What a car
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2014
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From: Novato,Ca
2011 Mercedes Benz E550
What a car
Just finished driving from SF bay area to Palm Springs and back for holiday 1100 miles drove 80 mph most of the way and got 28 mpg,amazing.Could pass almost anything on the road and get that great milage wow,spent 4 hours straight behind the wheel no fatique at all,GREAT CAR!!!!!!!!!!
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From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
Just finished driving from SF bay area to Palm Springs and back for holiday 1100 miles drove 80 mph most of the way and got 28 mpg,amazing.Could pass almost anything on the road and get that great milage wow,spent 4 hours straight behind the wheel no fatique at all,GREAT CAR!!!!!!!!!!
You drive an E550 so you must have seen some very strong cars on your way...
And I agree, the E550 is like a train on the highway. It just goes constant speed with the cruise no matter how steep the hill is up or down.
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From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
Did 440 miles today in ~7 hours in the predecessor W211, hit 82,000 miles, and it's as solid and performs as well as new six years ago! 26 mpg and you can tell the speed from the math, including stops! A pleasure and privilege, indeed!
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From: Washington DC area
Mine: 2014 E550 4matic; Hers: 2016 CLS 400 4matic
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From: OH
w212
This post makes me sad because I remember when my Benz was this enjoyable on the highway. Now I have an annoying vibration coming in at highway speed. It shakes the seats and causes fatigue over a several hour trip. It used to be so smooth. I tried to rebalance 6-7 times over the last year since it got like this and no one has been able to fix it. Having mb look at it on wed and see if something's wrong with a wheel or suspension.
Might be time for a new set of wheels. I feel stupid if so because I just bought new tires thinking that the ones I got were too hard. I'll let you know if I can get that sweet ride back. I remember pegging the speed at 80, the speedometer straight up vertical and just feeling so locked in.
Might be time for a new set of wheels. I feel stupid if so because I just bought new tires thinking that the ones I got were too hard. I'll let you know if I can get that sweet ride back. I remember pegging the speed at 80, the speedometer straight up vertical and just feeling so locked in.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,113
Likes: 57
From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
This post makes me sad because I remember when my Benz was this enjoyable on the highway. Now I have an annoying vibration coming in at highway speed. It shakes the seats and causes fatigue over a several hour trip. It used to be so smooth. I tried to rebalance 6-7 times over the last year since it got like this and no one has been able to fix it. Having mb look at it on wed and see if something's wrong with a wheel or suspension.
Might be time for a new set of wheels. I feel stupid if so because I just bought new tires thinking that the ones I got were too hard. I'll let you know if I can get that sweet ride back. I remember pegging the speed at 80, the speedometer straight up vertical and just feeling so locked in.
Might be time for a new set of wheels. I feel stupid if so because I just bought new tires thinking that the ones I got were too hard. I'll let you know if I can get that sweet ride back. I remember pegging the speed at 80, the speedometer straight up vertical and just feeling so locked in.
http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm
If ultimately you need new wheels, we found (over three sets of purchases) that powerwheelspro.com has great quality and service for MB reps. One new original equipment MB wheel can cost close to a full set of reps!
Last edited by Sportstick; Dec 1, 2014 at 08:36 AM.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2010
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From: Southern US
2010 E550, 273 Engine: 2012 S550, 278 Engine
A bent rim is the most logical next suspect. Vibrating the seat suggests it's on the rear. If the steering wheel vibrated, it would likely be one of the fronts. I'm a bit surprised one of the folks who tried to balance it did not notice anything amiss. Instead of going to MB, who will charge a lot and does not have any particular wheel/tire expertise, find a place with a Hunter Road Force Balancer...a wonderful machine...which will find or eliminate a wheel or tire issue.
http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm
If ultimately you need new wheels, we found (over three sets of purchases) that powerwheelspro.com has great quality and service for MB reps. One new original equipment MB wheel can cost close to a full set of reps!
http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm
If ultimately you need new wheels, we found (over three sets of purchases) that powerwheelspro.com has great quality and service for MB reps. One new original equipment MB wheel can cost close to a full set of reps!
I agree 100% that it most likely is the problem with the wheel(s). Balancing does not fix the problem if the wheels are banged up too badly. The problem with this is that balancing only reads the force from the rotation. You can make a bad wheel perfectly balanced on the machine but the wheel / tire vibrates while driving because the wheel is not round any more. Some off-round can be helped with balancing but when it is bad enough balancing does not fix it.
If you have the wheel issue it is easy to see while balancing is done when the wheel rotates in the balancing machine. I experienced this very same problem and could not believe how bad my wheels looked like during balancing, and it is the inside rim that gets bad. Outside rim is supported by all those spokes that inside does not have.
The guy who balanced my tires came to take me to see with my own eyes how bad my wheels are. He said that there is a good chance balancing does not fix the vibration issue that I have but luckily it was a huge improvement.
Perhaps the place where aeroconfigs had his done does not have people who look at the wheels while balancing is done. They are trained to just do the balancing as the machibne they use can do it no matter what condition the wheels are at.
Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 147
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From: OH
w212
Yeah I think the left rear is messed up. It balanced with 8 weights on the outside and 6 or 7 on the inside. All right by a place where the rim had a scratch on the flange. I'll take it to the place where I got it balanced (they have the hunter with rfb) and ask them to check it again. Thanks guys.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
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From: SOUTHWEST OHIO
2016 E350 2015 ML250 2002 Z06 CORVETTE
Yeah I think the left rear is messed up. It balanced with 8 weights on the outside and 6 or 7 on the inside. All right by a place where the rim had a scratch on the flange. I'll take it to the place where I got it balanced (they have the hunter with rfb) and ask them to check it again. Thanks guys.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
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The E Class excels at Highway speeds and the 550 just eats up the miles as said with no complaints. I have the drive dynamic seat and run the message every couple of hours and it keeps me refreshed and awake. I keep coming back to MB due to their highway superiority. I drove through a driving rainstorm from Chicago to Champaign Illinois a couple of months ago that lasted the entire trip. The 550 just blasted through it all and I never felt so safe in a car during a downpour like that. In any other car I would have been sh**ting my pants the whole way.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,113
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From: Southwest USA
Another round of ICE
Yeah I think the left rear is messed up. It balanced with 8 weights on the outside and 6 or 7 on the inside. All right by a place where the rim had a scratch on the flange. I'll take it to the place where I got it balanced (they have the hunter with rfb) and ask them to check it again. Thanks guys.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
I did see the powerwheels link in the other thread. So is it really $500 for the entire set of 4? I'm thinking about doing 17s if in fact a wheel is bad, but I just got new tires on my 18s while chasing this issue so kinda want to not have to spend more. Maybe I can turn them in for 17 tires since they have under 1000 miles.
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e550
The hunter machines can measure wheel run out and compare to factory tolerances . If the wheel is rotated to the front and seat vibration is replaced with steering wheel shake then that is the offending part.
Last edited by wanderfalke; Dec 1, 2014 at 10:41 AM.
Member
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From: OH
w212
They measured the runout on the wheels today and all were OK. The road force was out of spec and they had to rotate the wheels to align high and low spots to get it back. I haven't taken it back on the highway yet but have high hopes of getting that nice smooth ride back.
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From: Florida
2018 E300 Luxury - P3 and more
With Distronic w/Steering Assist, absolutely.
Having driven a 2004 M45, 2011 S550, 2006 Flying Spur, and a 2003 C320 through tropical storms (actual named storm systems, not just normal tropical rains), it's a tough call for me. All felt VERY competent. I'd say the Flying Spur was my fav. for the task. It's sheer mass + horsepower meant it took a lot to upset the car. M45 vs. S550 is a very close call but for different reasons. The M45 is a crude, simple car. Not much in the way of computers, so you get a good feel for the road, traction, and limits of the car. The downside is you get wet due to the frameless glass and if you get into trouble you're on your own. The S is probably the safest of the bunch, but the computers work TOO well so I didn't get the sense of when I was getting close to asking too much from the car/tires. The C was my least fav. out of the bunch, primarily due to small size & lighter weight. Traction was good and at no time did the car do me wrong, but there's no substitute for a V8 + large car.
Tornado testing: Only tested the M45 in an F1 (verified). Surprisingly competent despite the circumstances. Car body was shaking quite a bit but steering tracked reasonably straight. At no time did I have to come to a complete stop. I think the slowest I got down to was about 30 mph. I'll update this section if/when I do further test drives in these conditions.
Originally Posted by KEY08
The 550 just blasted through it all and I never felt so safe in a car during a downpour like that. In any other car I would have been sh**ting my pants the whole way.
Tornado testing: Only tested the M45 in an F1 (verified). Surprisingly competent despite the circumstances. Car body was shaking quite a bit but steering tracked reasonably straight. At no time did I have to come to a complete stop. I think the slowest I got down to was about 30 mph. I'll update this section if/when I do further test drives in these conditions.
Last edited by BeachBunny; Dec 2, 2014 at 01:59 AM.
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From: MA
'24 Porsche Macan
Tornado testing: Only tested the M45 in an F1 (verified). Surprisingly competent despite the circumstances. Car body was shaking quite a bit but steering tracked reasonably straight. At no time did I have to come to a complete stop. I think the slowest I got down to was about 30 mph.
