AMGaintBAD

Hey guys, I've had my p31 2013 c63 coupe for a little more than a year now. I've decided that the only way I'm going to keep this car is if I can soften up the suspension. It is just too rough around the city. I would like to make it ride as soft as a c350, e500 etc.

So what can I replace? The struts? springs? shocks? All 3? Brands? Please give me some knowledgeable advice...THANK YOU!

SaphGreyC63

No offense, but why buy a sports sedan if you don't want the "rough" suspension?

Personally I dont think the suspension is TOO rough. Sure its not a soft gliding car, but that isn't why I bought the car in the first place. Could have gotten a CLS 550 for the same price.

darkus

Its tough thing you are embarking on. The reason is that the inherent design of the C63 is a very unbalanced car so a relativly stiff suspension keeps things nice and tidy but also fun. An overly soft suspension would make things very sloppy and probably downright dangerous.

With that said, you might benefit from a better balance between rebound and dampening forces on your body.

The only solution I see for you are a set of KW V3 coilovers which will give you adjustability in seting up your ride comfort vs. car control. If you have the $$ to spend, theres something called KW DDC which will let you actually control all the comfort settings from inside your car with your iPhone! With that said, there is an outter bounds of ride comfort you can hope to achieve and it will simply never be cadillac ride

I do understand where you are coming from, theres just some inherent design qualities of every car you have to accept. These adjustable suspensions go along way to giving people the best of both worlds, BMW and benz are going headstrong into giving us those options are factory options on their newest cars, but for us, coilovers are the only way to get that kind of funtionality

Good luck! keep us posted

zibby43

OP (AMGaintBAD),

One of the cheapest/simplest ways to soften up the ride a bit is by replacing the tires. Perhaps a dedicated summer touring tire would suit you better than the max/extreme performance summer tires that are on the car currently.

AMGaintBAD

I didn't actually know it was that rough. I know I should have test drove before I bought, but it is what it is. Don't like size of cls. And I wanted an AMG so badly.

AMGaintBAD

Darkus, what is the pricing for this V3? Do you have it for your car? And can you compare the V3 vs the KW street comfort?

AMGaintBAD

What psi do you have your tires? Mine are at 45 according to the computer.

Side note: I've had many different highish end cars, rx7, 330ci, m3, 550i....and my favourite handling car for the city is by far the 330ci.

JRHolt

AMGaintBAD,

I run my tire pressure at about 38 psi cold. Seems to really help with the rough ride and the tire wear seems okay so far.

Another option is a KW DDC coil-over kit. You can adjust it remotely

Thrilla

I had the same issue with my C63. I swapped out my suspension for a set of KW V3 Coilovers and the ride is much improved while keeping the handling intact. The DDC is a nice upgrade, but in all honesty, once you find the right setting you won't be adjusting it again.

darkus

KW V3 are coilovers which means they are suspension which is adjustable for comfort or for stiffness, depending on your mood. The adjustment is not difficult but you do have to get under the car and get dirty, so its not the most convenient thing to do on the fly (if your not that type of person).

The KW V3 with DDC will allow you to adjust it from your iPhone or Android without dealing with the dirtness of getting under the car and using a physical tool.

I know the regular KW V3 usually is between 1-2.5k, the DDC I dont know how much it costs, but I assume it would be around 3-4k, but thats a guess

I have the KW V3 on my car, but my car is a black series, so its a bit different. My car is setup to be fairly stuff but im ok with that. Here is a nice review of the KW DDC if you want to compare the comfort levels:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...it-review.html

Take care

AMGaintBAD

Thrilla did you adjust your v3 to the softest setting? And what did you pay for your v3?

AMGaintBAD

Heh darkus, your pretty humble for not posting you drive the BS version.
Can I ask why I can't just replace the stock springs with much softer springs and be done with it?

Quarks

This is one of the reasons I abandoned my C63 even though I love it so much. The suspension is just too stiff even for weekend drive. I owned it for 3 years and that is already too much for me and my family. I hope you find a solution to a fantastic car.

KIS007

Amazed at what people perceive. I think the C63 suspension is a bit on the soft side. Op, good luck with finding a solution.

bhamg

I like stiff suspensions but damping makes all the difference and most factory calibrations - oddly, considering the engineering resources they can throw at it - rarely get it right. If it were a choice between improving the suspension to my taste or installing a tune I'd opt for the former, every time.

-Marlin-

I really didn't think the suspension on my C350 was that much better of a ride then on my C63. All of the gains in power and performance outweigh the sacrifice of a stiff suspension. I test drove 6 different C63s over the course of a year before settling on the right car. Sadly, maybe it's just not the right car for you. Maybe an S4, S6, or a Volvo R.

m a x i m u s

my p30 (different from yours) is definitely stiff, but I like it that way. I think a big factor in the ride difference between the c63 and the c350 are the higher sidewalls on the tires.

average joe

The KW DDC is fantastic.
I had it fitted last year (the roads in the UK are not the best).
You can either have 3 standard settings and change by the touch of a button (mine sits nicely nest to the c-s-m button.
In comfort its softer than stock.

If you play about with the settings via your phone you can get it really soft to the point where it feels like the car is floating (not nice actually) and then when the mood changes or you are on a track you can get it rock hard.
From pressing the button to feeling the difference in ride takes about 2-3 secs.

i dare say its the most impressive mod on my car.

Euler

I have a 2008 with the P30 kit. It is really stiff and I enjoy every minute of it as my daily driver. Though it's Not good when you give a pot hole a solid hit. Had to replace a front rim because of it.

glennhl

Just curious. Why is the c63 design inherently an unbalanced car?

HardC63

As stated above, you can opt for softer, but performance geared tired vs what is delivered from the factory.

Personally, I didn't mind the hard ride, but my wife hated it. So, I simple purchased new tires when it was time and set tire pressures 3psi below the factory recommendation both in the fronts & rears. Meaning, 36psi front (vs 39) and 38psi rear (vs 41) and that seemed to have done the trick. It is not 100% super soft, but it is much more acceptable to her.

I will admit however, the conering is not as sharp as it used to be with the harder side wall/harder riding Michelins, but she and I are not trying to race it at any road course event; it is just fine for daily communtes.

AMGaintBAD

Average joe, I'd really hate to spend 3k on that system, only to find that its still not what I'm looking for. I want to spend under 1k if thats possible. Do you know if I can just change the springs to soft ones and have a softer ride? I don't know much about the components of a car's suspension.

AMGaintBAD

My cars psi is around 45...which is probably part of the problem. I'm going to go set it to about 37...and hopefully I'll be satisfied.

HardC63

Oh yeah 45psi is a lot.

I don't care what Merc says, I don't run those high tire psi

Remember, tire psi increases due to heat; I can only imagine what your psi are after driving for let's say 30mins during the summer.

Yep, try 37psi and see how it feels. Like I said, I run 36 in the fronts and 38 in the rear and my tire wear is nice and even...much better vs when I ran the factory recommended psi.

average joe

I dare say you would struggle to find softer springs off the shelf, as most are designed to lower the car.
Are you running 19" or 18" rims, 18's would give you a softer ride with higher profile tyres.

Only option i would assume would be to change to KW V3 (probably over budget though) and set them up to be soft.....but that may throw the handling of the car out of the window.