So I've had recurring issues with the suspenssion on my 2016 C450. For those unfamiliar with this set-up, it has the electronic adjustable dampeners similar to the C63. Aside from all the issues I've had with the control module and programming, the suspension tuning is just awful. The rear is "floaty" on rebound while impacts on rough pavement are ridiculously harsh. Ride quality is poor and the car is easily upset when powering out of corners on anything less than perfect road surfaces.

I know that AMG suspension tuning is harsher and I'm aware that my "AMG sport" c450 has AMG suspension components and tuning and rides more firm than a regular MB W205 sedan. However, I have driven other AMG vehicles both at ADA and dealer loaners and test drives. None of them were simultaneously crashy and floaty like my C450.



Anyhow, I've gone round and round with MBUSA on this and It's clear that I am not going to get any more support from them for a fix. So... I'm looking to upgrade suspension components. Alternatively, if the dampeners on my vehicle have manual adjustability for both compression and rebound I'm willing to experiment with tuning them to attempt to improve ride quality and handling. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any valve adjustments on the stock dampeners.

So 2 questions for the W205 drivers here:

1. Has anyone made manual adjustments to the stock dampeners? Is this even possible and were you successful? If so can you advise on location of the valve adjustments?

2. Has anyone gone with aftermarket springs, coilovers, dampeners, bushings or any combo of suspension components that succeeded in improving both ride quality for DD and handling?



To be clear, I am not intersted in any AMG bashing nor am I intersted in fanboy opinions about comparitive vehicle quality. I would be completely in love with this car if the suspension was sorted. It's really the only major flaw with this vehicle but it is a major one indeed. If anyone can steer me in the correct direction your help will be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Okay so in my current situation, I test drove the 2019 C43 on perfect roads and loved the car. Made the order. While waiting for my car, which is coming in a few weeks time, I got the salesman to let me drive the test car again over a few more test drives on other roads. I’ve since had second thoughts about the car because I found out from spending more time behind the wheel that in Comfort mode the rear is floaty and unsettled on uneven roads and just oscillates like crazy. Sport mode is slightly better, but I am pretty sure I hate the ride and handling. However, there’s turning back as I’ve already committed to the car and it’s coming real soon.

When the car comes I’m going to give it a few weeks of regular driving and if I can’t take it I will probably change the suspension. I have a lot of experience with KW V3’s on many other vehicles I’ve owned; Porsche, Audi, BMW, and the V3’s are always very comfortable and sporty when dialled in properly and it’s seems to be a cure-all for multiple makes and models for me. I have never had a Mercedes before, but I am convinced that the V3’s are superior to the stock C43 setup. I will lose the 3 shock settings and will only have one, but I’ve always been able to dial in a set of V3’s to a single setting that works for all conditions. I don’t really like having many options and settings in a car anyway.

I’m excited about getting the car soon, but also very worried I’m going to hate the suspension.

The only reason why I’m holding back on the V3’s is because it will void my warranty as the car is new. So really, I have a real conundrum ahead of me.

 

Feeling the need to share something on this topic. My first post here.

In short I live in Shanghai and got my hands on the 2019 C43 in April. Difference is that the car I have is the estate version. I'm told a total of 15 wagons made their way to China, so imagine how difficult to share opinions here.

I agree with everything the OP said in the first post. Now I'm confident that Mercedes did not change the suspension setup for this car ever. To my knowledge all AWD S205 (estates) versions are 55 kilograms heavier than W205 (sedans) versions, so the characteristics of the C43 suspension is the same across the platform. And I'd like to add that albeit the car being 'floaty' and 'bouncy' over humps at speed, support provided by the suspension when cornering is surprisingly good. My own experience, on those two decade old elevated expressways here in Shanghai, with huge rises and drops every 50 meters or so where segments of road connect with each other, the ride is very jumpy in both comfort and sport settings, especially driving faster than 130 kmh, or 90 mph - illegal of course. Sport plus is quite okay for me to be honest, but i'd like that ride feel to be default 'Sport' from AMG, leaving a stiffer setting for 'Sport Plus'.

So my theory is that the springs are too heavy and soft for this car, and the unsprung mass is a little to big. It's always the droop of the spring causing excessive suspension travel when the car is not on perfectly flat road. And let's face it, the calipers are very heavy, so are the 19-inch AMG multi-spoke alloys on my car. In that case the dampers are not strong enough to kill the unnecessary travels of the springs. Basically you could go two ways - change the calipers, say Brembo GT-6 and forged rims such as BBS RI-D, which is obviously beside the point. Or, change the suspension.

And like the OP, I have extensive experience on KW Variant 3s, or let's say all KW products because a close friend of mine has a performance car workshop, well recognized here in Shanghai, which is KW dealer. The V3 on my previous Mk VI Golf R provided a firm but confident ride quality without being too stiff. I always thought the setup would be a little insufficient on track but adequate for city spirited driving. The only thing I'm not so sure, is the V3 for the C43 would kill the electric signals of the computer, making the car think it's still using the stock suspension. Otherwise, there will be codes. And there's a simpler version, which is Height Adjustable Spring sets, or H.A.S. I'm still contacting KW to confirm if the springs will work on my wagon, which is 55 kgs heavier than sedans. Once confirmed, I will get back with my experience with that set of springs. I'm quite confident the KW spring set would solve the issue because KW springs are almost always stiffer than stock.

BTW, does anyone have complaints about stock brakes? The bite of the first 20 percent of travel is decent enough for stop-and-go traffic. But anything further than that leaves not much confidence. AND... when you need to brake hard, that requires a lot of physical strength.

 

My car that is coming in the next few weeks is also an Estate. In my opinion, the springs are not the problem, the shock absorbers are the problem. You can tell because as you cycle through the modes, the oscillations disappear. The problem is mainly in Comfort mode. However, as you go to Sport and Sport Plus mode, the oscillations are lessened, but everything else goes too hard for everyday driving. The V3's are separately adjustable for bound and rebound, and I am pretty confident that we can cure the issue because the behavior can be customized more specifically. As you have had V3's before, you will know what I mean. The V3's for C43 come with the cancellers in the kit, so there's is no problem using them on the car. The V3's will not interfere with the car's electronics.

The KW HAS spring set will lower your car, but I doubt that it will solve the issue. The spring rates, number of coils and diameter of the springs, for the HAS set and the V3's are very very similar (I checked the TUV certificates) only that they are mounted on the V3 adjustable shocks in the V3 set.

KW has not yet gotten TUV approval for the HAS springs for 2019 C43 Estates, but they have done it for V3. However, KW has TUV approval for HAS and V3 for pre-2019 Estates. They are the same parts for 2019 C43 Estate, just no approval yet, so if you really wanted to try HAS, get the one for ->2018 C43 Estate.

 

I'm completely with you in that for a better ride overall, change to V3 would be the best option so far.

The reason I think the HAS would work though, is that shorter springs travel less, in general. We all agree the fact that in comfort and sport mode the electric dampers are not actively controlling the excessive rebounds of the springs, and it is easy to come to a conclusion that the damper setting from factory is too weak. However, my take is that if you try to reduce unsprung weight, or reduce the travel of the entire suspension, it will also work because the motion inertia is weakened that way. But I have to admit the fact that although happy with what V3 provided to my Golf R, I've always wanted a more flexible suspension to appease the lady riding beside me. So I'll try best to keep the dampers for as long as I could.

One more thing, I'm not sure if Mercedes still use the terminology 'Agility Control', but the twin-cylinder spec for the dampers is clearly thought of, which should provide different ride feels when speeds vary. That being said, I do feel the rear end a little sensitive and harsh over small irregularities on the road. I mainly blame this on the 19 inch ContiSportContact 5P's, and I tend to believe Michelin PS4S' will be more supple on that matter.

 

The V3 spring rates are almost identical to the HAS springs.

 

Thank you TModelle. I am aware of that. I was comparing the HAS springs to stock ones.

So a KW technician got back to me today, in German lol. Basically he confirmed C43's stock settings are quite modest, and said by changing the HAS the handling will be 'slightly better'. He also said if I want performance, V3 is the way to go.

Now I have to reconsider my options, since I would try to keep the electrically adjustable dampers from stock, for various occasions. For now, guess I have to make do with two clicks to Sport Plus for bumpy conditions. Oh one more thing, I try to feel the differences of each suspension setting this morning, and I have a feeling that since 2019 models do not have individual steering settings, by putting the suspension to Sport Plus the steering wheel feels a tad tighter as well - I don't mind of course. Don't have other complaints in Sport Plus.

 

2019 suspension is way better than the pre facelift - but the car is still tuned funky and it's not the springs - it's the dampers. They are super floaty in comfort and even in sport+ over wavey type roads - but crash with abrupt bumps. They simply don't have a large enough initial absorbtion phase before stiffening up.

Anyways - car handles and feels great with HAS Springs on 2019 - even fairly low it rides way better than the pre-facelift

 

for V3 kitts KW can supply you with a connector that takes care of the electronic damper related CELs or errors.

 

I did mention that earlier, I've been trying to convince arriestocracy that V3's are the way to go.

Eibach have a similar canceller too, but it's great that KW packages their kit with them at no additional cost.

 

I currently have on order the MSS adjustable springs though and apprently it gets rid of the floatiness really well. But they have been really slow with the order with delays. If they do not ship by the end of the month, I will probably cancel and go with KW HAS instead.

 

It sounds like KW V3 is the only real solution on the market.

I don't think just the HAS springs alone will fix the crashing on impact/compression stroke. Has anyone with a lift scrutinized the dampers? Are there any manual valve adjustments?

FYI, my car's suspension has had some pretty serious issues. I'm convinced MB of Wilsonville fudged it up worse when they were throwing parts at it. They threw multiple dampers and wiring harnesses at it before they gave up and told me it was all in my head.

MB of Portland diagnosed the fact that the damper settings were mismatched (different corners displaying different settings while in the same mode) and fixed that with software. This obviously improved the handling but the compliance of the comfort setting was not restored to it's original floaty and slightly jarring character. Instead it remains harsh as hell and still gives wheel hop when you goose it on uneven pavement. So basically, my damper settings are now matched correctly but compression and rebound are still FUBAR.

 

There are no manual adjustments.

I'm going to give it a month while I'm running in the engine. If it can't take the floaty oscillations in the rear, I'm going KW V3.

 

3k on just suspension? Damn, haha. I do not see myself investing that much on a car I just bought.

 

It's a small proportion compared to the purchase price of the car, at least where I'm from. Less than 1.2%.

 

Hi Guys
the MSS springs are now ready to ship and they have reduced the price to £600 that why you keep the normal suspension functions.

 

I have to echo the sentiments expressed above.

I'm very happy with the suspension's performance both during cornering and while cruising on well-manicured road surfaces, but little dips or humps in the road trigger that floating rear sensation in C. It's very unsettling in wet weather at highway speeds. With this behavior, you'd expect the suspension to be able to dispatch of harsher road imperfections with ease in C, but it's the opposite.

It sounds like KW V3s are the way to go in terms of dialing out this unwanted behavior. I'm very familiar with the quality of the product, but as someone that has never used aftermarket suspension components before, how much work is involved here?

I wouldn't be doing the install myself, so, after the hardware is installed, is everything good to go? Thanks in advance.

 

KWs require quite a lot of adjustments to get it to ride and perform to your own preference. Height, Bound and Rebound, and then when you are done, an alignment. Then, after all that, a final fine tuning. Be prepared to adjust at least three times. Best to get a shop familiar with setting up V3’s and have enough patience with the process. Be prepared to pay a premium for the service.

 

I am a little confused why would you pay so much money for such a car with active suspension only to remove it with a lot of messing about????? I have used the MSS Springs and all I needed to do is just swap out the springs adjust the ride height I want and bloom I am good to go and I still have the comfort - sport and sport plus option if you live in the UK I am happy to give you a test drive before you go and spend £3k

 

Because the damping in Comfort and Sport modes are pretty much useless. Sport+ is only decent.

 

Trust me it's not the stocks it's the springs I use to think that a poor ride is down to the stocks but it's not with the correct spring rate you will see how well the stocks performs over the same bumps. I was very unhappy with my setup when I brought the car once I changed to the MSS the car feels very different and I don't have any of the problems people are saying in this thread. They another guy on this forum with a red C43 wagan and he had the KW V3 and rid after 6-8months if I could remember the user name I will add him to the conversation and he can tell you first hand.

It will very interesting as to how many of us actually take the jump and what the feedback is after 6months who going to be first????

Oh H&R also do an adjustable spring kit don't know much about them but also maybe worth a look

 

Are the MSS spring rates less than stock? That’s the only way that it would help because the stock shocks in Sport+ have barely enough rebound to handle the stock springs.

 

I couldn't tell you what the rates are because they don't give out that information because their system is a little more sophisticated than that due to the stack system they use read this I pulled it from the website...when I do fast driving or the car meets my car is in sports plus and it feels great

MSS EXPLAINED

Think of MSS Ride Management System as a ‘Speaker system’ which is made up of dedicated speaker components designed to operate at its optimum within a focused frequency range as follows.

• Tweeters handle high-pitched audio frequencies.

• Mid-woofers handle mid-range audio frequencies.

• Subwoofers handle low-pitched audio frequencies.

The MSS Ride Management System, with the triple-rated stacked rear springs arrangement acts exactly in the same way as the ‘Speaker system’ and as follows:

• The low-rated springs in the stacked arrangement, rated from as little as 100 pounds per inch, acts as the ‘tweeters’ and handles smaller road surface bumps to ensure a smoother ride when travelling at lower speeds of below 30mph on rough roads.

 

it's 100% the shocks - you're just wrong. The bounce is a characteristic of the tuning of the shocks and the technology behind them. Magnetic ride control seen in GM products is a much more suitable solution for varying comfort levels in an adjustable shock.

You just got your springs installed and you probably want to think the world of them - new springs can help - but you're probably mostly feeling placebo effect.

 

The only difference i can even see in the MSS set-up is the more robust helper spring in the front (which i don't believe is where the primary problem - the rear is worse).