Con1

I am considering a C400. The C400 comes standard with the sport suspension, right?

On the C400 with steel suspension, what exactly does the agility settings affect? The salesman said it changes: steering, shifting, throttle response and suspension. Does agility change suspension settings on steel sport suspension equipped C400s, it didn't seem like it?

What does airmatic do? The salesman told me it only raises and lowers the car, which made no sense to me. He didn't seem to know the system. On an airmatic equipped C400, does the agility setting change the "spring rate" or dampening of the airmatic suspension?

Do either agility or airmatic change the suspension similar to the GM Magnetic Ride Control? (The CTS vSport has an excellent implementation of this technology.)

c4004matic

There are multiple threads covering these but here it is in a nutshell:


C400 comes with sport suspension standard
On the c400 agility select changes acceleration parameters, transmission mapping, throttle position etc. It doesn't affect suspension unless you have airmatic.
Airmatic is simply a semiactive air suspension They swap all the shock absorbers and replace them with air ones which can vary in firmness according to the agility select choice, from soft to significantly firm. Its semiactive thus, even within a particular firmness level, it varies firmness to each shock according to road conditions. Its different form magnaride, which is a magnetoheological system, in that not only does it vary firmness of the shock (passive adaptation) it can also vary the height of the suspension at each wheel (active component) Magnaride cannot lift and lower the car for example.
On the new S class there is even a carpet ride option which combines airmatic with radar so it can preadjust to road conditions and smooth the ride even more.
Magnetorheological shocks are purportedly more reliable than airmatic which is a significantly more complicated system, but in my experience with magnetic shocks, they took a crapper at 48K miles and they cost 1500 bucks a piece. Luckily they were covered by warranty.

Eilers

Dampers(aka shock absorbers) are hydraulic, not air.

The Springs is the "Air" bit, namely Airsprings, hence why the car is self levelling. A huge benefit!

Con1

Thank you for explanation.

Is airmatic on firmest setting firmer than the C400's standard suspension? The car I drove (steel suspension) was a bit soft for my tastes. It soaked up bumps well enough, but didn't have quite the road feel I prefer.

I'd like to take the car to the track for high speed lapping days ~ nothing too radical, just some good stress relieving high speed driving every once in a while. This car will be my DD. Track days would only a couple times per year. Would airmatic be a good choice, or would it be better to wait for manually adjustable coil-overs (if they ever become available)?

c4004matic

Theoretically the sport plus setting of airmatic is firmer than the steel suspension. The airmatic car should always maintain a flatter cornering attitude due to the active component to the system, it also should have noticeably less dive when braking too. Some reviewers find the absence of lean on curves a little unnatural. I'll let you know next week when I finally get mine. The fact is that airmatic even on the firmest setting will seem compliant, in corner bumps for example, it should keep its composure since it can selectively soften the bumped wheel.
Airmatic has been around for decades so I would hope they have worked the great majority of the "kinks" out. That said I don't expect airmatic to be night and day difference from the steel suspension which is already quite good if more comfort than sport oriented. Airmatic is probably a better deal on the 400 than the 300 since the 300 is more agile to begin with given its lighter weight an better weight distribution (were splitting hairs here).
Furthermore, there is an individual setting, you can set the suspension on sport plus all the time without having to set the engine in sport plus, thus having a firm suspension while avoiding having everything else in sport plus which makes the engine response too "racy" for everyday use. On sport plus the engine wants to eat the asphalt as soon as you step on the accelerator, nice for a romp but tiring and too fuel consuming for everyday driving. From what you seem to want the suspension in sport plus and the rest in sport is something you might enjoy.

floridadriver

Airmatic IMO it helps overcome some of the balancing issue of heavier front end feel of the C400, plus the other benefits as described by others. It's probably more 'needed' in this car than the C300, but a cool option if it fits your needs. Otherwise, no adaptive suspension. I would definately test drive all the varieties you can, AND unless you're in a more immediate desire for a C and don't want the extra performance and hopefully improved dynamics, consider holding out a bit longer for C450. We're not too many days away from launch. C400 in US appears to be a single year run here and not popular, not to say it might be a match for you considering the wicked deals on them.

K-A

Granted I haven't driven it so I don't know how good or dynamic of an Air Suspension system it is; Airmatic for sure. Essential to meet your dynamic needs especially if you like a sporty ride and are coming into a Mercedes. Having airmatic on a vehicle in this class is very rare/exclusive and I think worth taking advantage of, on a C400 namely.