Magic Body Control - Silly Question
03-10-2014, 08:21 AM
#1
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Magic Body Control - Silly Question
I read in Automobile Magazine about MBC.
They keep phrasing the term "Enabling and disabling".
In the manual - to deactivate it, you can do 2 things.
1) Put the car into sport mode (ABC SPORT) (Because MBC won't work in Sport mode by design)
Suspension in Sport / MBC Off
Suspension in Comfort / MBC on.
2) Raise the car with the lift button (BELOW COMFORT/SPORT) (don't know why this would matter)
However, the article shows its disappointment that it can't be "enabled" in sport mode, etc. It says "It seems to us that a suspension in sport mode is more likely to suffer harshness and therefore would benefit much more from Magic Body Control than the cushy standard mode."
It also says, "Other than enabling, or disabling MBC, there isn't much difference between the two modes, either in suspension firmness or steering effort". Are they talking about the suspension now itself being in sport or comfort? Confusing. It acts as if you can control MBC aside from controlling the suspension.
Anyone with an S Class can testify that when you have it in Sport setting, its very different from comfort. So why does the article speak about "other than enabling MBC" the suspension is no different in the two modes. Either my reading comprehension went down hill since my school days, or this is really confusing. See below.
The article lets the reader think there's another way to turn MBC off or on - one which has nothing to do with the aforementioned.
Searched the web, found nothing.
My Service adviser said "it's on all the time, except when you put it into sport mode". But the article says you can "Enable it". When you start your car, the mode is in comfort already as protocol, thus the MBC would have already been "enabled". So what are we enabling?
So I wanted to know if any of the new S Class owners have MBC as an option and have a thought to the concept of "deactivating" and "activating" it. Is there an on/off setting besides what I said?
Thoughts?
They keep phrasing the term "Enabling and disabling".
In the manual - to deactivate it, you can do 2 things.
1) Put the car into sport mode (ABC SPORT) (Because MBC won't work in Sport mode by design)
Suspension in Sport / MBC Off
Suspension in Comfort / MBC on.
2) Raise the car with the lift button (BELOW COMFORT/SPORT) (don't know why this would matter)
However, the article shows its disappointment that it can't be "enabled" in sport mode, etc. It says "It seems to us that a suspension in sport mode is more likely to suffer harshness and therefore would benefit much more from Magic Body Control than the cushy standard mode."
It also says, "Other than enabling, or disabling MBC, there isn't much difference between the two modes, either in suspension firmness or steering effort". Are they talking about the suspension now itself being in sport or comfort? Confusing. It acts as if you can control MBC aside from controlling the suspension.
Anyone with an S Class can testify that when you have it in Sport setting, its very different from comfort. So why does the article speak about "other than enabling MBC" the suspension is no different in the two modes. Either my reading comprehension went down hill since my school days, or this is really confusing. See below.
Because bad pavement is hard to find in this part of Germany, Mercedes set up a demonstration with two five-inch-tall speed bumps. First we drove across them at 25 mph with Magic Body Control deactivated, and the effect was about what you'd expect: a gentle rise and fall. Then we repeated the exercise at the same speed with the system working, and it was almost as if the bumps had been erased. One oddity of the system, however, is that it works only when the suspension is in comfort mode, not sport. It seems to us that a suspension in sport mode is more likely to suffer harshness and therefore would benefit much more from Magic Body Control than the cushy standard mode.
Other than enabling or disabling Magic Body Control, there isn't much difference between the two modes, either in suspension firmness or steering effort. Regarding the latter, the V222 switches to electric power assist, but Mercedes has done a remarkable job exactly imitating the action and effort of the previous hydraulic system. We were also surprised at the maneuverability of this big machine. A tight, 40-foot turning circle combined with a split-view screen showing both the backup camera and an overhead 360-degree view makes tight spots a lot less intimidating.
Other than enabling or disabling Magic Body Control, there isn't much difference between the two modes, either in suspension firmness or steering effort. Regarding the latter, the V222 switches to electric power assist, but Mercedes has done a remarkable job exactly imitating the action and effort of the previous hydraulic system. We were also surprised at the maneuverability of this big machine. A tight, 40-foot turning circle combined with a split-view screen showing both the backup camera and an overhead 360-degree view makes tight spots a lot less intimidating.
Searched the web, found nothing.
My Service adviser said "it's on all the time, except when you put it into sport mode". But the article says you can "Enable it". When you start your car, the mode is in comfort already as protocol, thus the MBC would have already been "enabled". So what are we enabling?
So I wanted to know if any of the new S Class owners have MBC as an option and have a thought to the concept of "deactivating" and "activating" it. Is there an on/off setting besides what I said?
Thoughts?
Last edited by Chucky300; 03-10-2014 at 08:47 AM.
03-11-2014, 06:59 PM
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2020 S560
I have ABC on my car. There is no separate setting, or button, to enable and disable MBC independently of the ABC button in the center console. It is always off in sport mode, and is always on in comfort mode, unless the car is raised using the raise suspension button.
03-11-2014, 07:49 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
I have ABC on my car. There is no separate setting, or button, to enable and disable MBC independently of the ABC button in the center console. It is always off in sport mode, and is always on in comfort mode, unless the car is raised using the raise suspension button.
Describing it as you did would have been a much more easy to understand approach.
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