meeso

Hello gurus. My first benz, and my first with dynamic suspension. Wever noticed that the rear end is hideous over broken road/bumps/corrugations, in comfort or eco modes. Better in sport/sport + but still not ideal. Is this a idiosyncracy of the air suspension? or more likely to be the RFT thick sidewalls on the tyres?

Having come from a landrover with air suspension, i dont think its that, it was silky riding.. My other previous rides with very stiff coil overs also never had this issue..

cheers

F1Fan

The Airmatic? If there are no problems with the air spring (no leaks), I would go with the rock hard RFT. What size tires do you have? What tire pressure do you normally use? How many miles/km do you have on the tires? Some of the Mercedes spec MO tires do not last very long, sacrificing tire tread wear for comfort. Combine that with a run flat and it's the worst combination.

I have noticed that the tires, when new, will give a very good comfortable ride for about 6-12 months. Then the rubber slowly starts to change. The new tire feel is gone and there is just the regular standard ride. Unfortunately on RFT that normal ride is fairly harsh, unacceptable for a luxury car. Go on past 5 years on tires and the rubber really starts to get hard and noisy.

I have read the newer generation of RFT are more compliant. There have been posts in this forum of several owners getting rid of run flats in favor of regular tires, and the ride quality is restored back to normal.

But before that, do a visual inspection of the suspension. Perhaps there might be something broken or torn?

mercedes.fan

Airmatic on the 4 cylinder models has had complaints of being a bit fidgety due to the air suspension primarily being designed for heavier 6 cylinder models. But take it to the dealer and see what they have to say? Test drive a e220d with airmatic and see if there is a difference.

meeso

brand new car, Brand new tyres - goodyear eagles i think.

Will discuss with the dealer, perhaps im expecting too much. Other post about weight, the problem is the rear end, extra weight over the front axle shouldnt matter?

I think its the tyres, theres just not enough sidewall flex with the RFT tyres.. though we will have to wait for the tyres to need replacing. those who have gone to ordinary rubber..what do you do about a spare? or just carry a tube of tyre goop ?

2012 merc amg

The Goodyear Eagles ride horrible, they are classified as a ultra high performance tire and have a very stiff sidewall, not really sure why MB uses them on this car. If you change those out for a Tire like a Michelin Primacy run flat you find you have a much better ride, thats what I did. Still need to sell the Goodyears.

jhpmbusa

drove a 2009 c300 today with nearly 100k miles on it... it drove like a real benz...sturdy, planted and heavy....sad that so much has changed since.

meeso

brief update on this.. I put more air in the tyres, were only on ~32psi. threw 38psi in and much better feel from the rear end now. Hope thats the only issue

nycebo

Funny, I did the same thing: went with 37 psi on my non-RFT tires all around and the car's handling characteristics improved more than modestly without significantly impacting ride comfort.

mercedes.fan

Well the younger buyers want more sporty and lighter feeling cars while the older generation is turning to SUVs. Thats the reason BMW killed Mercedes in sales until recently, maybe not in the US but in Europe and Asia at least.