E55 AMG W211 problem with suspension driving modes

[GEORGIOS]

Re: E55 AMG W211 2004 model
Hi there,
my car's suspension has 4 driving modes.The normal one,the raised one,the Sport 1 and Sport 2.The car raises or lowers from the ground depending the mode.

After I had a leveling sensor replaced at a local garage I have now only 2 modes the normal one and the raised one.
I have been to Mercedes dealership in Glasgow and their initial reply was that this is normal as the STAR software finds everything is fine and after I sent them the manual they said I should have 3 levels.(normal,raised,and Sport)They said with Sport 1 and 2 the car is on the same level.

I was wondering if there is any way I can show the dealership in Glasgow how to fix it?
Is there anyone with the same car who can measure the height level in the 4 modes (front/rear)?
Is there a manual which shows how to adjust the suspension using the Star software or shows the specifications for each mode?


Thank you

 

[Teego]

It's not just about ride height. Standard setting is comfort. Raised mode lifts the car for speed humps etc about 20mm. Sport1 lowers by about 10mm plus tightens up damping and stuff. Sport2 doesn't lower it any more but stiffens suspension and flattens cornering and loads of other stuff

 

[GEORGIOS]

It's not just about ride height. Standard setting is comfort. Raised mode lifts the car for speed humps etc about 20mm. Sport1 lowers by about 10mm plus tightens up damping and stuff. Sport2 doesn't lower it any more but stiffens suspension and flattens cornering and loads of other stuff

How does the suspension becomes stiffer from Sport 1 to Sport 2 if the car remains in the same level??

 

[Will]

How does the suspension becomes stiffer from Sport 1 to Sport 2 if the car remains in the same level??

Via the dampers

 

[Londonscottish]

Via the dampers

And the spring rates.

 

[Major774]

There are no springs... you have air bags instead.

The damper’s stiffness are adjustable.

 

[whitenemesis]

This MB training doc may be of interest regarding operation of the Airmatic

 

[GEORGIOS]

There are no springs... you have air bags instead.

The damper’s stiffness are adjustable.

Thank you for your reply.I see you have the same car.When you are at Sport 1 mode and you go to Sport 2 does your car get lower at all or not?

 

[whitenemesis]

The W219 system is, I believe the same as fitted to the W211..

 

[Major774]

Thank you for your reply.I see you have the same car.When you are at Sport 1 mode and you go to Sport 2 does your car get lower at all or not?

I know it will definitely drop from Comfort to Sport 1 mode. Let me test it from Sport 1 to Sport 2... based on the above documents, I should see an additional 5 mm drop. I will report back.

 

[whitenemesis]

Make sure the car is on perfectly flat, even ground as the car will try and level itself...

 

[bolidemichael]

I have never noticed a drop with the sports settings selected. I shall read the manual with interest.

Giorgios, ride height is separate from the three comfort settings as described above. Comfort, Sport 1, Sport 2.

 

[simon1966]

The question of whether a car lowers between comfort and the sport modes has been raised many times before, including by me. I have never had a definitive answer as there were so many people saying one thing and others another. What I can say is I owned a late 2004 805 build S211 E55K estate for 10 years, up until very recently. My car did not change level when sport 1 or sport 2 modes were selected when the car was stationary. My understanding was that it automatically lowered once certain speeds were reached rather than when the car was stationary (can’t remember speeds, but it did say in handbook). The only time it raised or lowered when stationary was when the raise mode was selected. Maybe functionality changed during production period.

 

[Will]

I’ve definitely noticed a drop between comfort and sport, can’t recall noticing a drop between sport I and II but would you notice a 5mm drop if you weren’t looking for it?

 

[Londonscottish]

There are no springs... you have air bags instead.

The damper’s stiffness are adjustable.

Yeah I know the springing is done by air rather than steel.

Mu point is that there are, as I understand it, three variable settings. Ride height, spring rate and damper stiffness.

When you select Sport you get (i) reduced ride height (ii) increased spring rate and (iii) increased damper stiffness.

Here's a video.

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[Londonscottish]

The question of whether a car lowers between comfort and the sport modes has been raised many times before, including by me. I have never had a definitive answer as there were so many people saying one thing and others another. What I can say is I owned a late 2004 805 build S211 E55K estate for 10 years, up until very recently. My car did not change level when sport 1 or sport 2 modes were selected when the car was stationary. My understanding was that it automatically lowered once certain speeds were reached rather than when the car was stationary (can’t remember speeds, but it did say in handbook). The only time it raised or lowered when stationary was when the raise mode was selected. Maybe functionality changed during production period.

My 212 drops/raises when I switch it from Comfort to Sport at rest. My 211 did that too.

IIRC the car selects Sport automatically at 60 mph-ish.

 

[whitenemesis]

Does it not detail all this in the docs uploaded?

 

[GEORGIOS]

I have never noticed a drop with the sports settings selected. I shall read the manual with interest.

Giorgios, ride height is separate from the three comfort settings as described above. Comfort, Sport 1, Sport 2.

It seems that similar cars have different settings.There are models which drop at certain speed.Mine even stationary was droping.My car from comfort to Sport 2 had a huge difference as if I was driving a different car.Now at speeds over 100 mph is not safe for me to drive.The problem is that the Star software finds no fault.

 

[whitenemesis]

Then perhaps it's not related to the suspension but another issue.
You take the car abroad often?

 

[GEORGIOS]

Does it not detail all this in the docs uploaded?

Thank you for the documents uploaded.It describes everything.The only question mark is if this applies to E55 w211 2004 model