ngerstman

Just curious if anyone owns or has test drove an e550 luxury. When I bought my e550 4matic sport the luxury version was tough to find. I was just wondering what the subjective difference in ride and handling might be. Would I have been better off with the luxury on the crappy New Jersey roads? Mind you, I'm not dissatisfied with the ride of my sport, just wondering. Thanks. Ned.

threeMBs

This was addressed here before, but here it is again.

There is no difference in suspension calibration between E550 "sport" and "luxury" sedans, because both use identical airmatic suspension that can be set to "comfort" or "sport" setting by driver.

When set to identical setting, E550 "luxury" rides "softer" than E550 "sport" because it rides on 17" wheels - meaning tire's sidewall is 1/2" higher, meaning it absorbs road's imperfections a bit better than 18". Exactly because of above reason, "sport" handles better than "luxury" - the shorter sidewall, the crisper handling is.

There is a bit more difference is suspension calibrations for E350 "sport" vs. "luxury", but it is not very pronounced. Again, most difference is due to tires used 18 "sport" vs. 17 "luxury".

I would suggest for your driving conditions in North East - December thru April - to use 17" wheels with winter tires. 4matic helps you move, but does nothing for stopping. Then go back to whatever you have currently on, once they fix roads (hopefully by May).

ngerstman

This is a qualitative question. I knew all of the above. I was just curious as to how much handling one gives up for going to 17 inch rims from 18 inch. Is it subtle or meaningful? Thanks. Ned.

threeMBs

Well I'm glad I waisted my time typing all that staff you already "knew" about. Your question than should have being "17s vs. 18s" instead of "luxury vs. sport". Well I can provide insides into this too as well, but won't as you probably already "know" about it too.

golfster

Seems to be a lot of hormonal imbalance on the forum these days. The OP's original inquiry was about the subjective differences in ride and handling.

ngerstman

Ouch!! I was aware of the thread that discussed this topic. That thread spent a lot of time discussing the quantifiable differences. No one in that thread seemed to try and "quantify" the difference in ride quality and handling differences between the 17 and 18 inch rims. As I said, my dealership did not have an e550 luxury on hand. I've also never changed the rims on a car that I owned from 17 to 18 inch, which would give me some better insight. The e550 sport that I purchased replaced my 2000 e320 4matic that had 165,000 miles on it and had 16 inch rims. I guess my question comes down to the issue of marginal returns as it applies to bigger rims. Hence my curiosity. Just wondering aloud and thought someone on the forum might have some practical experience to share in case I decide that 17 inch rims are more suitable to the New Jersey roads that I drive on. I have the 2001 e55 with Kleeman mods to beat on my body. Appreciate the clarification from Golfster. Regards. Ned.