Has anyone evaluated the adjustable suspension with adaptive damping on the GLB? I'm ordering a 2023 GLB250 with AMG trim and was wondering about the ride with the 19" wheels and run flat tires. I thought may be harsh and the adjustable suspension may help smooth out the ride.

 

You can check the below post:
https://mbworld.org/forums/glb-class...-amg-line.html

I had a loaner GLB250 last year, but I don't remember being too stiff, most probably similar to GLK350 with 19" wheels that I had previously. On GLB35 AMG, adaptive damping makes the car stiffer with sport and sport + mode. Adaptive damping is not air suspension to make it more comfortable... Even GLC 300 doesn't have the air suspension option in US unless you buy the AMG 43/63 models... However 2022 GLC300 suspension felt more floaty than GLB250/GLK350 when I had as loaners in last 2 months....

 

So this is more of a general response in regards to adaptive suspensions vs fixed suspensions. I have had a GLB 250 as a loaner with fixed standard suspension, and I'm not gonna comment too much on the ride as I pretty much universally dislike how SUVs drive. It's the typical swaying sailboat in the wind type ride due to the high center of gravity, but it's certainly not harsh. I always feel like a bobblehead in pretty much every SUV as there is so much body movement, or they are stiff as a rock in order to keep the body movement in check which is the problem with the AMG SUVs.

However, aside from a few exceptions due to poor implementations, an adaptive suspension is generally always an improvement over a fixed standard suspension for a few reasons. The challenge that suspension designers have is that comfort and handling are opposite goals. You can't have maximum comfort and also great handling with minimal body roll at the same time. Then on top of that are expected road conditions where the cars are most likely driven. So suspension designers have to find a compromise between comfort, handling and expected road conditions when designing a fixed suspension. This means it may not work well on all roads and in all conditions.

Adaptive suspensions change this. The main benefit of an adaptive suspension is not necessarily that the driver can choose between Comfort and depending on the model several sport modes, but an adaptive suspension continuously adapts multiple times a second to current road conditions and driver inputs to always have the optimal damping. This means the suspension continuously tunes itself to the specific road you are driving on, and your driving style to provide the desired balance between comfort and handling. In addition the driver can choose if they want the suspension to be overall more comfortable or overall more sporty depending on how they feel like, so the suspension works in a much wider range and is more optimally tuned to the actual road you are driving on.

Once you've owned a car with adaptive suspension for a while I bet you will find fixed suspensions lacking in their performance and comfort department. At least that's what happened to me. I find fixed suspensions very one dimensional now and I can tell right away that they are compromised. My C63S coupe is a firm riding car, but I find it more comfortable than many cars with a softer fixed suspension, because the adaptive damping is so much better in my C63. I can feel the bumps in the road, but the car settles quickly and the body doesn't move around, so I don't get thrown around in the seat which makes the ride more comfortable despite having firm springs. It's hard to really describe in words, and has to be experienced. You can just tell the difference in damping between a fixed suspension and an adaptive suspension. Then when I wanna go hoon it in the canyons I can put the suspension in Sport+ for excellent body control in the corners at the price of less comfort, but that's what I want at that point. As soon as I'm back driving normally on the highway or around town I can put it in Comfort for a nicer ride.

 

The GLB250 with 235-50 R 19 Continental SSR (MOE) tires has a longer wheelbase than the GLK350 so its ride is more refined with less fore-aft pitching motion. The MOE tires transmit more small road imperfections than the same size 235-50 R 19 Continental standard (MO) tires on the GLK.
The GLB250 with 19” wheels and MOE tires definitely rides better than a C Class sedan with aggressive sport tires.
Suggestion: After the 19” MOE tires need replacing, switch to the same 19” MO tires that the GLK would have and buy a compact spare tire kit. Then enjoy the all around better ride. It will cost less than adaptive suspension and as a bonus, standard radials are repairable where MOE tires are not.

 

All of these cars drive very nicely IMHO. But the sport seats are not as comfortable as the standard seat. People tend to forget that the seats are where comfort starts.

 

Can you answer this for me? On the GLB 250 with the damping suspension, AMG Line option, how is the ride controlled with the different settings?

Do the struts & shocks have magnetic fluid in them or what is used to control their adjustability?

 

That is a good question, and to be honest I don't know for sure on the GLB, however, as far as I know Mercedes/AMG don't use MagneRide, instead they use dampers with adjustable valves to control the oil flow. Most adaptive suspensions use valved dampers. The latest ones actually have separate valves for compression and rebound, so they can control the suspension to a much finer degree compared to the magnetic dampers and the single valve dampers that can't control compression and rebound independently.

 

Thanks, so when a setting is changed, somehow the valving is adjusted to change oil flow.

 

The valving is continuously adjusted. It controls the rate at which the oil can flow out of the chamber, so the slower it flows out the firmer the dampers get when compressing and the slower the rebound. If more fluid is allowed to flow, then the dampers get softer and rebound quicker. It's up to the suspension ECU to continuously adjust the valves for the desired compression and rebound based on various sensor inputs and the mode the driver has selected. There are sensors that measure the level of the car along with acceleration sensors etc. that tell it exactly what the car is doing and how much the suspension in each corner is compressed. The key to an adaptive suspension as I tried to explain above is that the valve settings are not fixed. They constantly change as you drive. This is opposed to what's known as an adjustable suspension, which has 2 or 3 fixed valve positions. An adaptive suspension works on a fluid continuum whereas an adjustable suspension works at a few selectable discrete points.

 

Got it. Just curious as this is my 2nd German vehicle along with my 2020 Audi Q3.

 

 

Yes, Audi uses MagneRide on their entry models. With limited success I might add. They also use it in the R8. I like none of them. Haven't driven the regular models with it, but driven the RS3, TTRS and R8 around town and twisty roads. The TTRS and R8 are harsh regardless of the selected mode, but handle well. The RS3 is comfortable, but too floaty even in Dynamic mode. There's also not much difference between Comfort and Dynamic with the MagneRide in my experience.

 

I agree that tires/rim size make more change in ride quality. When I change from 21" summer tires to 20" winter tires, GLB35 felt more comfortable for daily driving... Changing from 21" summer to 21" UHP all seasons didn't give that much comfort difference since UHP's are still close to summer tire performance which feels better above 100+ F tpms temp vs winters are comfortable even at 45psi due to its softer rubber.

 

I guess it is now a mute point. Ordered my 2023 GLB and the adjustable suspension is no longer available on this model. Thanks to all for your input.

 

Now that I have my 2023 GLB with 19" tires and standard suspension I can compare it to my 2014 GLK350 with 20" tires. I feel the ride is about the same. The GLB has a longer wheelbase and smaller tires although they are run flat tires so sidewall is less compliant. I had two sidewall blow outs with my GLK after hitting a pot hole. I hope the MOE tires will not have that issue.