Strutmasters Spring/Shock conversion (from Airmatic)
11-19-2017, 08:14 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Strutmasters Spring/Shock conversion (from Airmatic)
Just wanted to share our experience and review converting over from Airmatic to Strumasters suspension (2008 S550 4matic with 105k). My father blew out the shock about 3 weeks ago and we decided to convert over for # of reasons:
- Cost - one new Airmatic shock was $700 (Arnott). Strutmasters entire set up is $1000. Simply didn't make sense to keep dealing with this at this milage.
- Future reliability - we thought it would be best to get away from Computers, Airshocks, Compressors, valve blocks etc.
- Improve on Sport - my parents keep the car in Sport mode so we figured Spring/Shock suspension will actually improve it
Removal/Installation:
I tackled this installation on my own since I've been working on cars for few decades (as a car enthusiasts/on the side). We also wanted to save some money (indy shops/Dealer isn't cheap).
Funny how things work out sometimes, I thought front end would be easy and rear end would take longer. Things worked out quite opposite....
Day 1 - Front shock removal was a disaster from the get go. The bottom bolt wouldn't give. I couldn't get a ball joint puller that would fit on the bottom. Both sizes were seized completely and I wanted to preserve the good shock and sell it on Ebay. I did not give it heat (should've) and had to go to last resort Ball Joint fork and a large hammer. It finally gave away but I did bunch of running around to Autozone for tools etc. I did not end up removing the top A Arm ball join on the drive side as it wasn't needed. (Note our car did not have the set screws on the bottom).
Front end installation wasn't bad but Strutmasters kind of ruined our day when we found 2 issues. Top bolts on one of the struts were not installed correctly and rotated about 45 degrees. There is only 1 way for these bolts to be aligned due to top metal plate and one of the screws being offset a bit. So few more hours wasted going to a shop and getting the spring compressed and top plate rotated correctly. Issue #2 was that the top bolts were a bit twisted and wouldn't fit right into the strut tower. We had no time to wait for new shocks from Strutmasters (which they did offer) and went ahead with the installation. Our solution was to file down the strut towers. It didn't need a lot for the bolts to fit. After filling we painted the holes for rust protection (in case) and in they went.
With breaks, running around for Ball join tools and spring compressor day one took a LONG time. NOTHING went according to plan and everything that could've gone wrong did. But such is life. You move on and keep going.
Day 2 - The hard part, Rear end. NOTHING went wrong during this day. Top nuts were hard to unscrew but I just took my time/kept it cool and stayed as clean as possible on the interior. Rear Suspension components all came lose/apart quite easily. The video Strutmasters has is pretty good. It was certainly time consuming but not too bad. The middle long bolt requires jacking and aligning but it's not bad at all. To my surprise and thank GOD the rear shock bolts aligned perfectly. If they didn't this would've been a nightmare as there is no way I was filling the towers in the back. Tightening the top nuts takes a bit of time and some aches.
Hooking up the light fix module was a breeze and we were ready for a test drive.....
Post Installation/Driving Impressions
When we first started the car we got ABS and ESP lights on the board....which was a little scary at first after all that work but all the lights went away on their own within a mile or so.
Car is definitely little lower than stock with this suspension, not a big difference but noticeable. I think it looks better and we did not rub or bottom out the front lip on any of the steeper driveways we approached.
The car feels more stable and it's certainly not as floaty IMO. Although I like the Airmatic, I find it boat like on Comfort setting. I don't really mind it (I keep it on Comfort on my W220) anyways as it nice and cushy. To our surprise the car still feels very comfortable with the springs/shocks. We felt that my mother wouldn't be able to notice the difference but she did. She said it feels more stable and precise as well.
Overall we are very happy with the end result. Strutmasters did a good job handling our issues and even offered a small refund for the trouble. Nothing or nobody is perfect. At the end of the day it's the end result that counts and we are quite happy. The best part, we never have to worry about Airmatic again.
PS. Any sign of Airmatic issues on my W220 and I'm switching as well. Might go with Yellows but haven't decided yet.
We also have 2 rear shocks available for anyone that's interested. Feel free to PM me. We don;'t know if they are original or has been replaced but they are in good shape.
- Cost - one new Airmatic shock was $700 (Arnott). Strutmasters entire set up is $1000. Simply didn't make sense to keep dealing with this at this milage.
- Future reliability - we thought it would be best to get away from Computers, Airshocks, Compressors, valve blocks etc.
- Improve on Sport - my parents keep the car in Sport mode so we figured Spring/Shock suspension will actually improve it
Removal/Installation:
I tackled this installation on my own since I've been working on cars for few decades (as a car enthusiasts/on the side). We also wanted to save some money (indy shops/Dealer isn't cheap).
Funny how things work out sometimes, I thought front end would be easy and rear end would take longer. Things worked out quite opposite....
Day 1 - Front shock removal was a disaster from the get go. The bottom bolt wouldn't give. I couldn't get a ball joint puller that would fit on the bottom. Both sizes were seized completely and I wanted to preserve the good shock and sell it on Ebay. I did not give it heat (should've) and had to go to last resort Ball Joint fork and a large hammer. It finally gave away but I did bunch of running around to Autozone for tools etc. I did not end up removing the top A Arm ball join on the drive side as it wasn't needed. (Note our car did not have the set screws on the bottom).
Front end installation wasn't bad but Strutmasters kind of ruined our day when we found 2 issues. Top bolts on one of the struts were not installed correctly and rotated about 45 degrees. There is only 1 way for these bolts to be aligned due to top metal plate and one of the screws being offset a bit. So few more hours wasted going to a shop and getting the spring compressed and top plate rotated correctly. Issue #2 was that the top bolts were a bit twisted and wouldn't fit right into the strut tower. We had no time to wait for new shocks from Strutmasters (which they did offer) and went ahead with the installation. Our solution was to file down the strut towers. It didn't need a lot for the bolts to fit. After filling we painted the holes for rust protection (in case) and in they went.
With breaks, running around for Ball join tools and spring compressor day one took a LONG time. NOTHING went according to plan and everything that could've gone wrong did. But such is life. You move on and keep going.
Day 2 - The hard part, Rear end. NOTHING went wrong during this day. Top nuts were hard to unscrew but I just took my time/kept it cool and stayed as clean as possible on the interior. Rear Suspension components all came lose/apart quite easily. The video Strutmasters has is pretty good. It was certainly time consuming but not too bad. The middle long bolt requires jacking and aligning but it's not bad at all. To my surprise and thank GOD the rear shock bolts aligned perfectly. If they didn't this would've been a nightmare as there is no way I was filling the towers in the back. Tightening the top nuts takes a bit of time and some aches.
Hooking up the light fix module was a breeze and we were ready for a test drive.....
Post Installation/Driving Impressions
When we first started the car we got ABS and ESP lights on the board....which was a little scary at first after all that work but all the lights went away on their own within a mile or so.
Car is definitely little lower than stock with this suspension, not a big difference but noticeable. I think it looks better and we did not rub or bottom out the front lip on any of the steeper driveways we approached.
The car feels more stable and it's certainly not as floaty IMO. Although I like the Airmatic, I find it boat like on Comfort setting. I don't really mind it (I keep it on Comfort on my W220) anyways as it nice and cushy. To our surprise the car still feels very comfortable with the springs/shocks. We felt that my mother wouldn't be able to notice the difference but she did. She said it feels more stable and precise as well.
Overall we are very happy with the end result. Strutmasters did a good job handling our issues and even offered a small refund for the trouble. Nothing or nobody is perfect. At the end of the day it's the end result that counts and we are quite happy. The best part, we never have to worry about Airmatic again.
PS. Any sign of Airmatic issues on my W220 and I'm switching as well. Might go with Yellows but haven't decided yet.
We also have 2 rear shocks available for anyone that's interested. Feel free to PM me. We don;'t know if they are original or has been replaced but they are in good shape.
The following 2 users liked this post by S430AMG:
Gramma_Benz (11-20-2017),
Nuru (11-24-2017)
11-19-2017, 09:36 PM
#2
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2011 GL 550, 2010 MB S550, 2004 BMW 645Cic 1988 Corvette
Back when I drove Cadillac's I did the conversion on m7 97' Deville Concurs which was the sport model of the Deville. I did it for the same reason you stated and I was very pleased with the results. That car also had the magnetic suspension as well. I did notice a difference in ride on the highway too. It wasn't as floaty. I should have done the rear springs too.
11-24-2017, 08:05 AM
#3
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Mercedes Benz S550
I bought the Arnott suspension for my w221 s550
Arnott suspen kit
I bought the Arnott suspension convert kit for my w221 s550 and works fine is like driving on sport mode loveit
handles pretty well feels great
plus I'm saving lots of money
So you really do a make the right choice
both. Arnott and struck master are good
11-24-2017, 07:53 PM
#4
I have an 07 S550 and it came with the Strutmasters already on it. They did the conversion just before I bought it. I was ok with the setup since I would never have to deal with the Airmatic issues. Having driven the car for 8k miles in 10 months now I can say that I am comfortable with the set up. It does handle very well and the suspension does not feel to hard. I do not like cars that are to stiff since it rattles you going down the road. I thought about converting it back at one point but am convinced its just fine the way it is. I have 18" wheels on the car and am not sure if I would go with low profile tires on 20" or larger rims with the Strutmasters? The car does sit a little lower than stock so the smaller rims are not an issue.
I use to have an 03 Cadillac STS with the Magnetic suspension. I changed them out to Monroe struts with new springs. The car was like a new car. Handled very well and it did not have the harsh ride. I drove the car with a harsh ride for 6 years before the conversion. I sold the car after a year with the new struts, hindsight is 20/20. The S550 with the Strutmasters is know were near the STS, and a few other cars that I owned, with a harsh ride.
I use to have an 03 Cadillac STS with the Magnetic suspension. I changed them out to Monroe struts with new springs. The car was like a new car. Handled very well and it did not have the harsh ride. I drove the car with a harsh ride for 6 years before the conversion. I sold the car after a year with the new struts, hindsight is 20/20. The S550 with the Strutmasters is know were near the STS, and a few other cars that I owned, with a harsh ride.
11-25-2017, 02:22 PM
#5
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Location: Staten Island, NY
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2011 GL 550, 2010 MB S550, 2004 BMW 645Cic 1988 Corvette
I have an 07 S550 and it came with the Strutmasters already on it. They did the conversion just before I bought it. I was ok with the setup since I would never have to deal with the Airmatic issues. Having driven the car for 8k miles in 10 months now I can say that I am comfortable with the set up. It does handle very well and the suspension does not feel to hard. I do not like cars that are to stiff since it rattles you going down the road. I thought about converting it back at one point but am convinced its just fine the way it is. I have 18" wheels on the car and am not sure if I would go with low profile tires on 20" or larger rims with the Strutmasters? The car does sit a little lower than stock so the smaller rims are not an issue.
I use to have an 03 Cadillac STS with the Magnetic suspension. I changed them out to Monroe struts with new springs. The car was like a new car. Handled very well and it did not have the harsh ride. I drove the car with a harsh ride for 6 years before the conversion. I sold the car after a year with the new struts, hindsight is 20/20. The S550 with the Strutmasters is know were near the STS, and a few other cars that I owned, with a harsh ride.
I use to have an 03 Cadillac STS with the Magnetic suspension. I changed them out to Monroe struts with new springs. The car was like a new car. Handled very well and it did not have the harsh ride. I drove the car with a harsh ride for 6 years before the conversion. I sold the car after a year with the new struts, hindsight is 20/20. The S550 with the Strutmasters is know were near the STS, and a few other cars that I owned, with a harsh ride.
11-25-2017, 09:36 PM
#6
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Thread Starter
11-26-2017, 12:23 AM
#7
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2011 GL 550, 2010 MB S550, 2004 BMW 645Cic 1988 Corvette
So was I. I owned two of them back to back both 6cyl 5spds. My first German cars. They were magnificent. I can't stand the newer ones. VW Americanized them and ruined the brand. I looked ta the Atlas a few weeks ago. I was so disappointed in it.
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11-27-2017, 10:57 AM
#8
Member
Thread Starter
I had 2 1.8Ts
. I'm sure we ran across each other on the ClubB5
12-13-2017, 08:56 PM
#9
Newbie
PLEASE HELP! I’m a newbie and having trouble with strutmasters conversion kit
Just wanted to share our experience and review converting over from Airmatic to Strumasters suspension (2008 S550 4matic with 105k). My father blew out the shock about 3 weeks ago and we decided to convert over for # of reasons:
- Cost - one new Airmatic shock was $700 (Arnott). Strutmasters entire set up is $1000. Simply didn't make sense to keep dealing with this at this milage.
- Future reliability - we thought it would be best to get away from Computers, Airshocks, Compressors, valve blocks etc.
- Improve on Sport - my parents keep the car in Sport mode so we figured Spring/Shock suspension will actually improve it
Removal/Installation:
I tackled this installation on my own since I've been working on cars for few decades (as a car enthusiasts/on the side). We also wanted to save some money (indy shops/Dealer isn't cheap).
Funny how things work out sometimes, I thought front end would be easy and rear end would take longer. Things worked out quite opposite....
Day 1 - Front shock removal was a disaster from the get go. The bottom bolt wouldn't give. I couldn't get a ball joint puller that would fit on the bottom. Both sizes were seized completely and I wanted to preserve the good shock and sell it on Ebay. I did not give it heat (should've) and had to go to last resort Ball Joint fork and a large hammer. It finally gave away but I did bunch of running around to Autozone for tools etc. I did not end up removing the top A Arm ball join on the drive side as it wasn't needed. (Note our car did not have the set screws on the bottom).
Front end installation wasn't bad but Strutmasters kind of ruined our day when we found 2 issues. Top bolts on one of the struts were not installed correctly and rotated about 45 degrees. There is only 1 way for these bolts to be aligned due to top metal plate and one of the screws being offset a bit. So few more hours wasted going to a shop and getting the spring compressed and top plate rotated correctly. Issue #2 was that the top bolts were a bit twisted and wouldn't fit right into the strut tower. We had no time to wait for new shocks from Strutmasters (which they did offer) and went ahead with the installation. Our solution was to file down the strut towers. It didn't need a lot for the bolts to fit. After filling we painted the holes for rust protection (in case) and in they went.
With breaks, running around for Ball join tools and spring compressor day one took a LONG time. NOTHING went according to plan and everything that could've gone wrong did. But such is life. You move on and keep going.
Day 2 - The hard part, Rear end. NOTHING went wrong during this day. Top nuts were hard to unscrew but I just took my time/kept it cool and stayed as clean as possible on the interior. Rear Suspension components all came lose/apart quite easily. The video Strutmasters has is pretty good. It was certainly time consuming but not too bad. The middle long bolt requires jacking and aligning but it's not bad at all. To my surprise and thank GOD the rear shock bolts aligned perfectly. If they didn't this would've been a nightmare as there is no way I was filling the towers in the back. Tightening the top nuts takes a bit of time and some aches.
Hooking up the light fix module was a breeze and we were ready for a test drive.....
Post Installation/Driving Impressions
When we first started the car we got ABS and ESP lights on the board....which was a little scary at first after all that work but all the lights went away on their own within a mile or so.
Car is definitely little lower than stock with this suspension, not a big difference but noticeable. I think it looks better and we did not rub or bottom out the front lip on any of the steeper driveways we approached.
The car feels more stable and it's certainly not as floaty IMO. Although I like the Airmatic, I find it boat like on Comfort setting. I don't really mind it (I keep it on Comfort on my W220) anyways as it nice and cushy. To our surprise the car still feels very comfortable with the springs/shocks. We felt that my mother wouldn't be able to notice the difference but she did. She said it feels more stable and precise as well.
Overall we are very happy with the end result. Strutmasters did a good job handling our issues and even offered a small refund for the trouble. Nothing or nobody is perfect. At the end of the day it's the end result that counts and we are quite happy. The best part, we never have to worry about Airmatic again.
PS. Any sign of Airmatic issues on my W220 and I'm switching as well. Might go with Yellows but haven't decided yet.
We also have 2 rear shocks available for anyone that's interested. Feel free to PM me. We don;'t know if they are original or has been replaced but they are in good shape.
- Cost - one new Airmatic shock was $700 (Arnott). Strutmasters entire set up is $1000. Simply didn't make sense to keep dealing with this at this milage.
- Future reliability - we thought it would be best to get away from Computers, Airshocks, Compressors, valve blocks etc.
- Improve on Sport - my parents keep the car in Sport mode so we figured Spring/Shock suspension will actually improve it
Removal/Installation:
I tackled this installation on my own since I've been working on cars for few decades (as a car enthusiasts/on the side). We also wanted to save some money (indy shops/Dealer isn't cheap).
Funny how things work out sometimes, I thought front end would be easy and rear end would take longer. Things worked out quite opposite....
Day 1 - Front shock removal was a disaster from the get go. The bottom bolt wouldn't give. I couldn't get a ball joint puller that would fit on the bottom. Both sizes were seized completely and I wanted to preserve the good shock and sell it on Ebay. I did not give it heat (should've) and had to go to last resort Ball Joint fork and a large hammer. It finally gave away but I did bunch of running around to Autozone for tools etc. I did not end up removing the top A Arm ball join on the drive side as it wasn't needed. (Note our car did not have the set screws on the bottom).
Front end installation wasn't bad but Strutmasters kind of ruined our day when we found 2 issues. Top bolts on one of the struts were not installed correctly and rotated about 45 degrees. There is only 1 way for these bolts to be aligned due to top metal plate and one of the screws being offset a bit. So few more hours wasted going to a shop and getting the spring compressed and top plate rotated correctly. Issue #2 was that the top bolts were a bit twisted and wouldn't fit right into the strut tower. We had no time to wait for new shocks from Strutmasters (which they did offer) and went ahead with the installation. Our solution was to file down the strut towers. It didn't need a lot for the bolts to fit. After filling we painted the holes for rust protection (in case) and in they went.
With breaks, running around for Ball join tools and spring compressor day one took a LONG time. NOTHING went according to plan and everything that could've gone wrong did. But such is life. You move on and keep going.
Day 2 - The hard part, Rear end. NOTHING went wrong during this day. Top nuts were hard to unscrew but I just took my time/kept it cool and stayed as clean as possible on the interior. Rear Suspension components all came lose/apart quite easily. The video Strutmasters has is pretty good. It was certainly time consuming but not too bad. The middle long bolt requires jacking and aligning but it's not bad at all. To my surprise and thank GOD the rear shock bolts aligned perfectly. If they didn't this would've been a nightmare as there is no way I was filling the towers in the back. Tightening the top nuts takes a bit of time and some aches.
Hooking up the light fix module was a breeze and we were ready for a test drive.....
Post Installation/Driving Impressions
When we first started the car we got ABS and ESP lights on the board....which was a little scary at first after all that work but all the lights went away on their own within a mile or so.
Car is definitely little lower than stock with this suspension, not a big difference but noticeable. I think it looks better and we did not rub or bottom out the front lip on any of the steeper driveways we approached.
The car feels more stable and it's certainly not as floaty IMO. Although I like the Airmatic, I find it boat like on Comfort setting. I don't really mind it (I keep it on Comfort on my W220) anyways as it nice and cushy. To our surprise the car still feels very comfortable with the springs/shocks. We felt that my mother wouldn't be able to notice the difference but she did. She said it feels more stable and precise as well.
Overall we are very happy with the end result. Strutmasters did a good job handling our issues and even offered a small refund for the trouble. Nothing or nobody is perfect. At the end of the day it's the end result that counts and we are quite happy. The best part, we never have to worry about Airmatic again.
PS. Any sign of Airmatic issues on my W220 and I'm switching as well. Might go with Yellows but haven't decided yet.
We also have 2 rear shocks available for anyone that's interested. Feel free to PM me. We don;'t know if they are original or has been replaced but they are in good shape.
Hi, I have a 2010 S550 with abc that I attempted to do the conversion kit on. My car has been down for over 2 months and strutmasters hardly ever returns phone calls and my shop has never did a conversion on my particular vehicle. We reached an impasse, the struts are on and seem to be working just fine. However, the shop can’t figure out how to wire the module to cut the abc light off. Nor can they figure out which lines to cap off to stop the fluid from leaking or where to cap them off at. The parts that strutmasters sent aren’t fitting in place where they’re attempting to cap off the line. Strutmasters is saying their caps are one size fits all and my shop showed me that it doesn’t fit. I’m not a diy guy and have very little knowledge on cars. Can you please guide me so that the shop can finish my car. The shop is trying to figure out what’s not needed now that the Oem system has been replaced. Where to cap off the lines and how to setup the module to remove my the abc lights. Thanks for your time!
12-14-2017, 03:04 AM
#10
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2007 SL55 AMG
Hi, I have a 2010 S550 with abc that I attempted to do the conversion kit on. My car has been down for over 2 months and strutmasters hardly ever returns phone calls and my shop has never did a conversion on my particular vehicle. We reached an impasse, the struts are on and seem to be working just fine. However, the shop can’t figure out how to wire the module to cut the abc light off. Nor can they figure out which lines to cap off to stop the fluid from leaking or where to cap them off at. The parts that strutmasters sent aren’t fitting in place where they’re attempting to cap off the line. Strutmasters is saying their caps are one size fits all and my shop showed me that it doesn’t fit. I’m not a diy guy and have very little knowledge on cars. Can you please guide me so that the shop can finish my car. The shop is trying to figure out what’s not needed now that the Oem system has been replaced. Where to cap off the lines and how to setup the module to remove my the abc lights. Thanks for your time!
12-14-2017, 09:51 AM
#11
Newbie
02-25-2019, 12:15 AM
#12
S550 2011 Airmatic malfunction
Message when car is started
Message when you begin to drive.
Had this message for like 2 days. Then it when to the “too low message”.
Front of car is approximately 4” off the ground!
I was thinking of converting to Strutmasters suspension. All four shocks have an oil like reside and the car is too low to drive to a mechanic. Seems strange that all four shocks would go at the same time? Any ideas?
Last edited by ZedbenzoS550; 02-25-2019 at 12:18 AM. Reason: Adding pics
