JG26_Irish

Update: I am sneaking up on this slowly with small changes. Realigned the front to max out available negative camber with stock system. Got -0.7 deg. This did help a little but not enough. Before going to camber plates or kmac bushings etc, I think I am going to try the rear H&R swaybar as the next step. That is cheap easy and adjustable plus, while I had not complained about it, I thought the body roll was excessive anyway.

Something I keep noticing is the distinct lack of damping in the steering wheel when larger steering inputs are made. The C36 was very stable where the C32 wheel will see-saw back and forth unless I physically control it. It is more annoying than a problem but it does affect steering precision sometimes, especially in esses or on undulating pavement. Probably enherent to the front suspension, steering gear design but if there are ways to smooth it out with either adjustments to the power steering or addition of external damper, I am all ears.

c32used

This is very interesting stuff....what you guys recommend to keep power to ground from a suspension standpoint?

TemjinX2

any know that the stock spring rates are on a c32?

the guy i'm getting the coil overs from is offer free custom springs without any additional cost.

the stock spring rates that the coil overs come with are

5.2k in the front and 8.5k in the rear.

i think converted its 291lbs/in in the front and and 476lbs/in in the rear.

please correct me if my conversions are wrong.

JG26_Irish

If that is 5.2 front and 8.5 rear measured in Kg/mm then your conversion to lbs/in is correct (cept I got 475 rear I guess due to rounding error, lol). Please report how this turns out as my alterations have been on hold until better weather. It is just not possible to evaluate changes on roads that are covered with snow and ice

While the spring sets recommended by Dorkin may work great, I am not seeking to turn the C32 into a "Race Car". My goals are to:

1.) Get the front/rear traction better balanced
2.) Improve the feel of the steering to reduce the "bump steer"
3.) Develop a more planted feel when cornering that is ever so slightly biased toward oversteer as opposed to understeer when pushed hard.

This was possible in the old C36 without spring rates that were so stiff that the car never moved. In fact the two cars weigh essentially the same and the spring stiffness of the two feels about the same, except that the rear springs on the C36 seemed slightly softer so that when cornering hard the outside rear would squat and shift weight to that corner while the front stayed more flat. It was a good solid, stable feel and would work very very well right up to the limit of traction.

I don't really think that stiffer springs are the answer to my issues. They can and will improve the way the car corners but at the price of ride compliance and comfort, plus anybody who has driven a Lotus Elise knows that what works on smooth pavement and race tracks can still be too stiff and scary for bumpy real world roads at legal speeds. The Elise is very stiff and will get down right out of control when driven on bumpy back roads full of patches and frost heave, etc. So, while stiffer springs might help, I am not looking to go that route.

I know that in some ways AMG's job is to take the everyday Mercedes and turn it into a more focused and performance oriented car. One with better power, better brakes and better handling. Even so, it is still an exercise in compromise. The W203 C-Klasse may not be all that sophisticated to start with and they can only do so much with what they had to work with. Still, I feel that the transition from W202 C36 to W203 C32 was a step toward mass appeal as opposed to pure performance sedan. Frankly the handling and steering of the C32 is a disappointment when compared to the older car. The difference is small but noticable and it seems that they advanced the engine power greatly while taking two steps backwards in the handling dept. I love the engine but long for the better balanced package. Truth is that if I had never driven a C36 I would be happy as a clam with this car's handling but having had better, it is hard to settle for less. It may or may not be fixable but is at least worth a try.

Irish

greasybenz

Thats one of my beef's with AMG.

My W124 has an AMG suspension kit that i put on it from when AMG was a separate tuning company. The kit really made the car handle like an //M BMW and it kills in autocross.

With the C32 they should have done what they did in the past with the C36 as far as handling. But its as if they think AMG drivers dont want an //M car and rather have a soft Mercedes with a crazy engine. Which isnt always the case, I personally like a car that can corner around a track well. And my C32 doesnt cut it with its stock suspension.

From my point of view it looks as if AMG goes on with that thinking of a "soft Mercedes with a crazy engine" with the new C63. The handling is a joke on that car.

Fifth Ring

For straight line acceleration, the advice is the opposite of what is advised for handling. You want a soft rear suspension to keep the stress as balanced as possible.

PS: I did lowering springs and de-staggered (used 4 rear wheels). I never worked on alignment. I never came close to defeating the understeer. I finally gave up and bought a cheap track car and have gone whole-hog on suspension modifications (springs, coilovers, sways, camber plates and bushings). Now I don't care about the C32's understeer!

As you can see from my sig picture and the other picture, changing your grill does nothing for handling!

TemjinX2

well i'll let you guys know when i get them at the end of next week. theres been a delay in shipping because of chinese new yr.

I found the spring rates on the Tein SS as comparison

front 336 ft and 448 ft rear.

EVOII_Racer

What is the easiest way to make the C32 steering heavier? Would installing largest wheels in front would make a difference? For example installing the stock rear wheel 245 in front woul work?

In theory there are no stupid qusetion right?

AWDman

heavy steering does not mean it is more precise. go for kmac camber bushings for precision. you don't have to run neg camber to feel the diff.

if you must have heavier steering then yes a wider footprint will add as will a smaller steering wheel.

also...amg, audi quattro gmbh and bmw m products are positioned so there is some overlap but each retain some unique characteristics. basically if you want handling get the M, power get the amg, 4 season traction get the quattro. if i had my druthers i'd like the 6.2l amg motor with the audi quattro system in the chassis of new m3 with dct. ahhhhhh....

i'm posting a few pix that show the effect of sway bars. first two pix below are without, i'm on yoke a048 and not pulling nearly as high Gs as i am in the 3rd. 4th pix is my buddys stock evo in same corner at lime rock. notice the lean of the evo. the c32 is flatter.

edit- i can't repost pix - see here for the first two pix that shows the lean of the c32 w/o sways. the thread is a good read as well https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...nt-photos.html

JG26_Irish

I think that I have found a easy solution to most of my handling issues in the C32. Yesterday, I replaced the Pirelli P-Zero NERO tires. The rears were worn out and the fronts at 50%. I replaced all 4 with new Bridgestone Re050A-PP tires. The results were unexpected and a very pleaseant surprise. Strong steering inputs are no longer generating the under-damped oscillations that I had been complaining about. The precision and overall feel of the steering is improved. Turn-in might be slightly slower, but until, I can get to the track or at least a decent twisty road, this is all I can say. Still first impression is Two Thumbs UP

Inspections of the tread on the fronts shows that the extra neg camber that was added in December has better balanced the tread wear. It will be interesting to see if the Bridgestones stick better and help with the understeer that I had before. We can only hope. I would never have dreamed that the feel of two tires that look so similar could be so totally different. These tires are not cheap but if they have fixed this issue, they are so totally worth it. My car feels so much more like my old C36 (which by the way was shod with the cheaper Bridgestone-Fusion tires), Whooo-Hoooo.

Apparently the tire sidewall flex is totally different with these two tires.

Irish