Maybee we should try and lift extra purchase cost and maintenance cost out of the equation and see what people think. Is the system a better damper option then regular steel springs. I mean Mercedes obviously thinks so as they charge an extra 2,000$ for it here in Sweden.

 

Magic body control is a hydraulic system isnt it?, similar to the previous ABC-systems in W230, W221.


There are some errors standing out when refering to previous ENR/Airmatic problems, and the most common one is - leaks.


In ENR systems (only fitted on rear axle, no expansion tanks) the struts themselves are prone to leak through the rubber bellow seals, or sometimes on the bellows itself.
Also the compressor is a pretty sensitive part, it is placed in a harsh enviroment and sometimes the air intake filter comes off and the compressor would then fail within weeks.
In early Airmatic on W211 and W219 there is a aluminium expansion tank connected to the rear struts, for unknown reasons but most likely due to moisture as Glyn explaines above, the barb fitting on the tank corrodes heavily causing holes and leakage.


In W212 there is some problems with pressure lines, they are made of a hard nylon material and if scuffed against a hard surface they will eventually leak.


There is no way of knowing the future quality of the 205 airmatic system, but one would hope that they have learned from earlier mistakes, however I am not concerned as the w205 in many areas have proven to be a well engineered car with tonnes of quality improvements all over the vehicle,
I am sure that in 5-10 years from now there will be cheaper after market parts and fixes available for the airmatic system if it should prove to have problems.


I love my airmatic system and couldnt live without it, but I cant tell just anyone that it is a must have as it is very dependent on customers different needs.


I often use the car with different weight loads as well as drive it with a trailer, in this case it is perfect to always keep the same height level, I also plan to lower my car in the summer and its much cheaper and easier to do with Airmatic as well as the possibility to choose different ride heights, even when lowered.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...iews-w205.html

I picked up this video review in a different thread and if I understand correct he says that airmatic is standard on the C400 and you cant even choose steelsprings on that version.

 

At the risk of offending...if anyone is buying a German car. Much less a fresh new model of one. And you're picking your W205 options based on how likely they are to break or the cost of repair, you picked the WRONG car!

There's not many LESS reliable options out there than this one. But even FEWER automobile options (if any) on the cutting edge, exciting, well engineered for great blend of performance and luxury. If your goal is cushy and reliable & willing to leave the plusses of this amazing new C class behind, buy most anything else out there from a Lexus to a Hyundai and your cost of ownership, and time in the shop will be lower.

To answer your other question, IMO air suspensions won't help as much on large pot holes and such. You'll still get a crash. Some suspect run flats accentuate this for the C class. The improvement in any car with air suspension will come in a more level, quiet, isolated feel in general on most roads, with the option to adjust it for a tighter/sportier road feel.

I can see how on unsettled roads they can feel jiggly as Glyn pointed out, but when on the same rough road in steel suspended car, the bumps are felt more and heard. At an extreme think airplane squishing thru turbulence -vs- SUV off roading driving over rocks. Its a trade off and best left to YOUR through test drives....how amazing to at least have the option now in this class of car. Packages very for this model by country. Again, most people will lead you to what they have, and most have steel.

The magic ride offered only in S class as I read uses the camera system to 'predict' dampening, and I tested it. It's not a huge difference. Though I suspect it's priced very high for what it actually adds to the guts of the control system and the time-honored Mercedes way to shake a little more change out of us, it's not that expensive in relation to S class, which has airmatic as it's only suspension anyhow.

 

I like what you wrote about a more quiet isolated feel. This is one aspect that has not been discussed at all in this topic. I would love my car as quiet as possible. Maybee airmatic is the way to go then?

 

There's no way of knowing which suspension is "best" without actually driving them yourself. Everything else is just hearsay and may have little bearing on what you may actually prefer.

I have driven the "comfort tuned" luxury setup, the standard steel suspension, and the sport. I really did not feel any great difference in compliance or handling between the luxury and standard systems, found the sport too stiff for my needs, and have not yet had a chance to drive a car set up with Airmatic. I went with the standard steel suspension because, after test driving three of the choices, that made the most sense for where and how I drive. I would never tell anyone else that my choice is a "must have," simply because it may not be for someone else.

If I had had a chance to sample the Airmatic, I might have decided that it was a better choice ... but I really don't know that. One can simply not order something as important as a suspension without having first tried it. Those who have it love it, those who don't preferred something else. My own past experience has been that ordering significant options based solely on the opinions of others can turn out to be a big mistake. Not always, but you're taking a big risk if you have not had a chance to try it out yourself.

 

Airmatic FTW

 

In your case I would go for it without hesitation. There is without doubt greater isolation. It gives you the best of all worlds. It is just not predictive of road condition ahead of you like the Magic Body Control fitted to the S Class.

 

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+1^

 

On Thurday I was invited to a track day by MBSA at our local Killarney race track. They had a whole fleet of vehicles for us to have fun in.

I agree. I'm not spec'ing my daily driver for the race track. That would be a big mistake IMHO. However I found that the Airmatic suspended W205 in Sport+ mode aquitted itself really well. It also made me realise how good the diesels are.

Of course the A45 AMG, rear wing & all was a real hoot to drive. Enormous fun on the track but not as a daily driver. Too much noise & extremely uncomfortable.

 

..

 

I'm sorry ~ you don't understand suspensions. I have run bike racing teams, car racing teams & I was our company's Tech representative on our F1 racing sponsorship for many years. Yes the damper converts much of the vibrational energy to heat but the sprung body is the main energy sink for the springing & suspension. Hence the neverending quest for stiffness in the design for better handling.

 

Think in simple terms.

1) You need mass to help counteract intertia. Something light hit with force x is going to fly across the room, whereas a heavier object hit with the same force will resist motion more.

2) Springs, suspension etc help to 'soak up' the force but have to release it somewhere. They soak up impulses and release them over a longer period of time.

3) You can make the springs softer or harder but one end has to be fixed to something that resists motion i.e. Something heavy, so in this case the 'heavy' stiff body of the vehicle.

 

I have re read what I have said & think we are talking past one another while basically agreeing. A body with adequate stiffness & mass allows a Damper with correctly tuned compression & rebound damping to do it's job of dissipating energy in the spring in the form of heat energy.

Maybe you can live with that. I could express myself better.

 

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..

 

I have had this weight discussion with others on the board & it became ugly so I backed off. I have subsequently discussed this with an engineering friend in Stuttgart who had some choice comments about internet forums.

As an example he gives. Benz has difficultly maintaining the typical Benz feel below about 1500 Kg's. Nevermind how you tune the suspension (spring rates & dampers) they need a very stiff platform of adequate weight to react against. One of the major problems is the deleterous effects of the anti sway/roll bar. (Very good white paper on this subject by Ron Dennis/McLaren while designing the MP4 12C)

My Stuttgart buddy feels that the only way of retaining the Benz feel as the cars get lighter will be to use fully active suspension.

So weight does effect comfort.

 

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I don't think much gets more advanced than F1.

All I'm relating is Benz chassis development dept. findings as they relate to the traditional Benz feel. The previous discussion was only regarding that feel & weight.

I have not driven the latest Porsche. The most recent Porsches I have driven are 997-generation Carrera GTS & the Cayman R PDK which was damn uncomfortable but fun. Both owned by friends. I have driven the McLaren MP4 12C on the same Killarney track I spoke of earlier. The fully active suspension on that is a revelation. The refinement was amazing. The car had both exhausts available & they allowed the nannies to be turned off.

The reason I started doubting your suspension knowledge was this statement.

"The truth is that coventional suspension starts to degrade from the moment you drive the car. The airsuspension will, as far as i know, retain the original properties, basically until it breaks down." This is patently not so.

 

I've owned a 2009 Corvette with their electromagnetic F55 suspension, and my current Porsche has their PASM electromagnetic system. These are both magnetically damped systems that are controlled by the car's computer, and they react almost instantly to changing conditions.

These systems are capable of keeping the car's tires planted during hard cornering over uneven surfaces ... conditions that would break traction on a standard suspension. They also react to potholes and rough roads, lateral force, and just about anything the programming algorithm is set to.

As impressive as the technology is, it's no magic bullet in normal street use. My experience has been that while it has great advantages under high stress driving conditions, it has no dramatic effect in everyday use. It does take the sting out of the worst roads, and it certainly minimizes body roll, as well as dive under hard braking, but a well tuned passive suspension system can be tuned for similar results.

I appreciate the PASM in my Porsche, which is a much better system than the F55 in my Corvette, but I've also driven these cars without active suspension and they have been very good. I have no experience with the Airmatic system being used by Mercedes but, given that it is paired to run flat tires, I'm not sure just how dramatic a difference it would make in normal driving conditions. I have been unable to find any "back to back" comparison tests, where the new C Class has been driven under identical conditions with and without Airmatic. It's also tough to find direct comparisons between the Luxury, standard, Sport, and Airmatic suspensions, which makes first hand driving tests before purchase even more important.

 

Yes ~ our local "Car" magazine did a back to back test of the Sport steel suspension vs. the Airmatic & the results were dramatic. The Sport suspension was resoundingly criticised for harshness. I'm not really surprised. Included in the test were BMW 3 Series, Lexus IS350 & Infinity while Benz gave them 2 cars. Audi could not pony up a car at short notice.

So unfortunately we only have Airmatic vs. Sport with none of the other combinations available.

 

That's interesting. I did test drive a car set up with the Sport suspension and did find it a bit stiffer than I wanted for a daily driver. It actually felt similar to the suspension setup on my 2012 Volvo S60 R-Design, which could get uncomfortable on some of the local roads. The standard suspension isn't really that soft either, but it offers enough compliance to make things a little more comfortable.

I had a Luxury model as a loaner for a few days and, although that model here is advertised as having a "comfort tuned" suspension, I really couldn't feel any major comfort or handling differences compared to my standard steel setup.

I still haven't been able to drive an Airmatic, but that would an interesting comparison to what I've been able to sample so far.

 

I have booked two cars on wednesday, first a 1 hour drive with normal steel springs with the "comfort standard chassi" and then directly after 1 hour with an airmatic car.

I will write my review after that.

 

Great. Let us know what you think.