elmalo

The window sticker shows under options: "Lowered Suspension w/Selective Damping". My understanding is that the dampers should stiffen up when one selects Sport or Sport + from Comfort, and the ride becomes rougher. Selecting Comfort from from Sport+ should return the ride to softer and smoother. I feel no difference whatsoever. It is rough all the time. The car does not have Airmatic suspension. Comments?.

captj3

That just means the car is lowered. Your suspension is pre set by the factory. The lowering can only be if you had the option (automatic body control option). Hope this helps.

elmalo

If so, the statement "Selective Damping" is misleading. It implies that the driver can select the damping. I'm not talking about the capability to increase/reduce ride height, which is available with Airmatic. I'm talking about selecting stiffer/softer settings of the shock absorbers.

captj3

I understand that. I would (assume) it would be misleading or there may be a slight adjustment to the struts so the mfg can claim this. If you are able to look at your struts there may be some kind of wiring to them. That option is what the sticker says for my 2019 cls 450 4 matic. It also controls the dampening on my car as well.

elmalo

Thanks. Do you notice any change in ride quality going from Comfort to Sport+? I assume you don't have Airmatic.

captj3

I do have air matic suspension. I actually looked for this option as I drove both and preferred it. I had it with my E 550 as well. I do notice a difference from comfort to sport/sport plus.

elmalo

The air matic would show a difference in comfort level. I have owned 4 S-Class cars that had airmatic. It was the most comfortable suspension I'm aware of.

MBUSA made a mistake by not including airmatic in the CLS ordering guide after 2020 or 2021. It is still available outside of the USA.

But adjustable dampers with a steel spring suspension should also show a difference is ride quality. I thought that 'selective damping' meant just that.

figuwx

if it is an adjustable damper and spring, only real way to tell if an adjustment is happening is to record rebound/dampening and compare graphs. Otherwise it might be so slight that the butt dyno will not pick it up. Also you SHOULD be able to hear the valves/mechanical adjustment taking place on the shocks when selecting and the car is stationary.

Other things that might impact the perception of the suspension adjustment, run flat tires. They will just be rough across.
Also make sure the air pressure is not at the max for weight and speed (in my car, MB Dealer pumped up the fronts to 51psi and rear at 49 and to say the ride was boring jarring regardless of suspension setting is an understatement)

elmalo

figuwx: Thanks. My tire pressure (cold) is 34 psi, as recommended. My last two S-class cars had RFT but the ride was very smooth thanks to Airmatic. My wife has excellent hearing but she could not hear any valves clicking on my CLS 450 when I was going from Sport+ to Sport to Comfort, back and forth. I can absolutely not feel any difference in suspension characteristics while driving. If the change is so small that one can not feel it, what's the point of 'selective damping? Smells misleading advertising to me.

figuwx

Airmatic and RFT are ok but depends on tuning. My E63s has Airmatic and I would NOT want to run RFT with that suspension setup. It is already harsh with the Michelins' PS4, i would probably knock out a few teeth with RFT on that car.

With that said, i was reading some specs for the 2019-2022 CLS450 and they all say that the coil and spring is ADAPTIVE but zero mention of adjustable. The airmatic on the other hand is adjustable. That is a major technical difference. I know that adaptive suspension does everything by itself with no adjustment available which is what the magnetorhetorical suspension from GM/Delphi is and would not be surprised if this has some off shot of that technology without infringing on copyright or trademarks.

elmalo

The CLS 450 build sheet says "selective damping", which is not the same as 'adaptive".

figuwx

Again, that is not adjustable damping and in none of the technical docs does it say adjustable. I'll go further "selective" by WHO/WHAT or is that just their marketing jargon for the way they tuned their dampners?

elmalo

Whatever it is, it is misleading. MB uses that in the buildsheets and websites.

kdub

MB is very vague in the owners manual on how the drive mode changes the handling. If this is the stock CLS 450 suspension part it appears there are no adjustments.

https://mbparts.mbusa.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-shock-absorber-2133203630

https://mbparts.mbusa.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-suspension-strut-2573202401

elmalo

Thanks for info. Use of 'selective' in window stickers and marketing material is definitely misleading.