanese G owners changed to the koni heavy track raid shock absorbers. Anyone tried these out before? Had a ride today and found the stock G55 too be quite bumpy in the rear seat. The front is nice. If the rear can match the front I'd be satisfied.

rhyno

My friend is getting his G550 shocks installed in his 2008 G55 tmrw. I should have his review by the end of the week!

rhyno

Sorry I can't edit my last two posts. I had the years wrong on my friends G.
Alright I have solved the problem for G55 owners that want a softer ride!!!!!!!!
My friend has a 07 G55 and he installed 2011 G550 shocks. read his review......

"After a month of phone calls and online research I discovered no one could tell me if G-Class shocks were interchangeable! I decided to roll the dice and just try as I was tired of hearing peoples endless theories. Guess What? Not only do G550 shocks fit a G55 AMG they make it ride and feel like a Mercedes should! Attached are two pictures of the shocks side by side (2011 G550 and 2007 G55 AMG). The rears as you can see look the same and match perfect. The G550 front shocks are taller when un-compressed. The guys at Fairview Automotive in Vancouver fully compressed the fronts to make sure they matched so there was no issue with bottoming out. The G550 shocks are also noticeably softer when manually compressed. After the install the difference was amazing! The bone jarring bumps of the AMG shocks were gone! The ride is firm but very comfortable, It almost feels like I'm driving an ML. Cornering at speed feels pretty much the same. I guess the AMG sway bars & springs provide most of the so called cornering performance. This swap is a must for anyone using their G55 in the city or off road. Parts, installation and taxes for the complete job was $1,700 Canadian."

BlackSL

awesome news mate!

is the ride height higher with the G550 shocks? or is it the same as the standard G55?

rhyno

RiDe height stays the same. It would only change if u swapped springs

Ted Baldwin

........congratulations! The shock swap is not new and has been done many many times. The G55 forum is interesting. Mostly populated by folks who come to defend there reason for getting a G500/550 instead of a G55. This is fine, except that the reasons they give are factually incorrect and confuses people. Hopefully this ends the debate. If you want a G55 and think the ride is too rough....keep your springs just swap your shocks. This was discovered and first posted on this forum in 2003. It appears the only difference now is that for new cars, the front G550 shocks need to be compressed. Thanks for the info.

Ted

BlackSL

is it hard to compress the front shocks? saying i purchased from mercedes benz local dealer. Would they be able to compress the shocks?

rhyno

Any mechanic shop can install these shocks, it's a very easy install!

07g55

G55 ride is perfect. I totally agree with interesting... ted... on that one! But keeping springs changing shocks is not a "fix-it-all" solution, your mileage might vary depending on year...again thanks for your feedback on your experience with shock/springs swaps/testing on G55s!


You had a 03 G55, which in my mind was most likely THE most radical off-road high performance truck. Supercharged 03 G55, followed up by a '05 AMG supercharged G55, both finetuned and perfected by Kleemann and other top notch tuners.

Ted still holds the tracktime record for G55 quartermile afaik!

I truly love and apretiate what you did to both of your G trucks! I would love to be able to get within vicinity of your performance / drag achievemnts!

But as you yourself had mentioned, you kept your '05 g55 suspension stock. Also it is so hard to decipher what people want to change in terms of handling and what advise is sound and which isn't!

I have swaped both my shocks and springs on my G55 indivdually. Hated shock swap, and immediately restored to stock shock.
But I didn't swap to OEM G500US stock shock - but instead to an aftermarket "heavier" duty shock. Again - I switched right back to stock AMG, without fully expierencing all aspects of shock swap. Think I was overwhelmed with the significant impact a seemingly "small" mod, can achieve / destroy

Right now and I am learning to trust my O.E.M G500 spring / G55 stock shock combo! I gained a couple of inches in ride height, lost a tad bit of comfort; p1ssing off my ESP in pretty much @ any cornering speeds above 2mph... hate ESP induced understeer!...but yet ofroad the Euro HD OEM spriinngs achieved MAGIC in terms of trail-crawling! Low tire pressure and stiff tall springs are comfy with responsive feedback.

I would love to try out 2003/04 G55 shock/spring combo offroad, with higher ride height!

Like teD insinuated at - g55 is perfect - why...Why would you want to change shocks on G55? Which year G55?

The G55 has the character and personality of a Charlie Sheen; perfect in what it was designed for, controversial, interesting and challenging for everything/everyone else!

Duh! Winning!!!

totally forgot about this thread, well...wanted to forget about this thread. Sorry for the lack of response. Didn't like my experiments in the beginning, duplicating pretty much precisely what another G55 owner had already experimented with. With equally negative results. Should have just listened to Mario

. I love the taller clearance of the Euro OEM G500 HD springs; but the on-road handling characteristics are sad for a G55.

grane

Bilstein shocks front and rear are the same for the 03 G500 and the G55, according to Bilstein USA.

I believe the ride difference is principally due to the springs.