W164 ML350 2011

[MarkHood]

Afternoon all. New to the forum (and to the car!).
I recently bought a 2011 ML350 Grand Edition. I've completed a few jobs already (A service, gearbox service and ABS sensor). I'm finding the ride quite harsh (it did come with the 20" alloys). Is this normal? I thought it would be a lot more compliant over bumpy surfaces. The car has only done 60000 miles with full Mercedes history so well looked after. Has anyone improved the ride quality with Bilstein shocks and/or springs or is this par for the course? Thanks.

 

[BlackC55]

Its the wheels that will be making it harsh I suspect.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Are the wheels aftermarket wheels by any chance? Which brand and tyre size are fitted to the wheels? Being 20 inch will not help, but fitting heavier aftermarket wheels will exaggerate the issue.

My local Mercedes dealer mentioned that they we’re dealing with a difficult situation whereby a very senior person in the automotive industry was being very demanding about the poor ride on his ML 63 AMG - apparently it was harsh when he travelled over speed humps at high speed -and they had spent many hours investigating but found no issues.

They asked if I would go out in it to see what I thought. As soon as I saw it I commented on the aftermarket wheels And cheap tyres, and having had a go in it I concluded that it was likely the wheels. Apparently the owner still wasn’t happy so I lent the dealer a set of original 20 inch wheels with Continental tyres for him to try and the ride was transformed.

 

[MarkHood]

HI, it's on the original MB alloys with Dunlop tyres (MO). I agree the size of the alloys doesn't help. A friends Q7 with 22" alloys rides so much better though so it can be done hence thinking of an issue with the shocks.

 

[Mactech]

Are the wheels aftermarket wheels by any chance? Which brand and tyre size are fitted to the wheels? Being 20 inch will not help, but fitting heavier aftermarket wheels will exaggerate the issue.

My local Mercedes dealer mentioned that they we’re dealing with a difficult situation whereby a very senior person in the automotive industry was being very demanding about the poor ride on his ML 63 AMG - apparently it was harsh when he travelled over speed humps at high speed -and they had spent many hours investigating but found no issues.

They asked if I would go out in it to see what I thought. As soon as I saw it I commented on the aftermarket wheels And cheap tyres, and having had a go in it I concluded that it was likely the wheels. Apparently the owner still wasn’t happy so I lent the dealer a set of original 20 inch wheels with Continental tyres for him to try and the ride was transformed.

Yes, the wheel weight and the tyre brand has a major influence on ride comfort, as does the tread depth remaining.
I have had both a 164 and 166 and found both perfectly fine on ride comfort with Airmatic suspension.
I did test a 164 back in 2008 with the standard steel springs and would not have entered ML or GLE ownership if I had not found a car with Airmatic.
To some, it is not a big deal, but to me the ride quality stays with you every inch you drive.

 

[MarkHood]

Hmm. Ok, thanks for the feedback. Anyone want to buy a ML....

 

[Smart320]

I must admit that I had 2 ML's , both Sport versions but non airmatic , I found the suspension ok if you avoided potholes at speed. The first had 19 inch wheels , second had 20 inch wheels which were only very marginally worse than the first.
Given that I now have an SLK and find the suspension very acceptable it probably means that my opinion is not going to be much use to you. However I did find on the first one that once the tyres got below 4 mm the ride was harsher

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

HI, it's on the original MB alloys with Dunlop tyres (MO). I agree the size of the alloys doesn't help. A friends Q7 with 22" alloys rides so much better though so it can be done hence thinking of an issue with the shocks.

With original MB wheels and Dunlop tyres I’m surprised that the ride is so bad that you must sell it for that reason alone. What’s the date code on the tyres, and how much tread is left? Can you post a photo please?

 

[kid-jensen]

I'm assuming you have a W164 with springs...

I'm also not surprised that the ride irritates you, it's the gift that keeps on taking...

I went from the standard 19" AMG wheels to 18" wheels and 285/50's. Huge improvement in ride with no obvious downsides in handling and turn-in, or if there is, it's not significant/worth it.

When I bought the ML, I thought the ride was OK, but probably because I was coming from a notoriously underdeveloped 2004 Audi Allroad with air suspension. I know it had air bladders because I had to replace them at great expense, but you wouldn't know it had ANY suspension at all if you were riding in it.

I'd say it's worth trying a set of secondhand 18" wheels just to get an idea of what the improvement would be. If you're still not happy, put them back on ebay....you might even make a profit!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I'm assuming you have a W164 with springs...

I'm also not surprised that the ride irritates you, it's the gift that keeps on taking...

I went from the standard 19" AMG wheels to 18" wheels and 285/50's. Huge improvement in ride with no obvious downsides in handling and turn-in, or if there is, it's not significant/worth it.

When I bought the ML, I thought the ride was OK, but probably because I was coming from a notoriously underdeveloped 2004 Audi Allroad with air suspension. I know it had air bladders because I had to replace them at great expense, but you wouldn't know it had ANY suspension at all if you were riding in it.

I'd say it's worth trying a set of secondhand 18" wheels just to get an idea of what the improvement would be. If you're still not happy, put them back on ebay....you might even make a profit!

That’s a good point, buying and reselling a small set of wheels is relatively low risk, and any loss is likely to be very small relative to the cost of changing cars.

 

[Nat]

A month or so ago I changed all the tyres on my 500 from Windforce (?) or something like that to Uniroyal 5 and that really has changed the drive on it. Before it felt bouncy and crashy and when it was first driven it felt like the tyres were flat spotted until it'd driven a few miles and warmed up. The ride is spot on although mine has airmatic. Mine is on non AMG 19" wheels.

As others have suggested, try a smaller wheel/tyre combination.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

A month or so ago I changed all the tyres on my 500 from Windforce (?) or something like that to Uniroyal 5 and that really has changed the drive on it. Before it felt bouncy and crashy and when it was first driven it felt like the tyres were flat spotted until it'd driven a few miles and warmed up. The ride is spot on although mine has airmatic. Mine is on non AMG 19" wheels.

As others have suggested, try a smaller wheel/tyre combination.

Tyres do make a difference in many ways, and you do get what you pay for, although as always the improvement per £ reduces the further up the performance scale you go.

 

[MarkHood]

Tyres are looking like about 50% worn, and yes on springs, not airmatic. Looking for a datecode on the tyres, the only one that makes sense says 2013 so yes, the tyres are definitely getting on a bit! I'm a stickler for originality though so would only want to drop down to 19" Grand Design alloys if I could find them.
I drove it for about 100 miles today, on the motorway it was ok, not fantastic but ok. At lower speeds I definitely wasn't too impressed with it. Not sure if I'm just expecting too much from a 9 year old car?? The best way to describe it would be like scuttle shake from a 1980's convertible! Has anyone gone up a ratio on the tyres? i.e from 265/45/20 to 265/50/20? Would it make any difference do you think?

 

[Smart320]

From memory the ride on the motorway on 20 " wheels was good , generally very smooth, suspect a new set of tyres would improve things noticeably. There was hardly any difference between 19 and 20 inch rims on the two ML's I owned, the model with 20inch was an 11 plate and had over 70 k miles on the clock

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I’ve owned two W164 ML’s and the difference between airmatic and springs is more vast than any other vehicle I’ve experienced; the Airmatic feels pretty perfect - stiff but smooth whereas the one with springs is the complete opposite - had the strange talent of feeling really too stiff yet wallowy and was - with the exception of the dreadful X5 I owned - the worst riding 4x4 I’ve ever owned.

And for the record, both ML’s were on Continentals with the Airmatic 20” alloys, the spring on 19”. Come to think of it, at one point, I was running 22” on the Airmatic and it was still better than the 19” on springs!

 

[MarkHood]

Ok, thanks all. Always appreciated. I may look at changing the tyres over to see if that makes a noticeable enough difference. If not, up for sale it goes unfortunately.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Can you post a photo of the wheels?

 

[MarkHood]

Attached. They need a clean!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Attached. They need a clean!

The Tyres you have fitted are the right size for those wheels too at 265/45 20.

 

[MarkHood]

I've just picked up a set of winter wheels and tyres (265/55/19) so watch this space! I'll fit them this week and report back.