rmgrenley

I have a 2013 E350 4matic coupe, with about 18,000 miles, and I love everything about it except for feeling every road irregularity. The streets in Seattle are awful, and the car has low profile tires. I don’t know if the car was offered with different suspensions, as in a sport suspension, but judging by the seats and the low profile tires I would suspect that mine has a sport suspension if suck things existed in this model. I test drove the car in Lynwood, where in retrospect the streets were apparently much smoother, and the ride was great. The car handles well and the ride is smooth if the streets are smooth. Unfortunately, I do mainly in-city driving, and on these streets I feel everything.

I am wondering if it is possible to change the tires and wheels to regular profile tires, and whether this would make any significant difference in the ride comfort, or whether I am stuck with a car that has a sport suspension and changing from low profile tires would be an expensive exercise with little noticeable improvement. I suppose there isn’t anything to do to soften a sport suspension, if that is what I have?

habu55

RM,
I have a 2012 E350 Cab (Sport). The ride was quite harsh with the original Conti's. My tires are 235/40 18 front and 255/35 18 rear. I live in Kitsap and had Les Schwab swap the Conit's for a set of Hankook Z rated all season tires (same sizes) in March. The ride is much better.

ibbij

There is at least two different suspensions both of them setup for sport handling. If you have a “Sport” button mode on your center console it’s a electronic suspension, if not you have more options to change the coil overs. You may be able to switch from an OEM shock/struts to non-OEM that have more comfort.

Recently I redid all four of my electronic shocks/struts and the ride still feels bouncier than I would like. Some days are better than others so I thought maybe it’s breaking in of the new shocks/struts but I really don’t know.

I have Michelin Primacy tires which are supposed to be good touring tires (although not what I wanted, came with the car when I bought it used last year) however not comfortable enough. Perhaps if there is a way to put a wider tire, to go from 35 to 40 in the fronts or 40 to 45 in the rear it should give more rubber cushion but that’s just a theory. I haven’t heard that a thicker tire can be installed, I do know wider tires can be, 245 in the front and 265 in the rear so may do that when I change the tires probably in the spring.

Another option is to go to 17” wheels and then thicker tire would be required. Usually reducing a inch or two on a wheel does improve ride comfort.

Keep us posted. Also you mentioned less than 20k on a 2013, that’s impressive how low your mileage is or was it a typo and you meant to say 2023?

rmgrenley

Hi.
I went out to check the tire sizes and types.
Although nothing on the sales sticker says anything about Sport package, the multicontour seats and 5 spoke wheels and rear spoiler and low profile tires tell me that I have the Sport package with sport suspension. And if I didn't mention it before, this is the E350 4matic.
Tire info: (as I am not knowledgeable about tires, i will probably list more info than is necessary!)
Rear tires: 255/35 R18 Michelin Primacy MXM4, 94H Extra Load, M&S Radial X
Front tires: 235/40 R18 Primacy MXM4, 91H Radial X (didn't see anything about "extra load)

The only button on the console for driving "style" is an E/S button, and I looked it up and it is a Driving Program that controls the transmission, I believe, for either a more comfortable shifting "pattern" style (with better fuel economy and for slippery surfaces better traction) vs. a Sport style. Apparently there is no effect on ride/suspension.

BTW, rechecked the mileage (which I haven't done for a while as I usually have the tire pressure monitor up. I have 19,000 miles now!
I only drive around Seattle, and whenever we drive to the beach place in Oregon, we take my wife's MB station wagon (which is a 2001 E320 4matic with 165,000 miles, and we finally have an order/build in for a 2023 E450 4matic All Terrain arriving this fall, and will hand over our current wagon to our daughter for a second car...still drives well). Used to put on about 3,000 miles a year, now much less during Covid as we spend more time in Oregon with my wife's car.
So that's the story about the low mileage!

I don't know how much of my harsh ride on these horrible city streets are due to the low profile tires or type of tire, vs. due to the Sport suspension...although it may be both.

rmgrenley

As I mentioned before, the ride in my 2013 E350 coupe with sport suspension is great on smooth roads, and sucks on the poorly patched and potholed streets of Seattle where I spend 90% of my time. There is apparently no button to control the suspension or ride.
My tires, which I believe were OEM, are:
Rear tires: 255/35 R18 Michelin Primacy MXM4, 94H Extra Load, M&S Radial X
Front tires: 235/40 R18 Primacy MXM4, 91H Radial X (didn't see anything about "extra load)

I am not sure how much of the harsh ride is due to the 18 inch wheels and low profile tires, vs. the sport suspension which I cannot really change. I do not know whether going to a same sized all season tire of a different brand would make any difference, or whether going to ? 17 inch wheels with a regular profile tire (assuming that this is possible, since I don’t truly understand such things!) would make enough difference to justify the cost.

Also, the dealer always inflates the tires to about 40-42 when serviced, and I read on another thread a discussion of not not inflating the tires so high to improve the ride. It was suggested to not go by the recommended tire pressures on the door jam tag, but to go by the tag in the gas filler door. Unfortunately, I have no tag on the gas filler door!

I am at a loss to figure out what to do:
1. Sell the car that I otherwise love and that only has 19,000 miles on it.
2. Try a different brand tire, same size and still low profile.
3. Try 17” wheels and I presume non-profile tires
4. Try decreasing the tire pressures after I figure out what to safely decrease them to…any suggestions?

Any thoughts? Thanks!

habu55

My 2012 E350 Cab door sticker recommends 34 F and 35 R. Before I replaced the original tires I lowered each set by 2 psi. Helped but not as good as the new tires. I run those at 34 and 35 and find the ride to be much more to my liking. Hope this helps.

Mr. Toad

The decal inside the fuel filler flap on my 2016 e400 coupe indicates 36 PSI cold pressure for all four tires. The decal on the driver's door jamb indicates the recommendation for a fully-loaded vehicle, which I believe is 42 PSI cold pressure.

I follow the direction inside the fuel filler flap. As the OP indicated, there is a tendency by the dealer (and most other shops) to overfill to 42 PSI, which is not appropriate for normal use.

rmgrenley

Thank you habu55 and Mr. Toad for your replies.
Not sure what happened to my gas filler sticker!
I don’t know if I mentioned that my coupe is a 4matic, and as mentioned my tire sizes are:
Rear tires: 255/35 R18 Michelin Primacy MXM4
Front tires: 235/40 R18 Primacy MXM4

Habu55 and Mr. Toad, you don’t mention what tires you switched to and whether you started out with tires similar in size and type to mine, low profiles and same brand.
I have always thought that the low profile tires were the culprit, and I am not sure whether different brands and types of identical sized tires ride differently, and whether that would make a significant difference. Obviously, the least expensive option if to lower my tire pressure, which is about what the door jam says should be 38/42, and go down to 34/35 if that is ok for my tires…again, no gas filler sticker, dammit!
Next up would be replacing with a better riding tire different brand of the same size, vs. seeing if going to a regular profile tire, which would involve replacing the wheels, and would therefore be a more expensive proposition. And I would hate to do that and find out the sport suspension is indeed by far the major contributor.

WRC-LVR

Just reduce the pressure to what has been suggested, then report back.. You "could" swap out the struts for the non sport option if available for 4 matic. Be prepared to pay $$$ though

rmgrenley

I am headed out to lower my tire pressures. Btw, I talked to someone at Tire Rack, who said that of what is available in my tire size, the Michelin Primacy MXM4’s I have offer the best ride, and he said it was not possible to go to a smaller wheel with regular profile tires. So…as far as wheels and tires, lowering the pressures, as suggested by you all, is the only option.
I will report back.
Thank you again for your advice.

habu55

I replaced the OEM hard riding tires on y 2012 E350 Cab with Laufenn tires (a sub of Hankook tires). Check their website for more info. I am very pleased with the ride and the cost was most affordable.

Chevota

I always lower tire pressure but it depends on the vehicle. Some I can lower a ton, some not so much. Whenever I get new tires the frikkin places always put the max in and rides like a brick. Typical butt coverage to avoid being sued.
What's suggested by the car mfg for that exact car is the real max, then you have a realistic # somewhere less than that. I think I'm about 34psi front and 32 in back right now, but my car is also heavier than yours. At the other extreme I run about 12 and 9 psi front/rear in my truck and cut those #'s in half when off road.My rule of thumb is look at the tires rating and max pressure, then how much weight is really on that tire? If it says 50psi and 2000lbs but you have 1000 onit, then 25 is what I try first. This method has been pretty much spot on for me, then I often make small adjustments based on what I want or the suspensions shortcomings.
Of course new tires always ride nicer, and make/model tires vary as well. Of all the MB cars I've had the older ones has suspensions that were way too gooshy and I had to buy stiffer shocks. The newer ones, like yours, are too stiff imo. Btw mine has the suspension button to adjust the shocks but it doesn't do squat.
It also used to be you could just buy shocks, but now it seems they're all struts which are more $. There are also fewer, if any, options for MB because they aren't as popular as a Mustang or Camero so the shock mfg doesn't bother.

Mr. Toad

My car still has the tires it came with, which are Michelin Primacy MXM4 (staggered, with 235/40R18 in front and 255/35R18 in rear). It also has the AMG package with the sport suspension, so the ride is definitely on the firm side. Had a similar coupe been available with the luxury suspension, I would've opted for that, but it seems that virtually all of them came with the sport suspension. Consumer Reports blames the hardness on the combination of sport suspension, wheel size, and low-profile tires, and they did note that sedans with the luxury suspension and different tires offered a much more plush ride.

Honestly, my car's ride is sufficiently pleasant and well-controlled on well-maintained stretches of highway; it's only sometimes bone-shattering at lower speeds on rough pavement.

rmgrenley

Yeah, well, we have the same tires and same suspension, and so there it is. And I agree, the ride is pleasant on smooth roads, and sometimes bone-shattering on rough pavement, which describes most of the roads in Seattle.
Love the car otherwise, will just see how it does at the lower tire pressures of 34 front and 35 rear as suggested.

Mr. Toad

To clarify, the decal in the fuel filler flap on my car indicates 36 PSI cold pressure all around (not 34 front, 35 rear).

rmgrenley

Thank you for the clarification. I guess I will follow that direction and start by lowering to 36 all around…since we have the same tires our cars came with, even though yours is a later model.
I don’t know what became of my fuel flap sticker.
Sometime if it is not too inconvenient, I would love it if you could snap a photo of the decal and email it to me at: rmgrenley@gmail.com.
Then I can print it out and maybe stick it in my manual or in the flap.

Mr. Toad

Done.

rmgrenley

Perfect! Thank you

Dnasty

The ride does tend to be pretty rough in these cars if the roads are crap. I swapped out my suspension for coilovers, lowered the car and am currently running 19"s with much larger tires than recommended. The ride is much better than it was but I doubt you want to do all of this. One of the main things you can do to increase ride quality is increase the amount of rubber of your tires... meaning just size up in aspect ratio. You will have to do some research as far as clearance etc. but you should be able to go at least a size up in aspect making the sidewall taller and giving you more cushion.