DaveW68

The only plastic items on the W221 body are the front and rear bumpers. The front fenders, doors, hood, and trunk lid are made from high strength aluminum. The rest of the body is steel.

alexanderfoti

My front wings(fenders) are 100% plastic.

Welwynnick

I think you just nailed my plan!

DaveW68

Doubtful....unless your car suffered previous front end damage and the body shop put cheap garbage parts on it. The W221's all came with aluminum front fenders from the factory.

Welwynnick

I've been resisting buying a W221 for several years - would never even consider it until recently, and was starting to look at other makes instead.

And then something like this comes up for sale, and I can feel the resolve weakening......

http://www.aspirespecialistcars.co.u...01708017932976

DaveW68

That's a beauty!

alexanderfoti

You are correct. Too much Gin was making me think of my 215 :p

w2830

Interesting. I've seen people saying that the noise level of w221 is subpar in comparison with the rivals. Actually worse even than the BMW 5 series. From my own experience, I'd have to say I'm not impressed at all with my newly purchased 2013 s550 in this regard. Could it be the tires? What's the quietest tires one would recommend for this car by the way?

Welwynnick

I guess you're not using 255/45/18 tires?

If you were, you'd probably find the car quiet.

It matters what tires as well. Modern tires are really good at road noise. Every sporty street tire has gone asymmetric - there are no directional tires to be seen any more.

Nick

Wolfman

The interior and seats are in very good shape for a 100k+ miles car, but i would look for a lower mielage example. At minimum make sure that the engine had mounts, plugs, ignition coils swapped and the ABC history

w2830

I'm pretty sure they're 19s. It has the AMG package. Anyway, I'd think19 should not sacrifice too much on the noise level or ride quality given the size of the car. I had 19s on my "tiny" 08 BMW 3 series couple which I don't recall having a noisier cabin on the road.

DaveW68

That's strange. My S600 with a V12 bi-turbo motor and staggered 20 inch wheels shod with Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 is pretty darn quiet. The quietness easily rivals my previous Lexus LS460. These cars have double paned glass on the sides and lots of sound deadening in the doors, firewall, and under the cabin. If you have rear A/C controls, you may want to check and make sure that they are turned off as that can make the cabin pretty noisy, as well as the fans from the ventilated seats. The front blower can also get a little noisy if turned way up.

Regarding tires, don't be afraid to run a staggered set-up as that will not add more road noise. Most touring style tires with fairly closed tread blocks on the outside of the tire are pretty quiet. But the more closed off the tread blocks, the less water and snow that get pushed away in inclement weather.

dlafever

I have the 19" staggered setup from the factory sport option. The tires that came with my car (used purchase) were some Sumitomo junk and it was as if the car 'knew' that just wasn't right. I measured the interior noise at 70mph @ 64db using an SPL meter. I recently put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on and remeasured the SPL again, this time 60.5db. It's amazing how much better the ride is, but I knew that would be the case.

compaddict

iTrader: (1)

I'm running Sumos on stock twenties and I don't get to much tire noise. I do get some though. Between that and coming from eighteens on my S55 might be the difference I hear.
Vince

Welwynnick

Absolutely not worried about all those parts. I see them as consumables, and can repair or replace all of them.

That car is quite high mileage, but it's obviously been looked after, and the owner's preserved all the things that I wouldn't replace!

Nick

mdnx

Although it is a sad sight to see and I dont endorse any kind of behavior in this video, it really shows how well engineered the S class is considering how far it went.

compaddict

iTrader: (1)

That was entertaining!

Nuru

I run CONTINENTAL EXTREMECONTACT DWS 06Ultra High Performance All-Season 255/40ZR19 100Y XLs, and my car is quiet, very quiet.

Maroc_Specops

Exterior wise
#1 w222
#2 w220
#3 w140

is my opinion