mgiara

2011 E550 4Matic

-air suspension replaced with coil overs by the previous owner

-appointment set at a top tier indie for a post-purchase health inspection/report tomorrow

-i mentioned adjusting the coilovers during the appt since the camber is set way too aggressive (again by the prev owner) causing extremely premature tread wear and the upper inside of the front wheels are coming dangerously close to the coil, also rides way too harsh

-told indie it needs tires and i’m down to get them, he said yeah if you want to before your appt with us we can do an alignment, adjust the coils, knock all of that out with the inspection in one go

-appt is tmrw morning, was going to take it for tires today, but the TPMS sensors I ordered are late, and my budget is tighter than i’d prefer though payday is tonight

Question: bad idea to get new tires on the front after suspension adjustment and alignment?

or is that acceptable

CaliBenzDriver

Nop, that is a perfect timing to do it afterwards! Your soft tires won't get worn by improper angles then.

We have an expert sponsor here - I am sure Kevin can provide exactly what you need at this point. He knows the short comings of our economy chassis.

Meet... @K-Mac

mgiara

Thanks a million CaliBenz!

good to meet you K-Mac
Tire vendor or?

S-Prihadi

I hope the conversion to coilovers been done well by previous owners.
Otherwise you will be the one to suffer.

I see there are a lot of non famous brand coilovers for W212 with adjustable camber plate for front one.
https://www.google.com/search?q=w212...-wiz-serp#ip=1

The top brands like Bilstein and KW do not offer FRONT adjustable camber plate because it is useless for road use.


Mgiara wrote :
i mentioned adjusting the coilovers during the appt since the camber is set way too aggressive (again by the prev owner) causing extremely premature tread wear and the upper inside of the front wheels are coming dangerously close to the coil, also rides way too harsh
Even if the coilovers has the adjustable compression and re-bound, softest setting will still be harsh, because the spring is a harder one, after all when one install coilovers on comfy car like E550
he or she probably want to do Fast & Furious 7

Coilovers also adjustable for its ride height, this must be done properly and the actual requirement is a 4 wheel digital scale.
Usually those coilovers for W212 spring rate I seen 7 to 9kg per millimeter FRONT and 12 - 14kg per millimeter for REAR.
https://www.google.com/search?q=spri...&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

These springs are usually linear not progressive one like OE , which progressive is more comfy for small bumps but will stiffen up when spring compressed more.
So, if one wants to set a coilover to be as perfect as possible without a digital 4 wheel scale, its tough because as you seen per 1 millimeter error is that much.

Ride height change also changes the geometry of the suspension overall, which among others can lead to premature thread wear not from camber alone.

To answer your question : Question: bad idea to get new tires on the front after suspension adjustment and alignment?
No matter what, you need a fresh new tire or a proper wearing used tire to do any proper adjustment on suspension and/or the 4 wheels alignment.

Let's hope for most important matter : The conversion was done properly and factory values can be achieved as if the car is a steel spring basic set OE set up ( but probably a bit lower ride height )

K-Mac

Hi

W212 yes we manufacture a TOTAL SYSTEM when it comes to providing for the 1st time front Camber and Caster along with rear Camber (and extra Toe to compensate).

Remember the often quoted reassuring “Front and Rear Full ‘4’ wheel alignment “ - is only basic Toe “directional” adjustment !

Plus uprated bushings to improve brake and steering response along with bushings to replace the 6 multi link rear arms - less twitch, flex, loss of traction especially when applying power to lane change / overtake.

FRONT
Camber & Caster #502916K $480 (All kits Both Sides)
Camber only #502916-1i $345.
Above up to 2 degrees (Pos. or Neg) enough to resolve most premature tire wear issues.

Also replacement top strut mounts (Camber & Caster)
STAGE 2 (Street / Race) #502916-2L $545
STAGE 3 (Full Race) #502916-3L $545

Strut mounts recommend when combining for track days.

Allowing to set lower arms for maximum track width and fast adjust strut mounts from engine bay Street or Track. Unique patented design settings can be changed just in time taken to loosen the 3 top mount nuts !


REAR SUSPENSION
Camber (& Extra Toe) #502126K $480
Replaces the lower arm inner mounts and (like front) Camber can be installed without need for arm removal !

NOTE: Unique patented design breakthrough - Both front and rear lower arm kits provide fast precise adjustment. ULTIMATE - direct on alignment rack (under load). No time consuming trial and error.

Uprated multi link Rear bushings (12) #502628K $480

Uprated Rear Diff bushings (4) complete with bush extraction tool #503028Q $890

Uprated diff. bushings (2) Monoball / self centering #503228J $380

Kevin