Slithery E320 (1996 petrol)

[brandane]

I have a 1996 E320 petrol, above, and am less than impressed with its roadholding, even compared to a Toyota Camry I had before. I t just feels "slithery", develops a scary weave at high (OK, maybe too high!) speeds and has spun on one occasion.
Current tyres are new Pirelli P6000's, pressures all set as recommended.
Tracking etc has been checked and reported fine by Mercedes of Bedford.
Have I just got the wrong rubber on there?

 

[Howard]

Pirelli P6000's are terrible , old technology , tyres ....

Mines as solid as a rock , if yours is all over the shop , i would suggest you get it looked at by a mechanic , because something isn't right there ....

Got P Zero Rosso's on mine .

 

[brandane]

What mechanic...

Well, I had Merc of Bedford look at it, got it MOT'd there, they did correct the tracking already for the MOT, but it made no difference to the handling. At anything over 100 (on a test track, of course) it gets a horrible weave. The one time I over-slung it I was only doing about 40 on a cross-over a roundabout, hit it with 2 changes of direction and it spun off on to the grass, fortunately no damage, except to the ego.
It's low mileage too, only done 95,000 since new (I have all is MOT's).

 

[kth286]

Is that a 210 chassis or a late 124 ?

 

[Howard]

Ah , i had assumed it was a late w124

 

[brandane]

210

It's an early 210

 

[mr. shr]

Are there any other symtoms? For example, excessive play in the wheel when stationary?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

P6000s aren't particularly well regarded but I wouldn't expect the sort of problems you describe to be down to the tyres alone.

Still sounds like somethings not right. Might be worth investing in a full four wheel geometry check.

 

[grober]

WAS IT JUST THE FRONT THAT WAS TRACKED? The rear 5 link suspension can knock out its bushes giving some interesting rear wheel steering effects. Make sure your rear shock absorbers are spot on also. The other possibility is a problem with the rear subframe mounts.

 

[brandane]

Plenty to think about

Yeah, it was just the front tracking, cos the FNS tyre was wearing off pattern. Will ask them to have a look at MB Bedford. It's not got any play in the steering, tho it does have a minor annoying vibe under gentle breaking at speed.
Hand in pocket time, gulp.

 

[brandane]

Freudian slip..braking, not breaking. Hope something's not broken.
BTW, I'm quite pleased with the economy, I get around 30MPG, was surprised. My old BMW 3 litre 5 series struggled to do 25 and it was manual.

 

[Will]

Wheel bearings/ball joints/dampers/steering damper/tyres - check all the basics, I'm sure it'll be something simple. Then get a proper alignment carried out.

95,000 miles isn't really 'low mileage' IMO, these cars can obviously do gigantic mileages but still need plenty of maintenance.

The shocks will be shot by now if they're original. They won't necessarily pick this up on an MOT or a service, but the certainly won't be damping like they should / did when they were new

Will

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The full four wheel geometry was over £200 at my main dealer, so it might be worth seeking out a trusted specialist.

PowerStation in Cheltenham have a good reputation, but not exactly on the doorstep for you. That said my father-in-law used them and it's probably 70 miles away.

 

[brandane]

Sorted. Tracking, which was also mentioned at MOT only 6 weeks ago, apparently was still miles out. Not impressed. Also, anti roll bar bushes were shot.
£150 to do that, and £135 for all 4 wheel geometry check, which revaled...everything else was OK.
I tried bouncing the shocks, they seem OK, but it does feel a bit "Flat" in the handling department. I am now considering a full Spax suspension kit, new springs and shocks all round. Watch this space...
Definately more stable already though.

 

[television]

The rear mountings can and do wear, do check for any movement
http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb2.as...GM=717.466&CT=F&cat=45P&SID=35&SGR=045&SGN=03

 

[brandane]

Might get a complete "sports pack" upgrade, new shocks and springs all round, anybody got any recommendations? There;'s sets from Spax, Koni etc at around 450 for the parts.
Will get all the rear mountings checked over at the same time.