W211 Harsh Ride

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DanMorgan

Active Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
738
Location
Cardiff
Car
R129 500SL, W124 300CE Twin Turbo, W210 E55 AMG, W211 E320 CDI Sport
Good Afternoon,

Recently picked up a cheap runabout 320 CDI Sport Estate (09) with a 155K miles on - Replacing a previous W210 E320 CDI (with 18 inch monoblocks).

After driving it around for a while, I have noticed that the ride is much harder/firm than another W211 Sport in the family.

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I have put the car onto Star and cleared any errors and nothing was showing. Is there anyway of resetting the air suspension or anything that I can try on Star?

Alternatively, are there any mechanical bits that I should check? The spheres previous went on my 210 Estate but I doubt they are gone on this W211.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks!
 
What size wheels buddy ? I’m guessing 18’s , 17’s would be better but Try 32psi all round on the tyres first
 
Yep - It's the 18's.

I really don't think its the wheels as the other car has the same. I am used to driving low cars/low profile tyres too.

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I did check the tyre pressures - I read online that it was 29/32 but I will try 32 all round.
 
Damper condition are massive in the ride comfort department , at 155K they're well past their best .

Some people think they have to leak to be no good , simply not the case .
 
What about the tyres themselves. Different makes and models of tyres don't necessarily ride the same even when sizes and pressures are identical.
 
I have the same tyres all-round (brand new when I bought it). I really don't think it's the dampeners. Also my car sits much higher at the back when compared to other Sport models?

Is there anything on STAR that I can try out to see if its a setting on the air suspension? I drove the car earlier and the ride was shocking!
 
You've bought a car with Sports suspension, 18" wheels and low profile tyres.

You're maybe right about wear on the dampers, but a 2009 E320 Sport on 18's will ride harder than a 1990's W210 E320 (Was it an Elegance or Avantgarde ?)

More than a decade on, "English" tastes in car suspension had changed.
 
You've bought a car with Sports suspension, 18" wheels and low profile tyres.

You're maybe right about wear on the dampers, but a 2009 E320 Sport on 18's will ride harder than a 1990's W210 E320 (Was it an Elegance or Avantgarde ?)

More than a decade on, "English" tastes in car suspension had changed.

The previous W210 was lowered and on even skinnier tyres running 8/9J AMG Monoblocks. A few years back I also used to have elastic bands for tyres 215/35 on a 9.5J wheel that was also on a lowered Volkswagen Golf that was more comfortable.

Also, not sure if you read above but there is another W211 Sport in the family on 18's that's much more comfortable and sits slightly lower (hence the reason for this thread).
 
Damper condition are massive in the ride comfort department , at 155K they're well past their best .

Some people think they have to leak to be no good , simply not the case .
This is what the expert at Blackboots/WheelsInMotion told me. The air springs wear over time and use as do conventional springs.
 
At that mileage I would personally put an Eibach Pro kit , renew top mounts etc , on as snapped springs are rife saves doing a job twice .
 
The previous W210 was lowered and on even skinnier tyres running 8/9J AMG Monoblocks. A few years back I also used to have elastic bands for tyres 215/35 on a 9.5J wheel that was also on a lowered Volkswagen Golf that was more comfortable.

Also, not sure if you read above but there is another W211 Sport in the family on 18's that's much more comfortable and sits slightly lower (hence the reason for this thread).
Apologies, I’d assumed your w210 was stock rather than lowered. As I said, W210’s out of the factory rode much more softly than W211’s for the reasons I said.

Going back to the other (rare) ANG Sport, is that family vehicle an S211, like yours, or a W211 ? Have you used the VIN to look at the build sheet on yours against the other car to see if it was non standard from the factory?

Your S211 Sport runs more firmly than 99% of S211’s on the road just because of its factory spec, but if yours is harder than that, the money must be on teeth rattling suspension installed by the previous owner, or just damaged / unmaintained suspension at 155k miles.
 
This is timely, I'm considering spending on my MY 09 S211 E320 CDI Sport (not airmatic) to set it up for long-term ownership. My feeling is the same, that the ride quality is bad on rough roads (I know it is somewhat to be expected, but I had a CLS with 18"s a few years ago and that was much better). I have replaced the rear shocks with new Bilsteins (the sport spec) and it doesn't crash over bumps as it did before but still not good. It has no-name tyres on it all round (almost new when I bought it in the summer, so loathed to replace these).

It has 155k on it so I agree with the other posters that all suspension components are probably going to be worn out by now. Ebay has complete kits for suspension renewal (pattern parts) - I'm considering renewing all the arms and thus bushes, and probably front springs and dampers. Do we expect this will see a good improvement? My uncle did this to our family 2000 Audi A6 and even with these very cheap parts it made it drive like new again after ~250k miles.
 
After driving it around for a while, I have noticed that the ride is much harder/firm than another W211 Sport in the family.

What make/model of tyres are on both cars?

I got my car at 5mths old and I was disappointed by how harsh it felt. It had Bridgestone Turanza's ftted, which are noted for having stiff sidewalls. The rears wore first and putting Michelin Primacy's on didn't make much difference. However when I eventually replaced the fronts, the difference was remarkable.
 
This is timely, I'm considering spending on my MY 09 S211 E320 CDI Sport (not airmatic) to set it up for long-term ownership. My feeling is the same, that the ride quality is bad on rough roads (I know it is somewhat to be expected, but I had a CLS with 18"s a few years ago and that was much better). I have replaced the rear shocks with new Bilsteins (the sport spec) and it doesn't crash over bumps as it did before but still not good. It has no-name tyres on it all round (almost new when I bought it in the summer, so loathed to replace these).

It has 155k on it so I agree with the other posters that all suspension components are probably going to be worn out by now. Ebay has complete kits for suspension renewal (pattern parts) - I'm considering renewing all the arms and thus bushes, and probably front springs and dampers. Do we expect this will see a good improvement? My uncle did this to our family 2000 Audi A6 and even with these very cheap parts it made it drive like new again after ~250k miles.
I would guess if you pick a decent make of parts the car will feel transformed . Start your own thread on it buddy , it’s something I might have to do to my 2009 W211 .
Try Autodoc (on the app , it’s cheaper) for some good pricing
 
Phil - If you ever have a breakthrough, please let me know! I am going to have a local indy check over it in the new year whilst he does the glow plugs.

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Tyres on both cars are both budgets (Landsail's or something like that!) - They are used for tip runs, load lugging etc (proper tyres on the nicer cars!)
 

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