E_machine

Hey forum:
Just got my car back from 1000 miles check up and had a long chat with the service manager. We ended up did a ride height opt which lowered my car by .6" under warranty(meaning free). The car looks more aggressive now with the stock 17. He told me the new car from the factory the airmatic settings tend to be set on the high side. Usually it can be lowered about .5" and still within factory spec. PM me for the dealer info, i am at north calif. BTW, the car needs to be least then a year old. He did this as part of alignment warranty claim.
Also he mentioned that lowered the car outside the factory spec by using any method, washers, aftermarket, star diagnosis, will void the airmatic suspension warranty. When they put the car on the rack, they will run a spec check against the factory setting. MB factory is watching the warranty claim by the dealer quite closely beginning this yr for cost cutting. So owners, modify your car at you own risk. Cheers.

HELL ONA HARLEY

I spoke with my mechanic at Smothers European in Sants Rosa (no. cal) and he stated basicly the same thing..... He would be willing to lower the car with Star Diagnosis to the euro spec, but there would also have to be a wheel alignment done after... He also stated that this lowering procedure would have to be done on the alignment rack to get it perfect (stance)... He says the proceedure could be done with no warranty issuses, but it would cost about $400.00 in labor.... I'm not sure if the dough is worth a .5" drop on my ol'ladies ride... Any thoughts???

E_machine

What i did is to claim alignment off which is covered under warranty for the 1st yr of ownership. Then while the car is up on the rack, ask the dealer to do a ride height opt to euro spec at same time. Everything is covered under warranty and the car is within the factory spec.
The .6" drop on standerd 17 made the car look more aggresive, but if it's going to cost me $400, i probably would not do it.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Yea... I can to the same conclusion....

Brian_I.

Oh wow, I didn't realize there was so much fuss going on about my returning the Dremel. Believe it or not, the tool was missing some of the parts that it was supposed to come with, the grinding pieces that I was planning to use. I bought it at Walmart (pretty far drive from home) so by the time I got home to work on the car I couldn't go back to Walmart. I ended up just buying the parts I needed from Home Depot and used them with the Dremel. Once I was done I decided that it would be a waste for me to simply exchange the tool because it was missing parts. I would have had to return the kit anyway since it was missing pieces, I just opted not to get another one just like it.

Sorry if my ordeal offended anyone. If it makes you feel any better I have a bin full of items that I've purchased over the years that are defective or missing parts but I never got around to returning/exchanging.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Hey E_machine...
How about a pic of that lowered car....

kyee

The front to back spacing on my E500 actually looks pretty darn close to this lowered E55:

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/99262-dropped-e55.html

Brav

no offense, but not even close based upon the pic posted by scorchie.

That car is low, but nearly even. The car should sit ever so slightly higher in the rear, not going off of the fender height. The rear fender on almost EVERY vehicle is lower than the front - because clearance is not needed. IF you were to lign up the top of the fender with the tires, the car should have a very slight rake to it.

In my opinion, if you havent already, Id get your car adjusted accordingly, otherwise people will be staring in perlplexion, or think you are carying a bunch of dead bodies in the trunk.

thearle

0.75 front drop and 1.25 rear drop by STAR.

The concept of lowering modules like Carlsson's or Brabus intercept the sensor signals and generate their own pulse to drop the car by an average of 0.7 inch with a 14mm swing - BUT also prevent the car's suspension module to lower further past the preset speed (I think 80mph?) for aerodynamics (plus stiffen the air/hydraulic diaphragms by 10%) and to compensate for the drop or decrease in suspension travel.

My question - if the STAR drops the car by as much as advertised, does it do the same thing?

Also, most dealerships recognize, and flag any car that is lowered because of the number of such cars that come in with issues... so I think the claim of "completely warrantiable" is pure speculation regardless of what method you use.

I think (though I might be wrong) that their basis on warranty, is if the vehicle's factory settings have been tampered with by non-authorized individuals. You car has a "build card" which references all settings as it left the factory - so they can compare what they read from what was set if there is a dispute.

Brav

burden of proof is still on MB. They have to prove that the mod caused the problem. Its probably a gray area, or fine line, but still. Who's to say the problem wouldn't have occured regardless?

BenzoBoi

Like people have been sayin...raise the rear a lil bit and it'll look sick!~!

kyee

Agreed. I'm having the rear raised a little tomorrow. I'll post some pictures once it's done.

eagleeye

Although this reply COST me (not costed) a few seconds, I still feel compelled to demonstrate proof that driving a classy automobile does not impart class upon the driver.