jllorepe

in this link you can find the correct Bilstein shock for every g-class:

http://web1.carparts-cat.com/default...&31=65&330=780

Knight.MER

Now I'm swapping my G55 stock shocks to G500 , I used these parts :

005 326 17 00 (x2 )
006 323 02 00 (x2)

the thing is I started to have serious back pain after driving my G55 on bumpy roads of Riyadh , I will keep you guys posted with my experience.

MPOW33R

you would be helping out a lot of people out by reporting the outcome when swapping to 500 shocks !! Details on ride height, cornering , stability and performance please

Knight.MER

Mechanic is almost done with the swap . I will update everyone very soon with details . I was so desperate and honestly I considered selling my G although it took me years of planning to Buy it

MPOW33R

i have an 08 and its fine for me as the driver . I mean it's BNO Cadillac but it's not too bad and my wife doesn't complain much but everyone in the back seat complains .

Knight.MER

I tried the new shocks , It's a most for any G55 AMG.
It's as someone mentioned above like the difference between day and night.

Im even thinking about selling my Lexus as I'm no longer worried about having a comfy back up car.

Parts cost me including labor 1350 USD .

cornering is a bit different feels less sporty, but still nothing is wrong with it. Also nothing wrong with ABS or SRS or any systems I heard it could be triggered because of the swap .

I'm totally in love with the G more than ever after being so desperate and disappointed. Note that I just bought the car few weeks ago

///Molloy

post pics! Knight

MPOW33R

Did it raise your truck? if so how much can you measure GTF or can you please
send pix!!

Also are G550 and G500 shocks the same or ....?? anyone

Knight.MER

Side corner view . I honestly didn't measure between centre cap to fender edge before installation so I can't tell the difference
Rear wheel
Front wheel
I measured around 50 CM give or take 1 CM from centre cap to fender edge after shocks swap

Knight.MER

Im sure I got few Centimeters more but I can't tell how much exactly, please refer to previous reply.

G500 and G550 shocks are the same as far as my knowledge. G500 here is the same as G550 in US the only difference is engine size. To double check please refer to parts number I posted before

after driving the car couple of days after swap. I can summarize it this way :

Before swap: Comfort 4/10 - Handling 8/10
After swap: Comfort 8/10 - Handling 7/10

I chose comfort over everything. So happy about it

SoCal_AMG350

Wondering if you ever got an answer to this? I'm in the process of doing the swap and from everything I can find, Bilstein likely supplied the stock OEM G500/G550 shocks. Are these the same parts as the MB shocks, just half the price?


Thanks.

grane

The shock you mentioned are OEM MB by Bilstein without the Bilstein label. For a vendor, I would also try shox.com. Been doing business with them for years. Make sure you ask for a Bilstein expert. After doing extensive research I found the damping curve of these and the so-called heavy duty (yellow) Bilsteins are for practical purposes the same. I spoke to Bilstein directly - they had some mistakes with their part numbering that may have been cleared up by now.

07/2018
Just found shox.com hard to deal with must be under new management. of something.

What size wheels and tires do you have? If you are not using the stock 18" wheels (using e.g. 20" instead) the ride will be worse. If you are mostly highway I would try a touring tire that can take the weight. Decrepitating road conditions - potholes - are what they are.

I find that it takes at least 500 miles for the (branded) Bilsteins to break in. How many miles do you have on your stock shocks?

I'd also check your springs because (early) springs are notorious for corroding and breaking. Since I live near a racing car hotbed I was half considering having some springs fabricated out of a tougher, more rust-resistant steel. And then coating them myself or having them powder coated. The red springs will really rattle your teeth.

Good luck. Remember you are driving a truck designed for military use. Otherwise get a Lexus for a softer ride. Personally I like the ride of the G500. We have always have MB and it feels to me like a MB should - and it's a G!

SoCal_AMG350

Mine is a 2011 with about 48k on the clock. It's used mostly for city and highway driving, and I'm running OEM 20" G63 wheels and stock OEM Yokohama tires. It's just that the pricing difference between the Bilstein part numbered shocks and the MB part numbered shocks was so different that I wanted to make sure I wasn't going the cheaper route to my detriment. But if it's essentially the same shock just without the MB label on it, then that's kinda a no-brainer decision


Actually, I've also been wanting to replace my stock springs with G63 springs because I'm not a huge fan of the raked stance of the G55's vs the more flat stance of the G63's. But that likely won't change the stiffness too much since they're both AMG vehicles.

grane

I think the biggest thing to change for a better ride is rim and tire size. If you have an 18" rim rather than a 20" the amount of rubber really helps soften the ride - you're riding on a lot of air rather than a little air. (My wife has the stock 19" rims on her GLK but uses 17" rims for winter tires, for example.) Look in your OM for the smallest rim size that will go over your brakes. MB offers much small rims in Europe - MBUSA does it for "bling." There are calculators that will help you "downsize" IMHO 20" wheels belong on a Range Rover for bling and wheel damage.

See PM

markymark26

Venom-AMG

Partgeeks.com say they are all the same 2009-2015

West Short

I have also been very dissatisfied with how stiff the suspension is in my 2011 G55 for every day driving. I wish it was adjustable, and I am aware of some adjustable options just not worth the price in my view.

I finally just swapped in the Bilstein G500 shocks for my 2011 G55, which were $550 on Amazon. Very challenging to install the front shocks, but got it done. Bilstein says these are the same shocks as the G55 but I think what they mean is that they fit both vehicles, which they do. These are not the same shocks as I removed from the G55, which are heavier duty. Bilstein has an HD version of these shocks that fit both the G500 and the G55, which are probably the factory G55 shocks but I have not compared them directly.

The ride is much smoother, but I have noticed that the handling is not as precise when cornering. So, there is a performance downside to going with the softer shocks. It's a trade-off.

For me, the bone-jarring ride detracted from my overall enjoyment of the car, so the new softer shocks make a tremendous difference!

SoCal_AMG350

How did you change out the driver's side front shock? I've looked and it seems like the steering column shaft gets in the way. Do you have to remove anything to get to that top bolt?

grane

Springs are the first factor in stiffness, all things being equal. For example I asked about the offroad "red springs" and my MB tech buddy said they are much too stiff for the highway. Perhaps the G500/550 springs are softer that the G55 since they offer more travel and their stiffness measures much less that the G55 springs.

Tire size and inflation are another. You might want to try increasing the tire pressure to regain better handling.

Also, if you are using the blue/yellow Bilsteins, I find that they are either too soft or too stiff the first 500- 1000 miles. Their damping curve and travel is sensibly higher in extreme loads than the black stock shocks so they need break in. However, they are not that different like the adjustable or radical off-road shock you mention.

How many miles on are on your G55 when you replaced the shocks? I know that hindsight is 20/20 but I would have considered going up to the 265/60 18 (if you have 18" wheels) tires (or their 19" equivalent) as used on the G500. More sidewall gives more cushion. The ESP settings for these options can be adjusted in the Comand system, at least one can on my G500.

Just some thoughts. I am about to install the blue/yellow Bilsteins on my G500. The black Bilsteins have been on for 70K miles so it's time to have them rebuilt. I am also going to switch my offroad/winter tires to my wider G55 wheels since the tires (Goodyear Dura-Traks) are based on a 8" rim, not the standard G500 rim that I believe is 7 1/2".

These are my informed opinions but I am not advocating you follow them - the risk remains yours.

NB: Just got my yellow/blue rear Bilsteins. Bilstein makes a run twice a year so now is the time to order them!

West Short

The Bilsteins I got were the B4 versions (black/OE replacement for G500). Here's the link:


They are noticeably softer than the factory G55 shocks, which is a welcome improvement. Rides "like a Mercedes" instead of like a Porsche, which is nice when you have your family in the car and they aren't bouncing out of the seats anymore. I couldn't do the front shock install myself because of the proximity of the steering shaft so a local mechanic did it for me.

I'm happy with these shocks and the AMG springs, but some might want to go with the G500 springs instead, which are slightly taller (~1") and noticeably softer, but you lose some handling characteristics. I can tell just the shock change has decreased my cornering capability, but it's a welcome trade-off.

Of course the ultimate "soft" ride for these cars is to go with the taller springs and shocks (Old Man Emu/Thor/etc.), which makes it handle like a Ford Expedition but allows for 33"+ tires instead of the factory 31". My intent was not to totally destroy the handling, but just to keep from bouncing out of my seat, which I believe I have accomplished.

grane

I'll have a set of take-off B4 Bilsteins available (20k miles) for $210 for all 4 plus shipping from 06018 or $150 per sets of 2 (f/r) plus shipping. That's less than half the Amazon price for the 4 pack. Since they have been on the G, they are not new looking but they ride fine. No leaks. They'll have all the bushings and so on but you might want to renew the hardware and renew the rubber bits with silicone although I am fairly **** about things like that. I'll take personal check. As soon as you buy them I'll take them off the G. Then I will ship them to you. Silly offers ignored.

April 2019
The shocks have been sold.

VaderOne

My first post, have been trolling this forum for many years. To original post, I too had the same problem and after many weeks doing research, I got the idea from this forum on switching my 06 G55 shocks with 08 G550 shocks (bilsteins). The cost for all 4 and install at the local specialty shop was about $1100. The net result was that it was "better" but not as much as I had hoped. If I had to do it again, I think I would have gone more drastic route to gain higher yield in ride quality.....granted it would have cost more $$. I plan to keep this vehicle for a long time and my fear is that if the ride quality doesn't improve, I may lose my love for the vehicle....which would be a shame. I plan to keep eyeing this thread and see if I can learn a better solution. Finally, do appreciate all the contributors to the forum, it's a great place to gain knowledge and share our experiences.

grane

VaderOne:

To improve ride quality,

1. try going to the smallest size wheel/tire combination that will fit, probably 17 or 18". It will have a larger sidewall.The extra rubber and air will improve the ride.
2. Use a Touring type tire rather than the V or H rated tires. Michelin and Pirelli make them in 18". If you have 18" wheels now just look at Tire Rack for some choices. You don't need anything more radical than an s or T rated tire unless you cruise at 100mph plus.
3. Frankly I would have changed to a smaller wheel/tire first before changing shocks. Think of a tire as a bladder. The more air in the bladder and the bigger its size it will damp better than a thin bladder/tire all things being equal. ATBE 18"wheels/ tires will damp better than their 22" +4 size.

VaderOne

grane:

Thank your for your insight on this....prior to making the shock switch, I knew that tire and wheel size would be significant so I did stay with the factory 18 inch AMG wheel and shod it with Nitto Terrain Grappler G2 (285/60R18). So it has plenty of sidewall cushion and the tire is pretty soft. Unfortunately, the ride quality is still leaving me unsatisfied. Don't get me wrong....it has "improved" since the shock switch but it still rides very hard and at times, it really gets under my skin. Just for reference, I have had 6 other AMG cars, few Porsches, numerous BMW's and several Audi's. Not to mention fully tricked out Toyota Tundra with 6 inch Pro-Comp lifts, running 37's. I have been lusting after G55 for many years and to be honest, I love everything about this car except for the ride quality. As stated previously, I would like to keep this car for many years to come.....I might look at swapping the springs to newer G550 springs?

Thanks for your engagement.

Venom-AMG

Change the springs and you should see a huge improvement.