sflimo

Anyone with Airmatic ever think the ride quality should be better? I like being able to adjust the firmness of the suspension for better handling, but it seems impact harshness is pretty bad in any of the three modes.

Those of you with Airmatic, do you think the ride quality okay? Would a software update help? I just wish my E320 rode as well as my friend's Accord.

'04 E320 black/black, apprearance, pano roof, comfort pkg., H/K, nav

ruykava

it should not - on my Airmatic car the ride is quite smooth even up to Sport 2. in fact i seldom keep it in Comfort because i like to feel the road a little bit.

i don't understand why yours is harsh - do you have extra large low profile wheels?

nantucketsleigh

Compared to my BMW 2001 540 sport, 2003 X5 4.4, 1992 MB 500E, the ride on my 2006 E500 with airmatic is positively cushy.

khaug

Our CDI came equipped with 225/55x16 Michelin MXV plus "Energy" tires. I thought the ride was on the harsh side for a luxo barge like the "E".

I recently replaced these with 245/40x18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. To my utter amazement, impact harshness actually improved! It seems the OE Michelins were designed for low rolling resistance at the expense of comfort. Alas, the new tires seem to have cost me about 8% more fuel consumption, so there's a tradeoff involved.

Kev04C320

My car with the stock Conti's is not ridding too harsh. We shall seen once I put the snow tires (Dunlop M3) on.

DWP

Ride comfort is very subjective - there isn't any objective measure that I've ever heard of - but having said that, the ride on my E500 seemed well beyond "firm" and well into "harsh", even with the Airmatic in "comfort." My benchmark wasn't a Lexus, either. It was our previous car, a '97 BMW 528i. I use the past tense because we recently replaced the OEM Continental tires with Toyos and ride quality is much improved. It's still very firm even in "comfort", but most of the harshness is being filtered out now and the ride is now what I would call appropriate for a sport sedan.

I've also heard that M-B has jiggered the Airmatic system between model years, and that models after '03 are more comfort-oriented at every firmness level. But I don't know that for a fact.

ATS

I have had them mess around with the ride height many times at the dealer and it seems that the higher the ride height, the softer it is (in all modes). They have changed my ride height a few times. Try driving with the car in lifted mode. Does that make a difference.

krispykrme

You need to sell your car and get a lexus. Even in sport II, I have never complained how harsh the W211 rides. At sports II setting, the ride is still too soft for my taste.

If you think W211 rides too harsh, got buy a lexus.

DWP

Chill out, dude. S/he was just expressing an opinion and asking for the opinion of others.

Chill out, dude. S/he was just expressing an opinion and asking for the opinion of others.

MB Fanatic

It might just be your tires. The stock tires are designed for low rolling resistance so they can get the most MPG for EPA tests. This results in terrible ride quality, increased stopping distances while braking, and they dont grip as well when wet or dry.

Get some Bridgestone Turanza LS-V or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires.

RunninRS

I've been trying to hack into the airmatic system to change the ride settings.
Comfort mode to me feels like Lincoln Town car with semi'flat tires.. way too soft.
Sport 2 is not firm enough for me.
Sport 1 should be comfort, Sport 2 should be Sport 1 and I'd like Sport 2 to ride like my friends 2004 BMW.
Ride quality is very subjective.

As for ride height, I've got the basics down for a driver adjustable system where you can very the ride height to your preference. Right now I'm using the +/- keys on the steering wheel when in "non-radio mode' to raise/lower the car. Probably going to change that though. Still need to work on getting the ride height display on the dash.

billh556

ATS, your ride height observation is spot on, at least in my car. I've had mine for just about 2 months, and had been really unhappy with the ContiTouringContacts that it came with... except for their silence, which is outstanding. But they are so soft in the sidewall, and under-inflated at the recommended front pressure, imho. Heck, the front of the car shuddered on sharp bumps, even small ones. Bringing them up to 31 psi eliminated the rebounding shudder, but the car was still surprising me with the amount of feeling transmitted on small, sharp bumps. I decided to live with it for now, hoping the tires are still contributing to the sensation, but kind of figuring it was a characteristic of the airmatic suspension. Two other Es that I've driven while my car was in the dealership did not do this, one a 2005 E320 wagon, the other a 2006 E350 sedan. But, both had smaller wheels, Michelin tires, and non-air suspensions. So I couldn't isolate which item (or combination of items) was contributing to the difference from my car. I had decided I'd learn to live with it, because my car with the Contis, with its sharper bump feedback, rides quieter - and that's one of my highest priorities for this car.

Now with the ride height set on raised and the airmatic set on Sport 2, I have much reduced feedback on small bumps, but still have a good, controlled, and quiet ride.

When the Contis wear out I'll have a dilemma, because I'd like a bit firmer sidewall without giving up the silence or the ride comfort I've found - at least not much of either. But, I'm hoping not to need to think about that for a long time - maybe I'll get a lot of miles out of the Contis. They show hardly any wear so far at 13k miles.

I've learned a ton about my car in this forum. Wish I'd found it before I bought the car, as I would not have included dealer install of the Sirius kit in the purchase price. Steve would have installed it better - the dealer put an ugly black patch in the headliner beneath the antenna. But Steve's done a lot to the car already, and I'm going to be in touch for a few more mods on his next visit.

Thanks again ATS for the pointer about ride height and the effect on the ride.

CE750

Not sure the significance of it, but I was looking at Consumer Buyers Guide (or something like it) where they rate everything from 0-10, and for the E-class they had the E350, E320CDI, E500 and E55 (the later two with the Airmatic DC) and the two spring suspensions got a 10 for ride, while the two Airmatics got a 7.. maybe its just inherent in the Air Suspension? Food for thought.

sflimo

Thanks for all of the great feedback!

It seems tires are extremely important. After 24K miles I'm about to replace the tires anyway. The car came with Michelin Primacy tires. They are noisy and have a hard tread compound. I've scoured the Tirerack reviews and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires are the highest rated so I'm going for those. Trouble is I can't resist the temptation to move up from the factory 17" rims to 18" staggered rims.

Concerning ride height, raising the car does improve harshness, but the handling doesn't feel very secure. CE750's post about Airmatic vs. non-Airmatic ratings says it all. I've also seen many comments in the automotive press that none of the three Airmatic settings provide the right ride/handling balance. MB hasn't perfected the system.

I'll post again after I get the new rims/tires installed.