eddietr

Perhaps I should ask this in the CL forum, but I'll try here first.

I've read a lot of things to say that ABC is great in the S. And I've heard a lot of great things about ABC in the CL.

But specifically when it comes to the CL you tend to hear more about the ABC making the car feel 1,000 lbs lighter and so on. Time and again, I've heard people say it erases the considerable bulk of the CL.

So is this true of the S also? Not just the ride quality, but does ABC make the S feel smaller/lighter?

Has anyone had considerable experience with the ABC in the CL versus the ABC in the S (preferably the 221) Any significant differences?


I've had the considerable pleasure of driving my uncle's E550 for the past few days. And I absolutely love it. I mean, it's just incredible after you've driven it a couple hundred miles and really gotten used to it.(*) I'm hoping the S is everything this is and more after I've really gotten used to that. But I'm also hoping it doesn't feel like a barge next to this car. That's why I'm asking. The car I ordered has ABC.
(Obviously the E550 I'm driving has Airmatic)

(*) Can you tell I've got the Mercedes bug real bad.. I smile when I see other Mercedes now and I don't even have mine yet.

eddietr

I should say I've only got a few miles behind the wheel of an ABC car. Perhaps I'm slow, but it really takes me a couple hundred miles at least before I really start to "get" a car and learn to really enjoy it.

So I'm looking for experience from those of you with significant experience with ABC.

MB Fanatic

Both the S class and the CL (w221 and W216) use ABC 2.0. This is the latest and greatest version of ABC to date. The S550 will feel like its on rails for such a large car when going through corners and what not. You will love it. Dont fret.

Germancar1

Yeah I was going to say that if you like the E550, you'll love the S550. It is an E550 and more.

M

eddietr

For what I want in this car (it won't be replacing the GT3), I actually love the E550. I imagine I'll probably want to marry the S550 if what you say is true.

Germancar1

Yep you should love it.

M

Doctodd33

i wish i had ABC in my car.....was going "slightly" fast and the car swayed too much while going around a long turn on the freeway at high speed. Even with the 19" AMG rims.

T

04S430

Further to eddietr's question about ABC, have any Northern climate users of this type of suspensions noticed ride quality changes between summer and winter?
I would suspect that oil viscosity changes with varying temperatures would affect damping.

Kar don

04S430, if going by what you are saying that would affect any vehicle as all regular shock absorbers are oil-based.

04S430

Correct, oil-based shock absorbers will respond differently at -35F than at say +80F. I live where winters are cold. My truck is equipped with oil-based shock absorbers and rides like a lumber wagon in very cold weather. That I do know from experience since the vehicle was new. I experienced the same with previous MB's not equipped with Airmatic. (Well let's re-phrase this for the MB's; not as bad as lumber wagons, but not exactly as good a ride as in the summer!) I never did own an ABC equipped vehicle, hence my ignorance on the subject.
The MB literature describes ABC as "high-pressure hydraulic servos, sophisticated sensing system and high-performance microprocessors that adapt the suspension with split-second speed to changes in driver input and road conditions." I assume the hydraulic substance is oil.
This leads me to ask if such a hydraulic system is affected by large temperature changes?
Perhaps, someone who lives in New-York or other State, or Province that experiences large temperature changes, and drives an ABC equipped car could comment?

SL65amg

The ABC on my CL 550 really does help alot. So smooth yet you can take a corner very fast if you want to. Worth every penny.

mmereos

when I was deciding on the features of the car in back in May when I ordered my S550 I wanted to compare one with ABC and one without. The dealer was trying to talk me out of it because it's a pricey option. I drove one S550 without, then one with ABC, then again one without and then one with ABC to test the feel. I picked up my S550 this morning w/ABC.

The way I tested it was I drove around corners, and then went into a parking lot and drove in circles. Without ABC people in the back and the passengers were starting to get nausious, and with it they felt comfortable and fine.
ABC does not help you corner better it helps stabilize the car and reduce the roll.

Good luck with your decision.

M

aschb

Can't comment much on my S 600 with ABC. Temp between -5C and +25C (23F to 77F) gives the same smooth result on all kind of streetconditions. Let's see what happen when temp lowers to -20C (-4 F) in the next couple of weeks.

04S430

Thanks for the info. Sorry, I forgot to add " Canton" to my phrase "Perhaps,someone who lives in New York, or other State or Pronince ....."

whoover

The shocks themselves are gas-pressurized. The hydraulic fluid is maintained at high-pressure (the literature says 2,900 PSI) regardless of ambient temperature. Designing hydraulic fluid to maintain viscosity at temperature extremes is not rocket science. In fact rockets rely on it space, so maybe it is rocket science. But even a passenger jet relies on functioning hydraulics in much lower temperatures than ABC will see.

Nevada Jack

ABC is worth the cost. The ride is smooth, quiet, and handling improves. No roll, squat or dive...no "barge" feeling in the S550...just pure delight in how great a ride you are enjoying.

If you are like me you will be talking to yourself, saying "self...this is one hell of a ride!"

mkaresh

Only car I've driven with ABC was an SL500, and I was surprised by how nimble it felt given the car's considerable weight.

I'm personally least impressed with the E-Class among Mercedes sedans. The C-Class feels much sportier, at least in the Sport trims, while the S, even the old S, just feels like a helluva lot more car. And the new S is rightfully getting very high marks from everyone.

In comparison, the E strikes me as a bit less than it should be. There's a much larger gap in size and feel between it and the S than between it and the C. I suspect some people would like the goodness of the S in a slightly smaller package. As it is, there's a big hole in the range. Goldilocks would not be happy.

Traditionally, BMW focused on small sedans and Mercedes focused on big ones, and these remain their areas of expertise.

Doctodd33

the CLS is the only gap between the S and the E.

T

mkaresh

Pricewise, yes. I was speaking in terms of interior room, where the CLS is best thought of as a coupe.

The E-Class rear seat is a bit tight for adults, while the S-Class is overkill. Mercedes doesn't offer a car with a rear seat with room and comfort comparable to a BMW 5-Series or Infiniti M. The next time the E-Class is fully redesigned I suspect they'll fix this.

davidegai

The CLS is a plain and simple E wearing a designer outfit