The crying shame in all of this, is MB's fairly recent and ridiculous decision to limit availability of their truly magnificent AirMatic suspension to only their "Sport" model E Class sedans. We had a 2004 E500 that we ordered with AirMatic. The ride was amazing: S Class like in "Comfort" mode, Porsche like in "Sport" mode. Today, other than in AMG models, AirMatic is only available on the new E400, which is ONLY available in the Sport trim. We have a new, loaded E350 Luxury on order currently. We would have jumped up to the E400 and ordered it with AirMatic IF MB had offered it in Luxury trim, but the idiots in control of such decisions have this "head up their a--" thinking that anyone who wants more power MUST want their ridiculous Sports Pkg. This is what happens when a company like MB decides that they need a million different "entry level" models to lure a younger group of buyers: traditional models suffer and long time, very loyal (read "older" if it helps you) customers are ignored.

 

Lots of talk about the ride quality and how springs are shorter on the sports model... Are they really?


I would think that the "hard" ride of the sport models mostly comes from stiffer or "harder" shock absorbers. I bet if you take shocks out from both models they are very soft over the bumps but, of course, without shocks could not drive at any real speed.


I think a sports model can be made a lot softer or luxury-like by changing to softer shock absorbers.

 

To be honest, I don't know what is different, I just read it here somewhere and spit it back out in this thread. I do know that the sports sit lower and I thought that the stance had more to do with the springs as opposed to the shocks. I haven't compared part numbers but that seems not to difficult a task if anyone is up for it.

 

I did not mean you particularly with the comment of shorter springs. I also remember reading it somewhere else and it can be that springs in the sports model really are shorter especially if it sits lower than the luxury model.

But the length of the spring does not make the car ride hard or soft. The spring constant determines how much the car leans in corners at speed, i.e. when there is relatively long lasting force to one direction. The ride quality the most people talk about here I believe is how you feel the bumps or pot holes on the road and that comes from the shocks.

 

which tire size was better for driving ? 225-50-17 or the 245-45-17?