sumanchaudhuri

Still new to the car and figuring out my 2003 S55 features. There is button on the car dash that raises or lowers the car - which button is that? Is that the ABC Sport button? What's the advantage of driving it lower or raising it aside from the comfort level on the ride?

Also, as I drive the car around town, I'm sure there will be a few cars pulling up next to me to race. Not that I intend to race a lot with this car, but in those rare moments when I do, can you tell me what is the optimal setting that I should have (lower the car? turn of ESP? turn of A/C?, etc)?

Thanks.

rahulanand1130

im assuming the optimal set up for the s55 is like the e55. So i leave the car at standard height, and put it in sport mode, leave the esp on otherwise your most likely just going to spin wheel. My e55 doesnt have abc but my familys sl500 does and i usually leave it on just because it minimizes the body roll in thw twisties.

dgreen1069

You can raise the body height when you are driving over large speed bumps or rough gravel roads. Other than circumstances like that, you are better off leaving the car in it's normal stance. There is no way to lower the car below it's standard height.....the two setting are something like .5" up and 1" up. The computer lowers the ride height of the car at highway speeds....this happens at normal and raised ride heights.

If you are planning on launching from a stop, turning of the ESC might help a bit. It never really turns off, but it does relax a bit in the off position. If you think you might need to turn off the A/C to beat another car, you might want to leave that 911 Turbo or ZO6 alone

whoover

The ABC Sport button is different than the the button that raises the suspension. The raising button has an icon of a car with an upwards arrow in it and has two positions, indicated by either one or two LEDs turned on.

In addition to going over bumps or bad roads, it's useful when parking straight-on if there's the possibility that the nose will scrape on a curb strip. Just remember to let the car raise before you pull out. Other than that, leave it off.

The ABC Sport button reduces lean and has no negative effect on ride comfort as far as I'm concerned. Between my S55 and now my S65, I've never turned it off in about 70,000 miles.