Downsizing wheels for smoother ride

[MikeInWimbledon]

Ride quality is in the eye (or bottom) of the beholder

Hi just been reading the thread very interesting as i am picking up A class 180 sport tomorrow, would i get similar ride with that to..

B and A class cars are fine cars: compact, spacious vehicles, ideal for urban, suburban and local country living. Huge bargains really.

But there are compromises on suspension and ride quality compared to cars of twice the price.

The only judge is yourself. Some people love hard suspension cars - they're called BMW or Porsche drivers. Others prefer something a bit more compliant.

An A class sport will ride a lot harder than an A class which will ride harder than an C class. You pays your money and takes your choice - although minor mods such as tyres will made a small difference.

 

[rhud]

Despite what I've just said above, going back to my original comment, the B class does have a chronically hard ride and it's really hard in the Sports spec car.

Which is fine for BMW drivers, but not so much for those used to something civilised, like a Mercedes E class.

Here's a thread from (cough) another place, which ruminates on the B class issue:

B class short term review: | Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

This echoes my experience. I was all ready to get a new B Class,but found the ride on a test drive most unsatisfactory. This had 17" wheels and although badged Sport I was told had the same suspension set up as the SE,just more bits like folding mirrors etc. (This is still unclear to me). Why this emphasis on 'cornering' etc on this kind of car? The Golf SV,for example, is a world away in terms of ride quality,is still secure, and is probably what I will end up going for.

 

[GeeJayW]

I wouldn't lie to a dealer in order to get a test drive. Try being honest.

"I'm a bit uncertain about the ride quality in my car and would like to test drive xyz-spec to help me decide if it's a fault, a feature or if I should change to something else."

If they can't spot the potential sale, then they're not up to much.

An alternative is to perhaps hire another B-class for a day?

Good luck.

 

[cooks]

im having second thoughts, ill have to test drive it first before i give the nod. Otherwise ill be looking else were.

 

[Sepsi]

Hi all,

Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions and experiences.
So today after reading the post linked by MikeInWimbledon, went back and called the Mercedes Benz customers support. I really wanted to find out what type of suspension is fitted on my car. I gave them my rego and they were able to tell me that the suspension fitted on my car is the standard comfort "lowered", the one found on the SE model, but lowered. So the good thing is that I dont have the sport suspension. One thing I don;t know is what "lowered" means for the ride? Will that make the ride more stiff and rigid? If so, as bad as the sport suspension?
In theory, with the standard comfort suspension which is fitted on the car at present, if I swap the wheels and go for j6.5 205/55 R16 there should be definitely massive improvement for the ride qualiy, unless the "lowered" factor is a lot worse than I think.
Another thing I forgot to mention is the noise in the cab. Can someone confirm if B200's are by nature noisier than other cars? By noisier I mean a lot of wind noise and echo in the cabin, at 70 mph I struggle to speak to my wife without having to raise my voice, and viceversa. I think some of it may come from the current tyres, as I said all 4 tyres are different and some are worn more than others. I suspect once putting new tyres on, some of that noise will go away, but not sure about the cabin echo and wind noise. I have noticed on newer/smooth tarmac the noise is less, that is why I suspect the tyres.
Anyways, I went a step further, and I went in my local dealership and arranged for a road test with one of their technicians just to confirm if the noise is coming more from the tyres. I will also ask him about the wheels downsizing and how he thinks that will affect the ride. They may have experienced that in the past.
I will keep everyone posted.
Meanwhile thank you again for reading and posting your thoughts to this thread.

Best Regards,
Sepsi

 

[Dickie Fix]

Our B is quiet and relaxing place to be at 70 with little wind noise; however, we do find that tyre noise can be a problem on the some road surfaces, so maybe changing yours to all the same type would make things quieter. I would certainly want the same make and type all round just for safety reasons alone. I'm changing to Michelin Cross Climates later this year as they seem to get very good reviews.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

A test drive will get to the bottom on it

Interweb chats are all well and good, but people have different perspectives on what constitutes a comfortable or quiet ride. A test drive, over the type of roads you actually drive on, is the only way to work out what it means to you. What works on decent roads, as in Germany, doesn't necessarily work on potholed city roads.

That said, as you move from one car to another, you adjust your senses. I've driven five quite different, quite comfy, family cars, and I have to mentally recalibrate as I go switch between each one: an MX5, Ford Focus 2.0, SL350, E500 and S500.

And don't forget it's all part of the size, power, cost, comfort trade off. "Wimmin" tend to want smaller, easy to park, comfortable, quiet cars, that are very cheap to run, and have enormous capacity for people and luggage. And compromises have to be made somewhere. ("Other Wimmin's views are available")

 

[grober]

Two other things come into play here- car wheelbase and car inertial weight. It takes much more suspension "expertise " to make a small car ride well than a large car. In this area the French rather than the Germans excell- possibly due to the state of some of their roads? Perhaps this is why MB ellicited help from RENAULT when designing their latest MFA platform.
The MFA (Modular Front Architecture) platform currently consists of the A-Class, B-Class, CLA-Class and the recently-unveiled GLA-Class, with an upcoming CLA Shooting Brake to complement the rest of the models later this year. A not-yet-confirmed SLA Roadster might be part of the second generation of the MFA platform, which is set to arrive in 2017.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/mercedes-benz-will-switch-to-just-four-car-platforms-78508.html

 

[nickpb]

Interesting to read your post. I have currently got a C-Class 220d Sport with the lowered suspension and 18" wheels.

When I first got the car 3 years ago my feelings were almost identical to yours. I felt every single bump on the road and really didn't like it. I started to look around for replacement wheels and tyres. However after about 3 months I took the car to an independent for some brake work, and the loan car he gave me was a C220d SE with the standard wheels and suspension.

I got a couple of miles down the road and realised how good my lowered suspension and tyres were. The SE ride I found wallowy (is that a word?) and at times it made me feel a bit nauseous. I was really pleased to get my car back at the end of the day.

Since then I have come to love the ride. Yes there are moments when you think the bottom's going to drop off the car, and don't for goodness sake put your tongue between your teeth when driving or you'll have nothing left, but I've toured all over Europe and have to say it gets better the more I use it. (Italy was the exception - you think our roads are bad? Some of their motorways are worse than some of our bad local roads!)

I'm just about to change up to an E-Class 220d. Initial drive was good so I hope it will be OK. Stick with it for a few more months before you make the decision. You might be glad you did.

 

[PobodY]

I've got the "Sport" package (with 18" wheels) on the CLK and that still feels wallowy and vague to me. - I'm not used to a bone-jarring ride either; the GTiR does have Nismo struts, but they're pretty mild compared to coilovers.
I dread to think what "normal" suspension feels like.

I quite like the way it just surges along the road and ignore the surface for the most part (although these tyres don't like potholes). It's definitely more at home on the highway, than on a twisty B road (whereas the GTiR loves B roads, but is too noisy for a lot of highway driving).

 

[grober]

It should be remember that the first A class failed the "elk test" by rolling when asked to swerve round a large object in its path. This was due to excessive roll with a relatively high body and soft suspension. The height was due to its sandwich floor construction originally designed to house a battery pack for electric propulsion. It was thus a compromised design from the start. Unfortunately the elk test took place in front of a gaggle of motoring journalists so Mercedes were forced to make lots of modifications to the car. They could do little to remove its inherent high centre of gravity but modified its roll resistance by lowering and stiffening the suspension and fitting ESP as standard . This had the fortunate/unfortunate result of a car that rode like a roller skate but a lot less liable tip over.

the elk test! https://youtu.be/Um-XlKerWvA
[YOUTUBE HD]Um-XlKerWvA[/YOUTUBE HD]

 

[PobodY]

Makes sense; the hard suspension is to minimise body roll and stop it toppling. - An inherent feature of the A-Class setup which won't change much?

 

[Roomym]

My B class has a comfort suspension and 16 inch rims. I found the ride jarring. I then changed to 225 55 16 Michelins. With 30 psi all round I find the ride so much more acceptable. These are not specified but I found that they fit ok.

 

[lmgauci]

Here's an interesting video comparing 17",18" and 19" wheels and what the advantages and disadvantages are.

The differences between 17 18 and 19 inch tyres - Tyre Reviews

It does go on to evaluate and say there is a bigger difference in the tyre manufacture/design than wheel sizes.

 

[PobodY]

That makes sense. - Surely they engineer the tyres to be as consistent as possible across the range of size/profiles offered.

 

[Deletedmember130310]

40psi seems very high.....