drleon

I bought it a month ago, new, from dealer saloon. This is 250d 204 PS diesel engine with 500 Nm/s torque, AMG line with lowered sport suspension on the wheels 225/40/R19 front & 255/35/R19 back. This is most heavy C-class, with enlarged fuel container of 66L, weighs about 1660 kg. I have driven some 2000 km through Sweden at relatively normal wind here, not more then 15 m/s, no tornado any way, all rout on highways, at good weather, no rains
& I must say… I didn’t dare exceed 120 km/h several times just because car became unstable of wind blows, thoug most on the road drove 150 km/h.
I had usual Audi A3 1.8T, 180 PS before & I used to drive at 160-180 km/h without stress.
Strange, because most of cars on the road has overtaken me easily in the same weather conditions, I mean even these much less cars as Ford Fiesta, Toyota Auris, Opel Corse and so on. I felt myself safe in the car at max. 140 km/h on the dry two-lane road in the middle of the day. Over this speed I was really scared that wind would blow the car off the road.
I have to confess, I found myself in a ridiculous situation because exactly due to this wind over sensitiveness I had got rid of my previous Mercedes CLA 250 4MATIC & bought C-class. I hoped it would not be so unstable on the wind.
Do you, who describe your C-class really didn’t notice such a problem?
P.S.
I heard an opinion that this is AMG-line, namely “sport” chassis and the spoiler that make car more sensitive to wind, can it be true?

Mike5215

If anything the lowered sport suspension would reduce the instability in cross winds. The rear spoiler is cosmetic and functionally useless. My guess is that your car is responding just like all the other cars you mentioned, but that their owners aren't quite as spooked by it.

drleon

I don't think this is my subjective impression.
I think that latest models of Mercedes (and not only Merc) are more sensitive to crosswind and I feel it under my driving. I owned many other cars and have never felt so. There is many expalnations for this but it's not in the companies interests to speak about it. Such studies are not revealed or at least not promoted. Let's begin from this quite comprehensive study:

"The trends during the last decade or so to lighter, more fuel efficient cars in
response to changing energy policies, combined with more recent trends toward
higher performance passenger cars, have led to increased interest in aerodynamic styling as a means for providing low drag configurations and for mitigating any high-speed crosswind sensitivities. In many cases, attempts at streamlining passenger cars for minimizing drag have led to unwanted increases in crosswind sensitivity..."

read more

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitst...C13?sequence=1

Mikey53

Do you have steering assist? Inputs from the car in response to cross winds made the car feel like it was wandering off until I got used to the system. We routinely have 30-40 knot cross winds here and I've never felt the car was unstable.

Mike5215

Had you read that study before you bought the car? It's no secret that the more mass a vehicle has and the lower its side profile the less susceptible it will be to cross wind. The C has a low enough profile, just not a lot of mass. The trend towards lighter cars, using aluminum and composites where they once used steel, isn't limited to MB.

drleon

Good to know I am the ony one to experience these problems.
I use sport mode
(is it sport steering that accomodates to speed?)

You mean it is enough to "get used to" and then I can drive at max speed without any risk to fly out of road?
Just a psychological problem :-)

As I wrote before
it was the reason I got rid of a brand new CLA after some months having hope to change to something more stable.

Really, C are more stable than CLA by about... 15-20%.

I found some theories on TESLA forum

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thre...way-not.14532/


P.S.

if not the date (2013) I would thing it was me who wrote

"I have noticed a lot more sensitivity to side winds on the freeway in my Model S then my Audi A3 (the small hatchback)"

Shadwell

Some throughts on things to try to improve your perception...


Have you gone into the Vehicle settings menu on the main screen menu and adjusted the agility mode settings to make the steering "sports" mode in E and C??
This weights the steering in the standard modes and IME makes for a more solid feeling.... i have done this do its the same in E,C and I...


Aside from that get your tyre pressures checked.. and wheel alignment.
Yes its new and should be correct but its real life and often these things are not.. mine was out and the steering was lighter befreo hand.. it was scrubbing the tyres too.. as an aside..


Best of luck

drleon

My car doesn't have airmatic so no impact on chassis.
It tuns good enough under about 120 km/h regardless road condition.
The only problem begins at higher speed.
I tried to drive on all these modes and didn't noticed any difference about wind sensitivity.
Maybe I must try again.
In my car is "eco", "comfort", "sport" and "sport+" mode.
Theoretically, which should be best against crosswind sensivity?

StanNH

I believe the W205 features MB'S "crosswind assist" which, according to the literature, applies selective braking to compensate for heavy crosswinds.

Mine can also feel a bit skittish in heavy crosswinds, but I don't know if that's the software kicking in or just the lighter car being buffeted. It may, in fact, be a feature that never really made it into the car, but it is supposed to be there.

drleon

this system, shown on the film

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/me...40.html#agal_0

concerns VAN'S SUV'S, in other words much heavier cars, which itself have much better tolerance to wind blasts.
Uncomparably better than my C-class. But, anyway, I don't have this system in mine.

I wonder hur Four-wheel drive (4MATIC) affects crosswind sensitivity. Does it make it worse or better?

Mikey53

Theoretically, it doesn't make any difference. Maybe you just get behind the car mentally when driving at higher speeds?

drleon

Thats the point!
I am about to talk with a shrink!

StanNH

I've read articles that state that all W205 sedans have the crosswind assist feature, but I've never been able to confirm this. Mine certainly doesn't seem to have anything like this.

I've owned a variety of AWD, RWD, and FWD cars over the years, and the drive system doesn't seem to have any effect on resistance to crosswinds. I have no idea if the use of RFT tires may contribute to the feeling of instability under heavy wind loads.

ManiacGT

My other half is quite sensitive to wind... I'm forever being told off...

2greycats

[QUOTE=drleon;6863613] i have a 2016 c250d 4matic and yes crosswind affects me too especially when strong gusts hit the side of the car but ONLY in very strong winds. Do i must say the car feels much more stable then my last one (w204). I think you are overreacting and should only drive below 130km/h if that is your comfort zone... Hope this helps