AIRmatic DC Drivers - What is Your Experience?

[whitenemesis]

Just looking for comments from those lucky enough to drive cars fitted with AIRmatic suspension (NOT the hydraulic ABC as fitted to SL, CL etc..)

When switching between the various settings (Comfort, Sport I, Sport II) how quickly do you notice the change in ride?

 

[Alps]

from comfort to sport 2 there is a significant differance , sport 1 is a little more subtle.

15-30 secs i would say before you notice

 

[developer]

If mine (previous) was stationary the changes were visible quickly, though Sport 1 to Sport 2 needed a close look to see at times, as there's only 5mm difference.

The raise feature never took more than about 20 secs.

In motion you could feel the difference almost immediately.

I always drove round on Sport 1 and had the alignment set on Sport 1.
On the 63, C mode (the softest) is about the same as Sport 2 on the W211, but it's a completely different system of air rear, non air front.

 

[whitenemesis]

from comfort to sport 2 there is a significant differance , sport 1 is a little more subtle.

15-30 secs i would say before you notice

Do you find it reacts more quickly moving "up" the settings (i.e. Comfort > Sport I > Sport II) but takes longer when "relaxing", going Sport II > Comfort?

 

[donshl]

I normally drive in Sports II, however when switching to Comfort, I barely notice a difference, in fact it seems worse than Sports II :|

I hope the system is working properly as it raises/lowers with the "Raise" button and no errors related suspension have come up on Star

 

[developer]

I normally drive in Sports II, however when switching to Comfort, I barely notice a difference, in fact it seems worse than Sports II :|

I hope the system is working properly as it raises/lowers with the "Raise" button and no errors related suspension have come up on Star

My Sport II was firm and my Comfort was quite slushy - there was a big difference.

 

[whitenemesis]

I normally drive in Sports II, however when switching to Comfort, I barely notice a difference, in fact it seems worse than Sports II :|

I hope the system is working properly as it raises/lowers with the "Raise" button and no errors related suspension have come up on Star

Perhaps it's an AMG thing (AMG do tweak the AIRmatic) 'cos I find little difference between Comfort and Sport II. There IS a difference but it's quite subtle. The main difference seems to be how quickly the suspension tightens up when pushing through the corners.

 

[donshl]

My Sport II was firm and my Comfort was quite slushy - there was a big difference.

Hmmm, I quite like the ride on Sports II, to my inexperienced back side, Comfort mode makes no difference

 

[developer]

Perhaps it's an AMG thing (AMG do tweak the AIRmatic)

This may be it - mine was an E320 Sport.

I think I recall JohnEBoy saying AMG's were different a while back.

 

[Alps]

Do you find it reacts more quickly moving "up" the settings (i.e. Comfort > Sport I > Sport II) but takes longer when "relaxing", going Sport II > Comfort?

yes it will

when moving from comfort to sport 1 or 2 the system is releaseing air

when moving from sprot to comfort, the system is pumping air in, therefore depending on how strong your compressor is will depend on how quick, if the compressor takes too long it will fire up an airmatic error on the dash

 

[Ian Donkin]

I drove a W212 Airmatic earlier this week - they just have comfort or sport (plus raise) and the dampers / ride characteristics changed almost instantly (if not the height).

Having bemoaned ride quality in W212's, I have to say Airmatic was a revelation.

 

[whitenemesis]

I would have thought any system adjustments would be supplied from the high pressure reservoir, rather than directly from the compressor?

With ADS II there are four damping force settings available to each wheel and these are set irrespective of the switch position, determined by speed and driving style (measured by the system's accelerometers) so it's possible to "confuse" one's perception of the ride characteristic (due to switch position) simply by driving harder.

 

[Alps]

I would have thought any system adjustments would be supplied from the high pressure reservoir, rather than directly from the compressor?

With ADS II there are four damping force settings available to each wheel and these are set irrespective of the switch position, determined by speed and driving style (measured by the system's accelerometers) so it's possible to "confuse" one's perception of the ride characteristic (due to switch position) simply by driving harder.

my understanding was the reservoir was for damping purposes, changes in modes the compressor will pump into reservoir.

 

[C240Sport97]

definitely noticeable difference going from Comfort to Sport I/II.

Comfort for central London. Sport I elsewhere.

AirMatic works best with correct tyre pressures.

 

[Vilus]

I usually cruise around on Comfort setting most of the time as the local roads are pretty pooor. If I go out of town I use Sport1. I rarely select Sport 2 as the ride becomes rock hard, and on uneven roads the back jumps and skips out when you try to put the power down. It think it would need a track or very smooth road to get any advantage with Sport 2 in my car. I normally feel the difference in a few seconds when I change settings.

 

[AMGeed]

I've had my 55K for about 2 months now and haven't even tried the different suspension settings

 

[whitenemesis]

I've had my 55K for about 2 months now and haven't even tried the different suspension settings

 

[cp3377]

Sport 1 subtly different from comfort at speed - over undulating roads definitely a better selection. Sport 2 on pre-facelift was pretty firm and jittery but on post-facelift was actually bearable in terms of ride and definitely firmed things up quickly once selected. I'm comparing W211 E500's. I found tht they changed between settings pretty quickly - within seconds when driving. Airmatic is superb - there is a risk that it can go wrong but in terms of the way it enhances the car's ride it takes ride quality to a different level. As per earlier post tyre pressures are important - you need to keep them consistent across the board and pretty close to the manufacturer recommendations.

 

[b1g1an]

I find the differences are very noticeable and happen quickly. I usually run around in Sport 1 but flicking to Sport 2 instantly tightens things up with much less body roll, making the car feel much lighter and smaller, but also jars a bit when you hit lumps and bumps. Equally coming up to speed humps I flick it into comfort and it goes all soft and squashy for rolling over them but wallows around corners like a barge.

Think what confuses things is it alters how it reacts to changes so going along on a smooth road they all feel much the same.

 

[SavMan]

I am confused by the people that see instant change, I have been in many airmatic AMG's and all of them seemed very slow to change settings. By slow I mean takes several seconds, even when you look at the diameter of the lines that supply the compressed air it would seem difficult for them to add sufficient volume for instant response.