Steve L.

I love everything about my 2010 e350 sedan, except its cornering capabilities. I would like a less "floaty" and unstable feeling when taking corners and on winding roads. What provides the best bang for the buck, keeping in mind that I eventually have to turn the car back in when the lease expires in two years? I have stock wheels and tires. Thanks!

hyperion667

what CAN you do to leased vehicles? I didn't think you could mod them....should ask your (st)dealer..........

220S

Not much you can do. And the steering is relatively numb on MBs. I had a 2009 E350 that was so sloppy feeling (coming from BMWs) that I got rid of it. A set of coilovers (like KWs or Bilsteins) might help but that's an expensive proposition. And steering you can't do anything about.

But one thing that will help is to dump the OEM tires and get some summer performance tires like the PS2s. They help a lot with turn in (much sharper.) I dumped the AS Contis on my previous E350 the day after I bought the car and put on PS2s. It helped.

In the end, these cars do not have the chassis geometry that begs for tossing around in the twisties. It's always a trade-off with comfort and stiffness. It's a reflection on the change BMW just did with their new F10 (5 series); the E60 (the previous model 5er) had the "Ultimate Driving Machine" characteristics of a true sports sedan. The new one is less so in order to soften things up and make it not so stiff on everyday streets.

It's always a trade off. You'll have to accept that the E Class is directed towards comfort and not handling. The real answer is to buy a weekend car (Porsche, Lotus, Miata, etc..) Or sell the E350 and pick up a CLK BS

K-A

Get a different car.

No, but I guess what 220S said; maybe some coilovers, etc. to stiffen it up.

I love the handling on the W212, perfect for a luxury car IMO. I got into this car with Luxury>Sport, but I find it draws a perfect balance for my tastes. The ride is smooth, but it's sporty enough, and I find the steering to be numb from the road enough, but also representative of the road enough as well, and it has a very direct feel compared to my W211, which I had no real complaints about in that dept either.... As it wasn't my #1 priority.

The 212 does tend to "float" sometimes in turns, however, if pushed to the limit, I've usually found that although it might feel like it's about to float away on you, the car goes where you point it, and it sticks to the road.

If I had to complain about the ride, it would be that the car seems confused between "sport" and "luxury" (which can be a very good thing as well). It offers some areas of "float", and then the Sport models handle rough roads pretty harshly and noisily, enough so that I'd think it would deter some of the older, etc. buyers. Even Consumer Reports knocked the ride, saying it was "harsher" than the W211's. Of course, they failed to mention that they tested a Sport W212, and a Luxury W211.

All in all, I'd feel that the Luxury suspension is probably where the W212 chassis feel most proper and at home at.

mg-E550

Have seen some arguments that the tires that come stock (at least on 4matics) are bottom rung in terms of aggressive handling performance (trade-off for good all weather characteristics). I sort of agree although it doesn't bother me enough to trade out before they're worn. in your case changing them may help feel more sure-footed although its not going to get rid of the floatiness.

maybe you can flip the lease on leasetrader.com and get into something thats more aggressive rather than paying a bundle to stiffen the suspension then paying again to undo-it when you return?

vselva

(If you truly care for handling, try a base 1990 miata....)

My W212 tends to float slightly as well when I step on gas in corners. But I love the overall rigidity yet smooth ride while cornering.

threeMBs

Actually, its a lot easier then people think.

To address your specific issues, you can choose from the two options below:

1. Use stock wheels, but get good set of summer only high performance tires in the stock size (PS2, PZeros, Conties or HTRZ3 - last one is the best bang for the buck) then add 10mm HR spacers for both front and rear to widen the track;

2. Get light (this probably will be quite expensive) or not so light 19 wheels (8.5 front ET35-40, 9.5 rear ET38-43) and high performance summer tires mentioned above (255/35 front 275/30 or 285/30 rear). Keep your stock wheels to be put back on the car when you return it back. Then use upgraded wheels on your next E.

I do it all the time. It works for me, it may for you too. Good luck.

kingofire

You can modify a leased vehicle if you like. Just reverse the process before you turn it in. There is a plethora of things you can do to improve handling. First and foremost get summer tires as the poster above me mentions. Second, get WIDER wheels for a better surface area grip on the road. Third and most importantly, get lowering springs.

evanswan

same complaint. great car very comfortable but no confidence when really get on it. I traded in my 2008 w204 sport. out handled the w212 but a lot.
I really liked how that thing handled. Also liked the stick for manual trans shifts. Still getting use to the paddle shifters. I am upgrading wheels and going wider on the tire size. Not sure if I am going to put lowering springs on yet. but seems like it might stiffen the ride. Also what about a engeine bay tower brace. would that make a significant difference?

Gbezan1

Love my E550 4matic sport, but have to say I feel that MB kind of dropped the ball on calibrating the airmatic settings Sport/Comfort. My last car was a Volvo S60 R which had it's own handling issues, but I loved the adjustable 4C chassis with 3 settings. "Comfort" transformed the car into an Oldsmobile Delta 88 which my wife liked, "Sport" was my everyday driving setting, and "Advanced" was much too harsh for everyday driving around Chicago but was great when there was a smooth twisty road ahead. Seems like MB could have given us a little more of the best of both worlds because right now I can barely tell the difference between the 2 settings. The hardware is there, perhaps a software update someday...