S_W222

Given the fact that the W223 as a car is just slightly (but not dramatically) better in terms of road noise than W222, that "Dramatically reduced" road noise experience is then related to switching from bad (or just fine lets say) tires to excellent tires but has nothing to do with foam or no-foam. Anyway comparing one tech vs another while switching between two different cars (as well as tire brands) as a baseline isn't a conclusive experience IMO about tires. Research, and personal experience of those who tried foam vs non-foam tires on the same exact car suggest that foam isolation is a marketing hype. I first had foam and then tried no-foam tires with our 530e PHEV, and the same on our X5 in 2019 which was PHEV too. In both cases the experience was better when I switched to a better but no-foam tires. Am sure results would be just as good (maybe better) if the same but better tire had foam just as an added-bonus, but I'd never limit my search to foam-tires as I'll be limiting my search to tires that may not be as good overall out of the small set of tires and brands that offer foam as an option.
Caranddriver has done a ton of tests on all kinds of cars. One of their tests was on acoustically Insulated tires. The dba difference was ZERO for 45MPH roads, and barely dropped by 1 dba at 75 MPH. They concluded that they "struggled to discern any significant improvement" and "If you really strain to hear it—squint hard, tilt your head, and clench your teeth—you just might notice the slight change in the tone of tire impacts"
"driving on both a freshly paved, perfectly smooth asphalt road and an older, coarser concrete road with expansion joints, taking data at both 45 and 70 mph. In all conditions, the insulated tires had a negligible effect on the overall loudness"
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a1...sh-road-noise/

SW20S

Having had both cars, I would characterize it as dramatically improved. People who have only briefly test driven the car may not fully appreciate that, I didn't until I really lived with the car on the roads and drives I take every day. Its considerably quieter. The W223 is also better isolated from wind noise and ambient noise.

I highly doubt my OEM Hankook runflats are quieter (outside of potentially the foam) than the Pirelli non runflat PZero A/S Plus and A/S Plus 3 tires I had on the S560. I appreciate the additional road noise isolation enough that I will get foam filled tires to replace these just in case they are of benefit.

I haven't driven a car on both foam and non foam tires, so it very well may be of no benefit. I will say though that a dB reading is not proof that a car does not feel quieter. The pitch and frequency of sound even at the same sound pressure reading can really impact your perception of the ambient noise. I have a dB meter that I use when testing cars, and its really interesting how cars that have the same reading can feel very different. (my S580 registers about 1-2 dB quieter than my S560, which was about the same as my LS460L)

S_W222

That's fair; I have no doubt that the W223 is quieter. Even in the short time I spent testing/driving the W223, it was quieter for sure but not sure about "dramatically" quieter. My point is, just considering how quiet the W222 already is, it’s hard for me to imagine a "significant" improvement in noise reduction from the same brand. In other words I always felt that the W222 already reaches near the peak for noise isolation for cars in this price range. My perspective though might be skewed by my daily experience with BMW SUVs next to the W222 at that time, which tend to be much noisier compared to the W222, and made the W222 just too good relatively speaking. Transitioning from one of the best (like the W222) to something even better (the W223) on a daily basis could probably provide a different experience than mine, though I can't say for certain but I see your point. What am certain about is that the W223 is quieter as a car and design but I doubt that has anything to do with the foam in the tires. I feel that some of the non-runflat tires which don't have foam yet (like DWS 06 Plus) can still make the W223 or any car even quieter than some other RF-tires with foam. I think the foam doesn't compensate enough for the RF to be as quite as some of the other excellent NRF tire. I'd certainly welcome adding foam to an already-excellent tire like the DWS 06 Plus, but wouldn't switch from NRF to another RF just for the foam. If the car is already way too quite, keeping the RF tire with foam is not a bad idea. None of my current cars are super quite for me to consider that options. The X5 and X7 are quite but not superior. The Tesla isn't as quite as my other current or previous cars, so better NRF is the way to go.

I'm curious if anyone has experimented with adding foam to a non-NRF tire that doesn't originally come with it, or if this is even a feasible idea. From what I've read online and in various Reddit threads, only a few people tried, but they haven't noticed a difference, which aligns with Car and Driver's conclusions. My point is (or at least my opinion), it seems that focusing on finding better-performing tires, rather than specifically seeking out only foam-lined ones , might be a more effective approach.

Lou B

Tell me it won't happen!

At 92, and with only 33,000 on my emerald green '18 S560, with MBC, I had convinced myself I would never go to a W223.
Now, I'm starting to see many more upgraded opinions on the '23...Unexpected, to say the least!
Obviously, if I lived long enough, it might be smart to drive a face-lifted '23 off a lease but that would take me at least another three years...that I'd still be driving at 95, or even alive, is doubtful...

SW20S

It is hard to imagine a car could be quieter than the 222 I agree, but it really does become apparent as you live with the car...

Part of the issue with the 223 and tires is that the available tires are extremely limited. For instance I can't get the DWS 06+, or the PZero A/S Plus 3 I had on the 560, the only UHP All Seasons that are non runflat I can get are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4, which aren't very quiet.

You are probably right

SW20S

Don't sell yourself short! You could be driving to 100!

The 223 gets a bad rap. I really like mine, and I don't miss the 222 at all. I think the 222 is better looking overall, especially in the front and the rear, but the 223 is also beautiful. I prefer the comand wheel to the touchscreen because I hate the fingerprints, but the infotainment is much better and quicker in the 223. Ride and drive and quietness are all improved in the 223, sound system is a HUGE improvement....I mean...profound improvement.

Reliability issues really seem to be better in 23 and 24 models. Hopefully I don't have any issues.

S_W222

I recall my grandfather, at age of 90, assumed that soon he'd no longer be able to ride his horses. At age of 115, he was still enjoying ride a horse though not at the same pace : )
I wish you many more decades of enjoying cars and life, sir! If you live your W222, and don't have the same OCD I have as far as trading your cars every year, it's not a bad idea to wait for the facelift W223. It will be a more exciting car coming from loaded W222 and the differences should be more noticeable or worth the switch by then (at least I guess).

Lou B

More temptation for this nearly 7-yr old S560 owner!!
As I have mentioned (probably too often), I have no need of the entertainment part, nor many of the standard driving assistance features. Haven't had a touch screen in this car, so not having one would be no problem. My most used functions for out of town driving are CC, Distance control, and some navigation.
We are both incredibly pleased with MBC - a replacement unit should come as close to that as possible.
Is rear-wheel steering available on the W223s? I'd want that if at all possible.
Color might be a struggle - don't care for silver, black or white. Costly metallic colors, such as my Emerald Green or the red would be highly desirable but I think they are thin on the ground. Most likely have to settle for a rich-looking blue.
Is it feasible to hire someone to look for a car with certain specifications or parameters? I'm not sure I could do it efficiently.
Oh, well, as my extremely distant cousin Robert Browning (the Poet*) wrote: Ah,but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?
*Even more distant than my 3rd cousin, 7 times removed, gunmaker, John Moses Browning.
Thanks for listening!

carlosinseattle

I totally disagree. First of all, this article was written in 2016. That is 8 years ago. The materials they use for sound deadening have improved dramatically. I can say from personal experience that "today's" quiet tires make a MAJOR difference in road noise. And decibels is only aorund 60% of the equation. The foam also dampens the air pressure which also reduces vibrations through the cars body and chassis. Our ears turn that vibration into noise, actually our ears turn all vibrations into noise, but that's a post for a different forum. Point being, the vibarations our body feels are reduced, which further decreases what our brains perceive as noise. the other thing they don't mention is that they use different tread compounds and construction in tires with foam inserts. Those other factors also contribute to the reduction of road noise. The reason you don't hear more about it is because they are now all touting their own proprietary blends of componds for their foam. Bottom line is that I can say from personal experience there is a major difference.

S_W222

You can disagree however u want, numbers don’t lie even in 2016. Am curious though, what is your personal experience with the “new” tire foams and comparing to the same tire without? We all can talk about what we “think” the case is, and we all did, and that’s fine. In the end, I only believe personal experiences, so would love to learn more about that, or numbers and evidences from those who truly experimented with it. . Most complaints online are actually about excessive vibration due to foam getting loose! Those who did the tests reported no measurable improvement. I don’t believe the “major” improvement part of it.

SW20S

I'm great at spending other peoples money lol

Yep, mine doesn't have it...but its amazing.

Dealers can get you a car from anywhere. My S580 was at a dealer in Kentucky, they shipped it up to my dealer in an enclosed truck. They can find what you're looking for. Nautical Blue is a great color, thats what I wanted actually but this car I have is equipped just right for me otherwise.

I could see that...

MBNUT1

And to think that I used to brag about my 85 year grandmother rounding up cattle on her quarter horse.

Lou B

Thank you, all above, for your encouragement and helpful comments. Makes a feller feel good!

I wouldn't be even considering a change if my 560 was not soon to be 7 model years old. I''m pretty sure my son, who now has my '12, with 72,000 would be interested in it.

S_W222

I agree. If budget is not an issue, I wouldn’t consider a 7-year old S-class now even if the car itself was better (which is not the case anyway). The W223, worst case, is at least slightly better. Most likely it’s more than just a slight improvement. The old tech in the W222 alone is a solid reason to upgrade to the W223 (again, if you can).

Kain

We've noticed that on a cold start, there is a very slight vibration/shake when sitting in the car while idling. Once the car gets driven and warmed up, the vibration/shake goes away when sitting in the car while idling. Any idea what it could be? Is it the engine mounts?

S_W222

1. Is it the V8 and facelift?
2. Does that vibration goes away when you switch from D to N. Is that vibration only when on the D drive at idle?
3. Does the vibration goes away when you turn off the Auto-Start/Stop (***) function?

If the answer is yes to all these 3 questions above, there is nothing to do, this vibration is there in almost all V8 facelift I test drove including the one I had. It's a design flaw in my opinion and was driving me nuts. Most people won't feel it, but what I heard from W223 new owners that idle vibration was still there even for the W223 but slightly less. @SW20S wrote about that and similarly (I think) felt it in both his W222 and W223. I bet it's there in every single W222 but again most people won't feel it or will assume it's normal depending on what car they had before. My pre-facelift felt as if it was 100% turned off at idle and that was my baseline (you can't even tell if engine was running)... That's not the case for my W222 facelift though or any W222 I test drove before I bought mine (almost everyone I would say). Mbenz doesn't have a solution. There is also some form of harmonic vibration you'd feel when you are accelerating very slowly at 30-55 MPH speeds while the cylinders deactivation is on. turning off *** off reduces the idle as well as low speed acceleration vibration.

Kain

It is a 2018 S560 4MATIC with 40,000 kms.

The vibration is slight and intermittent when starting the car in the morning and idling when still in P. Once we drive around and warm up the car, then there is no more vibration when idling again in P (or at least we think as I'll have to double check more carefully to be 100% sure).

S_W222

If you have vibrations on P, there is something else going on it then, which should be fixable too at least. Vibration in P leads to engine mounts, likely. Check the air filter too, and see when was the last time spark plugs were changed (I wonder if there is a slight fuel-air imbalance when it's too cold due to any of these item needing replacement now).

SW20S

Yes, both my S560 and my S580 have a slight idle vibration in gear. Going to park or neutral does away with it. In the S580 I leave the engine start stop on since its so much smoother with the 48v system so it no longer bothers me.

95Sinned420

This sounds normal. Many cars are the same, they run with smog pump while the engine isn’t up to operating temp yet, for emission purposes. Idle usually is slightly higher as well.

Tom in Austin

I think this vibration issue was related to cylinder deactivation with 4MATIC cars ... there were several threads on this a while back

S_W222

The vibration with light acceleration is related to the cylinder deactivation true. However, the idle vibration which seems to be inherent with the V8 has nothing to do with the cylinder deactivation. It is connected to whatever *** does, but since newer Mbenz have 48V, 99% if the times anyway that car shuts-off at the stop sign or traffic light, and owners no longer feel the idle vibration. With the W222, *** doesn’t work as often as newer cars with 48V, hence the idle vibration is easily noticeable. I am yet to see any solution to it other than turning *** completely off.