According to wolfman on the CL55 forum, he had his CL500 lowered by 3/4" by the dealer for free by changing some computer settings on the ABC system. Anyone know if this will be possible on the E500 or E55?



https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=4

Not a clue if it's possible but if it is, you'll be able to return to normal ride height (or above depending on how that feature works if the base ride height is changed) thanks to the height adjustment. Best of both worlds.

Since this suspension is controlled electronically can the system fail?

I ask because, I was at the Mecedes Dealer and I walked by service there was a W220 S-Class that was slam so close to the ground it was undrivable - the front wheels actually touch the fender when turned and the car had a do not drive note on it.

This car was too low to the ground to have been slammed on purpose.

Yes, early ABC systems had problems. Failure resulted in the "dropped to the ****ing ground" look. However, the good thing is that there were less failures in the airmatic systems, which is what the e55 uses.

One of the main concerns is the longevity and repair costs of the ABC/airmatic systems. Any shop can replace shocks/springs, but who can replace ABC pumps?

The "problem" with the airmatic system concerning lowering is that is wotks dynamically. Driving fast lowers the car closer to the ground and vsv. So you cannot change it that easily, although it's possible, some tuners in Germany offers this kind.

Basically the changes are a mixture between electronic/software and some mechanical adaptations. As far as I know AMG does not offers this kind of service. So tampering with the airmatic system means loosing your warranty.

regards

merlin

The "problem" that we're talking about is failure of the ABC / Airmatic system, causing the whole suspension system to fail. Result? The car is completely on the ground. I really don't know if airmatic / abc system can withstand the test of time. It might drastically add to the costs of maintaining a mercedes 7+ years from now.

From the history of a less cmoplicated system yet same idea on the legendary 300sel 6.3 which used adjustable air suspension. The system needs good service. The air belows need to be checked for cracks, the air valves need to be checked for leaks. Leaking valves was what usually brought the car to it's knees. Also the air lines and the air tank had to be drained once in a while to remove moisture bukdup. Currently if you see those calssics and want to buy them you have to always ask how long does the car stay up. If the system is tight the car whould stay up indefinitelly. To fix the system its about $2000 to $4000 or more, and not many people know how to do it. Fortunatelly the air belows are still available and the air valvles can be rebuilt for around $1500 in case of failure. But MB had over 30 years of practice with those systems so hopefully it will be more reliable.

From driving a Lincoln with a vastly inferior system I can say that the systems are reliable. The point of failure on that car was the air-bladder itself and replacement for all four was around $1200 at the dealer including labor. Given that this was a 1985 model, I have a lot more faith in MB's vastly superior engineering and technology advances over the past 18 years. I also have great faith that should the MB system break past the warranty it will cost far more to fix.

I wonder if it would be possible to program the system so that the car lowers itself only when parked. Let the system operate as it sees fit when driving so that you do not lose ride comfort/handling.

Actually the DC system lowers the car if parked. That's the reason why the new 211 are all looking quite low when parked.

merlin

Guys, which one is better in reducing the body roll, the ABC or the system on the new W211? And which one is more realiable?


THanks

Can someone please answer my original question.. I'm dying to know if this can be done without major electronic modification. Maybe Ronald would know.

Dr. I lowered my customer SL55 using the Kleemann module, to me is the best and the customer is very satisfied with it. Go and contact Cory Umemoto at Kleemann USA.

Enrique Thompson
Crazy4Cars Racing
Panama