mbr129

Let me get this straight:

Airmatic, STOCK, allows you to have 2 ride heights (high/low). What is the difference between stock high and low and how do they compare to a non-airmatic E-class?

Many here can have the dealer lower the car ~1". That makes both high and low an inch lower, right?

I want to get an E-wagon w/ 4Matic as a family car. I want it to handle well and look better, so lowering ~1" "from the factory" is nice, but at the same time I live in Boston and travel to Montreal often (family) so roads suck and driveways/ramps are steep and I do not want to scrape the front end or have the ride be too low for unplowed roads, etc.

Anyone have actual numbers for ground clearances?

Thanks.

mbuskuhl

This should straigten things....Airmatic equipped vehicles only

Suspension Stiffness Settings:
Regular
Sporty I
Sporty II

(MB calls it Sporty, let's go with Sport though)

You have 3 suspension stiffness settings as listed above. In Sport setting the vehicle is lowered .6 inches. Sport I is a good choice for everyday driving.

Vehicle Ride Height:
Normal
Raised
Lowered

You can raise the vehicle with a button by the shift knob, it'll give you a nice 4 x4 look. You can press the button again and return to normal ride height. There is no button to lower the car. The car will lower itself with increasing speed approximately .6 inches, with decreasing speed the car is returned to normal level. Often times after being on the freeway and exiting to a stop light, I can feel and see my car raise back to normal level.

Lowering Airmatic Vehicles:
Via StarDiagnose (DAS) - most dealers will NOT do this for you, my SA tried on 3 times and it never happened. You got to find the right person or shop who has the equipment to do this. I choose this method and got about 1 inch of lowering, it is difficult to precisely say as the car is constantly adjusting itself.

Lowering Modules from places like Brabus, Renntech, etc.

Washer method/Dremel/Bracket are other various things people have used.

I have no issues on my lowering, no scraping, no problems with speed bumps, just have to exit a driveway at the office slow or it'll bottom out.

mbr129

Thanks man.

bsmoove

Just for the record, I had my car lowered via Start Diag at the dealer and the tech that has to do it is the wheel alignment guy. They told me that the car has to be re-aligned in order to lower the airmatic. It gave me 1' between both the tires and the fender afterwards.

Quick question:

I keep seeing people saying that they have Euro impact strips & aluminum door pins. What are those and how did you get the auto folding mirror option? I heard that it's only available on euro models?

Thanks.

mbuskuhl

bsmoove-

Euro Impact Sripts https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/141099-euro-impact-strips-found-us-mb-dealer.html

My experience at the dealer trying to lower via DAS, Sunman ended it up doing it for me when the dealer could not: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/139083-help-need-measurements-lowered-via-das-not-lowered.html


Aluminum door pins: http://www.formymercedes.com/mb_resu...Door+Lock+Pins

You are correct, power folding mirrors are only available on Euro versions of the W211. I had mine installed by Sunman and another source is MBenzNL (search for these screen names on this board) Notice in the first picture you can see my mirrors are folded in.

Can you email or PM me on your AMG brakes, where did you get them, any complications or problems with install, cost you paid? I have been looking for those myself. Thanks.

bsmoove

Thanks for the links, now I understand............. I will ask my contact at the dealership that hooked me up and PM you the info.

Brav

BS- what did you notice different about your powerchip upgrade?

bsmoove

mid range acceleration right away! It seems to have much more pulling power without having to slam on the gas pedal at all . I am very pleased with the results and recommend Powerchip to anyone else that's looking for that extra push!

It's not a replacment of your OEM ECU, you send them your car's stock ECU, over night it, and they reprogram it and over night you back your same OEM stock ECU as before, just reprogramed. The over night shipping or your ECU made this whole process a breeze... (plug-&-play)

Great power upgrade bang for the buck!

In regard to the dealer giving you problems if they find out, the dealer can not detect the MAP changes that Powerchip made. It hides behind the OEM ECU Maps therefore, appears invisible to MB's Star Diag.

It also doesn't void the warrenty at all. Powerchip backs that up as well. I had my ECU removed and re-installed at the dealership and MB said that its safe and will not void the warrenty.

The only thing is, when you take your car in for service, tell them upfront to NEVER FLASH your ECU. If they do, it will blow away Powerchip's map settings and the ECU will return back to stock. Powerchip states that if that ever happens, they will re-program it for you for like $50.

Goto www.powerchipgroup.com and put it your car model and it will tell you all the info including the cost, but for the E500 it's $990.