No, that's a fair question..

Honestly I stole the car.. that's why. ( Price wise ). Just under 2 years old 38K still under warranty,Original price of 78k on the NetStar, great shape full of options... I never intended to keep it. I had this big idea to sell it and make 4 or 5K, but after I started driving it, and I started doing my usual mods and such, and here we are.. I got rid of everything else instead.

Its a big car.. and I really do prefer the smaller sportier driving experience as you stated. Some things are just not meant to pass up if you know what i mean.I ran the crap out of my C230K and loved every second of it.

I am in no way trying to convert my S into a sports car. I know better than that, but leaving it low and stiff with 20's is a great compromise since I have it. Laterally, it still a heavy car but I love the first three gears and it sits on 80mph at just of 2k like its nothing.I'm not a racer ( i remember your comments from before ), I'm just making the best at what I have. I would never be this happy with a lexus of anything this size made in the US. But again, this is just me getting my car as close to my driving preference as possible. Anything else I would have gotten rid of and jsut bought what I felt like driving.

My W203 was cozy light but not very luxurious, the W211 was medium and agile but not as luxurious, but This car I can almost get both.. big car luxury when I desire yet a tight firm ride as i am usually in that mood. I couldn't do that from any car I've had so far.

I am going to get a late model SL later on and keep the S if its still far away from money pit status so that I can have the Big car, and then use the SL when I want to fly low. That may be the last benz I buy I don;t know.. It's about the only one I haven't had though...

 

I am doing 98% in c comfort. only switch to sports 1, if I plan on taking a turn without slowing down, or when I plan on being fast (as fast as law permits, that is), but then in s, for first gear usage. Sports 2 is way to stiff in my opinion, I don't like to hobble over the grooves of the interstates. But that may change when I am back to Germany with my car

 

Yep, it's amazing how much cheaper you can get a S430 over the S500. If only you could cheaply increase performance to match the S500 so you could enjoy the saving of the lower price.

 

You live in Dallas. YOu should know that it really doesn't matter 500 or 430 on the secondary market here.even the 55 and 600 in some cases. its just what happens to be for sale. they are all cheap. Really cheap.

And again, there is no reason to worry about adding 25hp to a tank. the newer 430's are more than enough. My car has spent its lifetime on the streets not the track. i can do 70,80,even 90 just like the 500 without any issues. Its still 25mph in my neighborhood, and 60 on the SR's. There is no speed allowance for the type of engine you have.

Who said I wasn't enjoying my car? Are you kidding me?

 

I'd have to agree with you I see many people talking about performance on these cars. I have a 500 but its amazing how many people talk about the 1 second difference between the 2 in the 0-60. Honestly I imagine there's a 7 Series forum that talks about the same. Some of us cruise some of us race to each his own.

On to the topic I drive mine in normal comfort mode always. Every now and then I play with the buttons. When the car rises it drives like my truck. And the sport mode I can't tell because of my rims. Go figure.

 

I drive the car mostly on comfort. However in longer trips and cruise at about 75-80mph, the car feels better at sport 1. Prob only use sport 2 when the roads are really curvy.

 

Other than seeing the lights on the dash button and a momentary display on the instrument cluster readout, is there any way to know that this system is really working? I find it impossible to discern a difference between the three modes. Can you clearly feel the difference or is it very subtle?

 

You'll definitely notice the difference on rough roads. There is much more pitch, roll and "jiggle" in the "comfort" mode. I also notice the difference in steering when in crosswinds.

 

I do encounter crosswinds regularly in Eastern Washington so I'll check that out. I'm not often on rough roads but maybe I'll have to go find some. Thanks for the info.

 

I didnt use the settings for the first 4 months cause I couldnt tell the difference. Well I finally took the time to investigate these settings to see if its worth using.

Its like a new friggin car now. I used to drive comfort only. Like someone said its like sailing down the road. I tried sport 2 the other day and the car was so tight. Complete opposite of how the car drove normally. I tried it out for a while and realized while the car was much tighter, I could feel every bump in the road as if I was driving a low riding sports car. (By the way I hate the term "ricer" and think its very racist you racist *******s who use it)

I selected the sports 1 mode and is was perfect. Much better handling than comfort setting and the car feels alot smaller.

For now on its comfort when in regular city traffic and sports 1 and 2 on the highway. Sport 2 especially going 80 mph or in high winds. Try it and you will love it. Its not just buttons sitting on the dash; they actually do a lot to the car.

Next I am going to try the ESP to see exactly how it changes the feel of the car. This machine is awesome.

 

Thanks. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the different settings. A couple of times a month, I'm on the Interstate going fast on the flats then over the mountains (with heavy crosswinds on the other side) so I will have plenty of opportunity to check it out.

 

OK - you're entitled to your opinion, but why post that in a string where absolutely no one has used the term? The closest thing was in my06clk's post where he said "racer" - he didn't misspell it, and it is a very different thing.

 

I brought it up using the , which is what you do when something is totally off topic, no?

Sometimes you are in a thread and someone is talking about the thread topic and then says, " Off topic, blah blah blah...".

I was in a sentence where I have seen many enter the term "ricer" where I was describing "a low, very fast and quick sports car". Thats what made me actually think about the word.

So I brought it up on purpose since no one actually said it. (which if you have kids or a wife I am sure you know is the best way to discuss something; when its not actually going on, sort of prevention. ) That way you actually have everyone's positive attention. No one could take direct offense to my opinion and to eliminate a lot of back and forth with whomever would be offended.

I am sure we can all agree that the term is not socially positive nor should it be acceptable; again just MHO.

I am an open minded guy, so if I have the term and the users of the aforementioned term pinned wrong, please, please, please let me know.

*I would particularly be interested in hearing feedback from anyone of the Asian persuasion*

 

There is an entire off-topic forum for that purpose. Plus, if anyone had used the term in the string, perhaps your comments would have been better-placed, because it would have been pointed at a term that was in front of the readers.

I'm not disagreeing with your feelings about the term, or the propriety of stating how you feel - just where your chose to introduce it. Maybe folks would like to discuss it more fully, but it would best be done elsewhere.

 

If I would have waited for someone to say it and then I respond there is a huge back and forth because I have offended someone. Just stating my opinion on the term might warrant others to state thier opinion, but no one has been "called out" so no one would get defensive.

I had about 16 sentences in that post and had one off topic sentence.
If you should never go off topic then there shouldnt be an . I thought the purpose of the was to give warning/heads up that the next thought/sentence is not directly associated to the thread. Then you return to the thread subject without hijacking the thread.

Didnt mean to strike a chord. Would you mind if we took this to pm so you could explain to me what the term "ricer" means and where it comes from? Pretty nice that there is an emoticon with the same name so maybe I am reading too much into the term.

 

To avoid further digression (since we're both off-topic) I have responded with a PM as you suggested. Please note that I did not address the other 15 comments you made in the post - only the one off-topic, which may have provoked some controversy.

 

comfort mode and trans in "c" when I'm with the ladies

trans in "S" and sport I when I'm alone

trans in "S" and sport II and posi for fun

 

I find the Sport I setting and the standard (that's what the S stands for) transmission setting to suit me. I drive across an over-the-water highway to work and the cross-winds can get interesting in Comfort mode. If it's really blowing, I switch to Sport II, but you feel every expansion strip and defect in the road. If I'm showing off on an exit or entrance ramp, I'll switch to Sport II just to keep things flat; it's usually a surprise to the kid trailing me that my big fat W220 can negotiate a cloverleaf quicker than his little baby scooter can.

There is a definite difference in feel among the three settings. Comfort isn't dramatically softer than Sport I, but Sport I takes the high-speed wiggle out of the suspension. All you feel is sidewall flex. Sport II is too stiff (to me) for everyday driving because the roads I drive aren't all that smooth and Sport II picks up every imperfection.

The standard setting on the transmission doesn't stiffen up the shifts; it just starts in first gear instead of second. The shift crispness is a function of throttle setting and the fuzzy logic circuitry that keeps track of how you drive and adjusts the transmission to that.

 

Ok I use to drive in comfort mode and found the ride to be too stiff esp..when hitting bumps in the road...I felt like the suspension was too hard and not soft enough....soooo I switched to SPORTS II mode and wow now the suspension feels really independent..if i run over a sewer top on the right side i can feel the shock asorbing it but its soft as day....yess there is some bounce but the suspension is just perfect now...makes mee feel much better about traveling on these terrible chicago roads. Comfort mode on air settings just supresses the bounce and its real stiff....but Sport mode gives you a better feel its like i have coil spring suspension....i love it. While in traffic I drive trans in C mode because i hate the 1-2 2-1 shifting which is boring. After all these changes I feel like I have a brand new sports car....YAH!!!

 

I think you are a bit backwards on that.

 

Hawk 25 definitely has it backwards. The Comfort setting for the suspension is soft. Sport 1 is stiffer, and Sport 2 is stiffest.

 

I think on my instrument cluster all i see setting "S" and "W"..
Is it same as "S" and "C" or i am missing something here..
Thanks..

 

In my O4 user manual "S" is for "Standard"
I too get better gas mileage in S than in C

 

prior to 03, it was s/w and after its s/c

same thing