onesixeight

Would anyone happen to have the W211 E55 alignment specs to share? I recently had my car lowered by Steve via DAS computer and I don't want to take it to the dealer and have them raise the car back up again. The indepedent shop I'm taking it to only has the W210 specs.

Thanks in advance!

OzE55

Please forgive my ignorance - but if the car is lowered electronically (or via the washer method) why does the wheel's geometry change?
Isn't the relationship between the tyre and the road the same?

I look forward to being enlightened.

Rafal

Mercedes multi-link suspension does not allow each wheel to travel up and down in a parallel plain. That can only be achieved with double wishbones which, together with the chasis on one side and the wheel on the other, form a perfect parallelogram.
Our wheels "bend inwards" at the top, swivelling around a pivot, as the suspension compresses ie. car lowers. If you lower your car by 20mm, the negative camber will decrease from -1.5 Deg to -2.0deg. After my recent loweing success (-18mm front, -14mm rear) I ended up with -2.00 deg front and -2.00 degRear (Comfort setting) and -2.25 Deg(Sport1/2 setting 10 mm lower rear).
Rear camber is not adjustable, so get used to more wear on the inside edge of the tires. At the front they can insert up to four "pins" into the lower control arm mounts/bushes to reduce the negative camber in 0.33 deg increments ie. two pins= 0.66 deg.
Dealer quoted AUD 480.00 for this "adjustment" The car will turn in better on the streets but on track -2.0 deg gives better handling. Racing saloons run up to -6.0 deg, just like a bike leaning into a tight corner.
I have decided to leave my camber at -2.0deg all around for now. If I "straighten" the wheels up to -1.5deg, the car will "push" (understeer) even more on the track.
I believe that before lowering, the front was somewhere between -1.55 and -1.65 deg and the rear -1.75 deg.

ima55r2

Here are the numbers for my car, nov 03 build date.

onesixeight

ima55r2...

Thank you so much!!! I can't thank you enough!



You guys rock!

-Chris

ima55r2

You're welcome.

Rafal

These specs may have changed on 2005 built cars.
My car is Jan 2005 built and with the suspension fully raised (allowing for 18/14 mm lowering, at this highest setting it is 1/2" higher than pre-mod Comfort setting), the camber Front and Rear is -1.5 Deg all around. At this setting the wheels visibly "straighten out"as the suspension lifts.
Therefore, it is my estimate that the unmodified Comfort setting would have been around - 1.6 deg front and -1.7deg rear.
I would like to see the current specs, just to confirm. Thanks for the info.

ima55r2

The specs worked out great for 168 since he has posted he has an 04. Maybe try to get a printout from your SA for an 05.

onesixeight

Yes...I have an appt tomorrow for the alignment so we'll see how it goes. They had to order some bolts to fix the excesssive camber on the left side...it's reading close to 3 degrees

Did you notice any difference after the alignment? They played with a my car a little yesterday and I already notice better on-center feel and the steering seems to be a little sharper

BTW, did you have your car lowered too?

ima55r2

I went for the free alignment within the first year. It wasn't pulling one way or another and the tires were wearing fairly evenly with no mods and the stock setup.

I had the same camber problems on my clk and had to get the camber kit. It seems to happen alot and should be on the cars to begin with.

OzE55

I had a bit of vibration which I think got worse after the washer lowering - 4mm washers - 20-25mm (an inch) down.
Here's my alignment data from today - if anyones interested

dsc

Rafal,

I'm having my car aligned right now and I wanted the best combination of performance with tire wear. Can you tell me how the neg 2.0 deg all around work out for wear and handling?

Does anyone have good performance specs for a lowered E55 alignment? Are stock specs best?

Any input would be great, my car is in the shop now. Thanks.