2016 S550 suspension feel
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2016 Mercedes AMG GTs 2015 Corvette Z06 2022 Lamborghini Huracan STO
2016 S550 suspension feel
I am not satisfied with the rear suspension ride characteristics of my car in either sport mode or regular. It does not have a solid feel over bumps and it seems like the car gets unsettled with body roll too easy from just going over modest bumps like a manhole cover. Is this typical? I would expect that if there was something wrong, the car would not sit level or would have a warning light. Is this just typical of a luxury car with air suspension?
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From: Half Moon Bay, CA
2016 S550e, 2005 Nissan Xterra 4x4, 1984 300ZX
For sure Runflats are not your friend nor a wheels biggers than 19". Funny I was planning to immediately change out my 19" AMG rims for something bigger but quickly figured out 19" was plenty big. I still have the Michelin MOE's which are a little better than other runflats, but I don't have this issue on a 16" with 39k, while the ride even in sport isn't super stiff (I had a Q45 that rode on coilovers that was super stiff) but in sport I thing is pretty solid.
I just had the B7 service that included a test of the air suspension, so did this just start to happen or has it been like this from the day you got the car?
I just had the B7 service that included a test of the air suspension, so did this just start to happen or has it been like this from the day you got the car?
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2016 Mercedes AMG GTs 2015 Corvette Z06 2022 Lamborghini Huracan STO
The tires are 20" Goodyear Eagle F1 run flats
Front 245/40R 20
Rear 275 35ZR 20
The fronts have a lot of tread but I did find that the rears are just above the tread wear indicators. I'm sorry to hear the 20" wheels are an issue because they are beautiful!
I bought the car 3,000 miles ago so I don't know how the ride compares with new or even with new tires. Now 38,000 miles.
Does the fact that there is an air suspension test indicate that there can be issues that don't trip a warning light or alter the ride height appearance?
Front 245/40R 20
Rear 275 35ZR 20
The fronts have a lot of tread but I did find that the rears are just above the tread wear indicators. I'm sorry to hear the 20" wheels are an issue because they are beautiful!
I bought the car 3,000 miles ago so I don't know how the ride compares with new or even with new tires. Now 38,000 miles.
Does the fact that there is an air suspension test indicate that there can be issues that don't trip a warning light or alter the ride height appearance?
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AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
20” wheels are perfect for the car. Same discussion for the last 8 years. Some people have an affinity for 18” or 19” wheels but 20” work and look great as long as you have good tires.
Goodyear Eagles on the other hand are crap tires. I would replace them with conventional tires right away. If you are in a warm climate I would get Michelin PS4s, otherwise some all-season option. Sounds like you have air suspension and not MBC. Assume tire pressure is not too high?
Goodyear Eagles on the other hand are crap tires. I would replace them with conventional tires right away. If you are in a warm climate I would get Michelin PS4s, otherwise some all-season option. Sounds like you have air suspension and not MBC. Assume tire pressure is not too high?
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2016 Mercedes AMG GTs 2015 Corvette Z06 2022 Lamborghini Huracan STO
I keep the tires at the recommended pressure of 36 front and 39 rear. Is that possibly too high, especially with run flats? I am in Florida so the Michelin PS4s sound like the ticket.
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2019 S560, 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid
36 and 39? Where did you see that ... look inside the fuel filler door. On my 2016 it says 33 front and rear for "normal" load.
I do think tires generally ride rougher as they age and have less tread. Hopefully you can get a nice improvement just by replacing the rears and adjusting the inflation pressure to spec.Going from run flats to non-run flats would give another increment of ride improvement too.
I do think tires generally ride rougher as they age and have less tread. Hopefully you can get a nice improvement just by replacing the rears and adjusting the inflation pressure to spec.Going from run flats to non-run flats would give another increment of ride improvement too.
Last edited by Tom in Austin; Jan 31, 2022 at 12:30 PM.
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2016 Mercedes AMG GTs 2015 Corvette Z06 2022 Lamborghini Huracan STO
36 and 39? Where did you see that ... look inside the fuel filler door. On my 2016 it says 33 front and rear for "normal" load.
I do think tires generally ride rougher as they age and have less tread. Hopefully you can get a nice improvement just by replacing the rears and adjusting the inflation pressure to spec.Going from run flats to non-run flats would give another increment of ride improvement too.
I do think tires generally ride rougher as they age and have less tread. Hopefully you can get a nice improvement just by replacing the rears and adjusting the inflation pressure to spec.Going from run flats to non-run flats would give another increment of ride improvement too.
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It is very odd that my door jam sticker just says the 36 and 39 with one mention of heavy loads but nothing about normal load. The fuel door sticker say 32 front and 33 rear for normal loads with higher numbers for heavy loads. The pressures were all correct for normal load except the right rear had 3 or 4 extra pounds and slightly more wear versus left rear. Hopefully, that and new tires will make a difference
Only the fuel filler door has the proper tire pressure numbers listed
The door jam info is the tire pressure rated at vehicle load, as required by the DOT.
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2024 S580
I have the car on 20s vs 19s back to back multiple times, there is absolutely a difference in ride quality that is noticeable. Whether that difference is an issue for you or not depends on you, but don't listen to anybody who tells you there is no ride difference. I have never driven it on 18s, but I'm sure there is a difference between 18s and 19s too. I refused to buy a car on 20s after testing them back to back.
With that said, I wouldn't buy 19s if yours has 20s, I would just get better tires.
With that said, I wouldn't buy 19s if yours has 20s, I would just get better tires.
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I have the car on 20s vs 19s back to back multiple times, there is absolutely a difference in ride quality that is noticeable. Whether that difference is an issue for you or not depends on you, but don't listen to anybody who tells you there is no ride difference. I have never driven it on 18s, but I'm sure there is a difference between 18s and 19s too. I refused to buy a car on 20s after testing them back to back.
With that said, I wouldn't buy 19s if yours has 20s, I would just get better tires.
With that said, I wouldn't buy 19s if yours has 20s, I would just get better tires.
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2024 S580
I don't recall anyone stating here that the ride quality is the same between the 2 wheel sizes. But I can state that it is not worse. I prefer 20" wheels over 19" personally but never drive the car in Comfort mode either. The point would be that all are personal preferences only...
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From: Florida
S550
I bought my car with 28,000 miles and it now has over 50,000. I have the 20 inch amg rims pictured in my profile. Though they ride worse than the 18's or 19's, I would never consider the ride to be bad when compared to our Cadillac with MRC (magnetic ride control) or the Rover with its air suspension. I found the ride to even match that of the ghost and flying spur...
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S560
While we are not talking about a mountain of change- going from 19's to 20's will surely result in a harsher ride. It's physics and we can see antidotal evidence from the many people who say "I went with the 20's even though the ride is a bit firmer/harsher". Going to a smaller sidewall tire has to result in the ride firming up. Now for some they welcome this and like it, but this is a luxury sedan first and a smooth ride is priority #1. For the vast majority we leave the firm ride for the toys...
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2024 S580
So yes, the larger diameter wheel, the "worse" the ride. Whether thats an issue for someone vs the other attributes of larger wheels (better looks, sharper handling) is up to them (which I believe I said in my original post). The changes in ride comfort are not positive, If you can find me a review or someone that says "man I love how hard and sharp it slams through the cabin when I hit an expansion joint" then I may re-evaluate. Larger wheels degrade ride comfort, bottom line.
While we are not talking about a mountain of change- going from 19's to 20's will surely result in a harsher ride. It's physics and we can see antidotal evidence from the many people who say "I went with the 20's even though the ride is a bit firmer/harsher". Going to a smaller sidewall tire has to result in the ride firming up. Now for some they welcome this and like it, but this is a luxury sedan first and a smooth ride is priority #1. For the vast majority we leave the firm ride for the toys...
Best advice is to drive the car on the different wheel sizes and see what you think. Harder to do now that they aren't new...
Last edited by SW20S; Feb 1, 2022 at 11:03 AM.
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2016 Mercedes AMG GTs 2015 Corvette Z06 2022 Lamborghini Huracan STO
It is a shame that the 19s are nowhere near as attractive as the 20 multi-spoke wheels. Too bad you can't get an attractive 19. MY OPINION ONLY!
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2019 S560, 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid
Depends a lot on the roads you drive on, right? I heard somewhere that roads in Germany are very smooth and well-maintained, so wouldn't surprise me if MBZ engineers optimize their product for those conditions.
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I'm very confident that most people equate feeling harsher road impacts as a ride thats "worse". You can spin your own preferences how you want, but if most people didn't feel that way, they wouldn't design the S Class and other flagship luxury sedans to ride this way.
So yes, the larger diameter wheel, the "worse" the ride. Whether thats an issue for someone vs the other attributes of larger wheels (better looks, sharper handling) is up to them (which I believe I said in my original post). The changes in ride comfort are not positive, If you can find me a review or someone that says "man I love how hard and sharp it slams through the cabin when I hit an expansion joint" then I may re-evaluate. Larger wheels degrade ride comfort, bottom line.
So yes, the larger diameter wheel, the "worse" the ride. Whether thats an issue for someone vs the other attributes of larger wheels (better looks, sharper handling) is up to them (which I believe I said in my original post). The changes in ride comfort are not positive, If you can find me a review or someone that says "man I love how hard and sharp it slams through the cabin when I hit an expansion joint" then I may re-evaluate. Larger wheels degrade ride comfort, bottom line.
I think you miss my point. I have no interest convincing anyone of my opinion. It is simply my personal opinion and preference. As such I like other members to do the same and not assume that speak for "most people".
As for the phrase harsher, your will see that I usually refer to 20" with conventional tires. To me, a 19" S-Class on RFT's will ride harsher than a 20" on conventional tires. I have driven enough of them. We have also owned enough S-Class models/generation to know what I want in a S-Class driving experience and our last one delivered that with 20" wheels.
Coincidently I have also driven the W222 with 18" extensively in Germany & Europe and to me they are not my thing, especially at speed.
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While we are not talking about a mountain of change- going from 19's to 20's will surely result in a harsher ride. It's physics and we can see antidotal evidence from the many people who say "I went with the 20's even though the ride is a bit firmer/harsher". Going to a smaller sidewall tire has to result in the ride firming up. Now for some they welcome this and like it, but this is a luxury sedan first and a smooth ride is priority #1. For the vast majority we leave the firm ride for the toys...
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S560
As for the phrase harsher, your will see that I usually refer to 20" with conventional tires. To me, a 19" S-Class on RFT's will ride harsher than a 20" on conventional tires. I have driven enough of them. We have also owned enough S-Class models/generation to know what I want in a S-Class driving experience and our last one delivered that with 20" wheels.
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RFTs generally are stiffer, especially those made a few years ago. Most people don't have a choice though if they still want peace of mind without having to drop a damn tire in the trunk full time. If you lived in NY/NE you may feel different after going through 5+ rims/tires a year. There's a reason people don't often get 20's in these parts...
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2024 S580
I think you miss my point. I have no interest convincing anyone of my opinion. It is simply my personal opinion and preference. As such I like other members to do the same and not assume that speak for "most people".
As for the phrase harsher, your will see that I usually refer to 20" with conventional tires. To me, a 19" S-Class on RFT's will ride harsher than a 20" on conventional tires. I have driven enough of them. We have also owned enough S-Class models/generation to know what I want in a S-Class driving experience and our last one delivered that with 20" wheels.
As for the phrase harsher, your will see that I usually refer to 20" with conventional tires. To me, a 19" S-Class on RFT's will ride harsher than a 20" on conventional tires. I have driven enough of them. We have also owned enough S-Class models/generation to know what I want in a S-Class driving experience and our last one delivered that with 20" wheels.
I feel very confident speaking for most people here. "Harsher" = worse.
Originally Posted by emilner
I can't reconcile how you compare 20" rims with conventional tires with 19"s and RFTs to then say 20's don't ride harsher than 19's. You changed 2 variables. It's apples and oranges.
