Nice! But that's different from your earlier pic. How did you achieve that and how was the ride?

 

Ride was perfect because it was a different car Exact same as before except ABC and Porcelain White vs Bengal Red nappa.

 

Hi, I think you are spot on...I have just bought a 2018 R231, and it does have the sports suspension.....it is too firm for my wife and it's also very low, so I catch the front on a lot of thing....Tyres however is something that may help a lot, do you know what a "soft" tyre make would be? It is shod with P Zero's at the moment...it's a lot less hassle swopping the rubber than getting the shocks changed.....Many thanks

 

I briefly had a CPO 2013 SL550 without ABC. It came with what I felt were very attractive 18” wheels. That said, after having been spoiled during the 12 years I had my 2004 SL500, that came with ABC and 18” wheels as standard equipment, I really felt let down by the non-ABC equipped 2013 and sent it down the road. It was a pretty car though and I really liked the wheels.

 

Looks like you have a couple r231’s. Are you talking about the AMG SL63 car (with ABC) or the SL550 with conventional spring Sport Suspension?

I have found the Michelin PS4 tires to be very good. They are NOT run flats. Hard sidewall run flats, incorrect pressure, and old rubber are what really transfers a lot of harsh impacts to the rims. Correct pressure is very important. I set my tire pressures hot under NORMAL mixed driving conditions, 39F and 41R, ( It also varies by ambient temperature of summer vs winter) but after they cool down, should settle at the high range (if not a slight bit more) of recommended cold psi’s. I also pay attention to tire wear to determine proper PSI for a car/tire combination. Tire’s especially shouldn't exhibit any low pressure wear. Sometimes, it can take going thru one set of tires to learn the proper PSI for that tire/car combination.

I have driven multiple SL’s with ABC, AMG P30 package ADS, ADSII etc…. Both systems have pros and cons, all one has to do is visit the R230 board to see what the potential long term cons could be. I personally am not a big fan of ABC or ADS and specifically looked for a car without it. I skipped the R230’s completely because I worked on too many of my friends cars that had ABC. (And yes I know it’s a slightly different system on the R231). From a production standpoint the factory loves ABC. They can use the same system over the whole range of cars, high performance to the milder variations is just a software tweak away.

The sprung R231’s ride very well on the stock B4 Bilsteins, It handles infinitely better than my R129 with ADS… It also rides less harshly than the AMG P30 cars I have driven. ( But to be fair they were on run-flats). But the sprung R231’s have to be setup correctly. It has a tighter setup window and going outside those parameters, will alter the cars ride characteristics in a negative way. Pay attention to rubber compound and tire PSI. Sprung cars are a constant, and me personally as a driver, I like consistency. Take a look at any of the MB race cars or Black Series MB cars and you’ll find springs..