Why don't more people swap the airmatic for coilovers
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2015
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2006 E55 AMG
Why don't more people swap the airmatic for coilovers
I am just curious in general. Is it that many people have done it and they just dont talk about it?
My airmatic is gone, and rather than chase gremlins and deal with the constant headache that is airmatic I am going to swap out to coilovers in the near future. As I collect my parts and decide on a coilover kit I am wondering how many people have actually made the conversion, and are they happy with it.
My airmatic is gone, and rather than chase gremlins and deal with the constant headache that is airmatic I am going to swap out to coilovers in the near future. As I collect my parts and decide on a coilover kit I am wondering how many people have actually made the conversion, and are they happy with it.
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2012
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05 E55, 06 Audi S4
Because the airmatic is a luxury... I love the on the fly adjustability and will for sure replace mine with Arnott when the time comes. I'll never buy another car that doesn't come with air suspension 😀
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Cypress, TX
'06 E55, '15 Jeep SRT8, '94 Mustang GT
Main reason? Resale. I don't want to have to convince a potential buyer, who knows nothing about the E55, that coilovers are better than the factory suspension.
Secondary reason? I have to have the raise function to get in my driveway without scratching the front lip to hell.
Secondary reason? I have to have the raise function to get in my driveway without scratching the front lip to hell.
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Joined: Mar 2011
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2011 E63, 2013 CLS63
I have heard nothing but good things about coilovers and they're more reliable.
I do love the adjustability though. I love putting it into Comfort and making the car feel like an old muscle car that's really boaty but savagely fast
Then when you put it into Sport II it's actually pretty stiff and feels very controllable.
People who have done coilovers have said they are night and day better in handling than the Airmatic so you can't argue with that but rubbing the nose on driveways and speed humps could get very costly and very annoying.
I do love the adjustability though. I love putting it into Comfort and making the car feel like an old muscle car that's really boaty but savagely fast
Then when you put it into Sport II it's actually pretty stiff and feels very controllable. People who have done coilovers have said they are night and day better in handling than the Airmatic so you can't argue with that but rubbing the nose on driveways and speed humps could get very costly and very annoying.
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From: 'Merica
'04 E55 (Gone but not forgotten), '13 C63 P31 (RIP), another '13 C63 PP
Since I live in a place with really ****ty roads and driveways, being able to raise up to not scrape my front bumper or rip a front lip off is a great feature.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2013
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From: NZ
2004 E55 AMG, 2006 CLS63, 2004 ML55, 2014 E350 sport
All airmatic guys need to do is get arnott replacements and do the handling mods as mentioned in the recent handling thread and the car is fine imo.
Seriously the sway bar mod and adjusting castor makes a massive difference to these cars.
Id be interested to hear from someone with coilovers who has done the castor mod to see if they felt it made a big difference.
Iv already got another car with coilovers (nissan pulsar GTIR which is like an old evo) so putting coilovers on any merc like this to me is just a waste of time other than the reliablility factor which I can understand.
Seriously the sway bar mod and adjusting castor makes a massive difference to these cars.
Id be interested to hear from someone with coilovers who has done the castor mod to see if they felt it made a big difference.
Iv already got another car with coilovers (nissan pulsar GTIR which is like an old evo) so putting coilovers on any merc like this to me is just a waste of time other than the reliablility factor which I can understand.
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Joined: May 2007
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From: San Diego
2004 E55
For me the car is a daily driver, and I'm more interested in comfortably getting to work than tearing up a track. Also I have 147,xxx miles and my airmatic hasn't failed yet so I won't bother messing with it until I need to. This car will never handle super well, so it kind of seems like a waste of money.
Super Member
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From: Australia
2004 W211 E55 AMG >>gone but not forgotten > W123 280E > W124 E280 > W126 380SE
Member
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W211 E55
For me the car is a daily driver, and I'm more interested in comfortably getting to work than tearing up a track. Also I have 147,xxx miles and my airmatic hasn't failed yet so I won't bother messing with it until I need to. This car will never handle super well, so it kind of seems like a waste of money.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: SF Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 and 2002 E320
For me the car is a daily driver, and I'm more interested in comfortably getting to work than tearing up a track. Also I have 147,xxx miles and my airmatic hasn't failed yet so I won't bother messing with it until I need to. This car will never handle super well, so it kind of seems like a waste of money.
I've heard of cars with 170k miles (W220 S500) on their original airmatic struts.
I've heard of a 27k mile old non modified W211 car that required a strut replacement. That car was often driven on poor roads.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2014
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W211 E55 2003
What is this? Never crossed my eye? Didnt find with search eigther
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From: South CA (LA, 818) & North CA (SJ, 408)
2003 E500
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Cypress, TX
'06 E55, '15 Jeep SRT8, '94 Mustang GT
If you're asking about the handling mods, they are discussed here
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 54
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2006 E55 AMG
Thanks for the input everyone. Like I said my airmatic system failed so changing out was a no brainer for me. Plus I prefer a more stiff and firm ride. Just wanted to make sure nobody came out of the wood works with major complaints, haha.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,090
Likes: 11
From: SF Bay Area, CA
2006 E55 and 2002 E320
If you're asking about the handling mods, they are discussed here
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,642
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From: Caribbean/Florida/Colorado
E-ZGO 53hp., 1999 E 430 sport, 2004 E 55, 2008 Tahoe LTZ on 24"s
For those that have little understanding of AirMatic here is some info.
The attached PDF is for standard AirMatic the E55 got the "Airmatic DC".
I like that it can change ,
Ride Hight & speed sensitive ride hight.
Spring rate - Dual Chamber
Electronically controlled valving in the shocks, with a mode that is automatic.
319%20HO%20SAS%20(ACB-ICC)%2008-13-02.pdf
I know it is a complex system and requires a spray bottle with soapy water to find leaks. I understand the pain of an unexpected discovery that your whip is slammed 30 miles from home. For some, the need for reliability makes the coil-over a necessity.
The cost factor??? I am thinking the coil-overs parts alone are about $2000 VS Arnott, wow you can replace most of the Airmatic 2 front 2 rears and new compressor & relay with lifetime warranty $2000. Is that right? can somebody check this...
Lastly read this,
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
The attached PDF is for standard AirMatic the E55 got the "Airmatic DC".
I like that it can change ,
Ride Hight & speed sensitive ride hight.
Spring rate - Dual Chamber
Electronically controlled valving in the shocks, with a mode that is automatic.
319%20HO%20SAS%20(ACB-ICC)%2008-13-02.pdf
I know it is a complex system and requires a spray bottle with soapy water to find leaks. I understand the pain of an unexpected discovery that your whip is slammed 30 miles from home. For some, the need for reliability makes the coil-over a necessity.
The cost factor??? I am thinking the coil-overs parts alone are about $2000 VS Arnott, wow you can replace most of the Airmatic 2 front 2 rears and new compressor & relay with lifetime warranty $2000. Is that right? can somebody check this...
Lastly read this,
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
Last edited by Yacht Master; Mar 5, 2015 at 09:27 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,429
Likes: 61
From: Cypress, TX
'06 E55, '15 Jeep SRT8, '94 Mustang GT
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 363
Likes: 2
Honda Metropolitan
I love my coilovers but I do miss the quick adjustability of the airmatic. However, people who are saying with the coilover you will scape the front lip or this and that well, set it up to a driveable and useable height. I have yet to do the front sway bar mod, perhaps this weekend after I purchase bigger washers.
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 847
Likes: 31
From: Australia
2004 W211 E55 AMG >>gone but not forgotten > W123 280E > W124 E280 > W126 380SE
For those that have little understanding of AirMatic here is some info.
The attached PDF is for standard AirMatic the E55 got the "Airmatic DC".
I like that it can change ,
Ride Hight & speed sensitive ride hight.
Spring rate - Dual Chamber
Electronically controlled valving in the shocks, with a mode that is automatic.
Attachment 305091
I know it is a complex system and requires a spray bottle with soapy water to find leaks. I understand the pain of an unexpected discovery that your whip is slammed 30 miles from home. For some, the need for reliability makes the coil-over a necessity.
The cost factor??? I am thinking the coil-overs parts alone are about $2000 VS Arnott, wow you can replace most of the Airmatic 2 front 2 rears and new compressor & relay with lifetime warranty $2000. Is that right? can somebody check this...
Lastly read this,
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
The attached PDF is for standard AirMatic the E55 got the "Airmatic DC".
I like that it can change ,
Ride Hight & speed sensitive ride hight.
Spring rate - Dual Chamber
Electronically controlled valving in the shocks, with a mode that is automatic.
Attachment 305091
I know it is a complex system and requires a spray bottle with soapy water to find leaks. I understand the pain of an unexpected discovery that your whip is slammed 30 miles from home. For some, the need for reliability makes the coil-over a necessity.
The cost factor??? I am thinking the coil-overs parts alone are about $2000 VS Arnott, wow you can replace most of the Airmatic 2 front 2 rears and new compressor & relay with lifetime warranty $2000. Is that right? can somebody check this...
Lastly read this,
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...handleing.html
I replaced all shocks on mine with Arnotts and havent had any issues. Did the front shocks first followed by the rears 6 months later. The fronts are made from oem bilstein cores remanufactured with new goodyear bladders etc and slightly modified/improved, they feel pretty much oem. The rears are Arnotts own design. They didn't make the improvement I thought I might get but cant complain they were far less than stealership prices and close to oem feel except firmer. They also dispense with the lines and the bulbs inside the trunk lining. I'm in Australia so had to factor in exchange rates and freight etc but I reckon everything would come in under US$2000 now.
