Is it just me or are the 210's a bit light in the loafers at speed? I have had the alignment checked and verified and new Michelin HP tires. The ball joints are said to be in good shape and the lower A frame bushings are considered to be (depending on the technician) very good to fifty per cent. I thought that I could have easily rolled the car at 110MPH with just a slight twist of the wheel but there was no vibration at all. My feeling is that the car unduly pulls left or right in slightly rutted pavement. I was on my way to the 127MPH fuel shut off but decided to stop at 110 because I wanted to live.

 

are your shocks feeling mushy?

 

The body stops after only one deflection. They feel extremely solid to me. I have been told that the OEM Bilsteins rarely go out under normal usage before 150K miles and I am at 99K. Any other ideas?

 

bearing play adjustment

 

Back before I lowered my E430 or did any of my other mods I took it up to the speed limiter in the middle of nowhere Montana and it felt very secure and solid. Didn't feel lose or floaty to me at all.

 

Also, if you don't know when the ball joints were replaced, replace them when you do the bearings. They are easy and cheap compared to prior models.

 

Way way way back when we first picked up the car, it was firm and nicely planted on the highway at speed. This was in 1998 when the car had 6 miles on it.

On the autobahn, I took it up to approx 120 with no drama. Granted the roads in Germany were super smooth so that certainly helped keep the car very behaved.

Once back in the US, I don't think I've taken it beyond 90 since there's a lot more traffic and far less lane discipline here.

Having said that, I had one rear shock go bad after the first 15K, maybe less. So expecting the factory shocks to last 100K, probably unrealistic for any daily driver.

I changed springs and shocks to Eibach at about 30K. Car has 96K now and the suspension is firm and has no float.

The car at factory height was very susceptible to cross winds. After being lowered 1.5 inches, no more problems either.

Things I'd check are the shocks (for leaks), tie rods for ball joint play and control arms. Shocks are super easy to change on this car. Probably 1 hour of work to do all four after you have the wheels off and the car on jack stands.

Hope that helps,

 

I have had at least three certified MB mechanics look at the ball joints and A-frame bushings but I may have these parts changed anyway. Actually...what I need to do is drive another 210 for comparison, then figure out if it is the car or me.. By the way, I just learned of the gas door tire inflation instruction that said that I should have had 7 lbs more air in the tires doing the 110 bit.

 

Alignments (F & Rr), bushings, shocks, BJs - check.
Tie rods, slop in the steering rack, bearing end play - 3 mechanics implied okay.
There's nothing left but the tires.

I hope its a Eureka moment.

Also, its a long shot, but do you have the underbody splash guards in place?

 

Not at 110 mph, but gets fairly bad at around 120. The W210 chassis on the E320 and E430 aren't the most stable at 120mph, the steering also gets a little light at these speeds. Haven't driven the E55 at these speeds (nobody had one) to comment.

It's possible that other factors were affecting you; cross winds, curves, downhill, bad roads, all change the driving impression.

The 2005 C230 handles like a champ at high speed and the factors mentioned above seem to bother it much less than the W210 E Class. That is one phenomenal car that continues to impress me in many ways. Only fault is the suspension is too stiff, and for a car with such stiff suspension it has way too much body roll. Body rigidity in the roof area could be improved as well. Otherwise, the C230 is a great car.

 

Assumed the tie rod ends were good since you had it aligned, but they need replacing after a while too.
If your front parts are tight, check the rear links.

 

I took my 02 E55 to 152mph before I ran out of room when I was still stock height with 19in rims. It felt perfectly stable besides the slight vibration from a poor wheel balancing job.

 

one would think that a model destined for possible use on the autobahn would
have been fitted with a suspension which is apprpriately suitable. so if it's
responding in floaty fashion, i'm thinking that it would be an anomaly which
requires attention/fixing.

but i want to know where j spaulding is running it at 120+ in the Seattle area

 

In the next few weeks I am going to have the lower ball joints and control arm bushings replaced. At that time I will have the wheel bearings checked. When it warms up a bit I will take all the shocks off and give them the compression test.

 

With almost 90,000 miles, my E430 4-Matic is scary smooth at 120 mph. At one point I had a vibration problem, which was caused by dented and out-of-round wheels. I had all the wheels repaired before I had new Bridgestone Potenza tires mounted. They're great - smooth and quiet at highway speeds, and handle well on the curves and ramps. The ball joints were replaced by M-B before the 8-yr warranty expired.

 

My E55 is super stable as all speeds. I just ordered new control arm bushings, ball joints, and sway bar stablizers. I can't wait to see how much better it is then. But the truth is I don't drive it over 100 much but it is nice to know it will go there and be planted.

 

I've had my e420 with 140,000 + miles on it up to the mid 130mph range when the speed governer kick on. Did this when the car was stock and after being lowered and putting 19" rims on, car felt very stable both ways.

 

I live in Georgia and i go to school via I-85 and i dont know if will get in trouble by saying that at night time around like 3 AM i wanted to try to take my car to full speed and so i tried it and my car felt very good till 120 mph and after that i was getting vibration in the cabin and after the drive i noticed that the tire pressure was off and the road is bad. Currently my car is at 140006 and havent replaced the motor mounts, springs, shocks, didnt lower it or havent replaced the ball joint, wheel bearings or anything. But my tires are new, i have Bridgestone Turenza with serenity. The tire speed rating is about 120 and so i didnt take it more than that.