Increasing tyre height on E320 Sport Est

[jpspencer]

Hi, I have a E320CDi Sport Estate 2006 W211
My question is that I Tow a Caravan and would like to increase the ground clearance and improve the ride by fitting a 'Taller' tyre. Probably improving the ride and comfort(hope)

What is the best option of tyres and what would be the best tyres for my touring use. Im not looking for race track type performance. the tyres fitted at present are Fronts:245/40ZR18 93y Rears 265/35ZR/18 97y All four are Pirelli PZreo and will need changing fairly soon.
Thanks everyone for you help.
Jon.........

 

[aka$h]

The next size up will probably give you some issues with wheel arch clearence.

 

[whitenemesis]

You'd do better by fitting springs from the Elegance. I believe MB even do taller springs for greater ground clearance.

Fitting bigger tyres will only likely give you millimeters over what you currently have. Springs could be 50mm or more. The ride would be more compliant as well.

Give the dealer a call

 

[renault12ts]

Or you could adjust the SLS to provide a higher ride height at the
rear.

 

[Druk]

Why do you want to increase the ride height? I tow a large caravan with a 320CDi Avantgarde (same ride height as the later Sport), with a noseweight of 80/85Kg and have never had any problems. Been to some rough sites and on and off various ferries too. I agree the ride is a bit harsh when the car is empty but with a load on there's no problem. Messing with wheel sizes might confuse the ESP as well.


.

 

[jpspencer]

E320CDi Sport Estate Suspension/Tyres

Why do you want to increase the ride height? I tow a large caravan with a 320CDi Avantgarde (same ride height as the later Sport), with a noseweight of 80/85Kg and have never had any problems. Been to some rough sites and on and off various ferries too. I agree the ride is a bit harsh when the car is empty but with a load on there's no problem. Messing with wheel sizes might confuse the ESP as well.


.

Hi, thanks for the reply. My E320 Sport estate is the V6 has the sports pack and sports suspension and it looks a lot lower when parked up against an E320 Aventgarde. As yet I have not found any suspension adjuster or switches.
It was just a thought by fitting a 'Taller' tyre rather than a Low Profile would increase the comfort and although only marginally, the height same time?

As a fellow caravaner yourself whats the law say in the UK & Europe about towing with a 'Space Saver'? Ive never had a vehicle with a space saver before, but towed all over Europe with a car and Motorcycle. I have probably driven in excess of 50k miles in Europe mainly France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belguim and Holland.

Many Thanks, Jon...

 

[jpspencer]

E320CDi Sport Estate Suspension/Tyres

Or you could adjust the SLS to provide a higher ride height at the
rear.

I have had a good look around the car and cannot find if or where an adjuster would be, where should I start looking? Perhaps this Sports Suspension/Sports Package did not have the adjustable facility?
Many Thanks, Jon..

 

[GordonTarling]

AFAIK, there is no 'adjuster' as such on the SLS at the rear. It may be possible to tweak the height a little, by an adjustment of the sensor, but you'd need to ask someone better qualified than me about that. If you just want a 'softer' ride, then I think your best bet would be to go to 17" wheels and a higher profile tyre. This would maintain the same rolling radius, so that your speedo is unaffected, but the height of the car from the road will also remain the same. If you want to 'jack the car up' a bit, then changing springs and/or spring pads may give you what you want.

 

[Druk]

As a fellow caravaner yourself whats the law say in the UK & Europe about towing with a 'Space Saver'? Ive never had a vehicle with a space saver before, but towed all over Europe with a car and Motorcycle. I have probably driven in excess of 50k miles in Europe mainly France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belguim and Holland.

Many Thanks, Jon...

No idea there is a problem with using a spacesaver spare while towing. If there was why would Merc sell a car with a factory towbar and a spacesaver?
What have you heard?

 

[gIzzE]

There is a massive difference in comfort between the 245/40/18 - 265/35/18 combo you have now and 245/45/17's all round.

This are the wheels I have.......

No where near as good looking as the sports.

I was going to buy a pair of sports as soon as I got the car, but after using a sport for a few days and then getting into this I decided to stick with the 17's, they glide in comparison. Mind you I do have Michelin Pilot Sport 2's on which are extremely comfy tyres anyway.

My winter tyres will go on as soon as we actually get some cold weather and then I may buy a set of 18's in the spring and keep that as a winter set, but really not sure.

I think you could probably get away with a 235/50/17 all round, which would give you a slight increase in side wall, and thus even more comfort, but you have a wide rear on there at the moment which may cause a bigger tyre to catch on the wheel arch?
You could try a 225/45/18 - 245/40/18 combo, this would give a slight increase and should be OK.

 

[camerafodder]

Why do you want to increase the ride height? I tow a large caravan with a 320CDi Avantgarde (same ride height as the later Sport), with a noseweight of 80/85Kg and have never had any problems. Been to some rough sites and on and off various ferries too. I agree the ride is a bit harsh when the car is empty but with a load on there's no problem. Messing with wheel sizes might confuse the ESP as well.


.

Druk I've seen the pictures, that's not a large caravan, its a small planet!

To the OP:
You can adjust the ride height at the back of the car by messing with the adjuster which if I remember correctly is near the rear diff. However you must do this from a pit or on a lift or you could squash yourself! It won't improve your ride though.

 

[e320cdiowner]

I think on the sports version some of the suspension parts are not the same as the classic or elegance once.the base is slightly wider and the height lower . It was designed for speed and not for comfort.This is why they named it the sports.

I know for a fact the springs are different . Other bits like the wishbone are also not the same. You can check this by going to russsian website and put in your chassis No .On the diagram it will show all the possiblities for each component. The easiest way is to change the suspention coils and the spacers above the coils . The web site will give you the different thickness spacers and the part NOs.Mind you the reason why mercedes have different spring option for each car is when the extra factory option was ordered, then the engineers work out the total weight of car and hence the right spring to take into acount the extras like air con ,self leveling susp, 4 wheel drive, the 7 seater or the extra large fuel tank options.

 

[e320cdiowner]

This why whenever I replace my suspension coils I always get it from MZ and always give them my chassis No.

 

[grober]

As already suggested move down to 17" wheels. I doubt you will be able to go to 16" due to clearance issues. Possibly your best guess will be to look at the winter wheel/tyre combination suggested in the owners handbook. This probably means you will revert to a same width wheels all round. At the same time seriously consider a move to an all weather/winter compound type tyre of the correct speed rating which will kill 2 birds with one stone. The more open and deeper tread of these tyres will also help on any loose surface such as unmade roads or on grass for example. Raising the ride height is a separate issue and can be addressed by spring pads [height only] or pads plus softer springs [ height +ride ] which will be slightly longer also. I would suggest a gradual approach -say wheel+tyres first --and see how that goes. If not satisfied springs plus pads next this will involve a lot more labour and parts costs and not something to embark on lightly as it will cost as much in labour to reverse.

 

[GordonTarling]

Changing springs and/or pads won't do much for the SLS at the rear of the OP's car - it's essentially Airmatic. I'm sure there's a way of adjusting the height of this, but you'd need to consult someone who knows what he's doing. Not sure raising it will do much for the looks of the car though.

 

[timskemp]

If your estate doesn't have adjustable suspension (button next to gearlever on middle console) then you'll need to have some bits changed. The rear on the W211 estate is air sprung, it'll be a software or link change to adjust the rear ride height. The front is coil springs, these could be replaced by ones from a classic or elegance spec. If you're on sport settings I think they're even harder than avantgarde aren't they?

Changing the tyres should be done all round, I'm running aftermarket wheels, same size all round on 245/40/18 and the ride is perfectly acceptable but I'm on classic suspension.

Go down to some 17 inch wheels and you'll notice improvement. Don't forget too that the rears on the factory 18s are about an inch wider than the fronts, so they will pick out more bumps in the road!

I keep saying this, my next one will have full Airmatic.

 

[BTB 500]

One thing to bear in mind. A factory towbar will have the towball at the correct height. If you raise the rear of the car via suspension mods. etc. then you'll be lifting the nose of the caravan slightly ...

 

[grober]

Changing springs and/or pads won't do much for the SLS at the rear of the OP's car - it's essentially Airmatic. I'm sure there's a way of adjusting the height of this, but you'd need to consult someone who knows what he's doing. Not sure raising it will do much for the looks of the car though.

If he has airmatic all round he may be able to change the ride height slightly by changes to the control software-don't know. If its SLS at the rear only raising the front ride height should cause the system to adjust the rear accordingly.

timskemp got there before me.

 

[BTB 500]

I'd be surprised if you could raise the ride height permanently as this would reduce the stability of the vehicle at higher speeds (which is why 'Airmatic' type suspensions drop back down to normal height above 15 mph or whatever if you've raised them).