thekurgan

Agree 100% ... The ride of that thing was unpleasant enough that I was tempted to price out the non-sport, lots of thumping and teeth grinding ... The sales people push the tire/wheel repair EXTREMELY hard as there are lots of reports of cracked wheels (RTF + 19" FTL!).

K-A

Ah, yeah see that's what I heard and was thinking. Interesting how some perceptions differ.

Kar don

It's not perception, it's facts. I have an F10 with RFT and 19s and have no damaged wheels and had 1 flat in over a year.

greasykid

Have had 2010,2011,2012 W212's. All Sports. Tires make a BIG difference. My 10 and 11 had Pirelli P ZERO NEROS and road rather stiffly. 3 weeks ago I took delivery of my 2012. Specified Conti Extreme Contacts DWS. BIG DIFFERENCE. Ride is more comfortable,handling is a bit softer. For me a good tradeoff. I run the factory pressures. 35 front-36 rear. Read the reviews for this tire on Mercedes @ Tirerack.com. Very few complaints. I also have changed wheels to MANDRUS which I believe are lighter. Contrary to an earlier post you want a lighter weight wheel not a heavier one. This keeps the wheel and tire on the road rather than bouncing off the pavement. Hence a better ride.

This is my 27th MB since 1971 and the BEST one yet! A believe that a SPORT deserves a sport tire. The oem Conti is a grand touring tire.

Pls note that I have never been a Conti booster til now and then only on the EC.

BenzV12

You could open a museum to show your MBs
I am biased at this post on the tyre brands and I think Conti is a proper fitment for E Class , hopefully I will be loving them too

K-A

I was talking about the ride quality over rough pavement between the W212 and F10 Sports.

Kar don

My W212 will spill coffee over the same roads the F10 will just glide over. F10 has no rattles either... wish i could say the same about the W212 with 400 miles on the odo.

K-A

That's upsetting to hear. Yet we have reports from those like thekurgan and others I've seen post about harder rides than the E-Class. There was even a post on the F10 Forums from an owner, which was kind of their version of this Thread. He said the shockwaves sent throughout the cabin and the harsh road noise whenever going over lane dividers and rough patches were enough to get him to trade in his car (which he did), while some Members reported similar things. Maybe different individual cars have different characteristics.

I love my E's looks and I like the M-B brand more than the F10 and BMW, but man, if it handles better, I'm totally fine with and expect that, but if it rides smoother, then that's a big upsetter.

Kar don

I have been a member of this forum for a long time and an MB lover for even longer... but this is the first time i prefer the 5 series to the E-class. I have heard about the "boom" in the cabin on the 5 series. I think this is more pronounced if you have the ARS option, my car does not have this. All the ARS owners complain about it. BMW's DDC/ARS suspension was too complicated for my tastes and decided to forego the package at the last second and ordered with standard coil springs and shocks (still got the sport pkg with 19s though). The 5 series still handles well (not like the old E39 or E60) and rides very smooth on 19 RFT all seasons. The W212 is pretty smooth but can get choppy.

K-A

Ah, that would make sense. It's funny, when I had a W211 and my Mom had an E60, they couldn't be any more different. The W211 downright cushy in comparison, and the E60 very precise and direct. The F10 softening up and the W212 "hardening" up, they feel so similar now to me, however their subtle nuances still show up over each other. I agree, the W212 can indeed get choppy, and it's far and away my biggest and even only true complaint towards the car, and really hampers the experience driving it. The F10 without all those fancy suspension options will be one that I'd like to drive and see how it performs myself over rough roads.

polarizer

Hey Kar don,

We have the same car, so I thought I would share some of the things I have done recently which changed my '12 E350 Bluetec for the better.

Like all the USA Bluetecs, mine came with the 17" wheels and Goodyear run flat tires. Not terrible looking but not the sexiest looking package for an otherwise gorgeous car. As for the tires, they are serviceable but the handling and traction are not up to par, at least in my book. Their roughness over bad pavement is well documented.

As soon as I got my car, I set out looking to upgrade the wheels. I managed to pick up a set of the 18" AMG wheels from a 2010 E350 and had them put on the car with Michelin Pilot Super Sport (non run flat) tires. The new wheels are staggered: 8.5 x 18" up front and 9 x 18" rear.

I was a little bit concerned about the ride quality getting rougher, since low profile tires tend do that. What I ended up with is the exact opposite. The traction and handling are really significantly improved. The road noise is noticeably less than before. To my surprise, the ride quality over rough pavement is dramatically improved! This is a tire that is meant to be used on high end sports cars, Ferrari, Porsche, etc. I wasn't expecting a cream puff ride, but that's pretty much what I have now, along with the "velcro like" wet and dry traction. It is really the best of all worlds. Amazing tires!

The Continental Extreme Contact DW and DWS are good tires as well. I have DW's on my Passat. Great tire.

Going to the AMG 18"s and Michelin Pilot Super Sports also helped on the tire/wheel weight. I weighed the 17" Goodyear tire and wheels package and they weighed a bit over 57 lbs each. The AMG/Michelin 18", although larger, weighed 51 lbs on the front and 52.4 lbs for the rears. Not sure how much difference this makes in the real world but the car feels overall more nimble now.

It's not a cheap upgrade but it will transform the look and drive of your car!

Kar don

That was my plan as well... been on the hunt for a set of 18s. Plan on using the contiprocontact OEM tire however. Glad to hear it made an improvement in the ride quality? Did you have the Bridgestone or Goodyear RFT tires originally?

polarizer

I had the Goodyear RS2 "RunOnFlat" tires.

A word of advice on the ContiProContact: I had those on a couple of cars. They are not great tires. Very heavy (possibly because of the "contiseal" inside the tire), rough ride and lots of road noise. Just my 2 cents. I'm sure you can get the Extreme Contact DWS for about the same $$. Much better tire overall IMO.

Read the reviews on Tire Rack about the Pilot Super Sports. They are a few bucks more but SO worth it.

I got the six spoke AMG wheels. Look great on the Bluetec

ap10046

My Volkswagen Polo's ride feels like walking on marshmallows compared to my E!

bmw1203

Drove my E250 w sport package for 2weeks. Running with 18" AMG P zero tires. Felt quite bumpy ride which is out of my expectation. Any idea downgrading to 17" really can result in significant better ride? Or changing to other tires like Pilot Super Sports is a better option? Please share your experience.

greasykid

Recommend that you read tire reviews @ Tirerack.com

MB-JIM

I have a 2012 E350 Luxury and not at all happy with the ride. I have had many MB's and this seems to be one of the least comfortable. My OEM tires are Michelin MXM. I realize I could buy new tires but that seems like such a waste.

mcbc220

Bumping because for all that's been written about the sports, I can't find nearly as much about luxury models. I'm pretty sure I want a luxury both for the styling and a ride that isn't too jarring, but I can't find a luxury model in my area to test drive. Not new, not used. Does the luxury feel numb in the sense that you don't feel any connection to the road? I think of a good Mercedes suspension as one that's firm, but absorbs potholes for you--not floaty like my grandparents' old Cadillacs and Buicks

El Cid

Call an MB dealer and see if they have a customer that will let you drive their luxury version. That's what I had to do.
The MB E Luxury is not going to be floaty nor is it going to be as comfortable as a Lexus. It is a German, MB Sports Sedan, even with the luxury (comfort) suspension. You will feel connected to the road. In addition, the tires and wheel size have influence over how comfortable the car rides. 18" wheels are more uncomfortable because the tires have smaller side walls. Therefore, cannot absorb the bumps and potholes as well. Luxury versions come standard with 17" wheels.

AllenOU

Weird to see all the comments in here. I have a 2014 sport with 20 inch wheels and 235/30s on the front for tires, and I feel the ride is plenty smooth. Smoother then my 04 M3, 08 G35, and my exs 11 bmw528 which also has 20s. And I live in Houston TX so the roads aren't great. See A lot of people complaining, but I don't notice a rough ride at all really unless the surface is juts terrible. Why would you buy an E if you didn't like the ride quality lol?

mcbc220

Thank you! I never thought of asking that. I would feel better knowing how the car drives before I buy one! (I'm going to have to buy from out of state.) I don't want Lexus-comfortable, so I'm fine with that. My ideal suspension is the W124, so anything in that ballpark would be just fine with me.

mleskovar

FWIW....the "Luxury" and "Sports" springs are the same. Only the rim/tire size is different and as has been mentioned is the major reason for the stiffer ride. 19 and 20 inch give an even harsher ride. I know lower profile tires are considered more stylish and do handle better at the limits but to me the difference is not worth the extra cost, fragility, noise, or loss of comfort. But I'm an old fart

Skyline45

^This just simply isn't true... The Sport and Luxury models come with different suspension tuning... That's one of the key features that separates them...

"Mercedes offers the E-Class with both Luxury and Sport packages - as one would expect, Luxury models feature comfort-focused suspension tuning, while a tauter setup is used for the Sport. Updates to both result in a slightly firmer ride with better body control, although the E-Class remains more of a coddling cruiser than a sport sedan."

"The Sport Styling Package adds an aggressive body kit, a two-bar grille, a sport-tuned suspension, 18-inch twin five-spoke alloy wheels and sport interior trim."

^http://www.leftlanenews.com/new-car-buying/mercedes-benz/e-class-sedan/^

MBNUT1

I never owned a W124 but I did own a W201 for 6 years. If you felt bumps in the W124 then you will be fine with the Luxury W212. I would say that My W212 is firmer than my W201 was.

It has a much better suspension than my W211 did.


My W212 Luxury is as close as you will get to the feel of the older benzes as you will find in any modern car.

One thing for sure is that it is not a Buick. I find the ride to often be the near perfect trade between firmness and comfort.

The dealership has my tire pressures set to 36 and it is not Buick smooth over bumps but has a nice heavy firm solid feel.

Honestly there is no other car that I would rather drive.

mcbc220

That is perfect for me. My dad had a W211, and I didn't think the suspension was as good as the 1993 E320 I had at the time. I didn't drive the W211 very many times, but my memory is of it feeling numb and not really feeling Benz like. Cushy and insulated, yes, but not in that classic Mercedes way. Good to hear the W212 Luxury feels like a modern approximation of the older cars.