E-CLASS (W212) E 350 CDI Suspension upgrade help required

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andrew-w

New Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
16
Location
Edith Weston Rutland
Car
2010 W212 E350 CDI estate
Looking for some advice, I have a 2010 E class 350 CDI Estate W212(S212)
The car does not have Full Airmatic, it has shocks and springs front and shocks rear plus air bags for the self levelling
Front Shocks
Merc No: A212 320 12 38
Sachs No: 80 1404 001 684
Rear Shocks
Merc No: A212 320 40 30
Sachs No: 80 1402 000 305

I am trying to improve the ride quality on the car
What I am looking for is to improve the ride and handling, get less role in corners better handing in corners a stiffer ride but not rock hard
Not necessarily looking to lower the ride but to get a good set up then I could accept a lower ride height
Car is a 10 year old car still goes well but has 177K miles on the clock

I am not looking to change the rear air bags as they are not leaking and if I understand it right they are more for the self levelling and not performance and handling ( I think this is correct?)

I have been working with POTN and Bilstein trying to find a solution and they have been Fantastic and so helpful but I think the car option is not one that is the norm to make these changes

We have got to the final option using Bilstein B6 Shocks options but there is still doubt on the self levelling air bags and if it will works
The option we have got to is
Front springs: 37-280017
Front dampers: 35-166863
Rear dampers: 24-171014
The have spoken to Bilstein about the rear shock absorber.
They have said this shock will be fine with this vehicle but I will lose the Air Levelling control.
If I wish to remain the air levelling control I will have to source the OEM dampers through Mercedes.
But we can supply them for you just a disclaimer the Airmatic isn’t compatible with these shocks but they do fit.

The ride height air bags has a sensor with an arm that is connected to the chassis axle for the control and has a small plastic connector and as far as I can see there is no connection to the rear dampers
The option suggested would give me a standard height and is not actively offering a lower ride height so I am confused why the self levelling would not still operate
The connector arm has broken in the past that did activate the self levelling warning light and I did have to replace it with a new one
If the ride height did change then I did see that there was an adjustable connector available on EBay that was design to change ride height, so if this new suspension set up did create a problem would this be my solution

What do people think, has anyone done an upgrade and or does anyone have any suggestion


 
Well it shows how different people can be,I have driven the E350 estate lots of times and for me the handling was great,it is a load lugger and the air at the back with normal springs at the front suit it so well,think you are wasting your money,but hey hope it works out for you.
 
As a load lugger up and down the motorway I could not agree more but if you want to drive it a bit more around country lanes it rolls and bounces everywhere.
I am just looking and asking if anyone has done an upgrade instead of just banging back on stock items
 
I have a 212 Sport and it handles fine, I'm from Belfast and we are raised on country lanes and driving fast,maybe with 170K the suspension is a but tired and new shocks and springs will tighten her up.
Good luck with it and keep us posted.
 
Glad you've put alot of effort into this topic already. I've got the same spec car but its a 2012 with 150k. Over the past 3 I've put 50k of that on it including 2 laps of the nurburgring and living near an autobahn. I've just done an oil change and general look over the car since its started feeling soft to find a leaky front shock. The rears still look fine and it still work with no issues, even with a caravan on its back. So just gonna replace the fronts and keep the benefits of the original in the back. Though I don't see how a different rate shock would affect the self leveling.

Recently just replaced the tyres with some cheap i-link branded tyres but they feel really good. Really good grip and seem to be holding up well to the amount of weight being thrown through them in the country lanes. Also seem to cope well with the silly amount of potholes in the area too.
 

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