Pretty confused about this. Any insight ??

 

No Airmatic

 

So airmatic is exclusive to 4matic's only ??

 

Airmatic is an adaptive air suspension, and is found on some regular Mercedes cars. I believe that's actually an old system. The new and improved system is called AIR BODY CONTROL. The C63/S has an adaptive suspension called AMG RIDE CONTROL and it's a steel spring suspension with adaptive dampers. Some AMG models such as the E63 and GT 4-door have AMG RIDE CONTROL based on AIR BODY CONTROL, so they have an AMG tuned air suspension.

 

No, For example, 4matic offer on the C class Model but no airmatic. Airnatic only offer on the high end luxury class like E, S ... etc model.

 

Makes sense now. Thanks

 

c classes were offered with airmatic. c400 for instance - maybe other models.

 

Never seen or heard of a C400 here but other part of the worlds yes

 

"Here" is where?

 

I believe some AMG C63s in Europe have AMG air suspension but it was not offered here in North America

 

Yes, that is what I always thought too. Got curious and looked it up. Amazingly in the US, airmatic was standard on 2016-18 C350e and optional on C300 (2015-2018) and 2015 C400. Wonder how many people with C300s checked the airmatic option?

 

That’s weird, I’ve never seen c350 or C400 in the US. I only seen the new C450 claimed to be an AMG model similar to C43.

 

Yes C400 was a one year 2015 car, as C450 was only for 2016. C350e was a 3 years run 2016-18. All above with very low volumes. C450 "AMG" was basically what rebadged C43 became starting with 2017

 

Smart move. Mercedes couldn’t move the C450 so re-badged it. 😄

 

Nope, air suspension is not an option on the C63 anywhere. Doesn't fit the character of the model. Air suspension is generally found on models that to some degree prioritize straight line ride comfort over outright handling and cornering dynamics. You'll find it on the AMG models that are more meant to be straight line Autobahn rockets such as the E63, GT 4-door and S63. The C63 to some degree is meant to see some track time or at least is a canyon carver. Not saying that air suspension handle like crap, but they do generally have more body roll and as said have an objective to improve comfort more than handling. Audi for example offers both air suspension and steel suspension on the RS6 and RS7, so customers can choose between more comfort or better handling. Also, air suspension adds weight due to the compressor and air tank, and those components also take up extra space in the car. Neither is really desirable for the C63.

 

Did wonder.

I test drove an XC60, but it was very firm, felt like driving a rock compared to the C63. It had me wondering if the Merc was on air.

 

Air suspension is also a reliability concern longer-term from what ive seen on prior Benz models ie S class. Maybe the current gen is better ...?

 

My 2017 C200 has Airmatic, and is not 4matic.

 

Do you live in USA though?

MB had ABC (Air Body Control, Active Body Control), MBC (Magic Body Control, mostly on S-Class but I think it wasn't air based), E-ABC (first model year GLE and now only GLS and up from what I remembered, plus W223), Airmatic, Dynamic Body Control (I think on W213 E-Class, which is not air based I think)
More on Magic Body Control here:

 

*Automatic.

 

Always wonder why MB puts "Matic" in almost everything, What does it mean in German?

 

Doesn't mean anything in German. It's a word play on the English word Automatic. 4Matic essentially means "automatic all-wheel drive". In German it's "Automatischer Allradantrieb". So it would be 4Matisch if you want to do the same wordplay. As a German speaker I can tell you it doesn't have the same ring to it. German is a harsh language and has long words for many things, so brand names are often English, because it simply rolls off the tongue easier, and doesn't have to be translated for the international markets.

 

Thanks forum member superswiss! Very helpful as always!
Since I remember you came from audi, what is your take on Quattro?

 

I thought I saw a FCP euro video that the C could be optioned with air suspension

 

Quattro means 4 in Italian . If you meant what my take on quattro is (lower case spelling), then first off quattro is a brand and not a technology. Much like 4Matic. Not all quattro is the same. The entry level models such as the various variants of the A3 for example use a rebranded Haldex system. Same system is found in the VW 4Motion products. Haldex is a transverse system with a front transaxle that permanently drives the front wheels, so fundamentally these are FWD cars. Power/torque can be sent to the rear wheels via a multiplate clutch as needed, so it's technically not AWD, but FWD with partially engaged rear wheels.

Similarly a few years ago, Audi came out with quattro ultra for the A4 platform. It's found in the 2.0 liter and below models as quattro ultra can't handle all that much torque. It was designed to reduce the fuel economy penalty that inevitably comes with AWD. Like with Haldex, the front wheels are permanently driven and via a multiplate clutch power/torque is sent to the rear wheels as needed. However, in addition the driveshaft can also be decoupled from the rear differential via a dog clutch, so it comes to a complete standstill in FWD mode instead of kept in rotation by the momentum of the rear wheels. This reduces loss in the drivetrain and consequently a better fuel efficiently. As opposed to the Haldex system, quattro ultra also uses predictive algorithms to determine ahead of time when AWD is needed, so that it is engaged about 200-300 ms before it's needed. Various inputs are factored in such as drive mode, acceleration, yaw etc. It even determines if the driver is a dynamic driver or a casual driver and in the former cases it engages AWD more often.

The quattro system that most people think of when talking about quattro is the system in the A4 and above. This is often referred to as true quattro. The R8 has a similar system as 4Matic+, where the rear wheels are permanently driven and the front wheels are engaged via a multiplate clutch as needed. Essentially a reverse Haldex system. True quattro famously used a Torsen center differential. Like in a limited slip differential, it can lock based on rotational speed differences between the rear and the front and force torque to the axle with the most traction. This is all completely mechanical and therefore very fast acting. 4Matic+ and other systems control things electronically, so there is always a bit of a delay before the power/torque is redirected when a loss of traction occurs.

Nowadays true quattro uses self-locking center differentials with a clutch pack. It's still fully mechanical. The forces that occur in the center differential when the front and rear axle rotate at different speeds causes the clutch pack to engage and start locking the differential at various ratios depending on the traction differences. Again, this is how more modern LSDs work, but different from how the electronic locking differential in the 63 models works. Which like 4Matic+ is electronically controlled and locks at various ratios based on an algorithm and the inputs from several sensors. But the e-diff is actually more effective and faster acting than a mechanical LSD, because it can proactively lock the rear differential during launch control for example and also based on steering input during cornering. A mechanical LSD requires loss of traction before it starts locking, but the e-diff can start locking before loss of traction even occurs, because it knows when the driver is starting to steer into a corner. Basically quattro ultra as described above is attempting a similar thing and tries to predict based on driver input if it needs to engage AWD before loss of traction occurs.

Having said all that, quattro at least true quattro is more utilitarian and has better all-weather traction, because it's fully mechanical. 4Matic+ and other electronic systems often struggle in low grip environments as the electronic controls try to figure out where to send the power. The below video is a good comparison that shows how quattro is much more confident in the snow, whereas the Merc and BMW are kinda all over the place and experience much more wheel spin. 4Matic+ and similar systems are more performance oriented, because they primarily drive the rear wheels and are mostly RWD in normal traction situations. In the AMG models such as the E63, the front wheels can even be completely decoupled via the drift mode for a true RWD drifting experience. This is something that quattro simply can't do.