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Wanted to share with the community my new W221 S550. This is actually my second 2012 S550. My first was a black on black car with limited options. It was my first experience with the car and I wanted something limited on options to limit potential repair costs. This only lasted a few months once I discovered the Designo cars and what a difference it makes when it comes to interior quality. This car was purchased from a customer of mine for what I felt was a bargain. It does have 116k miles on it but it had been serviced at my dealership exclusively since 2016 with no expense spared. I have seen exactly one other car spec'd with the piano white wood floating around the internet. I don't know the numbers but my guess is that there is only a handful of cars that are configured this way out in the world. I am pretty much in love with the car. There are a few things that need to be sorted which I will list below:
-Rear passenger sunshade is stuck up. Assuming the motor is dead. I feel this will be an easy fix.
-Multicontour seats work at startup but do not after a few minutes. Whenever I make an adjustment to the seat it reverts back to "0." I have read that typically there is a leak in either the lines or the air bladders. Will start investigating when I have the chance.
-Interior is almost flawless minus the passenger seat cushion. Has started cracking and has a minor tear in it. Will be replacing when I find a suitable replacement.
-Off throttle above 80mph there seems to be a low hum/rumble. My guess is a wheel bearing. Need to have my tech take a look and diagnose but it is minor.
-Runflat tires are garbage. I can't justify replacing them yet as there is plenty of tread left but god do I hate them...
Cosmetically and mechanically (for the most part) this car is in incredible shape for the miles. The woman I purchased it from damn near cried when handing over the key. Still can't get over the interior on this example. I like to judge my cars on whether I feel the urge to turn and look at them when I've parked and walked away. This car does that and some. If anyone has suggestions on mods or what else I could do with it, please share!
*Please don't judge interior photos too harshly as this was prior to a detail!
Take fishing line and saw off the stupid blue efficiency badges. I also used a rubber wheel on mine then lightly buffed the area with fine compound, can't even tell they were ever there.
Dynamic seats aren't that difficult, I just repaired leaky lines in both of mine (bought my S550 January 24th), you'll hear hissing air.
New tires aren't bad if you go with factory, I spent just shy of $1200 on a set of Contipro's all the way around
Seat cushion covers galore on ebay new and used good condition, both full price and heavily discounted, it's really a searching game, but Designo may be more difficult to nail down. With an interior as awesome as yours though, were I going to keep the car forever, I wouldn't really hesitate with the $700 sticker for a new one.
So heads up on the seats, cuz you're gonna want them soon, 90% probability you have the same problem I, and others have had with air seats, and that's brittle main lines under the seat lower. Here's my recent seat repair thread:
Edit: Also, your rear headrests will fall after you repair your seat leaks. Somehow the systems are related. Found that out while researching my seat repair. Mine were stuck in the up position too. They work perfectly now.
Take fishing line and saw off the stupid blue efficiency badges. I also used a rubber wheel on mine then lightly buffed the area with fine compound, can't even tell they were ever there.
Dynamic seats aren't that difficult, I just repaired leaky lines in both of mine (bought my S550 January 24th), you'll hear hissing air.
New tires aren't bad if you go with factory, I spent just shy of $1200 on a set of Contipro's all the way around
Seat cushion covers galore on ebay new and used good condition, both full price and heavily discounted, it's really a searching game, but Designo may be more difficult to nail down. With an interior as awesome as yours though, were I going to keep the car forever, I wouldn't really hesitate with the $700 sticker for a new one.
Nice score. Let's see that engine compartment!
I’ve actually already gone through the thread that you linked. Planned on starting there. The blue efficiency badges will be gone soon too. A guy in a Chevy SS rolled up and asked if it was a diesel haha
I have two sets of wheels I’ll be listing soon. Once those go I’ll probably spring for some new tires. I had some Contis on my prior car so I’ll probably get a set of those. Ride quality is night and day. Run flat tires suck…
Can’t seem to find a Designo seat cushion in that color. Talking with my upholstery guy through work about dyeing a cushion a found to match the color. Waiting to here back. Might ask for advice on the seat situation as I start to diagnose so don’t be surprised to hear from me.
Last thing is that rumble. Ideally it’s just a wheel bearing but we shall see.
I would be zeroed in on the wheel bearings as well. Easy to check but you'll need a dial indicator. If the rumble is throttle-dependant, check flex discs. I replaced my flex discs in both my 212 and 221 right after I bought the cars just because. I'll cruise through ebay for you, as I swear to god I saw a white, OEM Designo lower seat cover while looking for beige lower passenger cover for mine.
One of the sets of wheels wouldn't happen to be the same as mine, would they?
Appreciate the info on the rumble. To recreate it you’d accelerate to 90mph(no rumble on the way up) the let off completely. Starts very subtle but as you get between 85 and 70 it becomes quite pronounces. Below 70 it pretty much disappears. It’s throttle dependent in if you say, accelerate from 75 to 85, you’d feel nothing but a soon as you let off you’ll notice it. Hit the gas again and it’s gone.
Pretty much scoured the internet for the part # already. I can get it through a dealership but the part is $2,900 from the factory. This cushion would plug and play. Going to find out if it can be re-dyed to match. Once I do that I’ll tackle the seats.
These are the sets I have. Both 19” wheels. They look pretty decent and the Contis definitely rode better but just too small. From a purely aesthetic POV the car needs 20’s.
Appreciate the info on the rumble. To recreate it you’d accelerate to 90mph(no rumble on the way up) the let off completely. Starts very subtle but as you get between 85 and 70 it becomes quite pronounces. Below 70 it pretty much disappears. It’s throttle dependent in if you say, accelerate from 75 to 85, you’d feel nothing but a soon as you let off you’ll notice it. Hit the gas again and it’s gone.
Mine did the exact same thing on the drive home from Daytona Beach to Tampa. It self-healed after a few miles (I've put less than 200 miles on it since I bought it) and this is with a car that just turned 44k mi today. I worked the driveshaft with the transmission with deceleration drag by paddle downshifting and coasting, getting back up to speed and up the gears, then again downshift coasting, repeat and quickly noticed a marked improvement, so I suspect mine just sat for so long it needed to be worked. At 115k mi though, I would just replace the flex discs and get it over with. My 2013 E 350 exhibited this behaviour after buying it too, and it improved after some mileage. Before I replaced the flex discs, it always was worse after sitting for a while (week or so), then after an afternoon of driving was almost imperceptible.
I'll get on the ebay search here in a bit. Post your VIN and I can get the part number from my WIS/EPC.
The part number is A22191077461B67. I should've phrased it as I scoured the internet USING the part number. Can't seem to find it anywhere. All I've found on ebay so far is the cushion I linked above. Even tried ebay UK and ebay Germany. I think having it re-dyed could work so I'll see what my upholstery guy has to say.
Interesting strategy with the engine braking. Any particular reason you tried it? Curious as to how that solved the issue. I'll give it a try.
As far as the engine braking technique, once I realized the vibration was load-dependent, intuition just kicked in. I've known about and dealt with driveshaft issues since my first car when I was 16, a 1970 C10 Chevy truck. And a car is a car is a car. Unless it's a Mercedes, then it has a "propeller shaft", because Germany, Lol
Its not a Mercedes thing....its a Europe thing!.....In Europe prop shafts go along the car from the transmission to the rear axle.....driveshafts go from diff to the wheels....or the gearbox to the wheels if its front wheel drive!!!
Yup. Even at my cost it’s $2,900. That’s why I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that my upholstery repair guy is able to match the dye. I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to.
Finally have an afternoon off so I’ll be digging into the rumble and the seats. May come back with questions depending on the what I find. I also may dump the run flats today as they really are just horrible…
Its not a Mercedes thing....its a Europe thing!.....In Europe prop shafts go along the car from the transmission to the rear axle.....driveshafts go from diff to the wheels....or the gearbox to the wheels if its front wheel drive!!!
I'd honestly consider it but its my daily. The Goodyears on them aren't the worst runflats I've driven on but I know its a major compromise when it comes to ride quality.
Gave your suggestion a try on engine braking. Maybe it was a placebo but it seemed to dull it a bit on my commute. On the way home it seemed like it was back. Curious what it could be. Not too worried at the moment, more just an annoyance. Any thoughts on mods? Its being tinted tomorrow to a proper darkness for the Arizona heat. Already did the wheels (and soon to be tires). Have my Apple CarPlay module installed. I've toyed with the follow ideas:
-Either a muffler or resonator delete. The AMG cars with the 5.5L based on the M278 sound great. I'd love to have a similar sound. The engine has more than enough ***** to back up the sound.
-ECU tune. Love to be able to drive a M278 car with a tune. Have read plenty on how the performance and drivability is greatly improved. A bit worried considering the mileage on the car but I really don't drive it too hard.
-New grille. This has to happen no matter what as my current grille is peeling. Just want to make sure the grille I choose is compatible with the Distronic and PCS radar. Would love one of the aftermarket grilles as the OEM grille isn't the best quality and its four times as expensive.
-Steering wheel swap. I've seen W221 cars with W222 steering wheels. Would love to have a custom made, pre-facelift W222 AMG steering wheel made to swap in. See if it would be possible to retain the piano white where the wood is.
-Coil suspension swap. This is the one I'm on the fence about. The air suspension works fine currently but they're prone for failure. I know aftermarket struts are reasonable but I honestly prefer coilspring suspension in the majority of driving situations. Just feel more connected. From what I've read the stiffness is similar to "Airmatic Sport" and I drive in that mode the majority of the time.
Wheel bolt torque: 110 ft-lb
New Front Tires-Done
New Rear Tires-wait til wheel CNC refinish
Front bumper cover insert grille
Order new/spare key fob-Done
Key fob Affalterbach covers x2
CR2025 batteries
Schedule four-wheel alignment
Red Star downpipes
Renntech HHT
Recirculation valve/BOV
Catch can
Intake risers (for increased spool-up sound)
Remove BlueTech and Spanos badges-Done
A pillar and pano roof mouldings-new
New tensioners and check valves
New wheel bolts-get from eBay, $50/10pc (hex not flower)
Pad slap all the way around, Akebono, service calipers, brake flush
Check all fluids, start service record .xml
Interior detail
Fix dynamic seats-Done-check passenger hip bladders
Updated cam sensors and solenoids (FCP pigtails?)
New Arnott struts all four corners
CNC wheel refinish
Presidental Detail two-step paint correction and ceramic coatings ($2600)
Check battery/s
Scan car at Mercedes of Clearwater
Coils and run flats... Why not go all the way and weld steel beams to the wheels and call it a day.
The run flats aren't by choice. I bought the wheels after I bought the car and they came equipped with them already. They're the original tires that came off of the S560 they were pulled from. I ordered some Continentals yesterday. On the whole coils thing, I just prefer the driving characteristics of coilspring suspension over air. You can definitely still retain ride quality while IMO the dynamics of coilspring are better. I would miss the glide like feel on the highway but I spend more of my time around time. Not as jarring over broken pavement. Not going to touch it for the time being though as my Airmatic is working perfectly.
That list is actually very helpful. Some ideas on there I hadn't thought of. And the link you posted on the HK7 upgrade is invaluable. I'm thoroughly impressed. What are your thoughts on it? They basically laid out what I couldn't articulate about the HK7 system. I'm not an audiophile by any means but I think I have a decent ear for good sound. Its not horrible but the stock setup is underwhelming for a $100k car. Worth it in your opinion?
The Massive Audio pre-amp woke the stereo right up. It is now more than sufficient in the volume and clarity department with room to play. Most definitely worth it to add this equipment. Running FLAC files through the bluetooth module helps too. This BT module also allows two devices to be paired simultaneously. Nice to be able to switch between my phone and my Hiby R3 Pro on a whim. This is as far as I will take the S Class stereo. I've had the damn car for a month and only put 200mi on it. I haven't even had time to do much to it at all other than an hour here an hour there. I gave the knobs a baseline tune on the EQ and ran a few songs but haven't had time to even finish tidying it all up and getting it stuffed it into the glove box.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
