Legacy

Another interesting difference with my replacement E500 compared with my original car is the feel of the Airmatic DC suspension in Comfort, Sport I and Sport II. It is impossible to quantify, but my replacement car seems to ride nearly the same in all three settings. In my original E500 there was a very noticeable difference in the ride when you switched from Comfort to Sport I and again to Sport II. The ride became progressively firmer in Sport I and Sport II. The handling in corners also became much more taut in Sport I & II.

Now the comfort level is nearly the same in all three modes. The tautness in Sport I & II is less evident. It almost seems like they have compromised in all of the modes toward the Comfort setting. I have not yet discussed this with the dealer to see if a software change would restore the settings to what I had in my first E500. That would probably eliminate the nice graphic on the speedo when you press the button to change modes. I think I would rather have the restored feeling of the suspension change than have this graphic.

Anyone else out there with a replacement car that has noticed this change in the suspension?

bmms8

im sure you can find threads on this by searching too, but i guess they thought the ride was to harsh, and in my opinion it was. i like the new way better, but maybe your dealer can change it back, GL

alewifebp

I didn't have a replacement, so it is brand new, but I too do not see much difference between the modes. I've mostly been in Sport I, so I don't have a lot of info to back it up, but with the small amounts of playing around, I've noticed the same.

cte430

Yeah this has been discussed before. I am extremely disappointed in the "tweaking" that was done to this system. I have done a lot of experimenting, and I can't find much of a difference between any of the 3 settings. Perfect example: with my pre nav car, it was kept mostly in the comfort mode. I switched out the stock wheels/tires on my nav replacement car for what's in my sig. wider wheel, lower profile tire etc. and I keep the suspension in sp 1 and it feels just like comfort with the smaller wheels/tires.

Bmms, you say you didn't like the original system. Did you think it was too harsh even in comfort? or just the 2 sport settings? My gripe is not the comfort setting, it's the fact that the sport settings feel no different.

bmms8

i thought the comfort mode was good, but i hated the roughness in sport 2

codex57

when did this change occur? The comfort levels are really close to me although I can feel the handling difference.

Frank Wiesmann

I believe these changes were made in response to criticism from several car magazines. They stated that the ride comfort was unacceptably harsh on uneven roads in the sport modes (both manually adjustable and the automatic one that turns on when you do sporty driving.) Maybe car manufacturers should listen to people that own the cars and not to testers who drive them for two weeks.

AllanDPM

I cannot feel a differnece in the sport modes vs. comfort.Maybe I need to to drive my E500 a harder but it's still under 500 mi.
The only difference is what I see on the dash. Allan

STEVE YOUNG

I have had similar thoughts about my replacement E500. In the original car, there was a definite step progression from Comfort to Sport 1 to Sport 2. I drove most of the time in Sport 1 around town and Comfort on the highway. Sport 2 could almost be jarring and I didn't use it much.

Now, with my replacement-mobile, there is hardly any discernable difference between any of the settings. But, you are right, now (oh boy!) it graphically tells you what setting you are changing to.

I haven't checked with the dealer yet to see if they can re-program it any. From the previous responses to this thread, nobody else has either. I will report back after I have been with the dealer.

Other than this issue, the replacement-mobile is a MUCH better car than the original. Better put together and quieter.

Legacy

Thanks for your post. I will be interested in what your dealer has to say. I think I would be happy to give up the graphics to get back the clearly felt difference in Airmatic DC settings.

In my original car I rode around town in either Comfort or Sport I. On the highway I rode in Comfort. It was nice to be able to quickly switch to Sport II whenever a tight turn was approaching and then just as quickly revert to Comfort afterward.

Now at no time in any setting to I get the taut feel I previously enjoyed in Sport II.

Sport II in my original car was not a very comfortable ride, but as changing out of it to Comfort was so quickly and easily done, it was no big deal. I just used Sport II when the situation warranted, then switched out of it again.

Change is not always good.

STEVE YOUNG

LEGACY

Wow. It's almost like looking into a mirror! You and I must drive very similarly. In the original car, I would also switch to Sport 2 frequently if a tight turn was coming, but it was WAY too rough for normal driving. Now, I leave it in Sport 2 all of the time and it doesn't corner nearly as flat as the original car in Sport 1. My replacement car now has about 3,900 miles with Michelin Sports whereas the original car had Continentals.

I'll be in touch after I get with the dealer.

Legacy

I have staggered AMG Style IV wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires, which I also had on my original E500. The original tires on my first car were also Contis. I have about 2,200 miles on my replacement car.

I miss the old Sport II feel for cornering. With all the electronics on tese cars, it seems that it would not be too diffifcult to reload the old software for Airmatic DC system, provided that the software is device specific and does not mean altering some other aspect of the car that has actually been improved.

Please let me (us) know what your dealer says about this.

marksatex

Can this be programmed at the dealer ? I like mine like it is, not one bit softer.

etenn

I agree that the settings are much too close now. I never had a problem knowing I was in one of the sports modes before.

Now I have to look to be sure. Sports 2 does not hug the road in the curves like the pre-nav did. It seems loose in comparison.

Hopefully someone will find a fix.



______
Ed

Legacy

Have you had a chance to see your dealer about the Airmatic DC system in your replacement E500?

I am curious if you have found out anything regarding the lack of difference in feel from Comfort to Sport I to Sport II.

I have not yet taken my car into the dealer, but I spoke with them by email and they claim that they have never seen an E500 with Airmatic DC that had no difference in feel from one setting to the next.

After the holidays I intend to pursue it further. I have about 2,600 miles on my replacement E500 and can still feel no difference in the settings. It also feels to me like Comfort is less so than in my first E500.

I still fail to understand the complaints about Sport II being too harsh, when at a touch of a button relief was available.

FJPM

As far as I am concerned, I am interested to have the new soft in my 03 E500 (the sport 2 in realy to rough considering the quality of the roads in France).

The MB service told that they can acces 4 calculators of the car for "flash" updates but not yet the one of the supension...

If wrong please keep me posted.

etenn

Has anyone been able to get an answer in regard to the settings on the replacement and '04 airmatic.

My pre-nav had an absolute difference in each setting. Big difference between comfort and sport II. Now I cannot tell any difference. Really miss the sport II on the road.

I had mine in and they did not seem to understand what I was talking about. Said they could not find any "malfunction, No codes found, checked vertion coding & actual values, no problem found".

I have the impression that only someone who had experience with how it SHOULD feel would know the difference. They may just be noticing that the lights and dash display change.